Clockwork Angel

The Infernal Devices, Book 1

By: Cassandra Clare

Narrated by: Jennifer Ehle

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still. Discover the “compulsively readable” (Booklist) first book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy, prequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series! Clockwork Angel is a Shadowhunters novel.

When 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 a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform 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 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.

Needs a new narrator

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The book itself was good, interesting characters and plotlines. It ties in well to Cassandra Clare's other series, the Mortal Instruments.

What didn’t you like about Jennifer Ehle’s performance?

As a narrator, if you cannot do an accent well, please do not try. The English accent was not very good, and this was emphasized by the transition from American to English accents. Also, changing your voice for different characters can be good (see Jim Dale), but in this case it really took away from the story. When the narrator read in her regular voice, she was good, but the shrill shrieks and "deep" voices used for some of the characters was extremely distracting. Prononciation also was not consistent throughout the novel.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Absolutely!

Very good....

I can not believe Clockwork Angel focus audience was young adults. It was mature and well written. The characters were very interesting and engrossing. It wasn't overly "soap operish" but intelligent, thought provoking, and fun. I can't wait until the next book in the series.

Slow to get into but enjoyable overall

Any additional comments?

This book was pretty good and definitely left me wanting to find out more by the end. I thought the storyline was interesting and I liked the characters for the most part. The narrator did a good job with the different accents, however, I felt she sounded too old to be believable as some of the younger characters. I was glad they used other narrators for book 2. Overall, I liked this book and look forward to the rest of this series.

Better then the Mortal Instruments series

I am a big fan of the prequel trilogy, The Infernal Devices: Clockwork.....(Angel, Prince, Princess).
They have more substance to the story than the Mortal Instruments series: City of.... (Bones, Ashes, Glass, Fallen Angels, Lost Souls, Heavenly Fire) that’s for sure!

I love the story’s setting, 1800s London and America. It doesn’t really focus on any steampunk aspect of the books and I am glad they didn’t, I think more of that added to the story would have been in poor taste.

Steam Punk YA fun

Would you consider the audio edition of Clockwork Angel to be better than the print version?

I only experienced the audio edition but I am sure that the performance makes listening better for me.

What did you like best about this story?

That the author was able to make me suspend belief to this extent.

Which scene was your favorite?

Hard to say

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Wind up for a great ride.

Any additional comments?

I just picked this one up on a lark. I was not sure I could make it through something so outside my normal genres but I enjoyed the ride.

Not that great

The story didn't keep my attention at all, lost interest and stopped listening. better luck next time.

Awesome

This is my first book by Cassandra Clare, and it certainly won’t be the last. I picked it up to compare writing styles among various high fantasy authors. Just got done reading a first person view fantasy romance with comparable plot line, and wanted to feel the difference. And oh boy did I. Cassandra Clare did not miss a beat nor the intimate relation between her characters and the reader. She was able to draw me into the head of each character without becoming boring or long winded. In other words she did not need to trade off intimacy for plot vision, that you normally get when choosing to write in third person perspective.
The style was not the only thing that hooked me onto this author. Her ability to manipulate the plot with rich world and character building left me in awe.
Will definitely recommend this book to anyone.

Tessa Gray

I loved the book as a whole, but parts did get to me. The trope about the main love interest having a past and making them mean to almost everyone is annoying. If I was Tessa, I would like Jem or find someone else entirely. Will doesn't seem that nice. He might chamge later that doesn't matter when he was completely terrible for so long.

clockwork angel review

keeps you on the edge, and makes it difficult to put down.. liked the character development the most. ready to start the next one in the series.

Excellent Story so far

I really enjoyed this book and thought the performance was excellent. Excited for the next one.