Tessa Gray has traveled to London from New York at the behest of her brother who, now that their aunt has died, is her only living relative. But immediately upon arrival, Tessa is taken by the Dark Sisters who claim that her brother has sent them. Forced to hone a magical talent that she had no idea she possessed for some mysterious purpose, Tessa is glad for a rescue from a young man who is a Shadowhunter. However, Tessa now finds herself caught up in a world she didn’t know existed and plagued by mysteries like what happened to her brother and where her powers come from.
I have the feeling if I had read this when I was younger, I might have liked it more. If I hadn’t seen this sort of story with these sorts of characters play out again and again in YA fiction, it probably would have worked better for me. It is well written though, and I was definitely drawn into the story, even if I rolled my eyes at a number of parts. I will also admit to having mixed feelings about Cassandra Clare. As an author, she’s been consistently popular with the teens I work with. I hated City of Bones when I read it as a college student, and none of the subsequent books in that series won me over. Though I did really like the TV show based on the books that came out a few years ago, yet when I attempted to read the series again, I still hated them. All that to say, I might have a bit of bias against her writing here.
I am a sucker for historical fantasy though, and steampunk especially has a special place in my heart. And there are a lot of things to like about it. All of the characters are interesting with at least one or two facets that make them a little more complex. I could honestly just read stories about the lives of the supporting cast and be entertained. The world building is great, and I really like the combination of historical and fantastical. There are a lot of little details that really build the atmosphere. There is a love triangle building unfortunately, and I’m not a big fan of those, but I have to admit that the three main characters are probably the least interesting of the cast to me. I’ve seen their types before, and while they are well written, they don’t really interest me, though I do appreciate the way that Tessa at least is growing as a character. I also found the plot and its twists somewhat predictable, but then I’ve read hundreds of YA novels. And I’m not the target audience for the book. It was a decent read though, and I’d definitely recommend it to a teen who likes this sort of story. I am going to pick up the next one in the series, and maybe this will be one of those series that gets better with each book. Three out of five stars.