Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices #1) by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

479 pages, Hardcover

Published August 21, 2010

Summary: 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, 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.

--

First off: happy Thanksgiving, all of y'all book nerds/lovers. Second of all, I'm gonna be trying a new format for my reviews for a little while. I was going through some of my old reviews and realized I'm slightly sloppy when I write my rants (understatement of the year...). I love a lot of blogs with clean, detailed reviews and therefore, I'll be putting a slightly bit more time into creating mine. I'd really love feedback on this, so feel free to admonish my poor formatting skills or praise them. That being said, these reviews will be longer. A. Lot. Longer. So feel free to skip to the end and read the wrap-up paragraph.

So I picked up this book the instant I realized it was out (the day after it was released) and I've been dying to review it since the day after when I finished it. But then I realized I wanted to do the Mortal Instruments reviews first, so here this review is, a few months late but with a little more retrospect now.

Okay, so, Tessa is definitely not a strong character in the beginning of this book. By then end, however, she has been transformed and was practically a warrior. However, the journey between the two stages was a bit murky. She was smart and beautiful, a normally killer combination, but somehow I found her annoying. First of all, she was kind of helpless even when she had available assets. Her personality was okay, but nothing special; no sarcasm or quick remarks whatsoever from this young lady. Other than her gentleness verging on push-over status, I liked her better by the end. Now, for a quick rant: I have no clue what Tessa saw in Will; he was basically Jace without his caring side. He was mean more than half the time and was a total cad. Jace had redeeming qualities; Will had sarcasm and good looks. I just didn't get it. That being said, I absolutely adored Jem. He's officially my fictional boyfriend. At least until Jace breaks up with Clary. Anyways, Jem was sweet, funny, beautiful, a musician, and genuinely cared for Tessa it seemed. Jessamine, Clare's obvious reincarnation of Isabelle, was basically the same character with less to love. I just wanted to scream, "When you're a warrior it is not key to act like a lady." I wanted to slap her throughout the entire book and found her entire demeanor bothersome. Even her little heroic stunt at the end had me scoffing. Magnus Bane is back, which was awesome, but his small role wasn't all that redeeming. Lastly, not to give to much away, the villain was more of an ass than anything else.

Now, to the plot. Perhaps the books small saving grace. While Clare worked hard to keep her characters the exact same (but worse) as from the Mortal Instruments, the plot was actually interesting. It wasn't great or shocking (maybe the middle, a little) but it was intriguing and kept me up late flipping pages. The Dark Sisters weren't all that imposing, and neither were the later villains, save the vampires; they were actually kind of imposing and scary. Tessa's strange powers were definitely interesting, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she uses them later on. There's endless possibilities.
The writing was descriptive, but nothing special really. While in the Mortal Instruments readers were learning about this strange, mystical world with Clary, in Clockwork Angel we already knew about this world and I found it irritating how much time Clary put into re-explaining everything, from the miniscule details to the big, obvious things even new readers probably knew. This series was geared toward fans of the first series set in the Shadowhunter's world, and yet the actual book seemed to be made for new readers.
Overview: I'm still having mixed feelings for this book. It was interesting, gripping, and a couple of the characters were amazing. But at the same time I'm not going to go spouting off about how awesome it was. I'm not dying to get the sequel, but I'm definitely going to get it. The characters were generally moderate, not greatly developed or disastrous. The plot was original (I love all things steampunk, even if it plays a small part) and creative, but not nail-biting worthy. In general, I really enjoyed some of this book and hated other parts. An okay novel recommended to fans of the Mortal Instruments series or fantasy historical fiction fans.
Cover Rating: 4 stars
Character Rating: 3 stars
Plot Rating: 4 stars
Writing Style Rating: 3 stars
Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

City of Glass (Mortal Instruments #3) by Cassandra Clare

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.
As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her new found powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost?
Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the final installment of the New York Timesbestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.
--
The conclusion to the Mortal Instruments trilogy was without a doubt my favorite book in the series. Yeah, the ending was a given, and yeah, there was a little bit of an easy conclusion, but it was still great. Clare has woven a world extremely intricate and beautiful, while maintaining characters that were complicated and three-dimensional too. Jace remained snarky, but his human side showed more in this book, and I don't know about everyone else, but that made him all the more smoldering to me. Clary was great in this book; she became the strong, confident, emotional character Mortal Instruments fans have come to know and love. The love story in City of Glass was fantastic and I was just about screaming by the time I was a hundred pages in. Clare really knew how to drag out the inevitable. Simon's story got a little complicated, which I liked, since his story basically revolved around Clary a little bit too much in the first two books. Isabelle wasn't nearly as annoying and Alec was the sweetheart that I loved from book one, but with a little more of his story revealed. I couldn't get over how cute he was with who he ended up with. Magnus Bane was fabulous, once again, and probably one of my favorite secondary characters ever. Aside from the characters, the descriptions weren't quite as intense in this book, but they were still good, adding some, if not a lot to this book. The story couldn't have been better; the twists felt real and they managed to surprise me (somewhat). The ending was definitely one of my favorite endings to a series in forever. So many authors pull a twist at the end that leaves readers gasping, and while Clare didn't go there, it made it all that much better; the characters (basically) got what they deserved.
5 stars and a recommendation to fans of the series. Definitely, definitely, definitely read the entire series.
--
Side note: I'm still not thrilled about the next installment in this series. I can't help but feel like it should've stayed a trilogy. Not only that, but what Mortal Instruments are left? Someone'll have to tell me whether City of Fallen Angels is worth reading first.

City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go—especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil—and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings—and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

--

This review will contain spoilers; I just can't help it, there's so much to rave about with this series. FIrst of all, by the time I was on page 2, I was this close to tears because Jace and Clary couldn't be together. Clare really knew what she was doing when she decided to make them siblings, because I know I wasn't the only one sniffling at the end when Clary keeps quiet as Jace says he'll only be her brother from them on. Simon was cute throughout the second book of the series, but I found him a little annoying with his whole you-love-him-and-not-me routine. Yeah, she did love Jace, but jeez, it's not her fault she doesn't love you too. I was team Jace/Clary all the way, my apologies, Team Simon. Valentine wasn't one of the most imposing villains, and he was one of my complaints; he didn't really seem capable of all the evil he did. I loved the story line a lot more for this book, probably because it was better paced; the first seemed too fast, considering we had so much information to take in too. But the information was just right, with enough to keep you intrigued and guessing and not enough to confuse you. Magnus Bane, the flamboyant warlock, quickly became one of my favorites in this book and he's probably in my top 20 characters that need to be real. Isabelle wasn't quite as annoying in this book either, while Alec fell behind a little in terms of great characters. He got a little too love-struck in my opinion. Clary was fantastic, a strong lead maintaining her newfound status as Shadowhunter extremely well. This book was my least favorite in the series, but it was still one of the best urban fantasy books I've ever read. Most of that is probably due to Jace's continued sarcasm and arrogance. Overall, a fantastic read.

4 stars and a recommendation to fans of the series; go back and read the first book first, urban fantasy lovers.

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

--

Sigh. This series is absolutely one of my favorites, and since I've read quite a few reviews recently, I decided to re-read the books and write reviews on here. Some books I've loved, then re-read and wondered what I saw in them the first time; this was definitely not the case with City of Bones. If it was anything, this novel was fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat action. From the prologue to the last page, this book was action-packed, and when it wasn't biting-your-fingernails fast, it was beautifully written. Clare has really created a gorgeous, complicated world that readers are sucked into immediately. It begins with Clary noticing a boy no one else seems to notice; after following him, she discovers Jace, Alec, and Isabelle, three Shadowhunters. The Shadowhunter world revolves around them killing demons escaped from other dimensions. Okay, so I know I said that I'm tired of the whole seeing-invisible-faeries/other-mythical-creatures, but it was extremely well-done, and Clare is great at explaining things slowly, making it easy to follow. The information about this new invisible world is presented in a readable way, not overcrowding or leaving too much to the imagination. The characters were some of my favorites all time; Clary was great: the perfect amount of sweet, naive, and holding her own. Jace... Oh, Jace, what can I say about you? He's got to be in my top five fictional characters that should be real. He's an arrogant, smart-ass, sensitive, gorgeous blonde. What more can you ask for? I loved Simon, Clary's best friend (was I the only one who realized where their conversation in the peotry cafe was going before Jace pointed it out?), mostly because he reminded me so much of myself. Isabelle was too snotty in my opinion, since she took a really, really long time to warm up slightly to Clary. Alec was my second favorite; he was so adorable, and I, honestly, was surprised by the twist in his love story. Made me sad, but I'm a Jace/Clary fan all the way. The story line was great, as I said before, and even though in my opinion it was a character-driven novel, it's easy to see why it could be considered a plot-driven book. Lastly, I loved how the world Clare created had demons, angels, werewolves, faeries, vampires, and creatures of her own creation. I wish I lived in this world.

5 stars and a recommendation to action/romance fans and any teen readers. I've recommended this book series to just about all of my friends, even non-readers.