Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

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.

Review:

When this first arrived in the mail, I have to admit I squealed and jumped up and down for at least a minute. But seriously what Mortal Instruments fan wouldn't? This is the PREQUEL were talking about. And at first it was amazing, just the thing I was hoping for, but then it took a turn for the worst, becoming boring and just a little bit too much like MI for my tastes. Thankfully, it did get a LOT better by the end, but still, I was disappointed big time overall.

Clockwork Angel takes you back to a time before Jace, Clary, and Simon, back before some major damage in the Shadowhunter world occurred; the late 1800s in rainy London to be specific. In this addition, the story's new focus is Tessa, an orphan who's on the way to meet her beloved older brother in London so that she can start a new and better life than the one she had in America. Though waiting for in London isn't her brother but too scary sisters who call themselves the "Dark Sisters", and without any hesitation she goes of with them, not giving it a second thought. But as she is soon to learn this was a bad decision, one that might change everything she ever knew, and before she knows it she's thrown into the world of the Shadowhunters, which include two very dreamy but unattainable boys, with a talent she couldn't even begun to imagine she would have.

I think Tessa is basically supposed to be the polar opposite of Clary. Because she's tall (Clary's short), she's an orphan (Clary's not), and so on. This bugged me to no end, especially when you added in the fact that Tessa lacked the spunk and charm I love about Clary's character. And while the main boys, Will and James, in this were swoon-worthy and adorable, they were just like Simon and Jace but with British accents and slightly different characteristics that lead them to being fragile (James/Simon) and brooding (Will/Jace), and lacking in this was the connection I always felt between Clary and James and Clary and Simon, as well as heart Though, with saying that I did love most of the secondary characters such as Charlotte, Henry, Sophie, and the always lovely Magnus Bane. But I will say that each of the main characters I had a hard time liking for most of the book, were starting to grow on me by the end, so hopefully by the second book I'll end adoring them just as much as I do the MI characters.

The plot of this was decent and interesting enough but until the end it didn't have enough action to keep me interested fully. Instead it had back story and world building and lots of it.

In all, Clockwork Angel was decent but nearly as great as Cassandra's prior books but by the end I did see promise, so hopefully the next one will be something I simply love and adore to the max.

Grade: B-

Clockwork Angel is now out!
Source: Contained in surprise package from publisher.