The Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare

INFERNAL DEVICES BOOK 1: CLOCKWORK ANGEL SUMMARY

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.

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 Dark Sisters, who are members of a secret organization called the Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downlorlder 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 bvolatile 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.

INFERNAL DEVICES BOOK 2: CLOCKWORK PRINCE SUMMARY

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of handsome, self-destructive Will and fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister that she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

INFERNAL DEVICES REVIEW

Cassandra Clare has created a completely new masterpiece. I don’t know if you have read my review on her other series The Mortal Instruments, but if you haven’t then let me just say that I adored her other books and I adore this author. When I found out that she had a whole NEW series coming out, I almost had a heart attack. I am going to do a summary of both the first and the second book as one, and when the third book comes out I will review it on a whole different post, so stay tuned!

There are so many changes from book 1 to book 2, but all around both books are amazing. The characters are perfectly created, and I couldn’t imagine any better way to live through the Downworld during the Victorian Era other than through the eyes of these characters. That’s the great thing about Cassandra Clare, she has a great gift for creating life into her characters, characters that you can relate to, hate, love, and trustingly follow as they maneuver the reader through this intricate plot. I always say that the best thing about a good book is the characters, and The Infernal Devices has plenty of that. All the characters are all so different, Will is hilariously witty, Jem is a sweet heart I could just hug and hug and hug and never let go, Henry is the mad and lovable professor/genius/screw up, and Tessa is a strong version of a young lady in a time where they are suppose to be seen, not heard.

Now, I don’t want anyone thinking that this book is going to be like The Mortal Instruments series. Yes, it has all the good qualities that the other series had, but it is a completely different story line and they really don’t have much to do with each other, so I don’t want anyone who has read The Mortal Instruments series freaking out that these books should have been read before or anything like that connecting the two. These books are like the prequels of that series. The cool thing about this series is that it does have small connections into The Mortal Instruments series, things like characters that pop up from the other books and names that any Mortal Instruments fan would recognize. I’m not going to go into detail of what the book is about because the book flap summary really just about covers all the real important stuff, and writing any more will definitely give it away.

If you read my previous ramblings post, you’ll see that something about the second book stressed me out to no end. Don’t worry! I’m not going to tell you what it was, I am just warning you that you will feel the need to chuck the book across the room, grunt in frustration, and then run to pick it up and continue where you left off as if your air supply depended on it. I must have sounded crazy in that post, but no one can judge. All you have to do is go get the books, read them, and then you guys can see for yourself what happened to my sanity after reading it. Trust me, my reaction was not so out there. So all in all go get the books and you’ll see that from 1-10? I’m not crazy to give these books a 9.