Clockwork Angel sets the introduction to this series. We are meeting Tessa Gray who arrives in SouthHampton from New York. She follows her brother Nate after the death of her beloved aunt. Nate moved to London quite while ago to pursue his luck here and when their aunt died, he asked Tessa to come and live with him in London. Unfortunately, to Tessa's surprised Nate isn't waiting for her at docks, instead he sends The Dark Sisters. Under the impression, that this is what Nate wants, Tessa joins the sisters for the journey to London.
In another part of England, London to be precise, we're meeting two young Shadowhunters, Parabatai, Will Herodale and Jem Carstairs. They both chase a demon and kill him, but failed to prevent a murder of a young girl. Headstrong Will then decides to follow the investigation through.
Six weeks later, Tessa is in an awful situation. Not only she has been kidnapped by The Dark Sisters, but they also hold her brother as hostage in order to persuade her use her new found power. You see, Tessa isn't an ordinary human girl, she has actually a power she wasn't aware of. She can change to other people. Somehow the sisters knew about this and try to train her to develop this power. Otherwise they will kill Nate. Tessa finds out that this all is happening because she supposed to be a bride to the very mysterious MAGISTER. Tessa tries to escape unsuccessfully when she finds out this little bit of this information. She doesn't understand, how can she have this power? What is wrong with her? Why does the Magister want to marry her?
One day Will stumbles across the house where the sisters keeping Tessa. The investigation leads him there. He saves Tessa and brings her into the INSTITUTE where she meets Charlotte, the head of London Enclave and head of London Institute, Henry her husband and invetor. Jasmeena, a girl who hates the fact that she is a shadow hunter and all she wishes for is a human life. Sophie the maid, who looks after everyone. Will introduces Tessa to the Shadow World and they suggest that she might be a warlock. He gives her the Codex to read and learn about the Shadow World, she is now a part of. The first night in the Institute, Tessa wakes up to lovely sound of music. Someone is playing a violin. A it comes straight from the room across hers. And there she meets Jem.
And love triangle slowly starts to take shape. The trio decides to investigate the strange Magister and what he wants from Tessa. Tessa and Will share couple of moments thanks to which she starts to develop feelings for him. But Will is crashing them down. Jem is the one who picks up the pieces. We also find out a little bit more of why the Magister wants Tessa. Apparently he created her? What the Hell? Tessa is so confused. The Magister, Mortmain, former Nate's employer attacks the Institute and tries to kidnap Tessa. We also find out that Nate, who the Shadow hunters risked their life to save, is on the plan with him. They are nearly successful but at the last minute, everything turns well to for our Shadow hunters and Tessa. Unfortunately, Nate and the Magister escape without really finding out why he wants Tessa and what he wants to achieve with all this.
The book ends with with Tessa telling Will about her feelings which get crushed by him. He breaks her heart and again Jem is the one who picks up the pieces of her broken heart. But at the last minute we see Will entering the house and asking the help of Magnus Bane.
Oh how glad I was to be back in the Shadow world. I missed it so much. I must say I was worried that the books might be boring compare to the Mortal Instruments series and I also worried that Cassandra will fail to make these books interesting. The Mortal Instruments were excellent. Can her writing skills achieve the same with the Infernal Devices series?
And yes, she has done it again. The story drew me in instantly, from the first page. The fact that we have been introduced to Tessa and the power she even didn't know she had, was the key point. And of course there is the famous love triangle.
We're meeting Tessa Gray, New Yorker, who just lost her aunt and who's brother has been kidnapped. Not only that, but she has this Shape-shifting power, she wasn't aware of. She is alone in a strange city and completely depends on the good will of the Shadow-hunters of the London Institute. But even then she keeps her spirit. She is strong. She loves books and she feels with her whole heart and soul. I see a lot of me in Tessa's character. It might be the love for books, I don't know, but I really like her. She has a lot of to deal with and she does it with dignity.
And then we have these two young shadow-hunters, parabatai. Will Herondale who reminds me a lot of Jace. He is arrogant. Witty. Fearless. Headstrong. Doesn't listen to anybody. He loves books. He reads a lot and also has the great habit of quoting them. That's why he and Tessa have a connection straight away. Well and the fact that he saved her life. The only person Will listen to is Jem.
Jem Carstairs is an orphan, who's parents were killed by a demon. We also find out that this demon torture Jem by injecting him with a demon drug and Jem is now addicted to it and cannot live without it. The drug he needs to take, is slowly draining the life out of him. His destiny is to slowly die and therefore he lives in every moment. He hates that all people see is the dying boy. But he is the nicest person. He cares about everyone and he is the first person, Tessa tells about her feelings and worries. He is always reasonable and responsible but can laugh at a joke. I must say Jem is my favourite character (apart from Magnus Bane) and in this love triangle I am definitely #TEAMJEM .
But I absolutely love the fact that these books are prequel to the Mortal Instruments series so we find out more from the history of The Shadow World. We are also meeting Magnus Bane, my favourite character through both series. We start to understand a little more to the references which were mentioned in the Mortal Instruments series. I love how Cassie Clare inter-connected these books together.
The writing is funny. There is so many witty conversations between Jem & Will and I cannot forget to mention the flirty exchange between Will & Tessa. She has an excellent way to manage him and his ever-changing moods. The story is interesting and keeps you on your toes. It's easy to follow but also draws you in in the same time. You want to keep reading on. You want to find out what the Magister wants to do with Tessa. You want to find out who she will pick - Will or Jem. And of course it makes you read the second book as soon as you finished the first one. There is a lot of twist and turns I was not expecting but it makes is so much more interesting.
I have really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any fan of the Mortal Instruments. Be aware, you will not be able to put it down. You will laugh. And you will cry. A lot. I went through whole range of emotions while reading this book. Which is a sign a very well written book. Actually I did recommended it to my sister and she is hooked as well now. I would say though to wait a little after you finished the Mortal Instruments series so you can truly enjoy this one.
Another well done do Cassandra Clare.
And here are some of my favourite quotes:
“It's all right to love someone who doesn't love you back, as long as they're worth you loving them. As long as they deserve it.”
“Whatever you are physically...male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy--all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.”
“Sometimes, when I have to do something I don't want to do, I pretend I'm a character from a book. It's easier to know what they would do.”
“One must always be careful of books," said Tessa, "and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.”
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