Saturday 25 July 2015

THE INFERNAL DEVICES #1


First of all, how awesome is the title of this series? I'm not even sure what The Infernal Devices are yet but they sound SO COOL.

Anyway, onto the important stuff!

The Infernal Devices trilogy is basically the prequels to The Mortal Instruments, and is set in Victorian England! There are lots of shadowhunters, warlocks, vampires, demons, and ALSO. ROBOTS. Interesting right?!

But despite all the great ingredients, I gave Clockwork Angel three stars on Goodreads... PLEASE DON'T HATE ME CASSANDRA CLARE FANS. I REALLY wanted to love this book, in fact I was so prepared to love it! So when reading the first half of it felt like trying to run through a muddy swamp my high hopes were very much squished.

I might as well just make a list of the things I liked/disliked:

DISLIKED:

The actual writing felt quite amateur! There was way too much dumping of information, particularly in the first half of the book. I guess because the author was obviously introducing the setting, the world, and the characters but the overloading of some descriptions actually made me nauseous.

For example:

But that wasn't what made her stare. He had the most beautiful face she had ever seen. Tangled black hair and eyes like blue glass. Elegant cheekbones, a full mouth, and long, thick lashes. Even the curve of his throat was perfect.

Stop. Just stop. It's just all a little too much! All the apparent perfection is frying my brain! And the author actually pauses the story to describe Will's appearance in chunky paragraphs, and I just wasn't a huge fan of that.

Are Will and Jace basically the same person?! Their characters seem far too similar. Beautiful 17 year olds who are cocky, smart, sarcastic and somehow always 'angry but amused'. The similarities make me want to literally facepalm. I'm certain there are other ways of writing an interesting male protagonist. A friend of mine said that Will was far softer, and kinder than Jace, but right now I can't see it. Jace made me laugh out loud, Will's humour hardly ever did. It always seemed far darker, in fact Will himself has a very dark, and at times cruel side to him. By the end of Clockwork Angel he seemed like nothing short of a pig. BUT I must say, his character is well written (despite the similarities to Jace) I like how tightly wrapped he is in mystery, and Cassandra hasn't let us off the hook of suspense, which definitely makes me want to continue reading the series!

Tessa. Tessa Tessa Tessa. A normal girl who falls into the arms of the Institute after sustaining injuries, and has a unique unheard of ability. Clary, anyone? But, I did actually quite like Tessa even though her character seemed a little... useless at times, and why are Will and Jem both falling for her? Is it because she's pretty? (Because of course, all main characters have to be even when they don't know it *rolls eyes*) or because she loves to read? What is it that they like about her?

Which brings me onto the stuff I did quite like about Clockwork Angel:

Personally, I really liked Tessa's relationship with her brother. I liked how dedicated she was to him, but also how she reacted to his betrayal, and was totally aware of his bad qualities. I liked that Cassandra made her a Downworlder! It blurs the lines between Shadowhunters as the 'goodies' and Downworlders as the 'baddies', which is good. I totally approve :D

Nate's character was so interesting! He definitely surprised me, I wasn't expecting cruelty from him, but apparently cruelty and cowardice make a pretty good match.

Sophie. Loved Sophie. Totally love Sophie omg she was so fierce and her scar makes her seem so hardcore and ldhkshfkafhakhjsjhskhgkghkje I JUST LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT HER.


Thomas. Excuse me while I SOB into my pillow. Why Cassandra. Why :'(

Jem. Such a sweetheart! I like him way more than I like Will right now, and yeah that'll probably change but I don't think I'd mind if the story evolved into a Tessa/Jem thing! And honestly, Jem and Will's bromance is one of the best things about this book. Das true love right there.

Also omg quick side note, does anyone else imagine Will's character to look like Aaron Johnson?!


Am I right?! I'm totally right aren't I :D

Charlotte. Charlotte is so badass! And there's so much I don't know about her relationship with Henry! I can't tell if they're actually in love or if theirs was a marriage of convenience, and if so is Charlotte actually in love with Henry, and he just doesn't know it?? I NEED TO KNOW ALL THE THINGS.

ALSO I love the clockwork twist! I wasn't sure the whole robot thing would work but it actually does, and it's quite refreshing to read about in the midst of all the magical stuff!

OMG I ALMOST FORGOT. MAGNUS. MAGNUS IS HERE. LOVE MAGNUS. And he's as cool and fabulous as ever. 

And finally, The Magister. What a creep. But a very well written creep!!! Can't wait to find out why he's such a psychopath/why everyone is so afraid of him/why he's obsessed with Tessa!

Ok so after this pretty long list it's become clear that I really liked most of the characters in this book, so as long as the plot remains juicy, and the writing style improves I'm sure I'll fall head over heals in love with this trilogy.

I'll let you all know how it goes!


Have you guys read The Infernal Devices? If so, do you prefer it over TMI? And do you see the similarities between some of the characters or am I just being super picky?? And who's your favourite character of them all?!




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4 comments

  1. I read The Infernal Devices last year and LOVED it, but was also kind of ashamed to be reading it. Cassandra Clare tends to be my guilt read.... But yeah, I was not a fan of Tessa. Even her name bothers me. If we took her out of the book, I'd be much happier!
    Beth x
    www.thequietpeople.com

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    1. I totally agree, her books are the type I read when looking to sink my teeth into something quick and easy! Which is why the lack of 'grippingness' in Clockwork Angel disappointed me :(((

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  2. I LOVE CHARLOTTE SO SO MUCH. SHE IS EPIC. I actually wish the series was by her because she's so much more interesting than Tessa. *coughs awkwardly* SO. I am a fan. I am a huge wild rabid Cassandra Clare fan, but I WAAAAAY prefer The Mortal Instrument series. I found Will irritating, actually, and Jem is such a sweetie, but I figure he ain't gonna get the girl because the bad boy always does. -_- And Tess? I feel pretty meh about her. I LOVE MAGNUS TO SMITHEREENS.

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    1. I really did not like Will's character for like 60% of the series but I definitely warmed up to him (and by warmed up I mean sob for his little broken heart) by clockwork princess :)
      TMI felt a little more... sophisticated? I haven't read the last three books so can't make an informed judgement so I'll have to wait and see which one I prefer! At least TID didn't have include incest... fake or not *gag*

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