Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Tessa Gray is trying to find her brother. She crosses the ocean to England where he says he will be waiting for her. But instead of Nate, she is greeted by the Dark Sisters, two members of the mysterious Pandemonium Club. Tessa is kidnapped by the sisters and through this finds out that she is a Downworlder with a unique ability; an ability so powerful that the Magister, head of the Pandemonium Club, wants to claim it for himself.

After suffering under the harsh treatments of the Dark Sisters Tessa is rescued by the Shadowhunters of the London Institute who swear to help her find her brother. But Tessa finds herself torn between an internal battle of wanting to be normal once again and her developing feelings for a young Shadowhunter.

As Tessa and the Shadowhunters begin to piece together the mystery of her brother, they realize that everything is not as it initially seemed. Tessa is forced to make a choice that will either destroy what is left of her past life or end the beginning of a new life as a Downworlder with her family of Shadowhunters.

I have mixed feelings about this novel. I understand that it is a prequel to Cassandra Clare’s beloved Mortal Instruments trilogy but I found that the skeleton of the plot was all too similar to the first trilogy. There is a girl who everyone calls by a nickname and she is thrown into the world of the Shadowhunters where she meets a boy or two who play her heartstrings like a violin. Does this sound familiar to anyone? The plot is almost identical to the Mortal Instruments; all that has changed are the details. I am a fan of Cassandra Clare’s writing and was hoping that she would have left the story of the Shadowhunters with the Mortal Instruments series and written an entirely new set of books. But according to her website she doesn’t have any more writing ideas, since she will have a total of six books in the Mortal Instruments series and three in the Infernal Devices series. Apparently there is also going to be a movie that relates to the current Mortal Instruments books.

With all that said I still think this was a good book, even though as I was reading it I had flashes of déjà vu. The story was well thought out and all the parts connected at the end. All together a pretty good read. There is a cliff-hanger at the end but I think it is mostly there to keep you waiting for the sequel to the prequel.

~Clarissa

This is Clarissa's last review with us! It's been a pleasure reading her reviews and we're definitely going to miss her! :(