REVIEW: Clockwork Angel

CLOCKWORK ANGEL

by Cassandra Clare

Pages: 481

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 

Publication Date: August 31st 2010

In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them...

This book has been sitting - untouched - on my bookshelf for longer than I'd like to admit. However, after I FINALLY got around to reading City of Heavenly Fire I found myself needing more from the Shadowhunting world. Now, as much as I did love the Mortal Instruments series, and I did adore it,

The Infernal Devices captured my heart in a way the previous books just fell shy of. I don't know if it was the magic of London in the late 19th Century or the characters themselves but once I'd read the first few chapter Tessa, Jem and Will had firmly become my favourite characters from any Shadowhunter book.

Clockwork Angel, like I mentioned before, is set in the late 19th Century - 1878 to be precise. It is predominantly the story of Tessa Grey, a teenage girl fresh off the boat from New York. However, on arrival in England she finds herself captured by a couple of warlocks and this sets her on a journey she couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams. In the hunt for her missing brother Tessa finds herself thrown into the world of Shadowhunting and Downworld as she discovers who she really is and the mysteries of her own origins. From start to finish Clockwork Angel is full to the brim of action, adventure, romance and humour. 

Okay so this book, as stated above, has easily become my favourite shadowhunter book. There is something about the story line of this book that captured my attention from the very beginning. It is fast paced and keeps you on your toes, never knowing what the author has in store for these characters next. The appearance of characters such as Magnus Bane and other familiar faces are a welcome touch and the new characters introduced are just as witty, well crafted and loveable as any we've come across before. 

Now, I read Tales From The Shadowhunter Academy BEFORE this trilogy so I already had an insight into these characters history after the events that unfold in The Infernal Devices and I have to say seeing how these stories interlink and evolve was not a disappointment. I fell instantly for Tessa, Jem and Will and routed for them the whole way through. I adored the personality traits that connect family name - example Will Herondale is just as lovingly arrogant and defensively broken as his one-day relative Jace Herondale - and I found this only added to the rich depth of the story. 

Overall I couldn't recommend this book enough. It has everything you could wish for from a Shadowhunting book and so much more. There wasn't a dull moment from start to finish and I will continue to state that the first installment of the Infernal Devices is set to make this - in my opinion - the best shadowhunting series to date. I know I'm a little late to the game with this one and most of you have probably already read it, so if you have let me know what you thought and if not I can not stress how much you need to read it... like story what your doing and go get it now!