Review: Clockwork Angel

Summary from Goodreads:

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.



Review:

Clockwork Angel was an exciting and well-written story. Clare had researched her facts very carefully and I appreciated the effort she put into Clockwork Angel. The novel was mysterious and kept me on my toes for the most part. The characters were mostly well-developed and interesting.

I haven’t read Clare’s other series, The Mortal Instruments, so I did not know what to expect from this author. I had heard a lot of praise for her books though, so my expectations were high. I was not disappointed. Clare’s writing is solid, active and descriptive. She writes with flair and passion. I could visualise the streets of London that were sculpted with her artful words.

I liked Tessa Gray. She was a strong, somewhat fierce heroine. I don’t think Tessa was as great as she could have been though and this is chiefly for the reason that there was a big gap in the middle of the book where she did not use her powers. Because of this, I did not feel that Tessa was used successfully in the novel and it was down to other characters to move the story along. Therefore, Tessa’s character let the story down. She had such a unique and interesting power but I just did not see enough of it in use to understand the extent of her powers.

The two love interests-Will and Jem- were both very fun characters. Will was more of a dark, rogue-like character whereas Jem was more patient and kind-however he does have a secret. They felt like two sides of the same coin.

Furthermore, I do not feel like Jem had a real chance in this book for Tessa's affections as Tessa was very much focussed on Will. However, after Will’s gross misconduct at the end of the book towards Tessa, I feel like Jem will have a stronger chance in the next book. Will surprised me at the end of the book because of the way he treated Tessa.

Also, I didn’t feel that the clockwork angel was important enough in the story for the book to be titled that. However, that is a very minor complaint. The plot of the story was very interesting and Clare managed to keep me on my toes and keep me guessing which I enjoyed very much. I particularly liked her take on vampires.

The other characters, such as Jessamine, Charlotte and Henry, were good. I can’t say I loved them, I can’t say I hated them. I felt indifferent to them as they weren't that well-developed. I was surprised at the twists and turns in the novel, mostly that of Tessa’s brother, Nate. For a long time, Nate was a character who was spoken about but does not appear in the book. I found Tessa’s constant worry and devotion to him expected but I didn't feel the same way because I didn’t ever see Nate first hand until the end.

At the end of the book there was an epilogue. The epilogue wasn’t what I expect of epilogues because it ended halfway through a scene-which is never a good thing in my opinion. I’m jaded as to what could be the matter with Will because Jem’s secret did not feel so taboo to me. Perhaps, this will be a repeat performance.

I would have liked to see more Shadowhunters and more of the Downworlders. I heard more about it than I saw of it. However, what I did see, I liked very much!

Overall, I very much look forward to reading more by Cassandra Clare because she is a great author and Clockwork Angel was fantastic. I would recommend this novel to everyone.

Book Rating: 4.5/5

Cover: 4/5

Concept: 5/5

Author: Cassandra Clare

Here's the cover that won me an ARC of Clockwork Angel from Tales of a Ravenous Reader (whose blog is awesome!):