Edifying and Edgy SPLIT - CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare

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: Jem, 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.

Julie and I have another SPLIT.  We both LOVE LOVE LOVE Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instrument Trilogy and recommend it to people all the time.  We were both really excited to get our hands on the the first book in her new Infernal Devices Trilogy, CLOCKWORK ANGEL, but when all was said and done, we were both a little disappointed.

I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in this book. I was looking forward to it as I loved the Mortal Instruments books. I had a hard time connecting with the characters. It seemed to drag along. There were a few exciting parts in the book and some surprises that helped to keep me reading, but I must say it was a struggle to get through. You don’t have to read The Mortal Instruments to read The Infernal Devices. My understanding is there are 3 books planned for this prequel. I’m not sure that I will read the next 2. 

I rated CLOCKWORK ANGEL 4 out of 5 glasses. While it took me a while to get through and I had a hard time getting into the Steampunk aspect of the story, I could definitely get into the mystery.  I really enjoyed the relationship between the best friends Jem and Will. It seemed like Cassandra Clare may have been trying to capture the same electricity she created between Clary, Jace, and Simon, but the relationship between Tessa, Jem, and Will didn't seem to work as well.  Diving back into the Shadowhunter world was exciting though. I'm glad I read the book and will definitely read the next two in the trilogy.

DON'T KNOW WHERE DON'T KNOW WHEN by Annette Laing - REVIEW

Hannah, Alex and Brandon find themselves back in time in war-torn England. It is World War II and the children are being sent to live with families in the country to escape bombs falling on the cities. Shortly after arriving in 1940 Brandon disappears to England 1915! This time the setting of World War I.



The young people are sent back in time to find whatever happened to George Braithwaite. Hannah and Alex find themselves living with Mrs. Devenish, her grand-daughter Verity and Mrs. D’s evacuee Eric. Brandon becomes apprenticed to a dentist named Mr. Gordon in 1915.


Hannah has the most difficult time adjusting to the time period and what their purpose for being there is. She has a huge attitude that needs adjusting!


Throughout the story the kids learn some history about WWI and WWII but mostly they learn about George Braithwaite and what happened to him and why they were sent to the past to help.

I enjoyed the story very much. I became attached to the characters. I think that Hannah still ended up being self-centered and selfish. But I also think that she learned a lot about herself and how to love other people. I will look forward to the next installment of the Snipesville Chronicles to see if she matures as she travels to different centuries and learns that there are other people with problems bigger than hers.