oh I love happy accidents.
I often put my name on the longest hold list on the library - just for fun. This was one of those. While I waited through 400 something other people to read it I went on reading just about everything else. I had never heard of Cassadra Clare or of the Mortal Instruments. However, during my several month wait a friend introduced me to City of Bones and I finished the series quickly.
The Infernal Devices are prequels to the Mortal Instruments and just when I was hungry for more shadowhunting my name came up!!!! See... happy accident! Clockwork Angel is my favorite so far!!! Maybe because it was set 130 years ago and I kind of like that era, or maybe because I was already hooked. When first reading I wondered which series would have been better to have read first. I've decided it really doesn't matter. Each alludes to the other but not in a way that depends on one another. I am dying for the next one to come out. There are so many secrets still left to be discovered!
First Line: The demon exploded in a shower of ichor and guts.
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 mysterious Dark Sisters, 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.
The Infernal devices
Book #1 Clockwork Angel 2010
Book #2 Clockwork Prince 2011
Book #3 Clockwork Princess 2012
