Book Review: Clockwork Angel

First things first: I am painfully aware of how long it has been since my last post. Lots of things have happened, to say the very least, but I’d rather dip my toes back in the pool with a post that is slightly less overwhelming than a life updates post. That said, here are a few micro-updates anyway, because, well, it’s been a long, long time since I have posted here. I’ve been in Bangalore for about a year now. After a metric tonne of education, and a pivoted beginning of a career, employment still eludes me. Equally, if not more, important though, is the fact that I finally met the love of my life. Excited to read that ’life updates’ post yet?

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get to the book. It has been around a year since I read a book with fantasy elements, which was Poppy War by R.F. Kuang. Over the past year or so, I have begun to read and enjoy romance, as a genre. Some of the books i have absolutely loved (in no particular order) are: Get a Life, Chloe Brown and Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert; and Seven Days in June by Tia Williams. For someone who has been out of touch with their emotions for a majority of their lives, and is more accustomed to reading fantasy and thrillers/spy novels, this has been a refreshing change of pace. The way emotions like love, infatuation, fear, heartbreak, grief are described, and also the ways in which they manifest in our bodies and on our faces, have left me spellbound at how much I seem to be delighted by them.

Clockwork Angel has brought me back to the fantasy genre, with a romance arc (or two? I’m not entirely sure) in the backdrop of it all, and I am absolutely here for it. While I do wish I’d found it much, much earlier, I am very glad I was recommended it by someone very special to me. Firstly, I am used to books taking their time to really get into the action, but here, we are dropped almost instantly into the thick of it. I hadn’t even realised you could do such a thing; I am hooked. Of course, through this, as well as the rest of the story, as with any first book of a fantasy series, there is a good bit of world-building, which is very tastefully done. I never felt like I was taken away from the characters or the story-line to be told about the world and how things work (or don’t work, as the case may be). The world-building was woven in expertly into the storytelling in a way that felt very seamless and interesting.

As far as characters go, Will and Jem have to be two of the most intriguing characters I have come across in a while. While Will has this irreverent, uncontainable rage and an energy that just refuses to be told what to do, Jem is a very calming, comforting presence seemingly with all the patience in the universe, and they complement each other so well. If I am walking into a fight with mythical Downworlders, this is the duo I would wish for; for motivating me when I need it, as well as to fight alongside me.

The book also touches upon the concept of found family in a way that tugs at my traumatised heartstrings like few other books have. Here are some quotes I highlighted, that I related to so hard, I cried.

I am not sure there is anyone in the Institute who is not an orphan

In a way, we are not here just because we have nowhere else, we need nowhere else, because we have the Institute, and those who are in it are our family.

… and one can build one’s own family.

The fact that a group that has found each other, and put in the work day after day, year after year, and is as tight-knit as any group, bound by blood or not, could possibly be, is so heartwarming.

I am very, very excited to read the next book in this series, and get to know these characters even better. I know I haven’t discussed other characters, and a lot about the story itself, but this is my first post in long time, and I want to manage my (and your) expectations and not overwhelm myself out of this. Here’s hoping I post more often here.