I read these back in 2012-2013, it was the damn time to review them, right?
by: Cassandra Clare
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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In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.
With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.
Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?
As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.
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Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.
my overall thoughts
I read this book back when I didn't have a blog and when I didn't actually review them. So, yeah, here I am trying to lower my "to be reviewed" list. Anyways... here is my rambling.
Cassandra Clare will always be one my favorite authors no matter how long she extends the Shadowhunter world. But I have to admit that The Infernal Devices is way better than The Mortal Instruments books (except maybe City of Heavenly Fire, which is very a tied competition). Picturing magic, sciece-fiction and evil demon things are mostly part of our today basis. But when an author put those things and more in the past, it can be quite awesome. In this series we are going back in the Shadowhunter world to 1878. When still Shadowhunters had problems with Downworlders, but it wasn't like in the Mortal Instruments.
The story goes around Teresa "Tessa" Gray. A girl not quite human, not quite Shadowhunter and not quite Downworlder. But not so fast. The two handsome boys from the London Institute are quite in love with her, now you have the love triangle. William "Will" Herondale and James "Jem" Carstairs. So, yes, she is a mystery to all, but a "human" in distress nonetheless, so the London Institute takes her as their own. She can see the Shadow world as its perfection, scary anyways.
Still, that's not the whole plot (but takes much of it). There is a villian. Mortmain has this brilliant idea of making automatons, but bringing them to life with dark magic. Of course, the Shadowhunters have to stop him, but to what cost?
Characters:
- Tessa - If you thought Clary was badass, then Tessa is badasser. Not only can she transform in whatever she wants (mostly human things), she has this guardian angel around her neck. Clockwork Angel. That was the biggest plot twist ever and I never saw it coming!
“If no one in the entire world cared about you, did you really exist at all?”
- Will - Oh, I cried a lot for him. The poor boy never felt loved, because a stupid curse, but he was so so loved. Still I love his humor, his heart and everything that comes out of his mouth.
“Bloodthirsty little beasts. Never trust a duck.”
- Jem - This boy right here has the biggest heart forever. Not only he loved Will no matter how much Will push him away, but he basically would give his life for his love one.
“Whatever you are physically...male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy--all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.”
- Jessamine - I didn't like her at all, but after reading so much about her in other books and stories. She really deserves something to be remember for. So, Jess, this space is for you!
"A lady does not read the newspaper. The society pages, perhaps, or the theater news. Not this filth."
- Gabriel & Gideon - Jeez. These two were like oil and water. One was very sweet and even in love with a human and the other was a WTF until he found love too.
“Nice work in there, Herondale, setting the place on fire,” Gabriel observed. “Good thing we were there to clean up after you, or the whole plan would have gone down in flames, along with the shreds of your reputation.”
- Sophie - DAMN girl! I want to be you when I grow up. She took the bull by the horns and rescue anyone as much as she could. And at the end, she gets the prettiest Lightwood.
“It's all right to love someone who doesn't love you back, as long as they're worth you loving them. As long as they deserve it.”
- Charlotte - Even though she was young, she was the best Head for the Institute. No matter what anyone said. She was just the best!
“Henry," said Charlotte, who seemed to have recovered from her shock, "if you set yourself on fire deliberately, I will institute divorce proceedings. Now sit down and eat your supper. And say hello to our guest.”
- Henry - Crazy and funny man right here. Look at him! Plus, brilliant.
“And then she said nothing else, for Henry put his arms around her and kissed her. Kissed her in such a way that she no longer felt plain, or conscious of her hair or the ink spot on her dress or anything but Henry, whom she had always loved. Tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks, and when he drew away, he touched her wet face wonderingly.
"Really," he said. "You love me, too, Lottie?”
- Magnus & Camille - these two were enterely different than in TMI. It was good to see them from other perspective and in other time.
“Black hair and blue eyes are my favorite combination.”What I loved most in this book is how much many things clicked from the other series, but at the same time it doesn't really spoiler you much. That's how a good author works. I love how much history she puts in the background, making look very realistic. I love how much literature she put in it making me love classics (which I really don't love, but certainly enjoy).
Seriously, if you haven't read any of her series... you got a problem. Is just the best!
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