Hardcover, 476
Published August 31st, 2010
Margaret K. McElderry
The Infernal Devices #1
Source: Library
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.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This book struck my interest because I had just read the first installment to the Mortal Instruments series and it blew me away. So I saw this on GoodReads and saw that it was the prequel story to it and I was instantly drawn to it.
The story is way darker written than the TMI series. I think it is the way everyone is described. Tessa is a shapshifter (which is a downworlder, despite the way she acts), the Dark Sisters are eerie and frightening, Will has a dark secret, and Jem has a disease from a Demon. And with all this darkness comes mystery too. Everyone in the story had a mystery about them. Some we picked up on right away, and others it took us awhile. This I really enjoyed. I love a good mystery.
As for the characters, I loved them all… Except Will. I did like him, but after awhile Jem started to grow on me… So to all you people on Team Will, I think I’m taking the opposite side in this one. Will just seemed like an arrogant jerk who thought girls were supposed to throw themselves at him. I hate guys like that. It makes them far less attractive. But Jem, yes he is sick, but he is way more understanding than Will.
I also liked the setting. I am not a huge fan of historical fiction (well history in general lol), but add a little supernatural to it and I’m game. This book served as my first “steam punk” novel and I really did enjoy it. It was set in Victorian London in 1878. I adored it because Clare kept to it the entire novel. She wrote Tessa and the other characters in the exact right way for people at that time.
Another thing I enjoyed was the way characters and certain objects from the TMI series were shown at times throughout the story. It was nice to get back stories and insight as to why the characters act the way they do. (Let me just say here that I LOVE Magnus Bane lol).
Lastly, I loved twist at the end of the story. I was in shock when I read the last few chapters. Everything left my mouth hanging open. I was sitting in the doctor’s office waiting on my little sister when I read it and kept gasping out loud and getting weird looks from people lol But it was worth it, because it was just that good.
Now for the hard part… What I didn’t like. I didn’t like the fact that so many elements were like the first TMI book. Tessa lost her brother, Clary lost her mother. Tessa worried about not knowing her family, and Jace didn’t know his. It felt kind of like the same story except darker and the fact that what they were preparing to fight was not “alive” per se.
Also, I felt like at times the story kind of dragged on. I struggled through the beginning, even with the events that happened between Tessa and the Dark Sisters.
