Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices, book 1), by Cassandra Clare; young adult, fantasy, historical; 496 pages
This was my first experience with Cassandra Clare, but I had heard such glowing things about her Mortal Instruments series that I thought this would be a great thing to try. Also, it seems to tie in to the current steampunk trend (which I love), so I had high expectations. However, after spending weeks slogging to the end of this book, I have to give it a resounding "meh." The writing is rough enough that this feels more like an early draft than a published novel, complete with sloppy editing, poor description, and a plot that's so unfocused as to be nonexistent. That might--might--be acceptable in a first novel, but certainly not in a fourth. The most frustrating this is that I kept seeing a lot of potential for the book, but I kept getting let down every time I hit another patch of stilted dialogue or contradiction. I might still try Clare's original trilogy, since that seems to have better reviews, but I won't be following up on this series.
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