Took me 4 tries to read this book. The 4th was a success because The Mortal Instruments is over. TMI was like an introduction to the Clockwork saga, and reading this before finishing TMI is not easy to do.

So now, the characters have been established. The world set. Curiosity raging. Reading the rest of this saga should be exciting. Since the characters here hinted a lot of this "past" during the last book of TMI -- and hinted as well of the future after TMI, it makes this time period worth reading.

Though some would say that this saga is stand alone, in my opinion, it is still better to finish TMI. Putting the Clockwork series into perspective is what makes this adventure attractive.