Clockwork Angel - The Infernal Devices Book 1 for Fantasy Readers

Clare's Mortal Instrument series is one of my favorite YA series to date, and Jace Wayland is a young man after my heart. ;) I wrote a series synopsis on the Mortal Instruments ([...]) - make sure you check it out. I knew I would love the prequel series to MI, especially since it's set in Victorian London and the characters speak in Olde English and have proper manners and such. Much fun.Clockwork Angel introduces us to Tessa, aka Theresa Gray, who moves to Victorian London after her older brother, Nathaniel, requests her presence. Tessa and Nate's parents are dead, and their Aunt just recently passed, so Tessa has no other options. Plus, she misses her brother dearly. Unfortunately for Tessa, she is greeted by 2 bizarre women, aka the Dark sisters, at the port where she is waiting for Nate. The Dark sisters ramble on about some odd business with her brother, and that she needs to come along with them in order to meet up with him. Lesson #1: Do not ever, under any circumstances, get in a buggy with two creepy, mysterious ladies name Mrs. Dark and Mrs. Black. Even if they produce a handwritten letter and your brother's ring. K?While being held captive by these two wack-a-doodles, Tessa discovers something very, very interesting about herself. She is Eidolon, aka a shape-changer, and she has been promised to The Magister, a mysterious and powerful presence in Downworld. Then suddenly, one night, William Herondale walks into her life. Literally. He walks right into her bedroom."My name is Herondale," the boy said cheerfully. "William Herondale, but everyone calls me Will. Is this really your room? Not very nice, is it?" He wandered toward the window, pausing to examine the stacks of books on her bedside table, and then the bed itself. He waved a hand at the ropes. "Do you often sleep tied to the bed?"(Oh, thank you Cassandra Clare! While Will doesn't yet stand up to Jace's personality, he definitely provided me with much snarky, sarcastic, pompous goodness. Thank you for writing another character like Jace. I mean, really - thank you!)Needless to say, Will is a Shadowhunter and rescues Tessa from her hellish situation. Tessa is then thrust into the world of the Shadowhunters, and the story escalates from there on out! Lots of action, betrayal, mystery, fierce loyalty (Will + Jem = <3), a clockwork army and ugly, evil SOBs! The steampunk element is in full effect! Of course, the setting is Victorian England. There are automatons (with human flesh - ewwww!) and rad Victorian-era fashion and architecture. Plus, secret labs, steam trains and lots of cool machine parts. Oh, and you can't forget the clockwork angel. I need one, stat! Seriously - who is making these? *runs off to check Etsy*I loved the setting and the old language. How can you not love reading about Victorian England? The manners and their eloquent speech is so interesting and very different from the present-day settings of many books. Many of the characters made me giggle profusely with their mannered, articulate speech, especially Will and Jessamine.The pairings in this book were so fantastic. James, aka Jem, a young Shadowhunter from China, and Will, had a profound relationship. Jem has a chronic illness and Will is fiercely protective of his well-being. Will isn't the easiest person to like but your heart burns for the passionate loyalty he feels for Jem. Will was his best when Jem was around. They have some of the funniest and most heartfelt scenes of the story."Remember when you tried to convince me to feed a poultry pie to the mallards in the park to see if you could breed a race of cannibal ducks?" [Jem]"They ate it too," Will reminisced. "Bloodthirsty little beasts. Never trust a duck."Will and Jessamine, another young Shadowhunter, are a great pairing, as well. Pure hysterics, I tell you. He lives to tease her and she lives to bitch about everything under sun."Jessamine recoiled from the paper as if it were a snake. "A lady does not read the newspaper. The society pages, perhaps, or the theater news. Not this filth.""But you are not a lady, Jessamine---," Charlotte began."Dear me," said Will. "Such harsh truths so early in the morning cannot be good for the digestion."And lastly, Will and Tessa have an interesting relationship. There is a bit of chemistry boiling but Will is not an easy lad to like. However, as with Jace, it is quite obvious that Will is a pompous ass to save himself from feeling emotions that can cause pain. He has some skeletons in his closet that will be revealed in later books, I assume. Will, like Jace, lets his guard down near the end, and I think he's in for an emotional rollercoaster in later books. Tessa is gonna crack that shell!The characterization in this novel was excellent, which is something Clare definitely excels at. Tessa isn't an awesome leading lady but she does posses courage behind that meek facade. Plus, she loves books! Will is great but can be hard to swallow. He immediately caught my attention with his snarky attitude but he definitely ends this book on a rough note. However, the epilogue gives me high hopes that he is seeking a solution to his predicament. Jem is the star of this book, I think. What an old soul, who has reflected on his short life and certainly appreciates life for what it is. An admirable young man, for sure. Jessamine is a whiney brat and I would like nothing more than to smack her around with that fancy umbrella she carries. I guess you can't really blame her because she is only acting the way society intended for ladies to act in Victorian times, but I still think she would rather shop and talk walks with her fancy parasol than bust some heads together. She can be quite annoying but adds some lighthearted scenes to the mix. Henry is the absent minded professor, but he is endearing and sweet. Charlotte is the young, intelligent leader of the London Institute. She is a bit opposite of the typical gender roles of the time, and I love her for that. I stand by her - the Clave needs to back off. All in all, this odd, bumbling, mismatch group of Shadohunters were great and so very different than the group in the Mortal Instruments. Great story, and I really look forward to the rest of the series!P.S. I'm sure that I'm not the only one that noticed the Pandemonium Club connection to both series? I mean, the series are obviously connected, but I found that tidbit interesting...P.S.S. - CHURCH!!!!!!!Other favorite quotes:"Do you normally turn up in gentlemen's bedrooms in the middle of the night? If I'd known that, I would have campaigned harder to make sure Charlotte let you stay." - Will"Downworld?" Tessa echoed, puzzled. "Is that a place in London?""Never mind that," said Will. "I'm boasting of my investigative skills, and I would prefer to do it without interruption.""A little girl robbed you?" Tessa said."Actually, she wasn't a little girl at all, as it turns out, but a midget in a dress with a penchant for violence, who goes by the name of Six-Fingered Nigel.""Easy mistake to make," Jem said.""Are you implying that shreds of my reputation remain intact?" Will demanded with mock horror. "Clearly I have been doing something wrong. Or not something wrong, as the case may be." He banged on the side of the carriage. "Thomas! We must away at once to the nearest brothel. I seek scandal and low companionship."When I read The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, I was not hooked the way I was hooked with Clockwork Angel. I think that having some background knowledge about the Shadowhunter world--knowing what a parabatai is, knowing what an iratze and a stele are, knowing what the purpose of a Shadowhunter Institute is, etc.--definitely helped propel my liking of the book. But, there are also many other reasons why I fell in love with Clockwork Angel.Here are the five reasons why I gave Clockwork Angel 5 out of 5 stars, and since I wrote such a long intro I'll try to keep it short:★ CHARACTERSThe characters in The Infernal Devices are so lovable. I fell in love with Tessa, Will, Jem and all the inhabitants of the London Institute a lot faster than I did with the characters of The Mortal Instruments. However, there were some similarities between some of the characters in TID and TMI; for example there was a lot of Jace in Will.I also found that the characters of this series are incredibly complex. They all face a lot of internal struggles. There's Tessa, who learns that she has the ability to transform into anyone (living or dead). Discovering this supernatural talent causes her to question everything about her life. Then we have Will Herondale, the boy with lots of secrets. Will, for reasons unknown, abandoned his family when he was young and sought refuge at the London Institute, choosing the Shadowhunter life over his family's exiled-mundane lifestyle. And, finally there's Jem, Will's parabatai who also joined the Institute when he was young after his family was slaughtered by a demon. Jem suffers from a mysterious illness that will become very important to the plot of this trilogy in the next two books. I personally found this "illness" to be one of the most interesting character Achilles heels of the story. Jem's illness was a very different subject matter for Clare to write about and I loved it.And, of course, there's Magnus Bane, my favorite of all of Clare's characters. Magnus is just that character who I wish was my best friend--he's funny, charming, has a good heart, and is very resourceful. So, I was especially excited to find him in this series.I think that the characters of The Infernal Devices are very different from any other characters Cassandra Clare has written (besides Magnus, because, ya know, he's still Magnus).You can't beat this set of diverse characters Clare has so perfectly crafted.★ SETTINGI was reluctant to read TID because of the 1870s London setting, but I ended up really liking the story for that reason and I felt that the setting really added to the plot.With this book, I was transported to a different era and to a city I've never been to. But, I couldn't say that about TMI.Cassandra Clare is especially talented at worldbuilding. I think that that's one of the reasons why I love her writing so much--I feel like I am literally in her world. And, she did an especially good job with this in Clockwork Angel.★ PLOTAs is typical of Clare's works, in Clockwork Angel Shadowhunters go up against an evil villain who threatens to cause chaos and mass destruction in the world. That was expected; I wasn't surprised to find that this was the plot of the story.However, there were a lot of points that made this plot more unique than just that. For example:There is a villain, but the Shadowhunters do not know who he/she is. They know that the person's name is The Magister, but there are a number of people who he/she could be. So, it's kind of like a game of clue within the plot! Fun!Tessa is the weapon the villain wants to use to do evil things. Our main character could become a weapon of mass destruction. How intriguing is that?And there are a lot more spoilery points that make this plot unique, but I wouldn't do that to you guys. Of course there is plenty of action, adventure, romance, and...★ HUMORIt ain't a Cassandra Clare book unless it's got some witty humor.I think I've said this before in one of my Mortal Instruments reviews, but I'll say it again: Cassandra Clare is so good at making me laugh! One minute I'm heartbroken, the next minute I'm laughing.When I wrote about The Mortal Instruments, I talked about how I love Jace's dry humor and sarcasm. Now that role has befallen his ancestor, Will.You are going to have to read my Clockwork Prince review in order to get an in-depth explanation of the perfection that is Will Herondale. It seems that sarcastic humor runs in the Herondale bloodline. As well a very amusing fear of ducks.★ FILLS IN THE BLANKS OF TMIReading TMI, there were so many references to ancestors of the New York Institute Shadowhunters, like Will Herondale, and I never quite understood them. But, now everything makes sense. Especially the end of CoHF.What I love most about Clare's Shadowhunter Chronicles is that they are all connected. All of her characters are connected in some way whether they know it or not. And, there is something very beautiful about that. It kind of makes you think of all the people out there that you are connected to, and you don't even know it. You may never meet them. But, it's the possibilities that matter.***Needless to say, I really loved this book. This series is soooo good. If you've read The Mortal Instruments but haven't made it to The Infernal Devices yet, stop waiting! I realize that I did myself a terrible injustice in waiting so long to read these books, so don't do what I did!I have completed this series, and I will tell you that it is better than The Mortal Instruments.There, I said it. The Infernal Devices is better than The Mortal Instruments.The book itself is stunning- beautiful edition with illustrations of the characters inside. It’s one of my favourite series of novels, so I wanted to get the special edition (I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since it came out!).Amazon sent it in inadequate packaging. I have returned two copies thus far with significant crunched in corners, each time feeding back that it needs to be packaged differently. This has been blatantly ignored, and it keeps being further damaged, and I keep having to go pop it into an Amazon locker. Added stress and faff that I wouldn’t have had I gone to a bookshop in the first place.So, in summary- it’s a beautiful edition. Go to Waterstones, pick up a copy off the shelf, and enjoy it with intact corners.I picked up this book after finishing the Mortal Instruments, as I wanted to read more stories set in the fascinating and magical world of Shadowhunters that Cassandra Clare has created. Originally, I felt a little doubtful about the premise, but it was unnecessary, as I quickly realised how well the Victorian London setting worked. Clare manages to paint a very vivid picture of a smog filled city with hidden dangers all around, and there's an eerie feeling to the book. The mystery plot is exciting and kept me reading for more, I finished this book far too quickly in my eagerness to find out what would happen next. But what makes this book really stand out are the characters; they all have depth and secrets of their own, and you want to find out more about them. Tessa is a likable heroine, and while I did like Clary in the Mortal Instruments, I prefer Tessa. The romantic elements are also more believable and exciting and I can't wait to see how the romance will develop, unlike in the Mortal Instruments where the relationship between Clary and Jace was kind of almost annoying sometimes. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes period novels and/or YA - it's a great mix of two of my favourite genres, and while I loved Mortal Instruments, I prefer this series.So, I picked up 'Clockwork Angel’, as I've been meaning to do for a while and I am so happy that I did finally get around to it. Honestly though, I'm not even sure where to begin with this reviewI feel like I give books 5 stars quite often, generally because if I’m not really enjoying a book I tend to just stop reading it, there’s no point wasting my time when there are so many other great books to read. Recently I’ve been trying to really think about my star ratings, but this book was wonderful and to give it anything but 5 stars would just be wrong.I loved the characters in this books, and I’m not normally a fan of the love triangle trope but I didn’t feel like it was being shoved in my face so it actually didn’t annoy me at all - before reading I thought it might so I’m happy about that.Tessa was smart and witty and you could see her character developing as the plot went on and she became more involved with the Shadowhunters, and you can see her perspective on female fighters changing (thank God!).I also loved Will, he is just the type of character I always find myself loving in any book, show, or film and he constantly made me laugh. He also made me angry a few times but I’m assuming, (hoping) there’s a justifiable explanation for that which we’ll see in the remainder of the series.And then there’s Jem. Jem. What an absolute ANGEL! He’s so sweet and lovely and honestly not at all what I had been expecting. He deserves to be so happy and the relationship he and Will share is so amazing and fun to read about and if anything happens to him I will revolt.I laughed and I cried and I cannot wait to get started on ‘Clockwork Prince’ immediately.I like that some characters from The Infernal Devices were mentioned in The Mortal Instruments, which I read first. It made me really eager to dive into this series.I love that this book takes us back in time, and Cassandra very clearly sets the scene of olden London. The scenery, the setting, the dialect, everything clicked for me.Cassandra definitely has a way with world building, which is one of the main things I love about the Shadowhunter books, the other is her character building.I've learned to be suspicious of everyone, and during this story I had a few people on my ‘do not trust' list but I began to doubt my suspicions as it went on. The twist was something I was expecting because of this, yet I still found it shocking, and I love that about her writing.I devoured this book, and I cannot wait to find out where this story goes. I've no doubt that I'll be emotionally eating my way through the next two books.Here's one of my favourite moments:“I have an assignation in Soho this evening with a certain attractive someone.”“Goodness,” Tessa said to the back of his head. “If you keep seeing Six-Fingered Nigel like this, he'll expect you to declare your intentions.”Jem choked on his tea.I’d heard from quite a few people that The Infernal Devices were better than The Mortal Instruments so I was interested to see how I felt about this book and it did not disappoint. This was by far better than the first 2 books of TMI and a bit better than the third book.Set in the same world as the Mortal Instruments but 120 years prior and in London Tessa Gray arrives in the country after losing her aunt. She was sent a ticket by her only living relative left, her brother, only to be kidnapped as soon as she arrives at the harbour.After being rescued by Shadowhunters she finds that her kidnapping was part of a much greater and sinister plan.I really loved the setting, I’m always weak for Victorian era, there’s something about it that I just adore. Clare seemed a lot more eager to be descriptive of London, I don’t know whether its because she just assumed people knew about New York when writing TMI or she felt like it would be better to describe London more fully as it is set in the late 1800s but either way it worked so much better for me.I just loved the times when Charlotte proved that women were more than just “the fair sex” and had Tessa questioning everything she had been taught. And that the guys, like Will and Jem, were more confused about her ignorance than believing that there was no place for women fighting demons.Will is a funny old character isn’t he? I couldn’t really get to grips with him as a person. at times I loved him and then sometimes I was just like “what is wrong with you?!”. Jessamine is an absolute hoot too, what an absolute knob. She’s such a prat that you have to laugh at her because she’s so absolutely ridiculous.There are a fair amount of parallels between TMI and TID, however I’ve found them more enjoyable so far in this. Like Clary and Tessa are both thrown into the world of shadowhunters having no idea that they aren’t human, but whilst I find Clary to be quite whiney and annoying I found Tessa so much more likeable. I feel like this is probably caused by the evolution of Clare’s writing more than anything, as obviously the more you write the better you get.This is where I should be writing a wrap up paragraph but I feel like I say the same thing every time in my wrap ups and I hate it. I’m reading City of Lost Souls next in this world so hopefully Clary is less annoying but I won’t count on it.