Sixteen year old Tessa Gray wants nothing less that to move to the dull sky and rain-filled London after her dear Aunt has passed away. Upon her arrival, Tessa expects to be greeted by her loving and handsome brother, but only meets a horrible introduction to the Shadow World and her life changes directly in front of her eyes.
William Herondale and James Carstairs are blood brothers, parabatai, willing to do anything to help the other and keep them out of harms way. Both have a mix of human, a.k.a. mundane, and angel blood giving them the sight and skill to track and kill demons. The ability grants them the occupation of a Shadowhunter and allows them to befriend and protect Tessa in her struggle to find the answer of her true bloodline.
Set in Victorian London during the late 1800’s, the story Cassandra Clare gives us is a spectacular start to a trilogy already proven to capture the hearts of millions.
Side Note: this is the start of a prequel series to The Mortal Instruments series, and while reading TMI before this trilogy might give you a better understanding of the Shadow World, everything you need to know is explained and introduced in this novel as if it was being mentioned for the first time.
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I think everyone that knows me understands that I could rant about Cassy’s writing for days, probably years if I wanted to. She has such a talent with words and drawn people, myself included, into her worlds. You can’t help but love fall in love with her characters and feel everything they feel.
The Mortal Instruments is one of my favorite series I have every read and this has been raved about so many times that I couldn’t help but have high expectations for this bool. Let me tell you know, it surpassed them. Far surpassed them. I was uneasy when beginning this because I wasn’t sure about seeing the Shadowhunters without our original cast of Clary, Jace, Simon, etc. But ALL of my hesitation was shot down when I was introduced to Tessa, Will, and Jem who held such a loving compassion for each other.
If you are unsure about reading this novel (even if you have yet to read The Mortal Instruments series) please throw all of those thoughts out and pick it up, you won’t regret it. There is such a breath taking feeling to Cassandra’s writing that everyone and their mother should have the pleasure of reading.
One more side comment, I made the mistake of not reading these books in publication order. This would include the Infernal Devices (ID) trilogy and The Mortal Instruments (TMI) series and would be in the following order:
- City of Bones (TMI-Book 1)
- City of Ashes (TMI-Book 2)
- City of Glass (TMI-Book 3)
- Clockwork Angel (ID-Book 1)
- City of Fallen Angels (TMI-Book 4)
- Clockwork Prince (ID-Book 2)
- City of Lost Souls (TMI-Book 5)
- Clockwork Princess (ID-Book 3)
- City of Heavenly Fire (TMI-Book 6)
I made the big mistake of not reading them in this order, and because such, I spoiled myself a bit on the ending of the Infernal Devices trilogy and what happens to a bunch of the characters. I can guarantee you reading them in this order will save you a lot of pain and trouble in the end (and they are all already out so you have no excuse other than, in my case, lack of self control).
Enjoy the reading times, my young padawans.
“‘One must always be careful of books,’ said Tessa, ‘and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.'” -Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel
-Alexandra
P.S. If you have read this book and want to hear my thoughts on it WITH SPOILERS, this you are more than welcome to check out the link below.
inkonthewillow 