{NIN} Review: The Clockwork Angel

I love Cassandra Clare. She got me to start reading YA Lit again with The Mortal Instruments series. Actually, I guess I should say it was {Ja} since she introduced me to TMI, but it was Cassandra Clare's City of Ashes that hooked me, line and sinker. I was such a Clace shipper, quite shameless actually. I {heart}ed Jace a lot! :-)

So when I heard about her next series coming out after City of Glass was released, I eagerly checked my local library's hold list religiously each day for the past 6 months until the day it became available to be put on hold. And it totally paid off! I was #17 and got the book on the first round of releases. Never before touched pages of a brand new book - aaaahhh... I digs.

The Clockwork Angel, the first book in The Infernal Devices trilogy (for now, since TMI was supposed to be a trilogy but now it's going to be a 6 book series), takes place in the same Shadowhunter world that we were introduced to in TMI, but in the year 1878 and in London, no less (which is awesome because I can read all the characters lines with a Bri'ish accent...in my head...).

The protaganist of the story is Tessa Gray, an American who journeys to London at the behest of her brother. She arrives only to be kidnapped by a mysterious pair, the Dark Sisters who reveal a startling truth to her - Tessa is a warlock with the rare ability to shape-shift. Threatening harm to her beloved brother Nate, the Dark Sisters force Tessa to hone her warlock skill in preparation for her betrothal to the mysterious Magistrar, who wants Tessa's power under his control.

By fortuitous occurrence, Tessa is rescued by the dashing Shadowhunter of piercing blue eyes, Will Herondale (Jace's forebearer of some sort, I suppose), who had been investigating a series of mysterious mundane deaths that all pointed back to the Dark Sisters. Will brings her back to the London Institute where Tessa is introduced to the world of Shadowhunters, warlocks, vampires, werewolves, and fairies. Together with the Shadowhunters, Tessa endeavers to learn the truth about herself, her parents' past, her brother, the strange mechanical creatures that are attacking them, and the mysterious Magistrar who controls them.

I definitely liked this book a lot, though it did not elicit the same gushing obsession that TMI did. The book is set in Victorian England, so the decorum of the day is somewhat interesting to read about, and London sounds like it was pretty bawdy in the late 1800s. But other than that, the setting, dialogue, and expressions used by the characters didn't seem that much different from American English. In something like Harry Potter, the British slang was definitely more noticeable (bloke, snog, take the mickey), but not so with The Clockwork Angel. Perhaps it has to do with Cassandra Clare being American. Or did Londoners have expressions more similar to Americans back in the day? Anyhoo...

The character recipe for The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments are quite similar:

• Tessa = Clary as in girl new to Downworld who learns that she's not quite the average human she thought she was.
• Will = Jace with the handsome and sarcastic overlay covering his true internal tortured self.
• Jem = Alec in the sense that he is another Shadowhunter boy living at the Institute and Will's parabatai.
• Jessamine = Isabelle of the bizotchy superior attitude.

Magnus Bane also makes an appearance, which is great because I love crossovers. His role is rather limited in this novel, but I expect his role will expand in the coming sequels.

Tessa is an interesting character - loyal almost to a fault, struggling with the idea that she may not be human afterall, and learning the baffling and scary ways of the Downworld. She is also highly attracted to the sarcastic, tempermental, and cocky Will Herondale (sounds just like Jace, eh?) who behaves hot and then [really] cold to her for no apparent reason. And of course, no hot male lead would be complete if he were not TORTURED, and Will most certainly is. His arrival at the Institute at age 12 is a mystery and he refuses to speak of his past. We get flashes into his past (from what I gather, his trauma has to do with...a box), but he is tight-lipped and brusque on any questions about his past. Will's behavior towards Tessa is simply abhorrent at times (Colin Firth says stuff like "abhor" and he's British...hehe...). I seriously wanted to smack him at times...but I also wanted to love him because Tessa is attracted to him, and frankly, I love his cocky attitude. Will is just waiting for Tessa to heal his damaged soul, I know it, even if he doesn't, the bastard. So I guess Cassandra Clare has got me there with the romantic aspect of the story.

Cassandra Clare also manages to weave just the right amount of sarcastic and snarky dialogue into the story, especially from our dear Will, that left me cracking up. I also love that Tessa isn't a meek, submissive girl who isn't afraid to dish it back out to others, even to Will. On Will proclaiming he has a tryst later in the evening with an attractive person, Tessa replies: "Goodness, if you keep seeing Six-Fingered Nigel like this, he'll expect you to declare your intentions." How can you not love that??!! Most awesome!

The mystery is rather intriguing as well - who is the Magistrar and what are his intentions? What is the truth about Tessa's parentage? And what the heck is Will hiding???

It's hard to wax philosophical and analyze this book fully since it's part of a series and character growth will most certainly occur over the course of three books. However, by the end of this book, Tessa has most certainly grown - less naive, accepting of reality (of certain...stuff, I don't want to say and give it away), and possibly moving on the path of making peace with her non-human nature. As for Will? I don't know yet, but I sure hope the cocky tortured bloke gets some sense smacked into him (preferably by Tessa, whom he will then fall madly in love with. But don't lose the sarcastic comments and become wussy like Edward. I don't digs that).

All these questions have got me waiting eagerly for the next installment, The Clockwork Prince (due out in Sept 2012 2011 sorry for the freakout, Ja!!).