Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1)

I had such high hopes for the Infernal Devices. I guess I have myself to blame for placing it on such a high pedestal. With that said, this book did not grip me the way I had hoped. I could not connect with the story and found myself confused half way through. I was extremely disappointed since I had heard so many praising reviews. It was a slight relief to see characters from the Mortal Instruments making a reappearance.

Revisiting the shadowhunter world was exhilarating. It is so intriguing reading about this world Cassandra has created. I found myself wishing more than once that I could live in this magical place of wonder. But reading this book, we find out that not everyone shares my enthusiasm. Jessamine would like nothing better than to forget all about the world of shadowhunters. I feel so horrible for her. She feels trapped and unable to find her break. She was not one of the characters I enjoyed though. I found her ungrateful, disrespectful, and rude. She left a sour taste in my mouth.

Will has a mysterious side to him. I was really happy to discover this in the story. I was worried he would end up being a straight forward character. His haunted past sculpts his whole personality. I am not sure how I feel about him so far, but I do find somewhat of a pull to him. He is the bad boy who has a soft spot that he hides from the world. I am interested to see where his relationship with Tessa goes and why he feels the need to push her away. WHAT IS IT THAT TROUBLES WILL!?! I am definitely eager to find this information out.

First off, having a power like Tessa’s would be amazing. I was definitely drawn to her character. Her personality would probably clash with mine, but I really respected her strength, determination, loyalty, and mannerism. She was definitely what I could picture as a “Southern Belle”. After enduring torture and abuse from the Dark Sisters, she remains diligent in her quest for discovery and answers. In the end, she was a noteworthy character. I did find myself yelling, “WHAT IS WITH THIS CLOCKWORK ANGEL?!?!” I am not one for patience and it is driving me mad lol. I felt remorse for her struggle with acceptance, loss, humiliation, and betrayal. She suffered most of them more than once. At the end of the day, I am rooting for Tessa!

Although the story had promise, it fell short of my expectations. It was a very slow read for me. I am hoping that the next book will hold a little more promise. As the ending of this book drew near, I felt that so little had actually happened. I am trying to determine how this story ties in to the Mortal Instruments (other than being about shadowhunters and downworlders). I am also eager to read the next installments in hope that we find some of the answers to the questions we had from the first book.

The first in Cassandra Clare’s new series, Infernal Devices, is similar to her previous series. For the first few chapters, I worried that this series would be a repetition of the previous with new characters, but similar relationship dynamics. While some of the characters do seem familiar, and a few are in fact the same, this novel does distinguish itself from its predecessor somewhat. Even if they were the same, I would prefer this prequel, set in nineteenth century London, because it is steampunk, which is quite fun. The historical setting does bring annoyances too; Tessa Gray, the main character, has an unfortunate tendency to play the fainting damsel in distress, rather than making use of her powers to help defend herself and others. Hopefully, she will learn to do so with the later books in the series.