Today we celebrate Tuesday’s release of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. All four of us are enthusiastic fans of Cassandra Clare’s work and, as some of us read it in July, we are so excited that we can talk about it with everyone now.
We will be posting two reviews so that all four of us can express how much we loved it.
Christine: Alright, I’m just going to say it. I like Clockwork Angel more than City of Bones.
Caitlin: You know, I think I did too. When I got to the end of City of Bones1, I put the book away and didn’t look at it or think of it for almost two years. I was so angry. I was very happy to not have that problem with this book. The ending of Clockwork Angel just left me needing more.
Christine: Well, if you don’t know by now, this book is about a girl named Tessa, who travels across the Atlantic Ocean to live in London with her brother, the only relative Tessa has in the world. But when she arrives, these two women convince her that her brother sent them, but they in fact, kidnap her and force her to become something unworldly. Because Tessa is a Downworlder and has the rare ability to change into someone else at will, which is possibly the coolest power ever.
Caitlin: And then she’s busted out by a bad-tempered, yet handsome, man in a waistcoat. And we are introduced to the first of many mysteries in the Clockwork Angel world. Who is Will? Why is he so angry? And why does he never remember to wear his hat?
Christine: What about Jem? Why does he look like a silver ghost? What is he hiding about his mysterious illness that comes and goes? And why is a boy who coughs up blood so hot?
Caitlin: Because you have weird taste in men. Will is, obviously, the hotter of the two.
Christine: *sigh* It’s inevitable that when faced with a love triangle, you and I will choose different people. So, of course, you would think the wrong thing. Jem is the better guy, for one. He doesn’t have violent mood swings. He’s not even that violent, not like Will.
Caitlin: Will’s violence and bad-temper hide a heartbreaking secret of some kind. You know how I love a man with a mystery. And you can tell that all of Will’s more despicable actions are carefully planned. He does them to push people away. Oh man, I need to know more about what caused him to be this way.
Christine: I don’t. I like my guys open and friendly, with no hidden agendas or meanings…
Caitlin: *cough*Peeta*cough*
Christine: What? Peeta’s open and friendly. He may have a tendency to sacrifice himself, but he was very open about how he felt with Katniss. On television, might I add.
Caitlin: I’m just saying, they’re very similar characters. Go on with your defense of the inferior choice.
Christine: Okay, so I have a type. But so do you, missy. And I wasn’t discussing Will, I was talking about Jem, who is obviously not the inferior choice. He won’t pull away like Will and he’s exotic.
Caitlin: Well, in all seriousness, in this particular book I didn’t think we saw that much of Jem. Cassie2 herself has said that this was more Will’s book and the next will be more Jem’s book. So, we’ll have to see where that goes. But, at the moment at least, it seems as if Jem is an open book. We find out his secret. We don’t know anything about Will. And it’s killing me. And that epilogue???? What was he doing? Why? I need to know!
Christine: I have a theory (which you can read in the comments), but can we talk about Magnus? He’s in this book! I was so excited to see him because he was my favorite character from the Mortal Instruments series. Seriously, I squealed like a fangirl when he showed up.
Caitlin: Magnus is pretty awesome. But if we’re going to talk about side characters, lets talk about Sophie. She deserves a happy ending more than anyone else in this story. ….I kinda want her and Jem to hook up. Well, I had wanted it to turn out differently…but, that happy ending was made impossible.
Christine: Yes, I know what you mean. But I don’t see Jem and Sophie working out. I like Sophie. I think she’s a great character. And her hatred for Will was awesome. (Mwahahaha) But I’m holding out hope that someone will come along who is perfect for her. What did you think about Charlotte and Henry?
Caitlin: I thought they were so cute! Well, I thought Henry was cute. I loved how Charlotte represented the position that a lot of intelligent women were forced into back then. Women who were capable and ambitious being ignored and never taken seriously simply because they were women. I loved the complex relationship between the two. I do hope Henry wakes up and realizes that there’s more to life than his workshop.
Christine: I agree with you on all of that. (See, it can happen.) The things that Henry invents in that workshop are pretty great, however. The steampunk vibe in the book was fantastic as I love all things steampunk. And the time period is always one that I love to read about. Turn of the century London is one of the best settings for books, in my opinion.
Caitlin: So, what we’re really saying is that we loved the ensemble. The characters and their secrets and motivations made this book impossible to put down.
Christine: Yep. This was one of the best series openers I’ve read all year. I can’t wait for the second one, especially since we’ll see more Jem.
Caitlin: And more Will!
Christine: Okay, let’s not get carried away. And if you’ve read the book, let us know what you liked about it! Theories, character analysis, and Team Will or Team Jem discussions are also very much welcome.
Caitlin: WILL!
Christine: We get it… (JEM!)
1 Although, I did pick it back up and finished the series and loved it. I was just slightly put off by the ending of City of Bones.
2 I feel as though we are on a first name basis at this point.