bookthief's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I loved this book so much. It was mysterious, full of action and it was very suspense. The world of the shadow hunters and downworlders was very well thiught through with lots of different powers and characters from both the angel and demon side.
Tessa was a brave and courageous character, who had a very unique power where she could Change. I am really curious to find out what Tessa actually is and the rest of her powers. Her brother, Nate, unexpectedly betrayed Tessa, by conspiring with Mortmain. At this point I felt bad for Tessa as she still loved Nate even though he doesn’t anymore.
Will was an interesting character, with major mood swings. The best chapter with Will was when he fought with De Quincey. This is because it was intense and done so well I felt like I was actually there watching the fight. I really want to find out what happened to his parents and what he was talking about to Magnus Bane in the epilogue.
Jen was a sweet character who I thought we didn’t see enough of. I really hope in the next book he is in it more, so I get to find out more about Jen. I also feel really bad for him and his illness considering there is no cure and he is suffering badly.
Overall, I thought this was a great book and I highly recommend for any YA Fantasy readers.
Tessa was a brave and courageous character, who had a very unique power where she could Change. I am really curious to find out what Tessa actually is and the rest of her powers. Her brother, Nate, unexpectedly betrayed Tessa, by conspiring with Mortmain. At this point I felt bad for Tessa as she still loved Nate even though he doesn’t anymore.
Will was an interesting character, with major mood swings. The best chapter with Will was when he fought with De Quincey. This is because it was intense and done so well I felt like I was actually there watching the fight. I really want to find out what happened to his parents and what he was talking about to Magnus Bane in the epilogue.
Jen was a sweet character who I thought we didn’t see enough of. I really hope in the next book he is in it more, so I get to find out more about Jen. I also feel really bad for him and his illness considering there is no cure and he is suffering badly.
Overall, I thought this was a great book and I highly recommend for any YA Fantasy readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and War
bookswithlauren's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Torture, Body horror, Death, Suicide, Animal death, Drug use, Gun violence, Infertility, Violence, Bullying, and War
britwalsh16's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I started this book a LOOOOONG time ago, but I never really did, cause it starts out kinda slow. As much as I love the Mortal Instruments series, I only read the first couple chapters of Clockwork Angel & then let myself get sidetracked with different books. So it laid in my DNF pile for a while. I finally got back to it, and this time fully let myself sit with the book, and I loved it!! The characters are so sweet and enjoyable, Tessa is just the sweetest girl who’s life gets turned upside down, Will is badass and sweet (though he doesn’t want anyone to know) despite keeping everyone at arms length, and Jem is such a beautiful soul and such a sweetheart. And though you spend the whole book searching for the villain, the Magister, I think the true villain comes out of nowhere and kicks you in the ass! Overall, I definitely recommend this book for any lover of fantasy and specifically the Shadowhunters world that Cassandra Clare has created!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, Torture, Murder, War, Kidnapping, Confinement, Death of parent, Blood, Death, and Stalking
Moderate: Drug use and Infertility
Minor: Alcohol
katyfayyyx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
God Will you do make it hard to love you! Jesus. I will always be on team Will okay but god he is just so a dick in this one, to the point when I hated him at times like fucking hell calm down. Like I know why is doing he but Jesus it is just so annoying like he is the Original gaslighter, but I do still love him. Also I will always be on team Will and Tessa as well but girl I was have pushed him down some stairs if I was her. This was a re-read for me as I wanted to re-read the Infernal Devices before I read the Last Hours series but I read Chain of Gold and I have totally forgot what happens in it and now the series in complete I do in fact need to read them. Also I love revisiting my queen Sophie and Charlotte 🧎🏻♀️ also I will say I actually didn't hate Tessa this time which is some kind of miracle because god I kinda hater her when I first read this series as I thought it was a bit of a cry baby like no where near as bad as Clary because I will always be a hater of her in the Moral Instruments because she is fucking annoying, I said what I said. Also I have missed my sweet wholesome and fluffy bean which is Henry, I would be willing to be fight the entire Clave for my man because I fucking love him and I think he is a genius and I love him. I just love all these characters chaos like I just know that Charlotte is just so over their shit. Also Will is just a dick but god him and Tessa have soooo much chemistry, like the Attic from the whole just pissing each other off to the bit when Will thought Tessa was dead, I would die from them and I just know the pain that I am about to thought and I don't think if I am ready to got though it again but I will. Also don't get me wrong I fucking love Jem he is a sweetheart and he is so kind and does make me cry a number of times but Will just Will and you can't compete which him and some how I don't know why I some how hated Nate more than a did the first time, which I didn't know what possible but.... it is happen. <3 Church, you are the icon<3 However, the reason why this one is an only four stars is that i think the start is a bit slow and hard to get into it and at times it just felt like nothing was happening and that we were struck in one bit of the story.
Epilogue
Epilogue
'Magnus reached behind himself and locked the parlour door. Very well, he said Why don't you tell me what the problem is.'
*Please note that is review was written after my third time reading this book *
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, Torture, Violence, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Confinement
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Medical content, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Grief, Confinement, Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Minor: Murder, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm
siglerbooknook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I forgot how much I love this story, and the narrator captures it beautifully. I love her voices amd characterization of each person throughout the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Chronic illness, and Confinement
Moderate: Classism, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Murder
Minor: Gore, Grief, Blood, Body shaming, Drug use, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Infertility
aklovekorn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Physical abuse, Body horror, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Addiction, Blood, and Death of parent
sudatot's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Addiction, Death, Violence, Confinement, Chronic illness, War, Infertility, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Self harm, Physical abuse, Murder, Dysphoria, Body horror, Ableism, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug use
Moderate: Car accident, Medical content, Sexism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Infidelity
Minor: Bullying
amberinpieces's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Confinement, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Addiction, and Violence
Minor: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Infertility
anniereads221's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Body horror, Ableism, Grief, Violence, Torture, Death, Blood, Racism, and Murder
keysmashhh's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Plot: 3/5
Character: 4.75/5
Relationships: 4.5/5
World-Building: 4/5
Genre: 4.5/5
Plot: I always find Cassandra Clare's books to be a bit lacking in the plot but honestly she always makes up for it with her characters and relationships. This plot I found to be a bit slow (kind of like exposition for the other books to follow but I really didn't mind. The pace could be considered slow but I love that she took the time to flesh out the characters and the subtleties of their relationships and didn't lose the plot completely. The betrayal! now that was a good plotline - which honestly I didn't see coming the first OR THE SECOND time I read this book which is amazing! I was genuinely moved by the deaths as well - Will saying goodbye to Thomas made a few tears in my eyes
Character: CASSANDRA CLARE YOU ARE AMAZING AT WRITING CHARACTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JEM CARSTAIRS IS THE BEST FICTIONAL MAN - THERE I SAID IT! WILL IS SO COMPLICATED AND ANGSTY BUT IS STILL SO AMAZING AND TESSA - SHE IS THE PERFECT BALANCE OF QUIRKY WITHOUT GETTING ON MY NERVES. All of the side characters work as well - I don't really feel that emotionally attached but considering she has somehow created 3 main characters I love - I will let that go. I also loved that we got to see more of Camille and MAGNUS in this book - it was nice to flesh out their characters in other centuries
Relationships: ugh this book makes me so torn when it comes to romance - on the one hand, Will and Jem are perfect for each other - they are such a power couple and so caring and perfect and I love them. On the other hand, the intellectual, flirty snarkiness of Will and Tessa fuels my main character syndrome but finally Jem and Tessa are perfect, they are the epitome of balance in a couple - so I give up and think they should all just kiss each other and be done with it - I'm not choosing
World-Building: The world of shadowhunters is so intricate and amazing whilst also seemingly having no useless exposition - it manages the balance of amazing descriptions of Victorian London (which are so sensory) and forwarding the plot - it really is amazing. The tiny details CC added in this such as the colours of mourning and the differences in vocab between England and America make this book so authentic
Genre: The teen fantasy romance adventure chaotic genre is so dense but these always rise to the top - not just for their characters but they rise even higher than the original Mortal Instruments series - there is something so amazing and so heart-breakingly well written in these books are that will always make me love them
1st Read: March 2021
Character: 4.75/5
Relationships: 4.5/5
World-Building: 4/5
Genre: 4.5/5
Spoiler
Plot: I always find Cassandra Clare's books to be a bit lacking in the plot but honestly she always makes up for it with her characters and relationships. This plot I found to be a bit slow (kind of like exposition for the other books to follow but I really didn't mind. The pace could be considered slow but I love that she took the time to flesh out the characters and the subtleties of their relationships and didn't lose the plot completely. The betrayal! now that was a good plotline - which honestly I didn't see coming the first OR THE SECOND time I read this book which is amazing! I was genuinely moved by the deaths as well - Will saying goodbye to Thomas made a few tears in my eyes
Character: CASSANDRA CLARE YOU ARE AMAZING AT WRITING CHARACTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JEM CARSTAIRS IS THE BEST FICTIONAL MAN - THERE I SAID IT! WILL IS SO COMPLICATED AND ANGSTY BUT IS STILL SO AMAZING AND TESSA - SHE IS THE PERFECT BALANCE OF QUIRKY WITHOUT GETTING ON MY NERVES. All of the side characters work as well - I don't really feel that emotionally attached but considering she has somehow created 3 main characters I love - I will let that go. I also loved that we got to see more of Camille and MAGNUS in this book - it was nice to flesh out their characters in other centuries
Relationships: ugh this book makes me so torn when it comes to romance - on the one hand, Will and Jem are perfect for each other - they are such a power couple and so caring and perfect and I love them. On the other hand, the intellectual, flirty snarkiness of Will and Tessa fuels my main character syndrome but finally Jem and Tessa are perfect, they are the epitome of balance in a couple - so I give up and think they should all just kiss each other and be done with it - I'm not choosing
World-Building: The world of shadowhunters is so intricate and amazing whilst also seemingly having no useless exposition - it manages the balance of amazing descriptions of Victorian London (which are so sensory) and forwarding the plot - it really is amazing. The tiny details CC added in this such as the colours of mourning and the differences in vocab between England and America make this book so authentic
Genre: The teen fantasy romance adventure chaotic genre is so dense but these always rise to the top - not just for their characters but they rise even higher than the original Mortal Instruments series - there is something so amazing and so heart-breakingly well written in these books are that will always make me love them
1st Read: March 2021
Spoiler
Finally, I'm back reading Cassandra Clare books again! I read this in a day and loved it. It is so much better than the 1st books in my opinion. Maybe that's to do with me being British and loving books set in London, maybe I am just a sucker for Victorian London?Jem is my favourite by far, I would protect him with all my heart. Im interested in how Jems addiction is going to effect the rest of the plot and hopefully I will get some good content out of that in the future I loved that we got to see more Magnus content because boy oh boy does my little heart sing when he talks. I loved the bit where he mentioned his type and then basically described Alec. Also the bit right at the end with Will and him is intriguing. Tessa is so much more likeable than Clary, she is 10x more intresting and I don't roll my eyes every time she opens her mouth. Romance: Jem x Will is the supreme couple. However, I don't totally hate Will and Tessa, they are the predictable couple but they don't make me want to throw up like Clary and Jace.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Grief
Minor: Drug use, Infertility, and Death of parent