Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices, #1)

by Cassandra Clare

[cornerfolds]

I have recently taken to listening to audiobooks rather than music on my way to and from wherever I'm on my way to. I love to read and, by doing this, I feel like I can get in that extra bit of information that I didn't have time for before. While it had its downfalls, this particular audiobook was definitely entertaining.

Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel is a story about a girl who is thrown into a world that she has no knowledge of and is forced to survive. Along the way, she meets several characters, one of which she falls in love with. After completing the entire first installment of this series, I am unsure of whether I like Tessa Gray. She had a few moments that made me want to punch her in the throat. For example, the scene in the de Quincey's house. I was so livid with her that I literally walked into work on edge. To be completely honest, my dislike of Tessa probably had a lot to do with the performance given in the audiobook by Jennifer Ehle. Her annoying, shrill voice made me want to give up completely in several instances. Because of this, I have based my rating on the book content itself and not her performance.

On the same note, Cassandra Clare got under my skin on a couple different occasions. One particular issue I had with Clare was that she mentioned how much Tessa liked novels, both explicitly and implicitly, at least 20 times throughout the book. I realize that this fact is very important to Tessa's character, but it came up over and over to the point of it becoming annoying.

Bringing it back to the characters, Will is a shadow hunter and an apparent badass. It is never really clear what his issue is, but he obviously has one. It seemed a little too forced, however. His character went from passionate enthrallment to, "get the f*** out!" from one sentence to the next. He seemed a little bipolar, in my opinion. Hopefully we'll find out what his problem is in the next book.

Alternatively, I really enjoyed Jem's character. At first, I thought he would be too dainty, but he ended up being one of my favorites.

Overall, the book was extremely entertaining, at least for my purposes. I'll admit that by the end I was rooting for Tessa. I've already begun reading (listening to) the next book and I hope to get some answers in this one. I can already tell that the voices are going to be much more desirable. In my honest opinion, Ehle should never narrate another book, and I'll be sure to avoid any that she does grace with her screechy vocal skills.