Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

                                                                    

Hardcover, 496 pages

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

August 31, 2010

“Let me give you a piece of advice. The handsome young fellow who’s trying to rescue you from a hideous fate is never wrong. Not even if he says the sky is purple and made of hedgehogs.”

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: Jem, 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.

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From the moment I found out Clare was writing Clockwork Angel, I was counting down the days until it was in my hands. Once there I was immediately thrust into the world she has created. Clockwork Angel is the type of story that feels real. With such detailed writing, I was not laying on my bed with a book, but rather in London, fighting off demons and unknown evils in the attempts to save my brother. 

Set in 1878, Clockwork Angel is the prequel to the Mortal Instruments. Although following similar story line, Clockwork Angel is a story all  its own. Following Tessa from New York to London in search of her brother,  She is thrown into a world she believed only to exist in literature. As Tessa soon comes to find, maybe she is the one who is make-believe. Brought to the Institute, The Shadowhunters try to find out who and what Tessa really is. As they search for her brother and the answers to why she is in such high demand, Tessa will learn what the real world is truly like.


Being chased by Vampires and Worlocks. A mysterious Magister and a clockwork army, Clockwork Angel as so much of what we loved in the Mortal Instrument series, And yet so much more. Because set in London in the late 1800's, There is a different feel to the story being told. The way of speaking and etiquette, The way everyone is to be addressed formally and how a simple touch is considered forward. I love the variation in time and how so many of the things we do today would seem unreal in that day and age. It was very interesting to go back and get to visit that world.

Tessa has become one of my favorite characters. She is a lady, but she will tell it like it is if need be. She is strong and never gives up on the ones she loves. She won't quit, a fighter to the core. Tessa is faced with many tough, and down right awful things in the short time she has been in London but she always looks ahead. She has never needed a man to protect her. She knows she is not the strongest or the fastest but she gives it her all regardless. 

Clockwork Angel features the ever so popular love triangles, but Clare does so with such finesse. The romance is tucked away, read to spring on you at the precise moment. You just get a hint of it and then more pressing matters come into play. With Clockwork Angel we are just starting to see the birth of what could be two very separate and very different relationships. 

Will is guarded, cocky, and holds himself in much too high a regards. He is strong and intimidating and did I mention drop dead gorgeous. Will heeps everyone at arms length, that is until Tessa comes along. She, it seems has the key to his undoing. As Will struggles with his emotions and his feelings for Tessa, he seems to be pushing her away.... right into Jem's arms. Jem is kind and good hearted. He always seems to know what to say at the exact right time. He is the type of guy that you always want around, the type that will brighten any room with his presence.

Usually I know, without a doubt which team I am on from the start. In Clockwork Angel though, I am still unsure. Because Clare wrote this romance in such a subtle manner, I really don't have a strong enough feeling either way. I will just have to wait and see. There is still many dark little secrets lurking about, and I for one can not wait to uncover them.


Overall I give it 5+ Hoots. Clockwork Angel is everything I expected it to be and so much more after that. Beauty detailed and a story line that had me thinking I was living in 1878 London. Clockwork Angel is by far the best book I have read in 2010. I was fully engrossed in the world Clare has created and I was not let go until I closed the book. With twists and turns and things that had me gasping in surprise, Clockwork Angel has everything you want in a book. You simply must read this book!

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