Publisher: Walker Books
ISBN: 9781406321326

After the death of her Aunt, 16 year old Tessa sails across the ocean to Victorian England to find the only other family she has left, her brother Nathaniel. However, as soon as she steps off the boat, she is taken under false pretenses and is imprisoned by the Dark Sisters. Unknown to Tessa, London is full of warlocks, vampires and other supernatural people.

While keeping her imprisoned, the Dark Sisters teach Tessa that she has a rare ability, one which enables her to change into another person. Tessa is horrified but has no choice but to do what they tell her to.

Just when Tessa can take no more, the Shadowhunters come to her rescue. But, can she trust them or will they use her just like the Dark Sisters? All Tessa wants to do is find her brother.

This is the first book I've read by Cassandra Clare. I'm aware of her Mortal Instruments series, but have not yet read those books (though I plan to remedy that!). The Infernal Devices series is a companion to the Mortal Instruments series and Clockwork Angel is actually prequel to it.

Clockwork Angel features a weave of twists and turns and kept me (I would say turning the pages, but I was reading it on my Kindle!) reading on. I found myself fully immersed in the storyline and felt like I could have been there with Tessa and the other characters. I loved the Victorian setting, it gave even more of a dark feel to the story.

Tessa starts off a little naive, but her confidence grows as the book goes on and in a way we see her grow up over a short period of time.

Will tries to be the bad boy. He's volatile and has mood swings, but he's a hero and charismatic too. He's a difficult character to work out (the character himself doesn't want to give too much away, but his friends help us fill in some of the details), but I suspect we'll learn more about him in the next book.

Jem is the sweet one, so kind, friendly and helpful. He's weak, but is still a battler and shows strength and courage too.

Jessamine comes across as spoilt. She's a shadowhunter like Will and Jem, yet she despises being one. It's difficult to tell whether she's more of a danger to herself or to others!

Charlotte is only 22, but runs the Shadowhunters' Institute with the knowledge and capability of somebody much older and wiser, despite her bumbling husband, Henry.

As expected with YA paranormal/urban fantasy books these days, there is also the undercurrent of love. In fact, there's a bit of a love triangle going on!

While Clockwork Angels doesn't end of a cliff-hanger as such, it will leave you with questions and a desire to read the next book as soon as possible. Unfortunately for me, the next book in the series, Clockwork Prince, isn't out until September 2011, so I've got a bit of a wait!

So would I recommend this book? Definitely, I think it's one of the best, if not THE best, YA paranormal/urban fantasy books I've read in 2010.

Please note: This review is also posted on my blog.