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Clockwork Angel
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Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1) by Cassandra Clare (Start Date:October 13 , 2014)



I also had Online Elf add a List of Characters above, some under a spoiler.

1. I don’t read many Young Adult books, and have never read one set in Victorian England. Is this a genre or setting which you read a lot?
2. For the most part, the POV throughout the book is from Tessa perception. Why do you think the author opened the prologue from Will’s? What is your impression of him? Of Jem? Of their friendship/relationship?
3. The book is named after Tessa’s mother’s necklace. What is the significance of that?
4. Do you blame Tessa for going with the Dark Sisters? Did she use enough common sense? (The coachman was enough to scare me off; but then, I’m such a wuss!) Did she have any other alternative? We had the reader’s advantage of knowing the emblem of the two snakes was on the weapon that killed the young girl in the alley, so I can’t fault her for that. And “The Pandemonium Club,” is pretty much a wash, IMHO; it could be named that's just in fun. Comments. (BTW, do you think the Dark Sisters had access to Nate at all, or was that just a bluff? If so, how did they get his ring?)
5. What would a closer look at the globe in Sisters’ office have revealed?
6. Mundanes, Shax demons, Nephilim warriors? What do you think of the world building so far? Are you grasping enough of it to make it interesting? Is it too much info dump, just right, or too little and causing an overload of too many unanswered questions?
7. Though Tessa is not impressed with it, I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised by the ability that Tessa has. Taking on someone else’s appearance could come in quite handy, don’t you think? (Of course, I could do without the pain, vomiting, passing out, and someone kidnapping me for it, LOL!) Comments.
8. Whoever could the Magister be? Is he someone high up in the government or just in the upper echelon of whatever underworld society to which Tessa had been spirited away? What does he want with Tessa? And why does he need to marry her?
9. What was Miranda?
10. Is the reason Will showed up in Tessa’s room valid? Do you think she would have made it out of there on her second attempt without his intervention?
11. Why was Mrs. Dark trying to kill Tessa and not Will? I’m glad to see the last of the Dark Sisters (I hope - but maybe that was only one down)! Still, ugh, they stumbled across a slaughterhouse. What does that mean? And is Will an angel? Is Tessa alright? Will there be a lasting effect from her wound?



I'll answer the Qs in a few sentenses . I don't read YA a lot , in the last 5 years I've probably read less than 10 YA and none in this genre or era !
I got the impression Will is much younger than Jem .
I'm thinking Her mother has been one of the shadowhuneters or an angel !
I'm sure they didn't have Nate , they either had killed him or were just bluffing .
The info dump is not too bad ,I'm following it pretty good .
Miranda was a robot or something! Well I'd better say a clockwork or a mech !

It didn't seem wise to me that Tessa gave her necklace to Henry. Even she didn't mind giving it to him , she should have at least watch over his shoulder when he was examining it .
I'm worried about Tessa meeting this vamp woman without her necklace.
I'm so sorry for your loss, Christina.
I've been wanting to read this book for a while but for some reason I never picked it up. This is the perfect opportunity. I'll be starting tomorrow morning, because tonight I'm doing a The Walking Dead marathon. So hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to catch up with you guys. :)
I've been wanting to read this book for a while but for some reason I never picked it up. This is the perfect opportunity. I'll be starting tomorrow morning, because tonight I'm doing a The Walking Dead marathon. So hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to catch up with you guys. :)

I've been wanting to read this book for a while but for some reason I never picked it up. This is the perfect opportunity. I'll be starting tomorrow morning,..."
That's great ,Pri! Commenting here without any replies was getting awkward ;)
ShoSho wrote: "That's great ,Pri! Commenting here without any replies was getting awkward ;) "
Nonsense! I'm here and I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about!
Yay! This is my first buddy read! I'm so excited! I read a lot of ya books but lately I'm not connecting with the characters as much as I did before. And I really don't like love triangles anymore. Lol! There is a love triangle in this book. This doesn't look good. But I'm curious to see Cassandra Clare's writing in a historical novel. I'm a huge fan of the genre and I'm looking forward to it. :)
Nonsense! I'm here and I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about!
Yay! This is my first buddy read! I'm so excited! I read a lot of ya books but lately I'm not connecting with the characters as much as I did before. And I really don't like love triangles anymore. Lol! There is a love triangle in this book. This doesn't look good. But I'm curious to see Cassandra Clare's writing in a historical novel. I'm a huge fan of the genre and I'm looking forward to it. :)

I'm about 45% and there hasn't been any mention of love. A little bit of attraction maybe but not much.

It is the reason I don't read more, too.

Nah. It isn't really a Romance.

eeep ! You just gave me a little bit of hope but took it away! LOL I'm kidding .I started reading this knowing there would be some ,so I'm OK with it.

12.What do you think about the Shadowhunters ? What about Enoch,Thomas , Agatha and Sophie? Anything stood out for you about them?
13.What do you think Will was really up to that night ?Why didn't he smell of alcohol as he should have?
14. Is Jessamine too much or what? LOL! What do you think of her plans for Tess? She spoke of Henry conducting experiments in the cellar – what kind? Did Henry really just marry Charlotte to gain access to the Institute, or does he truly love her?
15. Golden vines with diamonds growing from the tips? Oh, dear! It is a wonder any of the Nephilim are left. What did you think of how Jessamine took the goblin out? And her distraught reaction afterwards? Her showing Tessa her “doll house” – and subsequent conversation? Comments.
16. What did you think of Henry Branwell’s laboratory? The clockwork girl or automaton(Miranda)? I must say, I wasn’t expecting it (her?) to have a human heart.
17. Eep! Lady Belcourt sounds a shady character at best. The first thing I thought of was “double agent”, LOL! Do you have any concerns about her before reading Chapter 8? What did you think about her after reading chapter 8.

1. I've read some YA, mosrly fantasy. I find mainstream YA too ansty and introspective for my taste.
2. To show us the dagger. Going with YA stereotypes, Will is the jock while Jem is the intellectual. They're probably best friends as well as partners.
3. The necklace might be a symbol to identify the wearer.
4. No, I don't think she had a choice. I don't know if they had access to Nate, but how did they get the note?
5- No clue...
6- I've read the original trilogy in the Mortal Instruments so I'm familiar with this world.
7. She has a very handy ability, especially because she doesn't need props to change into a person a second time.
8- Don't know, but pervert comes to mind. He could make Tessa change into any woman he wants...
9- Robot or mechanical being.
10- She needed help, she wouldn't have been able to open the door.
11- Don't rhink we've seen the last of her. I have to wonder why did Tessa try to run back into the corridor, and therefor the interior of the house, instead of trying to escape through the hole in the wall...
Just finished chapter 2. I'm enjoying it, it's a little creepy and the action is nice. But wow! The shadowhunters did a terrible job protecting Tessa, I mean, okay they saved her but what a mess!
Lisa Kay wrote: "ShoSho wrote: "Most YA books have them , I guess that's why I don't read a lot of YA."
It is the reason I don't read more, too."
I don't understand why Ya authors and readers find love triangles so interesting, to me it's just annoying.
It is the reason I don't read more, too."
I don't understand why Ya authors and readers find love triangles so interesting, to me it's just annoying.
I've read the first three books in the Mortal Instruments series a while ago and the beginning of this book feels very similar to City of Bones only with different characters and in a different setting. The formula is pretty much the same. The main character is this girl who doesn't know about this new world and she's part of it and, for reasons we'll find out later, very important to it. Then she's attacked and taken to the Institute where she learns everything about this new world. And then we have Will aka the sarcastic one aka Jace, Jessie aka the grumpy one who'll probably become friends with the main character later aka Isabelle, Charlotte aka the one who's in charge and explains everything to the main character aka Hodge.
This keeps distracting me. It feels like I'm rereading City of Bones. I was expecting more creativity from Clare. :(
Just finished chapter 4 btw.
This keeps distracting me. It feels like I'm rereading City of Bones. I was expecting more creativity from Clare. :(
Just finished chapter 4 btw.

I'm glad you noticed too, Gisela. Does it get better? I haven't read much since that message. Busy work day.
Lisa, I think you should be glad. But I'll stay positive. It'll get better towards the end. Hopefully.
Lisa, I think you should be glad. But I'll stay positive. It'll get better towards the end. Hopefully.

That's what I thought too. It might be the era she lives in, though .She probably is a normal teenager for that time.
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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....
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Please feel free to join us. As always expect spoilers.
LIST OF CHARACTERS – from Shelfari
• Theresa 'Tessa' Gray: Tessa has spent the first sixteen years of her life being overprotected by her aunt after the death of her parents in a carriage accident when she was three. She lives almost all her life in books, dreaming of having the kind of adventures the heroines she reads about do—until she is forced to travel from New York to London when her Aunt dies. She is left in the hands of only a pair of mysterious—and sinister—women called the Dark Sisters, who seem to have been 'hired' by him. The Shadowhunters of the London Institute may be Tessa's only hope of finding Nate, but their mysterious world of demons and Downworlders holds many dangers for her—especially when she realizes she might be more a part of it than she'd thought.
• Wiliam 'Will' Herondale: Seventeen-year-old Will is the sort of young man nice Victorian girls
were warned against. He drinks, gambles, and enjoys the company of ladies of questionable virtue—at least, as much as he enjoys anything. Will hates everyone and everything, with the possible exception of Jem, and even that's in some doubt.
• James 'Jem' Carstairs: Brought up in the Institute in Shanghai, Jem's parents were killed by a demon who allowed Jem to live—but with a terrible price to be paid. Frail and silver-haired, Jem seems an unlikely demon-killer, but his skills and swift intelligence make him a formidable foe. He finds a kindred spirit in Tessa as both of them feel they are torn between two worlds, neither belonging completely to one or to the other.
Some spoilers here I think (I haven’t read them all), so I’ll hide the rest of them.
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• Jessamine 'Jessie' Lovelace: Jessamine's parents were Shadowhunters who left the Clave. Their deaths in a fire orphaned her, leaving her to be brought up in the Institute by Charlotte and Henry. Jessamine hates everything about being a Shadowhunter, from the training to the danger to the existence of demons, which she sees as "smelly and disgusting." Armed with a razor-edged parasol and an equally sharp tongue, Jessamine can be dangerous if she wants to be—to herself as much as to the supernatural creatures she's sometimes forced to encounter. She believes that marriage could be a way out of the life of the Shadowhunter that she despises.
• Charlotte Branwell: Twenty-two year-old Charlotte runs the entire Institute with a capable hand. Kind and loving, she does her best to care for the orphaned Shadowhunters who live under her roof while hiding her loneliness from the absent-minded husband she loves. It seems as if there's nothing Charlotte can't manage—until Tessa's search for her missing brother begins to uncover a web of corruption and deceit in London's Downworld that threatens to tear London's Conclave of Shadowhunters apart.
• Henry Branwell: Absent-minded and brilliant, Henry is Charlotte's husband. He, however, spends most of his waking hours in the crypt of the Institute, inventing fabulous machines and weapons out of cogs and gears. Unfortunately, just as many of Henry's inventions don't work as the ones that do, and Henry is as likely to set himself on fire as he is to invent something new and amazing.
• Nathaniel 'Nate' Gray: He is Tessa's older brother who went missing at the beginning of the book. He is also the reason why Tessa left New York for London after the death of their aunt.
• Alexei De Quincey: A very influential vampire clan leader who is "officially" allied with the Shadowhunters despite loathing them.
• Camille Belcourt: A beautiful and admired vampire with a gorgeous red pendant. She is also secretly Charlotte's ally and somewhat Tessa's ally too.
• Magnus Bane: A beautiful, mysterious and flamboyant warlock enlisted by the Clave to help in their quest to uncover the truth behind Nathaniel Gray's disappearance. He is in a relationship with the vampire, Camille Belcourt.
• Sophie: Sophie is the maid at the Institute. She gets along with everyone, except Will.
• Thomas: Young man who came to work for the Clave as a child despite not being a ShadowHunter. He has grown into a large and muscular man who if powerful in his own way though he does not have the gifts of the ShadowHunters whom he serves.
• Benedict Lightwood: He is a Shadowhunter who has two sons. A very powerful and rich man who is disliked by Charlotte Branwell. He is part of the Enclave and lends the London Institute carriages when asked but really would like to assume control of the Institute for himself.
• Gabriel Lightwood: One of Benedict's two sons. He is a Shadowhunter in the London Enclave. At the time of Clockwork Angel, he has recently turned eighteen and is attending his first Enclave meeting. He has sharp and regular features, tousled brown hair and a watchful expression. Tessa describes him as being "handsome in an angular sort of way." He hates Will because of a past offense that the reader is led to believe involved Gabriel's sister.
• Brother Enoch: One of the Silent Brothers who cures the hurt Shadowhunters as well as Downworlders in the Institute.
• Mrs. Black: One of the Dark Sisters who kidnaps Tessa and forces her to learn to use her hidden talent.
• Mrs. Dark: One of the Dark Sisters who kidnaps Tessa and forces her to use her hidden talent.
• Miranda: One of the Dark Sisters' minions, one of the first automatons to act as a servant of the evil forces in the novel.
• Aunt Harriet: Tessa and Nate's deceased aunt.
• Agatha: One of the servants at the London Institute.
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