Clockwork Angel (1) (The Infernal Devices) Paperback – September 1, 2015

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. (part of summary from book)It all starts with Will Hereondale, and Jem (James)Carstairs. Will, with his deep striking blue eyes and black hair (sound familiar? Like Alec maybe??) , with a personality very much like Jace Herondale (Lightwood/Wayland) So, we wonder if Jace is indeed related to Will, most of us think so, but you can decide for yourself. With Will we do get glimpses of when he is at his most vulnerable and makes you feel for him. There's just something holding him back from opening up to people, hopefully that will be explained further in the trilogy. Jem is the complete opposite of Will. He is so kind and loving and poetic with his words--really insightful. I could see Tessa falling for him eventually if Will doesn't get his act together.Clockwork Angel is the first in Cassandra Clare's new Infernal Devices Trilogy, it's very descriptive, and enjoyable. I am sure it will be another knockout trilogy. It's set in the Victorian era, and takes about 30-40 pages I would say, to get to some familiar ground that we all would be looking for. But when it does, it takes off, and sucks you into the world of Shadowhunters in the 1800's London. You will get to know many ancestors of the current characters in The Mortal Instruments. Cassandra manages to sneak in plenty of humor alongside some of the darker and riskier action scenes. Will, is so witty, and fun, but so broken too, again you really do feel for him. There are many mysteries and secretes to these new characters, and for Tessa it is her heritage, and Will and Jem both have hazy backgrounds, that raise many questions. I am sure we will discover them as the next books come out, as I believe they are to become bigger issues later on.Tessa's humor is dry and clever, and very funny. The way she can "handle" Will is pretty fun to read. There is a joke in there about a seven fingered dwarf named Nigel that cracked me up, had me laughing out loud, and embarrassing myself when reading that part in public. LolI thoroughly enjoyed Tessa, especially watching her mature and break free of the ideals for women in this era. She opens her eyes and understands that women are capable of more than swooning, batting of eyelashes and all the other delicate habits of the female persuasion in the 1800s. She learns to fight and stand up for herself. Very nice, strong lead character for sure.I love that Magnus Bane and Camille are in this series, they are immortal after all. We get to learn more about Magnus, which is interesting.Now, the Clockwork creatures were pretty scary, certainly far more frightening than their creator and master, who I was really disappointed in.Magnus Bane is totally fabulous and I really enjoyed the witty banter between the two main characters.I also loved that Church the cat, was alive in the 1800's , and Jem and Will were the ones to "rescue" him from some evil warlocks. So it gives us another mystery around Church, and how he is alive still, and how he ended up in the New York Institute in TMI.Overall, it's a great read, a great new series, which ties nicely into TMI (The Mortal Instruments) series. But, still separate. I recommend anyone who liked TMI series, to read this one, you will not be sorry.If you have not read any of the TMI books, that's ok, you can start with this series if you like. It's really a prequel to TMI anyway, but not something that HAS to be read to enjoy TMI.I really enjoyed this book and series and I didn't think I would. Be sure to pick up the 2nd book Clockwork Prince too.Note: I recieved a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Clare's Mortal Instrument series is one of my favorite YA series to date, and Jace Wayland is a young man after my heart. ;) I wrote a series synopsis on the Mortal Instruments ([...]) - make sure you check it out. I knew I would love the prequel series to MI, especially since it's set in Victorian London and the characters speak in Olde English and have proper manners and such. Much fun.Clockwork Angel introduces us to Tessa, aka Theresa Gray, who moves to Victorian London after her older brother, Nathaniel, requests her presence. Tessa and Nate's parents are dead, and their Aunt just recently passed, so Tessa has no other options. Plus, she misses her brother dearly. Unfortunately for Tessa, she is greeted by 2 bizarre women, aka the Dark sisters, at the port where she is waiting for Nate. The Dark sisters ramble on about some odd business with her brother, and that she needs to come along with them in order to meet up with him. Lesson #1: Do not ever, under any circumstances, get in a buggy with two creepy, mysterious ladies name Mrs. Dark and Mrs. Black. Even if they produce a handwritten letter and your brother's ring. K?While being held captive by these two wack-a-doodles, Tessa discovers something very, very interesting about herself. She is Eidolon, aka a shape-changer, and she has been promised to The Magister, a mysterious and powerful presence in Downworld. Then suddenly, one night, William Herondale walks into her life. Literally. He walks right into her bedroom."My name is Herondale," the boy said cheerfully. "William Herondale, but everyone calls me Will. Is this really your room? Not very nice, is it?" He wandered toward the window, pausing to examine the stacks of books on her bedside table, and then the bed itself. He waved a hand at the ropes. "Do you often sleep tied to the bed?"(Oh, thank you Cassandra Clare! While Will doesn't yet stand up to Jace's personality, he definitely provided me with much snarky, sarcastic, pompous goodness. Thank you for writing another character like Jace. I mean, really - thank you!)Needless to say, Will is a Shadowhunter and rescues Tessa from her hellish situation. Tessa is then thrust into the world of the Shadowhunters, and the story escalates from there on out! Lots of action, betrayal, mystery, fierce loyalty (Will + Jem = <3), a clockwork army and ugly, evil SOBs! The steampunk element is in full effect! Of course, the setting is Victorian England. There are automatons (with human flesh - ewwww!) and rad Victorian-era fashion and architecture. Plus, secret labs, steam trains and lots of cool machine parts. Oh, and you can't forget the clockwork angel. I need one, stat! Seriously - who is making these? *runs off to check Etsy*I loved the setting and the old language. How can you not love reading about Victorian England? The manners and their eloquent speech is so interesting and very different from the present-day settings of many books. Many of the characters made me giggle profusely with their mannered, articulate speech, especially Will and Jessamine.The pairings in this book were so fantastic. James, aka Jem, a young Shadowhunter from China, and Will, had a profound relationship. Jem has a chronic illness and Will is fiercely protective of his well-being. Will isn't the easiest person to like but your heart burns for the passionate loyalty he feels for Jem. Will was his best when Jem was around. They have some of the funniest and most heartfelt scenes of the story."Remember when you tried to convince me to feed a poultry pie to the mallards in the park to see if you could breed a race of cannibal ducks?" [Jem]"They ate it too," Will reminisced. "Bloodthirsty little beasts. Never trust a duck."Will and Jessamine, another young Shadowhunter, are a great pairing, as well. Pure hysterics, I tell you. He lives to tease her and she lives to bitch about everything under sun."Jessamine recoiled from the paper as if it were a snake. "A lady does not read the newspaper. The society pages, perhaps, or the theater news. Not this filth.""But you are not a lady, Jessamine---," Charlotte began."Dear me," said Will. "Such harsh truths so early in the morning cannot be good for the digestion."And lastly, Will and Tessa have an interesting relationship. There is a bit of chemistry boiling but Will is not an easy lad to like. However, as with Jace, it is quite obvious that Will is a pompous ass to save himself from feeling emotions that can cause pain. He has some skeletons in his closet that will be revealed in later books, I assume. Will, like Jace, lets his guard down near the end, and I think he's in for an emotional rollercoaster in later books. Tessa is gonna crack that shell!The characterization in this novel was excellent, which is something Clare definitely excels at. Tessa isn't an awesome leading lady but she does posses courage behind that meek facade. Plus, she loves books! Will is great but can be hard to swallow. He immediately caught my attention with his snarky attitude but he definitely ends this book on a rough note. However, the epilogue gives me high hopes that he is seeking a solution to his predicament. Jem is the star of this book, I think. What an old soul, who has reflected on his short life and certainly appreciates life for what it is. An admirable young man, for sure. Jessamine is a whiney brat and I would like nothing more than to smack her around with that fancy umbrella she carries. I guess you can't really blame her because she is only acting the way society intended for ladies to act in Victorian times, but I still think she would rather shop and talk walks with her fancy parasol than bust some heads together. She can be quite annoying but adds some lighthearted scenes to the mix. Henry is the absent minded professor, but he is endearing and sweet. Charlotte is the young, intelligent leader of the London Institute. She is a bit opposite of the typical gender roles of the time, and I love her for that. I stand by her - the Clave needs to back off. All in all, this odd, bumbling, mismatch group of Shadohunters were great and so very different than the group in the Mortal Instruments. Great story, and I really look forward to the rest of the series!P.S. I'm sure that I'm not the only one that noticed the Pandemonium Club connection to both series? I mean, the series are obviously connected, but I found that tidbit interesting...P.S.S. - CHURCH!!!!!!!Other favorite quotes:"Do you normally turn up in gentlemen's bedrooms in the middle of the night? If I'd known that, I would have campaigned harder to make sure Charlotte let you stay." - Will"Downworld?" Tessa echoed, puzzled. "Is that a place in London?""Never mind that," said Will. "I'm boasting of my investigative skills, and I would prefer to do it without interruption.""A little girl robbed you?" Tessa said."Actually, she wasn't a little girl at all, as it turns out, but a midget in a dress with a penchant for violence, who goes by the name of Six-Fingered Nigel.""Easy mistake to make," Jem said.""Are you implying that shreds of my reputation remain intact?" Will demanded with mock horror. "Clearly I have been doing something wrong. Or not something wrong, as the case may be." He banged on the side of the carriage. "Thomas! We must away at once to the nearest brothel. I seek scandal and low companionship."

It was so easy to get lost in this book since I had read the TMI series before, so I was already acquainted with the whole Shadowhunter world and specifics. I think I liked the Shadowhunter world even more in this Victorian London setting, and I loved the clockwork creatures, it is a nice change from just hunting demons and evil ex-shadowhunters. Honestly, I liked this book (this whole series actually) more than I did the TMI series.The intrigue is complex enough to keep us interested until the end of the book, and the colorful personalities of the different characters add a wonderful touch to the story. Even though it’s my third time reading this book, I couldn’t put it down. There are also twists and turns and betrayals, making it all even more amazing since I adore betrayals and drama and angst.

Llegó en perfecto estado.Clockwork Angel es un libro que amo, al igual que toda la saga de Cazadores de Sombras creada por Cassandra Clare. Hace años deseaba la edición del décimo aniversario y por fin estoy releyendo el libro en esta edición. Una vez que termine mi relectura actualizaré la reseña con mis impresiones.

Its so beautiful, and it was so cheap AND I cant wait to read it

Sou completamente apaixonada no universo de Shadowhunters e já li todos. Infernal devices é minha trilogia favorita entre eles (mas isso não eh consenso, já vi muita gnt não gostar mt)O forte do livro são os relacionamentos (familiares, amistosos e amorosos) muito mais que a parte da “ação”. Tenho mil frases marcadas q me tocaram profundamente.Sobre essa edição: MARAVILHOSANão li (pq não tenho coragem por medo de estragar e já tenho outras edições) mas folheei e por dentro é lindo tbm. Tem desenhos (no começo tem todos os personagens), aniversários dos personagens e o primeiro capítulo de Chain of Gold. O corte é normal.Chegou em perfeito estado e rapidinho. Vale mtt a pena se vc já for fã. Se vc não for, aí vai de vc pq não é tão barato, mas eu compraria só pela capa pra deixar na estante de tão lindo.

Me ha encantado el libro, me ha gustado de principio a fin. Buenas , ilustraciones. Llego en perfecto estado y con un punto de libro de regalo.