jen20
Written on Apr 24, 2021
First in Cassandra Clare’s internationally bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy about the Shadowhunters.
Love is the most dangerous magic of all... First in the bestselling prequel series to The Mortal Instruments, set in Victorian London. Something terrifying is waiting for Tessa Gray in London’s Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Tessa seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters, a band of warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Tessa finds herself fascinated by – and torn between – two best friends… This edition contains a map and a new foreword by Cassandra Clare. Read all the sensational books in The Shadowhunter Chronicles: The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, The Bane Chronicles, The Dark Artifices, The Last Hours and The Shadowhunter’s Codex.
- ISBN10 1406330345
- ISBN13 9781406330342
- Publish Date 3 March 2011 (first published 31 August 2010)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 9 February 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Walker Books Ltd
- Format Paperback
- Pages 496
- Language English
Reviews
Mad Soul Child
Written on Mar 24, 2021
но что же такое с Уиллом, я их уже ведь поженила с Тесс у себя в голове, будет неприятненько если они вместе не будут в итоге
Laurie
Written on Jul 14, 2019
lauriesbookshelf
Written on Jul 14, 2019
liz089
Written on Feb 27, 2019
Reread 2019.
After finishing The Queen of Air and Darkness I felt really sad, I love her shadowhunter world and it saddens me that another story is finished. I read a lot of books, and I adore a lot of different writers, but to me there is no one like Cassandra Clare. Her world, her characters have been so important to me and I needed more.
The first time I read this novel was in... I think 2011 ? Damn, 8 years ago. Of course I remember most of it, but it has been long enough that the details are a bit fuzzy in my mind.
And well, no surprise, but I still love this one haha. Tessa 3
Even though you can see she has come a long way and her writing has become even better, it was still a great read and I will definitely reread the rest of the series again as well.
Vicki
Written on Aug 31, 2018
ammaarah
Written on Feb 8, 2016
""One must always be careful of books," said Tessa, "and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.""
I've been wanting to get my grabby hands on Clockwork Angel ever since it was released. However, I kept on making excuses when it came to purchasing the series, either it was too expensive, the last book wasn't out yet or I wasn't in the mood for historical fantasy. When our school library purchased this book I was euphoric. I WANTED to read it. But homework and school assignments invaded my life and I couldn't sit down for even a moment to dedicate my time to reading. I don't know if this affected my mood while I was reading Clockwork Angel, but I found it to be easy to put down. I even chose binge watching TV series over reading this book... Whew! That was a long-winded explanation....
Now, I'm going to be the black sheep of the bookish life!
For the first 200 pages, Clockwork Angel failed to hold my interest. I felt that there was no originality within the first 200 pages. The Victorian London setting might have been different from The Mortal Instrument Series, but the Shadowhunter world was exactly the same. The information that I found to be extremely interesting in The Mortal Instrument was being regurgitated to me. There was nothing exciting, interesting or promising. In fact, I was quite bored, due to two things:
1) No new experiences or information was gained from the world.
2) I had no nostalgic feeling of being in the Shadowhunter world again.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that the world-building was bad. I'm just saying that the world-building felt redundant.
Thankfully, after the 200 pages, Clockwork Angel started to gain its own "voice" and a spark that set it slightly apart from Clare's previous works. However, it still felt unoriginal and predictable.
Clockwork Angel introduces us to many new characters. The main character, Tessa, is a bookworm (yay!), but apart from that, she was quite a flat character, with no personality and I couldn't relate to her at all.
The secondary characters had, surprisingly, more personality than Tessa. Jem is a cool guy with a sad story. Will is arrogant, rude and sarcastic. I will admit that I didn't like his personality at first, but I did get used to it. Unfortunately, apart from his looks, I didn't see his appeal. He also has a tragic back story. These two characters are Tessa's love interests. I didn't see why both guys were attracted to Tessa and I honestly don't understand why she was attracted to them. Luckily, the love triangle took a back seat to the plot. However, judging from this book, I have a good idea whom Tessa is going to end up with... I think I do.
My favourite characters in Clockwork Angel is Charlotte and Henry. Charlotte is small and petite, but she's an independent woman who single-handedly runs the institute with an iron-fist. Henry is Charlotte's husband. He's an absentminded inventor and was so adorable. I honestly wanted this book to be written from Charlotte's POV or I wanted to read Charlotte's story. If Cassandra Clare wrote a story about Charlotte or 900 stories about Charlotte and Henry, I would read them all.
This review sounds like I'm bashing Clockwork Angel, but I did enjoy it. I liked this book, but I didn't love it. I WANTED to love this book, but my expectations were too high to be met. However Clockwork Angel has a solid plot, a cool historical setting, steampunk aspects and characters that aren't all bad to read about.
nitzan_schwarz
Written on Apr 3, 2015
ALSO POSTED ON MY BLOG: AFTERWORDS
If you've been following this blog for the short while it has existed, you probably already know I gave up on The Mortal Instruments after the third book. So you might be a bit surprised to see this review.
But after hearing so many good things about The Infernal Devices and it's superiority to TMI, I decided to give it a shot, hoping it might be a different reading experience than the former. I desperately wanted it to be. I wanted to be swept into Clare's world like so many others do. But alas, it was not in the stars. Again.
As I've mentioned before, the main issue I have with Clare's books is that they just fail to properly grab me. I always end up reading them really slowly. It tires me. In this particular story, I kept flipping to the end, in the hope of peaking my interest. It mostly didn't help, aside for spoiling the Big Bad for me, which only served to make me upset about the lack of hinting in his direction (that I could note).
Then there was the romance. In TMI (first trilogy), I was kind of on-board. I liked Jace, and I liked that there was never really a love triangle. I was looking forward to the romance in TID, seeing as everyone freakin' loves Will and Jem.
Did I get what I was hoping for? Nope. Aside for the fact I did not swoon for Will (he was kind of too inconsistent for me, hot than cold and over again, and while I'm sure we're going to explore his past and get his redemption, that's not done in this book), I did not understand why Tessa was falling for him.
The few decent interaction they had ended poorly. It was insta love, from start to finish. Jem, at the very least, was very sweet to our MC. Falling for him, especially at this point, would've made much more sense.
To be completely honest, I was way more interested in the side characters, such as Charlotte & Henry, and Sophie. I kept looking forward to their scenes, wanted to see how their stories would play out. If I read on (which will probably happen as I already own the third book), it will be mostly for these guys. Sorry!
Old Version
Originally posted on my blog. Please consider popping by if you like the review :)
Yep, you're reading this right. A mere three and a half stars. I thought Clockwork Angel might be a different reading experience to me than TMI--pretty much everyone agrees it is the better of the two series. I desperately wanted it to be. I wanted to be swept into Clare's world like so many other do. But alas, such was not the case.
I think the main issue I have with Clare's books is that they just fail to properly grab me. I always end up reading them really slowly, unable to consume large quantities at once. It tires me. In this particular story, I kept flipping to the end, in the hope of peaking my interest. It mostly didn't help, aside for spoiling the Big Bad for me, which in turn made me upset about the lack of hinting in his direction (that I could note).
Then there was the romance. In TMI (first trilogy), I was kind of onboard. I liked Jace, and I liked that there was never really a love triangle. I was looking forward to the romance in TID, seeing as everyone freakin' loves Will and Jem.
Did I get what I was hoping for? Nope. Aside for the fact I did not swoon for Will (he was kind of too inconsistent for me, hot than cold and over again, and while I'm sure we're going to explore his past and get his redemption, that's not done in this book), I did not understand why Tessa was falling for him.
The few decent interaction they had ended poorly. It was insta love, from start to finish. Jem, at the very least, was very sweet to our MC. Falling for him, especially at this point, would've made much more sense.
To be completely honest, I was way more interested in the side characters, such as Charlotte & Henry, and Sophie. I kept looking forward to their scenes, wanted to see how their stories would play out. If I read on (which will probably happen as I already own the third book), it will be mostly for these guys. Sorry!
Originally posted on my blog. Please consider popping by if you like the review :)
Kim Deister
Written on Feb 15, 2015
The Shadowhunters of Victorian England are fighting a war against a group of rogue Downworlders that almost seems unwinnable. Tessa is pulled into the world unepectedly, never dreaming that werewolves, vampires, and warlocks truly existed. Her world is turned upside down when she finds out that nothing is as she thought, even herself and her brother Nate.
Althought Will and Jem are the ancestors of characters from the Mortal Instruments, there are traits about both of these characters that remind me of their descendents and I really appreciated that connection. Magnus makes an appearance, whom I love, as does Camille... furthering the connection between the two series.
I honestly wasn't sure how much I would like this book, for two reasons. The first was that I loved the original series so much that I was afraid that this would maybe pale in comparison. The second was that historical fiction just isn't generally my cup of tea. My husband, having finished this series before me, assured me that I would enjoy it. In fact, this series is his favorite of the two. I was very happy to discover that he was right. I loved the characters and the story line so much. It was engrossing and entertaining and it was historical fiction that was well done!
I love that the culture of the time is so seamlessly blended into the fantasy of the story. It is a time when there were certain views on the social value and place of women and that is reflected even within the Shadowhunter world. Charlotte is constantly challenged in her role as the head of the London Institute, simply because of her gender. Tessa is amazed at the thought of women fighting and Jessamine, although of Shadowhunter blood, turns her back on much of it, preferring to live her life as mundane society dictates. In addition to the blending of the social norms of the time was the steampunk element that is such a part of the time. The inclusion of the clockwork Angel, among others, was at times both interesting and terrifying!
My Recommendation: I read this after Mortal Instruments and I think that it actually enhanced this book for me. I think the original series, even though it comes later chronologically, really creates the Shadowhunter world for the reader. Great book! I gave it 4.5 mugs!
e_rodz_leb
Written on Jan 26, 2014
I think in many ways I enjoyed Clockwork Angel even better than the Mortal Instruments. I love steampunk and this book has plenty of it, from angels to robots and nice doohickeys.
I think what made the book for me were the characters. Tessa, is a mystery for sure. She doesn’t know what she is, but she has a really neat power. Tessa is very pragmatic and tries to take this new world and her new circumstances in stride. She is loyal, smart, and not afraid to voice her opinion. Will and Jem are Shadowhunters, blood brothers and best friends; and yet so different. Will is very handsome, strong, stubborn, loyal, intelligent, and devious and tries very hard to push everyone away. Jem is so sweet, calm, composed, resigned, yet strong, loyal and the default peace maker. Can you smell the love triangle coming? I can from a mile away!
There is no shortage of amazing supporting characters: strong Charlotte, scatter minded Henry, bitter Jessamine, lovely Sophie, the always grand Magnus, and much more. Our evil figure here (well, the main one at least) is The Magister and we really don’t know too much about his throughout the story.
Cassandra Claire is a genius in many levels. Her writing is so good, it takes serious talent to invent a world full of new and old beings, of mythology, stories, culture and make you not only understand what it all means, but learn to love it. The plot of the Clockwork Angel is very intricate, full of mystery and betrayal. It is one of the things that makes the story so interesting and addictive.
I already had the chance to listen to Clockwork Prince and it is, if at all possible, even better. I can’t wait to read the last book in the series, and I will. Soon.
About the audiobook: I really like the narrator of the book, the pace and voices.
About the cover: The cover of the Clockwork Angel is beautiful. We can see Will in all his handsomeness and with light coming out of his runes. In the background we see clockwork and the city of London. On the forefront is Tessa’s angel. As I said, beautiful.