Thursday 5 January 2012

Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare


Read GoodReads Synopsis
Rating: 4.5
Author: Cassandra Clare
First Published: August 31st 2010
Publisher: Walker Books
Paperback Pages: 476




I know I wont be able to do it. I won't be able to express how much I am in LOVE with this book. I know that this will be a failed attempt to describe how this book made me feel. Because there are NO words to describe near perfection and feeling of satisfaction and utter delight that I got after reading this book. But I will attempt nonetheless.Maybe I will be able to convince you, you who like me had skepticism about this book, to drop everything, cuddle up with a nice hot drink and start an adventure that you'd hope never has to end.

I was quite skeptical to read this book at first as it mentioned vampires and warlocks and other supernatural creatures which are over used and overrated. And the last sentence of the synopsis really made me quite afraid :   "and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all."  The Ultimate Cliche....Right?

WRONG!!!!

Clare is a genius, a literary genius.
The fact that she could bring in the whole supernatural aspect and make it original is well quite phenomenal. 
She had me laughing throughout the whole book. My parents would walk past me sometimes and look at me as if I am crazy. And I am  not, I'm really not(!)

At first I wasn't so fond of Tessa and her naive nature and I had to keep reminding myself that it was 1800's and that's how majority of the women acted. However over time I actually started taking a liking on her. Of course there were parts that completely infuriated me but those parts are what made her a realistic character even in this day and  age.

The story itself is full of mystery and suspense. I was actually pleasantly surprised that it took me so long to figure out who the 'Magister' is. Which is quite extraordinary as I am a mystery junkie. 
However there were small parts that dragged on and got a little bit iffy and cliche. No one's perfect right?
And I did finish it in about 5 hours in one sitting. So I think that shows you how small the parts really where.

Now if you have read the book,  you know that there is a high chance that I will mention William Herondale. See I just did!
William Herondale had me Swooning and got me some weird looks thrown at me with his sarcasm wittiness and charm. He was a quite a cliche character; a bad boy with a tormented soul. But  we all love those types don't we? But what made him stand out from the crowd of cliche's was his passion for books. Which frankly is one of the main reasons I love him. Come on  a HOT charming, sarcastic guy with blue eyes and dark hair who loves books; no you haven't died going to heaven. Dude he can make Holy Water sexy, if that's not a skill I don't know what is.
And another reason while I love him is the relationship he has with his parabatai Jem. 

Now Jem is also an amazing character, he's different to other 'good' stereotypical characters out there and well he's also gorgeous with his silver hair and silver eyes and his story is just heartbreaking. But for whatever reason I didn't seem to connect with him I am not completely sure why, I love him but I am just not in love with him. However I love his speeches

So overall I am glad I picked up this book and as it is a first CC book I have read I will definitively be picking up more of her literary wonders. Clockwork Angel made a big impression on me as it has been a few days since I read the book and I am still constantly thinking about it.

Clockwork Angel is an amazing book which isn't flawless but was an amazing start to the year.

These are the quotes that I have re-read numerous times and trust me this is as small as the list can go:

One must always be careful of books," said Tessa, "and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.” 
“Will looked horrified. "What kind of monster could possibly hate chocolate?” 
“Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry."
"Remember when you tried to convince me to feed a poultry pie to the mallards in the park to see if you could breed a race of cannibal ducks?" 
"They ate it too," Will reminisced. "Bloodthirsty little beasts. Never trust a duck.” 
“Well, she's not responding to my advances," he observed more brightly than he felt, "so she must be dead." 
"Or she's a woman of good taste and sense.” 
“It's all right to love someone who doesn't love you back, as long as they're worth you loving them. As long as they deserve it.” 
“If no one in the entire world cared about you, did you really exist at all?” 
“Jessamine recoiled from the paper as if it were a snake. "A lady does not read the newspaper. The society pages, perhaps, of the theater news. Not this filth." 
"But you are not a lady, Jessamine---," Charlotte began. 

"Dear me," said Will. "Such harsh truths so early in the morning cannot be good for the digestion.” 
“Do reasons matter when there's nothing that can be done to change things.” 
“Whatever you are physically...male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy--all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.” 
"Pulvis et umbra sumus," said Will, not looking at her as he spoke. "I believe we are dust and shadows. What else is there?” 
"Was her face nothing but a mask of flesh, irrelevant to her true self?"
So you don't ever get angry at him?" 

Jem laughed out loud. "I would hardly say that. Sometimes I want to strangle him." 
"How on earth do you prevent yourself?" 
"I go to my favorite place in London," said Jem, "and I stand and look at the water, and I think about the continuity of life, and how the river rolls on, oblivious of the petty upsets in our lives." 

Tessa was fascinated. "Does that work?" 

"Not really, but after that I think about how I could kill him while he slept if I really wanted to, and then I feel better.".

You know," Gabriel said, "there was once a time I thought we could be friends, Will." 
"There was a time I thought I was a ferret," Will said, "but that turned out to be the opium haze.” 
“And I think that you do not understand that sometimes the only choice is between acceptance and madness.” 
“How rude. Many who have gazed upon me have compared the experience to gazing 
at the radiance of the sun." 

Jem still had his eyes closed. "If they mean it gives you a headache, they aren't wrong.” 


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