Clockwork Angel

by Cassandra Clare

I read The Mortal Instruments years and years ago, when they were originally coming out, and I hadn’t visited the world of Shadowhunters since. I hadn’t stopped reading, exactly, but schoolwork and studying and otherwise competing for college admittance slots and higher GPAs left me with little free time to read, and I have never been good about keeping up with book releases.

I’ve since gotten better about keeping up and making time, and, when I heard Chain of Gold was coming out and that reading The Infernal Devices was highly recommended, I decided to snag a relatively inexpensive paperback box set and dive in. [Can you believe the ebooks for this series are MORE expensive than the paperback box set?]

I’m so, so glad I did.

Picking up Clockwork Angel was like returning to a place, a world, I had loved but hadn’t visited in awhile. This book has a “Steampunk” genre tag, and I guess that’s a genre I have a particular appeal to, because it isn’t the first book I’ve read and enjoyed with that tag. You might see more books like that going forward.

Anyway, book detail time!

This book doesn’t waste time getting you into the action. Sure, there’s a bit of an intro where Tessa isn’t in a bad situation, but it isn’t long before she is. She is immediately “tested” and put into a situation where your true colors show, and it’s a wonderful way to establish a character’s foundation quickly and efficiently without being in the reader’s face about it. Tessa’s character arc through this book doesn’t feel forced or unnatural. It’s a smooth transition from a girl who lives by societies rules to a girl who learns to live her life the way she wishes. I know I don’t usually go into the details of character arcs before the spoiler line, but that’s vague enough that you don’t really get spoiled on anything – you still are left with the mystery on how Tessa wishes to live her life, and how it differs from society’s wishes. She does, in many ways, stay traditional to her time.

Will is a bit of a stereotype, though his depth isn’t really explored in this book. Will’s saving grace is Jem. Will comes across as the stereotypical “I’m better than you, and I’ll remind you every chance I get” [and somewhat womanizing] character, which it’s hinted that he’s that way both because of his looks and his talent as a Shadowhunter. You see glimpses of the “nerd” and moments where he breaks away from his stereotype, but it’s not a common occurrence. His character arc isn’t too terribly explored nor does it advance too much in this book. This book serves more as an introduction to Will rather than exploring his depths.

Jem. So, Jem comes across in the first book as the guy you would want to end up with, but for some reason don’t. He’s the “he’s everything you want and need and everything you wish to be but gets overshadowed” character. His largest “flaw” is later explained, and you understand why people would normal go more for Will than him, even if Will is the stereotypical womanizing pretty-boy. His character arc, again, isn’t terribly explored in this book, more an introduction and foundation lay for future development.

Cassandra Clare does a wonderful job building up each of her characters as individuals, with no real confusion between characters or leaving the reading feeling like two characters are interchangeable or the same or anything of the sort.

**SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT. DON’T READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS. I WILL ATTEMPT TO NOT LEAVE SPOILERS FOR THE NEXT TWO BOOKS, BUT NO PROMISES. SLIGHT SHADOWHUNTER FAN GIRL-ING POSSIBLE.**

Alright, so, I’m not anti-Will at this point, but I’m not super pro-Tessa-and-Will, either. I get why Tessa doesn’t become as attached to Jem as she does to Will with Jem’s “condition”, but still. Cassandra Clare does a good job of not making you hate Will, but not making you annoyed that he and Tessa aren’t together yet.

I could tell, at this point, that Gabriel Lightwood is going to turn into one of those “You hate him until he redeems himself” kind of character arcs. While I don’t like being able to guess a character’s future or arc so early on, I have a little more faith in Cassandra Clare’s ability to pull that off without leaving me annoyed I had been able to figure it out. I’ll dive into that more in the future reviews.

The extra characters don’t feel extra. They feel important to the story, important to the world in the book, and in general not just fluff to fill a space of need. Sometimes, extra characters feel almost like accents to the main character, that they only exist to assist the main character and plot. But everyone feels like their own person rather than just plot assists.

I love how clever and deep Tessa has been made to be. I love her quick on-her-feet idea to Change so that she can bleed enough life’s blood to seem like she really did stab herself. And I love how that leads to Will exposing his true feelings, although we kind of knew already that Will liked her as more than his “rep for the ladies” would imply.

At the end of Clockwork Angel, I was excited to see how Tessa develops and to learn more about Will and Jem – and Charlotte and Henry and everyone, to be honest. As much as Jessamine is obnoxious, she also clearly has more of an impact going forward, and I’m glad I got the whole set at once! Up next: Clockwork Prince!