Clockwork Angel Review

It’s so refreshing when you can go back to a book that you read in middle school and remember why you love it.

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... –goodread.com summary

As some of you might know if you follow me on the social medias, I am currently taking part in a yearlong read along of all of Cassandra Clare’s books starting with The Infernal Devices. I went into Clockwork Angel excited and with high expectations since The Infernal Devices was my favorite of Clare’s two series. I have to say, I enjoyed Clockwork Angel even more the second time.

Much like Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, Clockwork Angel also boasts some AMAZING characters that are actually developed and have motivations! These characters feel like real people, almost as if they could just walk off the page and whisk you away on some adventure! I feel this is a problem in many Young Adult novels today, authors are spending more time developing a plot twist than characters to make that plot twist actually matter. When I look at my book shelf the common thread of all my favorite books is that they have developed characters that CHANGE throughout the story making them feel like real people (but that is another post for another time…).The way Clare gives each of these characters their own complex story and their reasons for acting the way they do allows the reader to relate to at least some of the characters. The characters that you don’t relate to, you can at least understand why they are doing what they’re doing throughout the story and respect that. The only character who falls a little flat in Clockwork Angel is Jessamine. She is one note and flat but coming from someone who has read the rest of the series, I can look past that because I know Clare develops her character in later books.

But all of this character development does not overtake the importance of the plot. Clare still brings it with a fast paced, Shadowhunter filled plot. The Infernal Devices plot is quite different than the plot of The Mortal Instruments. Even just in the first book readers get to see a lot more of vampire culture and how mundanes interact with the shadow world. Mundanes in the shadow world especially is something that we did not get much of in The Mortal Instruments and it is a great way to expand the universe.

The expanding of the universe in The Infernal Devices is another thing that makes fans like it so much. Not only does it focus on characters that we already knew and loved from The Mortal Instruments, but it introduces new characters and Shadowhunters as well. This series really allows readers to understand how big this world of Shadowhunters is and it makes readers all the more invested in the stories of these characters.

Overall, Clockwork Angel was even better than I remembered! The characters are strong and developed making them feel lifelike and relatable. The plot does not take a back seat to the characters, though. The plot is quick moving and full of new expansions on the Shadowhunter world. I recommend Clockwork Angel for EVERYONE! If you haven’t read the novel yet go read it, and all of Cassandra Clare’s books!

Have you read The Infernal Devices, or any Shadowhunter novels? What were your thoughts on them?

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Meagan!