Clockwork Angel is the first novel in the Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare. The Infernal Devices series is set in the Shadowhunter world, during the Victorian era in England.
In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever.
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…
This story has love (and a love triangle for those of you who like a bit of added drama), action, humor and tears. Following Tessa, an American who has been thrust suddenly into the world of Shadowhunters, we are again transported to Cassandra Clare’s world of Downworlders, love, and mystery. Tessa must learn their ways if she is to assist Jem, Will, and the rest of the Shadowhunters at the London institute and she must learn to control her powers; changing into other people.
Tessa Gray is one of those characters you can’t help but feel sorry for and love. She goes through so much during this book, she gets kidnapped, attacked, lied to, yelled at and she has so much going on but she still gets through it, one day at a time. She’s a very likable character, I think. She’s kind, loyal and a bookworm which I think we can all relate to in some way! Tessa’s ability is a weird one, she isn’t a warlock yet she can still shapeshift and she certainly isn’t a Shadowhunter, so what is she? I suppose we’ll just have to keep reading!
If I had to choose between Clary and Tessa, I would pick Tessa. She’s more relatable for me, especially with her love of books and taking each day as it comes. We all have stressful moments and moments when we feel down but at the end, we get back up and keep fighting and I think Tessa’s strength is really great quality!
William Herondale. What can one say about Will that hasn’t already been said? He’s loyal, he’s funny, he’s sassy. I absolutely adore Will and I can see why the internet loves him. He’s a very complex character and is obviously hiding something; even from Jem, his parapatai, which causes him to be shut off and cold to everyone but Jem, who he is usually a little more open with. He and Jem have these wonderful moments all throughout the book that are full of sarcasm and love for each other, and they remind me so much of my best friend and I.
James Carstairs is my favourite character in the whole series. He’s lovable and kind, he plays the violin and he’s generally just amazing. He’s sick and is eventually going to die (and I swear I’ll be a mess) yet he still greets every day with a smile, a laugh, and a large heart. He is the kindest of the two boys, he and Will are like yin and yang and go together perfectly. Out of the who boys, he’s my favourite. Even knowing what happens in the rest of the series (thanks, internet) I still love him the most.
Obviously, there are other characters in this book but if I talk about all of them I’ll be here all day! Magnus makes a welcome appearance as well, which is always wonderful because Magnus is definitely one of my favourite characters in Cassandra Clare’s books!
I loved this book. I like this series more than The Mortal Instruments (which might change, I’m not sure). I like the characters more, I like the setting more and the plot was more interesting for me too. I also have a soft spot for Steampunk and the clockwork automatons had a very large Steampunk vibe, as did Tessa’s necklace.
I know who Tessa ends up with. I was watching a booktuber’s vlog and she went as Tessa so she could be Mrs. *insert name of husband here* and I was little annoyed, but now that I’ve read the first book I can actually see it coming so it’s fine! I can’t tell you if I’m happy with this or not because it would be a spoiler. Who do I want her with? Jem. The love triangle (not going to lie) bugged me a little. I kind of dislike love triangles because the two I want to get together never do, or they’re unrealistic but if you’re torn between Will and Jem; I 100% understand where you’re coming from.
There was a wonderful plot twist in there which I surprisingly enough didn’t see coming. Normally I’m quite good at plot twists but I missed this one, which is wonderful because it was good!
I think this is going to be one of those series I can go back to over and over again and love more and more each time I read it. Something about the time it’s set in and the vampire’s and demons just fit’s so well! I would recommend this book to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t read The Mortal Instruments, or if you tried and didn’t like it, I would suggest trying this one and not giving up completely on the Shadowhunters. I gave this book 5/5 stars, and I hope you all like it as much as I did!
This book had some amazing quotes in it, and I loved so many of them but for this post, I would have to say my favourite was:
Have you read this book before? Let me know your favourite part and character in the comments!
Rhi x
Book cover: google.
Header images: made by me
Photo behind the quote: http://shewolfreads.com/2012/07/01/shelf-candy-plus-giveaway-interview-with-cliff-nielsen-cover-artist-for-royal-street/
Fire to the Poppies 
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