Author: Cassandra Clare
Released: August 2010
Magic is dangerous – but love is more dangerous still... When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray arrives in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural fold stalk the gaslit streets. Friendless and hunted, Tessa seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters, a band of warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Drawn ever deeper into their world, she finds herself fascinated by – and torn between – two best friends and quickly realizes that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.
Rating: 5 Stars
Positives: Okay I went into this book wondering whether or not I would really enjoy it, and I'll admit that I still had my doubts after the prologue. But as soon as I'd read chapter one I was completely hooked. Not only can Tessa change shape into someone else, she also has another power which she doesn't yet know of. I instantly found myself wanting to know if Tessa would manage to escape the Dark Sisters, and whether or not she would find her brother Nathaniel.
The characters were all so well constructed, I especially love Will Herondale's sass. There's one particular part where Gabriel says he thought they could have been friends at one point, and Will replies with I thought I was a ferret once, turns out that's the opium.
Tessa finds herself inexplicably drawn to Will, he's like her Mr Darcy, but at the same time there's a flicker of something more for his friend Jem as well. In my opinion although I get the feeling that Will and Tessa will eventually get together, I think maybe Jem might be better for her. He doesn't judge her in any manner and is so calm and steady which I think Tessa needs.
There's plenty of plot twists here too and I certainly wasn't disappointed. Although I had figured out some of what was going to happen I hadn't managed to work out the true identity of the Magister.
Negatives: I don't have much bad to say about this book. The prologue didn't really grip me as much I'd hoped, but the later chapters made up for this so I can't really lay any fault there. All I can say is I made a judgement after reading the prologue, and I'm very glad that I was proved wrong.
Secondly I despised Jessamine's character. Yes she did pull through when it really mattered, but the rest of the time she seemed to be nothing more than a vain silly girl. I know all she wants is a normal life, but unfortunately her path is chosen for her for the time being, so she might as well help in whatever way she can.
Finally some of the plot twists, especially those concerning Nate were a little obvious. I won't say what they are here, but I wasn't shocked by what happened.
Would I recommend this book? As the first in a trilogy, this was a great opener. I would definitely recommend this, and I'll be buying the next book very soon.
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