Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

My rating:  4.99999/5
Summary (from Goodreads):

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Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters,...moreMagic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

My review:

I have a lot to say about Clockwork Angel, starting with the beginning.  The introduction is honestly the only reason that this book doesn't rate five stars.  It just doesn't seem like a great start, and when I was only 35 pages in, I seriously wanted to put the book down, forget about it, and continue on Beautiful Darkness.  But because I loved The Mortal Instruments series so much, I forced myself to continue.  The reason that I didn't like the beginning was the characters.  You didn't really get a good taste of them, and Tessa didn't seem anything like she actually was.  She seemed like a little girl, helpless, and weak, when, quite frankly, she wasn't.  The Dark Sisters didn't seem quite real in that point of the book, nor did the setting.  The house wasn't quite real to my imagination, it was just a little too dark, a little too creepy.  But as soon as Will came in, I knew it would get better.  I laughed when Tessa threw the jug at Will, thinking that he was bad, not good.  I immediately saw him as another Jace from City of Bones and such, and I loved Jace.


Will was that mysterious, beautiful character, crafted out of pure imagination.  He's arrogant, but Cassandra Clare writes arrogant people well.  Very well.  He's got that humorous side to him, just like Jace, and finds almost everything amusing in some way.  He's always hiding a smile, though he hardly ever laughs.  Later in the story, you begin to see another side to him.  A side that is serious, emotional, and deep.  His love for Tessa begins to show, but he's always trying to deny it, to hide it from even himself.  Like Jace?  Definitely.  He's a difficult character to even begin to understand, but is a great person to read about once you begin to comprehend him.  I loved Will!


Tessa was a lot like Clary from the Mortal Instruments, and her relationship with Will was a lot like the one between Clary and Jace.  On and off, on and off.  Tessa was also a complicated character, but definitely not in the same way as Will.  She, like Clary, didn't really know anything about her parents, and no one is about to tell her.  I am still mystified about who -- or what -- her parents are.


Although there are a lot of similarities between the characters, I still loved Clockwork Angel.  It was very different from City of Bones in the way that it was set in the 1890s.  It was a great twist, and I loved seeing the Institute from over a hundred years ago.  I was surprised to see Church (the cat) in the 1890s, because he's in the Mortal Instruments, so that cat has been alive for over a century.  And I still loved the Institute in this book.  I get more of a picture of it in my mind.  I can see the winding corridors, the tapestries that aren't described so much in the City of Bones.


Oh, but the end.  I'm hanging on the edge of a cliff, wanting to know what Will. . . if you've read the book then you'll know what I'm talking about, if you haven't read it!  I want Clockwork Prince right now!  But, I guess I'll have to wait. . . 

And did I mention this?  TEAM WILL!!!!!