Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare | Review

Title: Clockwork Angel
Series: The Infernal Devices, Book #1
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Steampunk/Urban Fantasy
Page Count: 479
Avg. Goodreads Rating: 4.32/5 stars

My Rating: 4/5 stars
My Goodreads Review: Here

This review contains very mild spoilers. (Nothing major.)

REVIEW:

So, I began this book a bit dubious. I had just finished reading City of Lost Souls  and it was the best Mortal Instruments book yet. Now, I knew that going into City of Heavenly Fire right away would be a bad idea because I had heard that spoilers abounded for this trilogy.

So, I decided to read Clockwork Angel next, with high hopes. After all, many people had told me that it was much better than the Mortal Instruments series. And I loved the Mortal Instruments, so surely I would adore this, right?

Well, yes and no. It took me awhile to get used to the new characters. Of course, I loved the surprise appearances from my favorite character, Magnus Bane. It was very interesting to see him in this time setting after he had spoken a bit about his past in the Mortal Instruments series.

But surprisingly enough, I also loved the new characters! I couldn't really relate to Tessa - as she is much more fearless and selfless than I am! - but I admired her and thought she was a great main character. Her drive to search for her brother was so honorable and I loved that about her. I also loved how she was a fighter.

Will was a character I has heard a lot about from many people. I had high expectations for him, seeing as many fangirls were hoping to lay claim to his heart. And I enjoyed his character! I thought he was very witty and funny, and many lines of his had me chuckling. I really ship him and Tessa together, because I love their banter and the tension between them.

Then we have Jem. Sweet Jem. I felt so sorry for his situation, but at the same time he was so brave and he didn't seem to like talking about it much. I just love how quietly passionate he is. I hope we get to see more of him and Will's friendship throughout the trilogy because that was one of the highlights of the book to me.

And then we come to the villain/antagonist, the mysterious Magister. I love mystery books, and the fact that this already awesome book had such a mystery thrown in was so great! I kept guessing and being wrong, and then changing my guess. I did unfortunately get spoiled for who it is, but that didn't stop me from being a little surprised anyway.

Overall, this was such a great opening book. I loved how it had enough action and mystery and intrigue and romance to keep me on my toes and turning the pages like a mad woman. Yet, it wrapped up rather well, leaving just enough loose ends for the sequel.

Personally, I think Clockwork Angel is a better opening book to the trilogy than City of Bones was, and already I am in love with all these new characters and this new setting.

Musing Mondays | Feb. 15

 

So... this is a meme I haven't participated in for awhile!

Musing Mondays, hosted by A Daily Rhythm is hosted every Monday (obviously) and asks you to answer one of the following questions:

 

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

 As well as the random question of the week:

 

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Do you read more than one book at once? Why, or why not?

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I'm currently reading...

Clockwork Prince, by Cassandra Clare

 

It's hard for me to say what I think about it so far. I'm about 350 pages through, if I'm remembering correctly, and I still have mixed feelings. I think it was a bad idea to try to read The Infernal Devices coming off of a Mortal Instruments hangover, because now I can't focus on any of these new characters. I just want to know what happens in City of Heavenly Fire! I think it might be more well-written than The Mortal Instruments, but I just cared more about the characters in The Mortal Instruments. I could change my mind though, in Clockwork Princess! (I'm Team Will by the way!)

 

Do you read more than one book at once? Why, or why not?

 

I am only able to read more than one book at a time if it's for school purposes. If I have one book to read on my free time/a book I enjoy, and then one book that's for required reading, I generally find I have to read two at a time to keep myself sane!

 

Under normal circumstances, I have difficulty fully investing myself in a world if I'm reading two books at once! I'm jealous of people who can do this with no problem. And I also wish I could be able to keep all of the details from the books straight in my head, but I guess it just isn't meant to be.

 

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I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day, and if you are in the U.S., I hope you enjoyed the day off today. Have a great week, and let me know what you're currently reading, if you want to!



Harry Potter Moment of the Week (6)

This is a weekly meme, hosted by Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows Reviews and Leah @ Uncorked Thoughts. Every week, there is a new topic/question about the Harry Potter universe, books, or characters. Anything to do with these awesome books! I've had Harry Potter on the brain lately, and this week the focus is on one of my favorite characters in the whole series!

 

This week's question: Favorite Rubeus Hagrid Moment?

 

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Throughout the entire series, I think Hagrid is just such a mentor and a fatherly figure to Harry, while at the same time still being a good friend. He appears so gruff but is actually so kind and warm-hearted and that's where all my favorite Hagrid moments originate!

 

Spoilers for the books from here on out. I, of course, love the fact that he treats these terrifying beasts like they are his children. I love when he adopts Norbert the Dragon (partially because that's exactly something I would do). I also really like the scene where Hagrid sends Harry a letter with these big tear drops on them and it's all about Aragog's sad passing. Then he hosts something of a funeral, and I don't know, I always thought that showed what a huge heart Hagrid had, that he was hosting a funeral for a giant spider.

 

Of course, I also love his moments with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, whenever he is helping them out. Oh, it's so hard to pick just one scene, since I love every time that Hagrid comes onto the page! I think those are my favorites, though. 

January Wrap-Up 2016

So, the first month of the year was a very slow reading month for me. I was in an awful reading slump, didn't really want to read much of anything. (Partially because I was so obsessed with Star Wars after seeing the new movie that I could hardly focus on anything else. But also because I was feeling unmotivated. And un-excited about books, which is never a fun feeling to have!)

However, I did manage to finish three books! They are as follows:

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, illustrations by Jim Kay: This was the first book I read this year, and I think I adored it even more than the first times I read it! The illustrations really added to the reading experience. My favorite picture was on Page 220. It was so cute! Overall, this book is just so great, and I discuss some of my memories of the book in my Goodreads Review which you can find here. ★★★★★
2. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: Had to read this as a required reading for English class. And I didn't understand a word of it (I completely bluffed my way through the Final and still managed to get a passing score, which I am still immensely proud of, aha!). I think the language was too old and complex for me, and I didn't really like any of the characters, except perhaps Sydney Carton at the very end. I did think that it portrayed a good theme, though, and I can see why many people love it, and it's considered a classic! (Review/Further Thoughts Here) ★★☆☆☆ 
3. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare: Okay, so I kind of liked the first three Mortal Instruments books, but didn't fall in love with them, or any of the characters. But this one? I am so in love! I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book or City of Lost Souls (which I read in February) since I read them. Everything was so amazing, and just clicked for some reason. I like the characters a lot, and the plot I thought stood out more than the plot of the first three books, but that could be just me. A lot of people consider this the weak point of this six-book series, but so far it has been one of my favorites. ★★★★★
   (City of Fallen Angels Review)
   (City of Lost Souls Review)
   I will probably have a review for the books on my blog sometime as well!

 So I didn't read too awfully much, but I hopefully will be able to read more in February since City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls have made my reading slump mysteriously disappear! I'd love to know what your favorite book of January was!

A Christmas/End of 2015 Book Haul

 

Hello, once again, friends! It's been quite a while since I last posted, but I figured that tonight I might as well do a couple quick updates about what new books I've added to my shelf since the last time I posted on this blog!

Gifts from Other People:

Because I have a lovely family, they bought me two books (sort of three) for Christmas in 2015! And both are quite iconic books that I was so very happy to receive!

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling, with illustrations by Jim Kay was the first book I got. I was so excited to get this one, because believe it or not, I don't actually own my own copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone which I believe is a necessity to every Potterhead's collection. It has a very special place both in my heart and on my shelves. (I've already read it, but never fear you can hear more of my thoughts in a Wrap-Up coming to you soon!)
2. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Yes, I know! I have never read Twilight, shame on me. I'm actually quite eager to read it. I have heard some very good things, and some very bad things, but I do know it was sort of a defining piece for YA literature, and since young adult is my favorite type of book, I must see what all this ruckus is about!
3. Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer. Since my Dad is so awesome, that he bought me the 10th anniversary edition! For those of you who don't know (I'm sure you all do), Life and Death is a special version of Twilight. The author genderbent all the characters. So Bella is a boy named Beau, Edward is a girl named Edythe, and so on!

Thank you again to my family for getting me those books, along with various gift cards, and a year-long subscription to National Geographic Magazine, which I'm so happy about.

Now for the book I got myself!

• Lost Stars by Claudia Gray. It a Star Wars EU book/considered canon! I was so unbelievably excited to get my hands on this book and I've heard nothing but great, amazing, fantastic things!! That just makes me even more excited to see what it's about. I know it has some star-crossed lover story, and that it shows a really unique point of view of the first trilogy as well as the road to the newest Star Wars movie. (Which I saw January 4th and I'm obsessed with. I loved it!!)

What cool books did you get recently? I'd love to know!