Looking Ahead - The Bane Chronicles and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy

Fans of the Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices will be delighted to hear that the print bind up of ten Bane Chronicles novellas will be available on November 11, 2014.

I am a huge fan of both the Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices and Magnus is one of my favorite characters in Clare's books. So, it's not surprising that I am ecstatic about this bind up. The novellas were first available online. Clare released a novella e-book each month starting in April 2013. However, I believe there was a gap between the ninth and tenth novellas.

Image from Entertainment Weekly

Speaking about novellas, Cassandra Clare mentioned yesterday that she partnered up with Sarah Rees Brennan, Robin Wasserman and Maureen Johnson to create the Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy series. This series will revolve around Simon Lewis from the Mortal Instruments.

Beginning February 2015, a new novella will be available each month where e-books are sold. There will be a bind up of all the novellas in print form just like what they did for the Bane Chronicles which is exciting!

According to Entertainment Weekly, this is the current line up for the Shadowhunter Academy series:

February 17, 2015
Welcome to the Shadowhunter Academy
Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

March 17, 2015
The Lost Herondale
Cassandra Clare and Robin Wasserman

April 21, 2015
The Whitechapel Fiend
Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson

May 19, 2015
Nothing but Shadows
Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

June 16, 2015
The Evil We Love
Cassandra Clare and Robin Wasserman

July 21, 2015
Pale Kings and Princes
Cassandra Clare and Robin Wasserman

August 18, 2015
Bitter of Tongue
Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

September 15, 2015
The Fiery Trial
Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

October 20, 2015
Born to Endless Night
Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

November 17, 2015
Angels Twice Descending
Cassandra Clare and Robin Wasserman

What are your thoughts about novellas? Would you rather own a print bind up of all the novellas or do you like owning novellas on an e-reader?

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Margaret K. McElderry
Publication date:  August 31, 2010
Pages:  479 
Source/format: Borrowed from the library, hardcover

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Synopsis  (from Goodreads):

In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them....

My Thoughts:

I have been following Cassandra Clare ever since she wrote Harry Potter fanfiction and had a presence on Livejournal way back when I was in high school. When I found out about her Mortal Instruments series and her Infernal Devices series, I knew I had to read both series.

Clockwork Angel is the first book in the Infernal Devices series. I love the fact that the Shadowhunter world takes place in the late 1800's. It's part historical fiction and part paranormal fantasy which are two of my favorite genres to read.

The world building of this book is amazing and the characters Cassandra created are phenomenal. I love the interactions between Tessa, Will and Jem. Also, who doesn't like Magnus? Cassandra does an awesome job with the descriptions about the time period whether it be about the clothing the characters wear to the background setting. There is something magical about Victorian London and it is captured beautifully in Clockwork Angel.

Even though I normally despise the love triangle, for some odd reason I was okay with this one. It was about Tessa picking and choosing one guy over another. She cared for both Will and Jem and Will and Jem cared for her as well. But Will and Jem, being parabatai, also care deeply for one another as well.

What I love was how Charlotte was a strong woman leading fellow Shadowhunters in a time period where men had the power. Even though some doubted her, she never gave up. She always stood her ground and did what she needed to.

I am sure the rest of the series will be just as good or even better than Clockwork Angel.