Seeing as I read this series one after the other, I thought I’d lump them all together and tell you what I thought.
I had previously read the Mortal Instruments series and didn’t like it much, so I didn’t have very high expectations of this prequel trilogy. But I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I don’t know if Cassandra Clare has just hit her stride, or if she struck a particularly good story lode here, or if the steampunk touch was all she needed, but Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, and Clockwork Princess captured my imagination and held it.
These three books tell the story of Tessa Gray, an orphaned young woman from New York who travels to London in the 1870s to live with her brother. When she arrives, her brother is nowhere to be found, sparking a mystery that brings her into the sphere of the shadowhunters and reveals her own true identity.
I liked the characters, especially Tessa and the shadowhunter best friends Will and Jem. They are deep, interesting, and make the reader genuinely care about their fates. The story is delightfully twisty, with lots of unexpected departures and some lovely tension that holds till the very end.
All in all, I’d have to recommend this series for lovers of a good fantasy story.
Erin E. M. Hatton 