Since I've read the first three novels in the Mortal Instruments series, and I had no idea what to think going into this series. After reading this book, I think its a high possibility that I like the Infernal Devices better. It might be too soon to say but time will tell. 

In search of her brother, Tessa Gray travels to London. There she is saved by a shadowhunter, Will Herondale, who is investigating a series of mysterious mundane deaths. Tessa teams up with the shadowhunters to find her brother and the cause of the deaths. 

I love Tessa. As the main female protagonist, I thought she was strong and despite going through a frightening ordeal, she was able to use her ability to outwit her adversaries. When I first started reading, I thought her ability was cool but useless in a fight. She reminds me of Clary a lot, I don't want to compare the two but I can't help it. They both have no idea who they are in the beginning and find out they are something they have no one else to compare themselves to. How complicated. lol

Will. He kinda reminds me of Jace, and I really like him. The Epilogue and the story of him as a child makes me really curious as to why he's the way he is. Since, he's not an orphan, why does he seem so negative and life-hating. He fights the fact that he's in love with Tessa and even though it's extremely annoying, I must know why soon. 

Jem, first off, I love his name. (Probably because I love the name Gemma) At first I thought he had cancer. Because you know, back then there wasn't the technology to treat such an illness. In some ways, I think this is worse. When first told of Jem's backstory, I felt incredibly sorry, and what must it had felt like for a young boy to go through that type of torture and torment. For Jem to be such a kind person, I love him. <3 However, it was too late, I already shipped Tessa and Will. And I really like them together, if Will stopped being difficult. 

Another love triangle... *eye roll*.
I thought that Will might be the favorite here, but after the ending, now I have no idea. I like Jem, he's an all-around nice guy, and I have nothing against his condition. I just like the chemistry Tessa and Will has with each other. However, Will keeps acting well... like Will and I won't be surprised if Tessa's affections turn towards Jem. 

I like the overall story of Clockwork Angel. Shadow Hunters during the Victorian Era. It's interesting! Things are still kept mysterious with Will and Tessa's ability by the end of the book. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel. 

However, I must say that there was one thing that fell short. I don't think this could be read before the Mortal Instruments or without the knowledge of the Shadow Hunter world. I felt that things weren't really explained, and I'm glad I decided to read them in publication order or else I would be lost in the dust somewhere.

Overall I'd rate this a 4.5.

Beschreibung

London im Jahre 1878. Nach dem Tod von Tessas Tante reist sie zu ihrem Bruder nach London. Gleich nach ihrer Ankunft wird sie von zwei mysteriösen Frauen entführt und gefangen gehalten. Zum ersten Mal in ihrem Leben erfährt Tessa nun etwas über ihre Gabe und muss erkennen, dass sie kein gewöhnlicher Mensch ist, sondern ein Teil der Schattenweltlergemeinschaft. Tessas Situation scheint zuerst auswegslos, doch dann wird sie durch Zufall von einem Schattenjäger gefunden und gerettet. Gemeinsam mit ihren neuen Freunden möchte Tessa nun endlich ihren Bruder James finden. Als Schattenweltlerin gerät sie dabei zwischen die Fronten der Spezies und muss sich entscheiden wem sie ihr Vertrauen schenkt.

Meine Meinung

“Clockwork Angel” von Cassandra Clare ist der erste Teil einer Spin-Off Trilogie zu den Chroniken der Unterwelt, die Handlung spielt sich gegen Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts ab und bildet somit die Vorgeschichte zu den Chroniken der Unterwelt.

"Wenn sich auf der ganzen Welt niemand für einen interessierte, existierte man dann überhaupt noch?"  (Clockwork Angel, Seite 25)

Die Hardcoverausgabe gab es in der ersten Zeit mit einem perfekt zur Handlung passenden Steampunk Coverumschlag, das Cover der neuen Ausgabe welches das Profil eines jungen Mannes zeigt sagt mir nicht sonderlich zu. Natürlich ist das Geschmackssache, deshalb möchte ich gleich auf den Inhalt zu sprechen kommen.

Die Geschichte spielt sich wie bereits erwähnt in der Vergangenheit ab und somit bekommt man es mit gänzlich neuen Charakteren zu tun. In meinen Augen eignet sich die Clockwork Trilogie daher auch sehr gut für alle Leserinnen und Leser die die Chroniken der Unterwelt nicht gelesen haben. Mich haben bereits die Bücher der Chroniken der Unterwelt sehr gut unterhalten, daher bin ich an die Prequel-Reihe mit gemischen Gefühlen herangegangen (die Angst enttäuscht zu werden war auf jeden Fall da).

Cassandra Clare hat mit “Clockwork Angel” wieder einmal ein Händchen für interessante Charaktere und einen guten Spürsinn für eine mitreisende Plotentwicklung bewiesen. Die agierenden Figuren haben ihre Ecken und Kanten und bringen im Zusammenspiel miteinander eine wunderbare Dynamik mit. Die Kulisse des späten 19. Jahrhunderts dient als Hintergrund der Ereignisse, welche mit einer passenden Sprache untermalt werden und zu einer gelungenen Atmosphäre beitragen. Dazu werden fantasievolle Steampunkelemente in Form diverser Maschinen eingewoben.

"»Ich bin eine Dame, Sophie. Und es wird allgemein erwartet, dass ein Mann sich für die Sicherheit einer Dame aufopfert.«" (Clockwork Angel, Seite 510)

Nachdem mich der Auftakt zur Clockwork Trilogie angesprochen hat, freue ich mich schon sehr darauf bald den Folgeband “Clockwork Prince” zu lesen.

Information zur Reihe

1. 2011 Clockwork Angel 2010 Clockwork Angel

2. 2012 Clockwork Prince 2011 Clockwork Prince

3. 2013 Clockwork Princess 2013 Clockwork Princess

Fazit

Bei diesem Fantasyabenteuer stimmt alles vom Setting über die Figuren bis hin zur Sprache. Diese Prequel-Trilogie zu den Chroniken der Unterwelt lohnt sich definitiv nicht nur für eingefleischte Fans!

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare has been on my to-read list for a very long time. I do not entirely know why it has taken me so long to get to this book. After all, the book has all the elements I enjoy, strong plot, memorable characters and excellent world building.

Tessa Grey arrives in England not long after her grandmother dies. Her brother, Nathaniel, has arranged for her passage and upon arriving at the dock she is meet by the Dark Sisters.  Her brother has been unavoidable detained and has sent them in his stead or so Tessa is lead to believe. The Dark Sisters quickly imprison her in their home and set about teaching her how to use her powers that she herself did not know existed.

Tessa soon discovers she is to be given, upon completing her training, to a person known only as the Magister. Fortunately, Will, a Shadowhunter, rescues her and brings her to the sanctuary of the Shodowhunter’s residence. There with the help of the other Shadowhunters Tessa will attempt to rescue Nathaniel. As the group tries to discover the whereabouts of Nathaniel a plot, involving a clockwork army, is discovered. Now they must rush to discover out who is behind the plot to take over London.   

The author has created an intricate steampunk world filled with magic and mystery. She most definitely does not suffer from lack of originality in this series. My favorite part of this book is the characters. Yes, there is lots of character development but it went beyond that. I identified with the characters and their circumstances in such a way that it elevated the story from good to great. Then the plot drew me in from the very beginning and moved along in such a fashion that I was never bored or pulled along too quickly.  I am already looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

In hind sight, I can honestly say I wish I had read this one sooner. I believe Clockwork Angel will appeal to readers of both fantasy and steampunk.

Ok, so I ended up liking this one way more than I thought I would. It's categorized as YA and with leads that are seventeen, rightfully so. However, I thought our heroine Tessa and our teased hero Will acted and felt more in their early to mid-twenties; this maturity made the story better for me. 

The magical/paranormal/steampunk components were pretty cool and interesting to read about. Since the romance wasn't too developed (Tessa's story obviously doesn't end here, therefore her romance lead is just teased at) and while we get a great introduction to the author's paranormal world, not fully immersed, I think this ranks below Callihan's Darkest London series but I would make it a B- to Darkest London's A scale. 

I haven't read the Mortal Instruments series and this is supposedly it's prequel, so I'm a newbie to the world, any and all my enjoyment is from a fresh, maybe missing information perspective. After I finished, I immediately planned on reading the next in the series because, like I said, I really did enjoy this story. I saw friends who had read the series and read their reviews, even the spoiler ones. 

The rest I'm going to put in spoiler tags because I found some things out about the series that have made me decide not continue reading. DON'T READ if you don't want to be spoiled for the whole series.

Anyway, glad I read this one but I won't be continuing with series.