Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Book Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd.
Publication Date: September 2010 ( Paperback)
Length: 496 pages
Genre: Fantasy (YA)

5/5 ***** Put on your gloves, grab your parasol and head straight to your next bookstore!19th century London has never been so dark and sexy before.This is a must read!


~ The Author ~

Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Teheran and spent much of her childhood travelling the world with her family. She had lived in France, England and Switzerland before she was ten years old. Her first book City of Bones ,centred on the adventures of the evil-fighting Shadowhunters, was published by Simon&Schuster in 2007. City of Bones was followed by City of Ashes in 2008 and City of Glass in 2009. In 2009 Cassandra Clare decided, to the great pleasure of her readers, to continue the so called Mortal Instruments series with City of Fallen Angels ( April 2011), City of Lost Souls ( May 2012) and City of Heavenly Fire ( September 2013). Her second series, and a prequel to The Mortal Instruments, are The Infernal Devices with Clockwork Angel, released in August 2010 as the first book, followed by Clockwork Prince ( September 2011) and Clockwork Princess ( December 2012).

For further information check out the offial Cassandra Clare homepage: http://www.cassandraclare.com 

~ The Novel ~

Clockwork Angel is just the first part of, a promised to be even more thrilling, The Infernal Devices series. The next instalments are Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess, which continue the story around Tessa, Will & Jem and the 19th century Shadowhunter's adventures. 

~ The Story ~

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. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world. . . . and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Summary by Simon & Schuster

~ The Review ~

Clockwork Angel being anticipated to turn out as great as The Mortal Instruments series, does not disappoint. Cassandra Clare achieves to capture the Victorian setting in all its details perfectly.

Needing some time to adjust to the unusual combination of a 19th century setting with the, only known as modern, Shadowhunter's adventures, Clockwork Angel turned out being a bomb: silent ticking at the beginning, exploding with an even louder boom!

When you don't want to put your novel down for even a few seconds, when  dusty attics become magical places and you fall in love with the personality and complexity of each of a novel's characters, it was definitely written by Cassandra Clare!

~ We love this book because... ~
1) of its strong female heroine and her love for books
2) it makes one of your three obligatory wishes be: Turning all 21st century men into 19th century gentlemen
3) even people not technically gifted will enjoy the magic clockwork can produce
4) Cassandra Clare shows, once again, her talent to employ outrageously exciting plot turns and twists
5) after reading it, you will be careful about boring-dusty-attic-comments

~Verdict ~

Clockwork Angel is one of the greatest books of 2010 and just the beginning to a new series with amazing potential. This novel convinces with its originality, complex storyline and unique characters. It's not just about romance, friendship and thrilling secrets, but about a whole new universe of possibilities. Anything hotter than steampunk?- Clockwork Angel

Click here to watch the Clockwork Angel book trailer at Simon & Schuster


12 comments:

  1. I love the "We Love This Book Because" list! I agree with every bit of it! Luckily, I have about as close to a 19th century gentleman as they come, without all the bother of restrictive gender roles!

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  2. Hi Sarah...Thanks for the comments on my review for City of Ashes! They are really great books and I can't read fast enough to find out about Clary and Jace (they just can't be related!) LOL. Also I think your blog is great. I have posted your blog on my blog (hope you don't mind)!

    Loni
    http://acasualreader.wordpress.com/

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  3. I read somewhere that you have to have read Cassandra Clare's other series first? I hope not because that doesn't look interesting but this one is on my reading list for the steampunk challenge :D

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  4. I didn't love this book quite as much, but I agree with most of your review. I'm excited for the next book in this prequel series.

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  5. I loved this book. I fell in love with the series again and purchased the Mortal Instruments box set. Great review!

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  6. Such a great book! I finished it in 2 nights, and I can't wait for Clockwork Prince next year! I love all of Cassie Clare's books, but Clockwork Angel just may be my fave! Great review!

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  7. I have been wanting to read this and after this review I so am! Thank for this wonderful review.

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  8. I love this book. At first I thought I wouldn't like it or that I would find it difficult to read because I was so used to the mortal instruments series characters that it was going to be boring or at least not entertaining enough.
    I was so wrong! I ended up falling for Will!! Cassandra Clare is one of my favourite writers!

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  9. I absolutely love this book, and anything by Cassandra Claire. I think she is a wonderful writer, and the mortal instruments series quickly became my favorite series the day I found them :)

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  10. It was a great book but honestly, I was a little disappointed by it. Mainly because I had problems to dive into the story, the first half of the book was rather boring and it seemed like nothing was going on. After the first half though it reminded me why I decided to read that book in the first place - Cassandra Clare has such a captivating style of writing and you fall in love with her characters whether you want it or not. So I would probably give it 4 stars.

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  11. It was a great book but honestly, I was a little disappointed by it. Mainly because I had problems to dive into the story, the first half of the book was rather boring and it seemed like nothing was going on. After the first half though it reminded me why I decided to read that book in the first place - Cassandra Clare has such a captivating style of writing and you fall in love with her characters whether you want it or not. So I would probably give it 4 stars.

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  12. Cassandra Clare doesn'y fail in causing readers to become enthralled in the plot and characters of Clockwork Prince! Highly anticipating the book the follows!I cannot wait for the third of this series to come out. The story progression has taken a wonderful turn. I was enthralled until the very end. I strongly recommend this to anyone who has read The Infernal Instruments.

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