Review: 107. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare...

I couldn't wait to get to Clockwork Angel, but it took me a while to finally get around to picking it up from the library...

Title: Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices #1)
Author: Cassandra Clare
ISBN-13: 9781416975861
Hardcover: 476 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Waukesha Public Library  

drey's thoughts:  
I enjoyed Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, and LOVED Clockwork Angel's cover. I meant to pick it up when it came out, but finally (yay!) got it. I guess I was waiting till it got closer to the release for Clockwork Prince...

Clockwork Angel is the story of Tessa Gray and how she gets involved with a group of Nephilim--the Shadowhunters. When her aunt dies, Tessa's brother sends for her to join him in London. Unbeknownst to her, she's got powers. Where from, she has no clue. But once in London she's kidnapped and forced to learn to manifest it. When she finds out that it's all so she can be married to The Magister, she decides to escape.

And runs right into the arms of the Shadowhunters. Will is gorgeous and utterly rude. Jem is handsome and nice. You know who she's attracted to then, right? But never mind that. The story is crazy busy with intrigue, nefarious plots, and clockwork automatons--who has time for romance? *wink*

Clockwork Angel is a fabulous book with characters you'd love (to love and hate) and a story you can't put down. A must for those who love young adult steampunk!

drey's rating: Excellent!

Have you read Clockwork Angel? What did you think?

36. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare...

FTC Disclosure: My copy of City of Glass was another library book out on a short-term loan, lol. I am an IndieBound and Amazon affiliate, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.

About the book:

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters — never mind that enter-ing the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City — whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the final installment of the New York Times bestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.

drey's thoughts:
This final book in Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments trilogy rounds up all the likely suspects and throws 'em in the pit to duke it out. Along the way we get (surprise!) revelations galore, bad guys sprouting out of the shadows, and love standing on the edge of a coin. Heads you win, tails you lose.

Some of it's a bit predictable, but the story's still enjoyable. I really enjoyed Clary, and the relationship she has with her BFF, Simon. Things are different from the way the wanted it to work, but that doesn't stop these two from trying to figure out how to win against that nutjob Valentine. Pick it up if you're looking for a quick series to pass the time with.

drey's rating: 3.5/5 Very Good

Title: City of Glass (Mortal Instruments #3)
Author: Cassandra Clare
ISBN-13: 9781416914303
Hardcover: 541 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2009
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon

Challenges: 100+, Support Your Local Library

35. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare...

FTC Disclosure: My copy of City of Ashes came from my local library. I am an IndieBound and Amazon affiliate, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.

About the book:

Welcome back to the exotic world beyond the shadows...

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace.How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

drey's thoughts:
Remember when I said City of Bones was formulaic? Well, City of Ashes is, too, but in a wholly different way. That is, if you think the whole deluded egomaniac trying to kill everyone because they're unclean, is formulaic; which I do.

Poor Clary. Her father's nuts, her mother's dead to the world, her father-figure is a werewolf, her best friend gets bitten by vamps. Poor Jace, getting thrown out when his adoptive parents return, because they're not sure if they can trust him. Or is that the only reason? And then the big bad scary Inquisitor shows up, believing the worst of Jace solely because Valentine. The sins of the father and all that, eh? Will people never learn?

City of Ashes has twists and turns that keep your interest in the Mortal Instruments series, because you have to know how it will all turn out.

drey's rating: 3.5/5 Very Good

Title: City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments #2)
Author: Cassandra Clare
ISBN-13: 9781416972242
Hardcover: 453 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2008
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon

Challenges: 100+, Support Your Local Library

33. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare...

FTC Disclosure: My copy of City of Bones was just picked up from my local library and will go back on the next trip. I am an IndieBound and Amazon affiliate, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.

Their hidden world is about to be revealed....

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it's hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary.

Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary's mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....

drey's thoughts:
I don't remember why I picked up Cassandra Clare's City of Bones, Book One of The Mortal Instruments series. But I couldn't just let it sit on the shelf, and not just because it has to go back to the library (and I so have enough re-hold books on my list!). So I picked it up, and read it in one fell swoop.

Clary is just your normal kid who lives with her mom, and hangs with her best bud. Then one day it all changes, and so not for the better. I mean, would you think your life got better if all of a sudden yucky creepy crawlies started showing up, trying to eat you for a snack? Not to mention, they stink, too. Yuck! Now, her mom's missing, she has new "friends", her BFF is crushing on someone else, and the guy she thinks she likes can be a total jerk.

City of Bones is dark and entertaining, if a tad formulaic; there are no surprises here. Put it on your list if you're looking for a quick breezy YA urban fantasy read.

drey's rating: 3/5 Good

Title: City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1)
Author: Cassandra Clare
ISBN-13: 9781416914280
Hardcover: 485 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2007
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon

Challenges: 100+, Support Your Local Library