MystGrrl Reviews

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices #1), prequel to Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, does not disappointment. And if you're like me and the whole implied "incest" side plot in the first series made you cringe, you can breath a little easier.

Set in the late 1880s London, it is story of Theresa "Tessa" Gray who leaves America after the death of her aunt and follows the promise of a new home with her brother Nate in London. Once in London, Tessa finds not all it what it seems, especially herself, when Nate goes M.I.A and she is abducted by the Dark Sisters. Captured by Warlocks with no hope of rescue and with only her mother's keepsake, a little clockwork angel, to keep her company, Tessa is taught to harness a unique power within her that she never knew existed but to what end?

Meanwhile William "Will" Herondale and James "Jem" Carstairs, Shadowhunters and best friends, are following a trail started by the discovery of a blade with a Ouroboros symbol near a dead girl killed under mysterious circumstances. What they did not expect to find is the threat of a new type of enemy, an army of magical mechanical automatons headed by the mysterious Magister & Tessa at the center of it all.

Ok, the beginning it did drag a little and I was not a big fan of Tessa. I found her naive & overly trusting, so the climax of the book didn't really surprise me. Though towards the end Tessa did seem to grow the beginnings of a back bone, intriguing enough to keep me interested. Will reminds me of Jace from Mortal Instruments, as they both have a similar sense of smart-mouth humour(surprise, surprise)which is pretty entertaining. The budding love triangle between Will-Tessa-Jem is also something that will leave me hanging out to see who will get the girl. Bad-Boy Will with a heart of stone who may not be all that he seems or Jem, a sweet and caring outcast with a heart of gold whose hiding a deadly secret?

Considering I'm not usually a fan of prequels, I was pleasantly surprised with this latest installment in the Shadowhunter world and looking forward to the next book, City of Fallen Angels, when it comes out.



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