In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.
With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them.
Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?
As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.
Thoughts:
5/5 stars.
Out of the 6 shadowhunter books by Cassandra Clare, this one was my favorite. Probably because I am a sucker when it comes to romance in novels. There are many books with love triangles (Cassandra's Mortal Instruments books, Twilight, and countless others), but for some reason I think this one was different. Maybe because of the situations involving death and curses, but it certainly made me anticipate who in the end would win Tessa's affection. Out of all of the characters, I would have to say that James Carstairs (Jem) is my favorite; he knows he is going to die but he refuses to sit around and wait for it to happen. Tessa, in my point of view, is very independent-- in the sense that she doesn't let people push her around. After the end of Clockwork Angel (the first book) I was somewhat against Will-- he was rude to Tessa and acted like a jerk to everyone except Jem. Will acted that way for a reason though, and when I realized what it was, I felt sorry for him, he wasted a whole 5 years of his life under some curse that wasn't even there. The ending is bittersweet-- depending if you are team Jem (like me) or team Will. I thought it was bittersweet because I was happy that Tessa was getting engaged to Jem, but I was sad that Will couldn't have her. I was also happy that Henry and Charlotte's relationship was actually real, unlike everyone else's rumors. All in all, I really enjoyed the novel and Cassandra Clare is still one of my favorite authors. She certainly likes to throw in interesting twists and turns that toy with emotions in her novels to keep things interesting. I am highly anticipating the next novel in the Infernal Devices series, Clockwork Princess (which is set to come out in November 2012), and I hope that Cassandra won't kill Jem. Or anyone else--besides the Magister.
If you haven't read any of The Mortal Instruments series or Infernal Devices series, I highly encourage you!
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