Booktalk: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Hey everyone!

So a little while ago I finished Clockwork Angel, the first book in the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare which is a prequel/tie in trilogy to The Mortal Instruments.As most of you know already, both series tie together and have some crossover jokes and parallel in places.

"Magic is dangerous - but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray arrives in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, something is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gas-lit streets. Friendless and hunted, Tessa seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters, a band of warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Drawn even deeper into their world, she finds herself fascinated by- and torn between- two best friends and quickly realises that love may be the most dangerous magic of all"

-From the blurb of Clockwork Angel


Clockwork Angel is set in 1878 and the protagonist is Tessa Gray, a sixteen-year-old girl from New York. After both her parents died, she went to live with her Aunt Harriet but at the start of the book we find out that she died unexpectedly, so Tessa makes her way to London to meet up with her brother. However once she gets there she's kidnapped by two warlocks called the Dark Sisters who force her to "Change" (not gonna say anything else about that yet). Lots of events unfold but she ends up meeting two Shadowhunters; William Herondale and James 'Jem' Carstairs (anything familiar about Will's surname?! :D  ).

I knew that I probably was gonna like this book. I love Cassie Clare's writing style and the Shadowhunter world but there was always that little voice in my head before I read the book, that the plots and characters would be too similar to TMI. Once again I was wrong! The storyline is completely different and the characters and each their own. It's written in such a brilliant way that it makes sense for some of the characters to be related (ex. Will and Jace) with similar traits but you don't feel like it's repetitive at all. Amazing!

It was actually a really good book- it was a little slow in the beginning since you didn't really know any of the characters or the setting, even if you've read most of TMI. So that was a little confusing but once you get past the first bit, you really get into it- so don't give up!

So my overall rating is a 88% - not quite into the 90s due to a couple of confusing parts plus the world building but this, obviously, is necessary for a first book. Plus I'm definitely carrying on the series!

I would highly recommend starting this series if you liked The Mortal Instruments, and even if you didn't! It's well worth the read.

Bye non-spoiler people!

* Warning- spoilers for Clockwork Angel ahead* 

Okay!

Tessa's a really interesting character but as the main character, we really don't know much about her background or what  she is. In essence she seems to be a warlock, since she can Change and access that person's thoughts. BUT! She doesn't have a warlock's mark. So I'm guessing that she's something that we haven't seen before or something that both the Shadowhunters and the Silent Brothers believe to be impossible.


If you thought Jace was a pretty closed character you haven't seen anything 'till you've met Will. I really want to like him and I feel like he's just like Jace in the way that he uses humour and sarcasm to deflect personal questions and to block people out. It just seems like there's more to him than what you first see and I'm thinking that, maybe in the same way as Jem, Will's past is affecting him now.

At first I thought Jessamine would be the Izzy Lightwood of TID. They're both very pretty, care about their appearance and attract lots of male attention. But as the book goes on you realise that they're actually completely different.

Jessie: Wants to be a woman not a Shadowhunter, doesn't wants to get involved in action, is so caught it in finding a mundane husband 

Izzy: Definitely happy to be a Shadowhunter and all around badass, likes to have flings with any man ( well pre-Sizzy Isabelle anyway) and embraces who she is.

Jessie reminded me more of Rosalie from Twilight just because she's a little frustrating and pretty vain.


So the big part of the book is the massive fight at the Institute with the automatons. One of the scenes that really sticks with me is where Tessa supposedly stabs herself in front of Mortmain. I honestly thought that she was dead and that they'd have to somehow bring her back from the dead or something. And who do you think is JTS? The Magister's dead wife/girlfriend?

And right after it with Will! Aww they were just too cute! It really showed the softer side of Will so you realise that he's not the a**hole he pretends to be.

There's also this whole thing with the angel from her mother. I definitely think it's significant both for her past and background as well as in how the clockwork army is defeated. Is it one of the Infernal Devices? Currently we still don't actually know what they are - what do you think (but please no spoilers :)  )


So what did you think of Clockwork Angel? Comment your thoughts below!

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, I'm a little behind with all of my booktalks so I'm trying to get them written as soon as I can.


Bye for now,

Amber xxx