Review for Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

"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: James, 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." With the big build up for City of Fallen Angels the fourth Mortal Instruments book by Cassandra Clare I decided to finally pick up and read Clockwork Angel. Clockwork Angel is the first book in the Infernal Devices series a prequel to The Mortal Instruments. Although it’s not mandatory to read this book before City of Fallen Angels Cassie herself does recommend on her website to read them in release order to get the full experience so I decided to do just that! Clockwork Angel is set in the same world as The Mortal Instruments series but the similarities pretty much end there. This series is set in London during 1878. Our main characters are Tessa a downworlder like no other who can shift forms and wear the appearance of another person. Will- ancestor to the infamous Jace- is a bad ass shadowhunter who shows that attitude and good looks run in the family, and then there’s Jem the gentle and kind natured shadowhunter and best friend to Will who seems to be hiding a big secret of his own. Clockwork Angel features some names you may recognise from The Mortal Instruments and some excellent new characters that I very much enjoyed getting to know. I think I actually preferred the characters in this series better than Clary and Co as there wasn’t one person who got on my nerves or who I didn’t love. I loved both Will and Jem as different as they both are and could relate to Tessa in a way that I never have with Clary. Tessa’s bookish and smart and her unique ability makes for fascinating reading. I also loved the character of Jessamine, flaws and all; it was interesting to read about a shadowhunter who doesn’t want to be a shadowhunter and what that entails for her. This book also features the warlock Magnus Bane one of my very favourite characters from The Mortal Instruments. I loved seeing what Magnus was like in 18th century London before glitter and other extremities that he’s so fond of in modern day New York were invented. I loved the setting for this book and learning what life was like for shadowhunters and downworlders at this period in time. As always the plot was fantastic with an unexpected twist at the end. The only complaint I have to make as was with City of Bones and City of Ashes I felt the book was longer than it needed to be and I found myself getting bored in the middle thinking that Cassandra Clare could get to the point a little faster. Cassie had definitely grown as a writer since City of Bones with her writing and ideas getting stronger with each book. She’s definitely grown to be one of my favourite authors as her books have gone on. Fans of the Mortal Instruments series or Historical fiction with a supernatural twist are going to LOVE Clockwork Angel and I think this series has the potential to be as big or if not bigger than Cassie’s first series. I love the direction the author is taking this series and I’m excited to finally be all caught up ready to read City of Fallen Angels. This book finishes on a bit of a cliff hanger something I wasn’t expecting as Cassandra usually ties things up nicely at the end of her stories. I wasn’t a huge fan of the cliff hanger as I like all things finished and tied up neatly but I must admit it definitely has me pining for the next book in The Infernal Devices to get some answers! I’m already so in love with this series and the characters and can’t wait to see what happens to them next. If you haven’t yet checked out any of Cassandra Clare’s books then I highly recommend that you do. If ever a book deserves all the hype it gets it’s a book by Cassandra Clare. My Rating 4.5/5 stars Synopsis taken from goodreads