I looove Cassie Clare. Can't wait for more books!

Honestly, I can't believe it's taken me this long to finally read Clockwork Angel. As it's a prequel to The Mortal Instruments series (of which, I've only read the first one of), I thought I'd have to read that series first. While I thought City of Bones was okay, Clockwork Angel completely blew me away.

Being close to 500 pages, it was an easy well-paced read. I loved the old London world setting and, touched with a paranormal aspect, it made this an interesting story right up my alley. The plot points with its twists and turns are well established, leaving room for further potential development in subsequent books. I did find the character of Henry reminiscent of Arthur Weasley (of Harry Potter fame).. redhead who's fascinated by gadgets and inventions.. On a purely superficial note, I absolutely adore the cover of the book (3 Will) ;)

This and other reviews can be found at JustALilLost.com

Oh, how I love Cassandra Clare. In short time, I devoured her Mortal Instruments series (which I'll write a review on eventually), falling in love with Clary and Jace. When the trilogy ended, I was devastated. I needed more of these Shadowhunters and more of the beautiful world that Cassandra Clare had crafted.

Lucky for me, Clockwork Angel came out. This was the first in a series of prequels to The Mortal Instruments series. I was scared at first, thinking that it just would not stack up to her previous efforts, but I was so, so wrong.

First of all, can I talk about that gorgeous cover? When I was wandering aimlessly through the bookstore (not even knowing that this book was out), I caught it out of the corner of my eye and was drawn in by the dark beauty. The whole cover has an old London, mysterious feel to it and I was in love.

Now, the actual book. If I had doubts before, I have none now. Cassandra Clare cannot disappoint me-Clockwork Angel sucked me in during the first two pages and I had a hard time putting it down. I actually decided to read it for the Dewey 24-Hour Read-A-Thon, but was so sad that I would almost be finished the book that I kept putting it down so I could come back to it later. I didn't want it to end!

The character development was spot on and I can't wait to see Tessa grow throughout the series. The clockwork creatures were terrifying to me, in a way-it made for a great Halloween read. And the love triangle between Tessa, Will, and Jem … well, of course, I'm on Team Will! It was great to see the characters from The Mortal Instruments in this series and I look forward to seeing how the new characters came to be. Each character has their own story to tell and it was nice to read a book and not have to refer back to previous pages to figure out who is who.

All of that being said, I definitely enjoyed The Mortal Instruments more than this installment-who wouldn't love Jace and Clary? Clary was such a great character and Tessa's just not there yet for me-but it definitely holds a dear place on my bookshelf.

In even more great news, the second book in this trilogy, Clockwork Prince, comes out THIS Saturday. I can't wait to get my hands on it. It will be a great read during this snowy Alberta month. Thank you to Cassandra Clare for writing such amazing books!

This was the first steam punk book I read and i found myself loving it. As always Cassandra Clare wrote amazing characters who are very entertaining and funny. Tessa is very easy to relate to. Will and Jem are two of my all time favourite charaters. A very good love triangle and I was torn between the two boys. A must read!

I think I should give you fair warning that at the time I decided to read this book I had already marked some of Cassandra Clare's other work, namely the Mortal Instruments Series, as DNF. As a result I was very hesitant to even begin any of the books in the Infernal Devices series. In the end, I was convinced to give it a try by some of my fellow Ontario Blog Squad members and I am very glad that they did.

For me the first half of the book was a whole lot of nothing. Well, maybe not nothing, but not a lot happened. It was all talk and getting to know the characters, but really very little action. While I did like having the opportunity to really learn about the characters, it was hard holding my attention when I just wanted something to happen. I do have to say that when the action started, it pretty much didn't stop. It wasn't over the top gory incidents either. I didn't get the feeling that the events taking place weren't realistic for the story, but rather they seamlessly fit right in.

While I did enjoy the book, I can't say that I was really fond of a lot of the characters. Tessa annoyed me for some reason. Maybe it was her dependence on others, or her inability to see things clearly that drove me nuts. Was she a product of her environment and times? Yes! Does that mean I should make allowances for her character? Probably. Did she still annoy me anyway? Absolutely! And that was the best part. As annoying as she was, she was authentic to the times, her upbringing and her character. I really did not like Will, but he too was authentic. What I don't understand is this need for the main male character in every YA book to be a borderline douche. Jem on the other hand came across as a very likeable, albeit, tragic character. Jess made me want to light myself on fire every time she appeared in the story.

There was something about the setting for this series that just worked for me. The setting of Victorian London was spot on and had me believing in the world of Shadowhunters, Demons and the like. Something about London during that time period comes across as a lot more believable than the backdrop of New York City that we find in The Mortal Instruments. What we know of London during that time due to historical record lends a great bit of credibility to this kind of world within a world that Cassandra Clare has created. London, as described in Clockwork Angel, is a cross between being seedy and posh and it is that dichotomy that makes the story work so well.

Mini Book Review: I now know what all the fuss is about this author,she is bloody fantastic.The women truly has a gift for telling a story. The world she has created feels so very vividly real and all of the characters are intriguing. The story grabs your attention from the very first line and doesn't let go until the very last line -- and quite frankly that wasn't enough. I started the next book in the series right away, even-though it was already midnight and I really should have gone straight to bed. The dialogue between the characters will often make you laugh your ass off, but within a few pages will also have you tearing up. Brilliant storytelling, unique plot and loveable believable characters -- I very much look forward to reading everything else by this truly gifted storyteller. Fans of both Steampunk and Paranormal literature will enjoy. Now just do yourself a favor, grab yourself a copy of the book, you will not be disappointed -- now ciao as I have to go finish the Clockwork Prince.

5 Dewey's

I borrowed this from Natasha & as soon as I finished it I picked up my ARC of The Clockwork Prince, because I just couldn't get enough

I thought this was such an awesome read!! It was so different from Mortal Instruments but yet kept with the shadowhunter world and the institute, just in another era! I CAN'T wait for Clockwork Prince to find out what happens to Tessa and the rest of the London Institute! So happy I found this series!

This was beatifully written, I loved it! I was expecting it to be have the same storyline as the mortal instrument series but it was so different and blew my mind. I couldn't put it down!

**Spoiler Alert** (But I doubt it will be that much of a spoiler)

I read TMI before reading this, and I'll admit I was expecting (and also hoping) that Clockwork Angel would be somewhat similar to City of Bones, but it wasn't. Even though, I wasn't disappointed at all. I loved Clockwork Angel! The only thing that I hoped there was more of was Will's thoughts about Tessa. I liked the fact that Cassie wrote about him in a way that makes us want to read more just to find out what he's thinking about. And let's be honest here, we all know we love the bad-boy Will just as much as we love Jace. ;)

This is not a bad book from Clare, but not my favourite. As I read the novel, I was trying to connect the dots and it was really bothering me. So when you read this book AFTER the M.I. series, put it aside and just read. It IS different...there are mechanical creatures unlike the other series. Be interesting to see what the next book brings.

Being a good fan of The Mortal Instruments, especially after City of Fallen Angels, I decided to check out Cassandra Clare's other series.

I enjoyed it a lot, but I felt as if something was missing. It took a long time for me for the book to build up into action and that might be a part of it. Also, I do think that the characters are all in all way too similar than the ones in The Mortal Instruments.

That being said, this is me being picky, because I really enjoyed the book and I will keep on reading The Infernal Devices.

Love Cassandra Clare and was left happy when I finished this book. I love how she is putting out one book from this series and then one from the City of series and they all kind of tie in. I'm scared about how this series will end as the other series hints towards certain options. I love will

So, I purchased this book not because I read the Mortal Instruments, but because it caught my eye while I was surfing the shelves at my local chapters. I brought it to school with me, and was continuously hounded on by people saying, "Read mortal instruments first, or else you wont get it". I ignored them and continued reading.
Well, well, well, I got it alright. I got it and enjoed it. Cassandra states on her site you do not have to read Mortal Instruments to get this. I got this just fine. I really enjoyed it and reccomend.
I'm not sure if I will be reading Mortal Instruments, however I might seeing as I loved this.

Team Will!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book when I started it. For me it started off a bit slow, but did pick up several chapters in. I completely agree with previous reviewers about the characters being quite similar to those in the Mortal Instruments series. That being said I quite enjoyed seeing into the Shadowhunter past. I loved seeings some familiar names (and characters) I'm excited to see what comes next in this series.

I recently flew through the first three books in The Mortal Instruments series and was very excited to pick up this prequel. For the most part, I was pleased with the story and will definitely continue to follow the plot as it progresses through the next installments, but there are definitely pros and cons for this read.

Pros: Clare remains true to form. If you are a fan of Mortal Instruments, you will like this book as well. I enjoyed experiencing Tessa's London, as well as all of the poetic references. I am an English teacher with quite an interest in both English history and poetry. I also enjoyed running into ancestors of characters that fans have come to know and love. I have to say, as well, that I LOVED the inclusion of the automatrons! It gave the past a bit of a modern, technological twist!

Cons: Though the ancester angle was well played, I would agree with an earlier reviewer, who stated that many of the characters in this series are carbon copies of characters in the modern day offering. Will is Jace, as far as I can tell. I mean, he's clearly not, but he might as well be. His relationship with Tessa certainly mirrors Jace's interest in Clary. In fact, Tessa might as well be called Clary. See what I'm getting at? The other criticism that I have to make is that I don't quite follow the whole point of Tessa's clockwork angel, for which the book is named. I don't want to give anything away, but I really don't understand the significance of it... Perhaps the next novel will clear up my questions...

Overall, as I said, I was happy with the story and will continue on with the series. I do, however, think that Clare needs to tie up some very loose ends as she continues with the series.

The first chapter of the book, I WAS HOOKED! I thought the idea behind it all was brilliant and I was so excited to see how Clare continued the story. However, being a die-hard fan of her Mortal Instruments series, I was almost disappointed to see how uncreative she was in her character development. Each character in the book was an almost replica of her characters in the other series (William = Jace Wayland, and so forth).

Overall, it was an okay read. BUT, if you're expecting something on par with her Mortal Instruments series, please don't get your hopes up... or prepare to be sorely disappointed.

I'm hoping her continuation of this series improves though. I haven't lost hope yet!

"The handsome young fellow who's trying to rescue you from a hideous fate is never wrong. Not even if he says the sky is purple and made of hedgehogs" (40)

I thought Clare did a good job at shifting from contemporary New York sensibilities to the London of 1878 . The speech, gender roles and views of foreigners were well done for the time period.

Although it's Jem's conflicting opinion with the prevalent views of the time that endears him to me;

"Whatever the color, the shape, the design of the shade that conceals it, the flame inside the lamp remains the sam. You are that flame." (283)

Will was a bit too much like Jace for my taste, but I was very fond of Jem, Charlotte, and Henry. Tessa's powers were impressive and provide interesting potential for sequels, but I feel like she's less fleshed out than the other characters. I often have a problem with heroes of the story (I think Frodo and Harry get way too much credit for what their "sidekicks" accomplish) so maybe I'm just bias against her.

I really liked Sophie's observation about how the more beautiful the appearance of a bug or snake- the more poisonous. I think this will definitely be something that comes back to us in this series.

The steampunky aestectics intreague me and I'd like to learn more about Tessa's clockwork angel and what the magister has planned

this book was good, but a little of a let down after reading her other 3 novels. It was a good read, but not nearly as good as the mortal intruments

When I purchased this, I was a little excited, mostly having read the other books written by the author. I thought this would somewhat be a continuation of the story. It wasn't as I imagined but It still used the same features only with different characters. It focused more on downworlder rather than the shadow hunters. I would recommend this to any fantasy-crazed book addict.

As expected, Cassie Clare has written another knockout book! After reading the summary for the first time I was a bit apprehensive to read the book because for one, I'm not the type of person who likes Fictional...history books (with a few exceptions) and two, because The Mortal instruments was so good, could Clockwork Angel live up the the greatness?


I'm so happy to say it has. Clockwork angel was it's own book, of course there was a tie between The Mortal Instruments but it sure does stand on it's own. You could trace the bits of humor normally present in TMI (The Mortal Instruments) ,thanks to Jace Wayland, back to Clockwork Angel.


But enough of TMI.


Clockwork Angel is a new story, new setting and a bunch of new characters. At first the book is a bit confusing but you catch on to what's happening in the first few chapters. The book was totally authentic, you could really tell that Cassandra did her homework on the setting and I loved that. I was in a complete trance with this book. It's really different, yet carries the Cassandra Clare signature writing styles we've all come to love so much.


The plot was great! It had a bunch of twists and turns, but not too much. I was still able to follow the story and attempt at guessing what was truth and what was a lie. Sigh...It was gooood