Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

476 pages

"When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks, and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, who are members of a secret organization called the Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all." -Dust Jacket

I liked this book as far as an entertainment read goes, but I am going to pick it apart. I felt like the author was taking a formula that worked for her before and regurgitating it, changing just enough to try to make you think it's a new story. I didn't think the characters in this book were as relatable/believable as the characters in The Mortal Instruments.  By the end of City of Bones  I felt like I knew Jace. I liked his sarcasm and his vulnerability seemed real. It made you like him. Will is much less likable except in his treatment of Jem. You know he's hiding pain and secrets but his walls never come down except for a brief one-paragraph moment. Just when you think you might find out what's going on with him you get a typical Clare cliffhanger ending. Jem is the nice one who also happens to be dying of a drug addiction. Tessa's attraction to Will seems forced, even though he saves her life. I didn't get the feeling that Tessa had changed him like Clary seemed to do for Jace.

I think if you're going to take an idea and re-write it you'd better do it better than the first time and I don't think that happened here. There were a few twists and turns, and Magnus Bane was a plus to this story, but I just never felt a connection to the characters and I was sort of annoyed that you could match them up almost character for character with her other series. Hopefully the second book in this series will improve upon the first. I'm sure I'll read it as it's a six-month filler in the wait for City of Lost Souls.  There are just enough elements of the story to keep me interested.