Book #117: Clockwork Angel

Title: Clockwork Angel (book #1 of The Infernal Devices series)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Date started reading: Sept. 25, 2012
Date finished reading: Sept. 29, 2012

Publish date: October 2011
ISBN: 978-1416975878
Number of pages: 512

Official summary: "Magic is dangerous — but love is more dangerous still. When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos. Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own. Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by — and torn between — two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length ... everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world ... and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all. (http://www.shadowhunters.com)

Official book trailer:

 

How I obtained the book: Got through Listia.com. (It's sort of like eBay but uses a credit system instead of cash)

My commentary: 

• I loved The Mortal Instruments, but dear God, The Infernal Devices is even better. Totally obsessed now.
• I instantly became torn between Will and Jem. I love both of the characters. They're both perfect fictional heartthrobs. Damn you Cassie Clare!

Memorable quotes:

• "It was much less fun showing off without Jem to show off to." ~ Will
• "(Will) had the most beautiful face she had ever seen. Tangled black hair and eyes like blue glass. Elegant cheekbones, a full mouth, and long, thick lashes. Even the curve of his throat was perfect. He looked like every fictional hero she'd ever conjured up in her head." ~ Tessa
• "Let me give you a piece of advice. The handsome young fellow who's trying to rescue you from a hideous fate is never wrong. Not even if he says the sky is purple and made of hedgehogs." ~ Will to Tessa
• "It isn't against the Law to be an idiot." ~ Henry
• "Beauty fades, but cooking is eternal." ~ Will
• "one must always be careful of books and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us." ~ Tessa
• "Only the weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry." ~ Tessa
• "Books are for reading, not for turning oneself into livestock." ~ Tessa
• "There's plenty of sense in nonsense sometimes, if you wish to look for it." ~ Will
• "I've never seen anyone get so excited over books before. You'd think they were diamonds." ~ Will to Tessa
• "Everyone has something they can't live without. I'll find out what it is for you, never you fear." ~ Tessa to Will
• "Dreams can be dangerous things." ~ Charlotte
• "Such harsh truths so early in the morning cannot be good for the digestion." ~ Will
• "You are as terrifying as you are wonderful, my dear." ~ Henry to Charlotte
• "I hate witchlight. It makes my complexion look absolutely green." ~ Jessamine
• "It is hard to think of something as a gift when you have been tormented and imprisoned for it." ~ Tessa
•  "I do not walk like a duck." ~ Tessa
  "I like ducks. Especially the ones in Hyde Park. Remember when you tried to convince me to feed a poultry pie to the mallards in the park to see if you could breed a race of cannibal ducks?" ~ Jem
  "They ate it too. Bloodthirsty little beasts. Never trust a duck." ~ Will
• "You disgrace the name of Shadowhunters everywhere." ~ Gabriel to Will
• "Goading Will into single combat -- that's like punishing a dog after you've tormented it into biting you." ~ Jem to Gabriel
• "Where there's our Will, there's a half-dozen angry girls claiming he's compromised their virtue." ~ Jem
• "Sometimes when I have to do something I don't want to do, I pretend I'm a character from a book. It's easier to know what they would do." ~ Will
• "The dead can tell no tales." ~ Will
• "I rather like the way you manage Will." ~ Charlotte
  "No one manages Will." ~ Tessa
• "Is there anything that isn't a joke to you?" ~ Gabriel
  "Nothing that comes to mind." ~ Will
  "You know there was a time I thought we could be friends, Will." ~ Gabriel
  "There was a time I thought I was a ferret but that turned out to be the opium haze. Did you know it had that effect? Because I didn't." ~ Will
• "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. Whatever the color, the shape, the design of the shade that conceals it, the flame inside the lamp remains the same. You are the flame." ~ Jem
• "Perhaps it wasn't actually possible to scrub away your thoughts of someone, but she could try." ~ Tessa
• "He's like one thing sometimes, and then he can change completely, like the wind changing, and I don't know or what's happened." ~ Tessa about Will
• "All that pretty face and whatnot just hides how twisted up and rotten he is on the inside." ~ Sophie about Will
• "Sometimes our lives can change so fast that the change outpaces our minds and our hearts." ~ Jem
• "Many who have gazed upon me have compared the experience to gazing at the radiance of the sun." ~ Will
  "If they mean it gives you a headache, they aren't wrong." ~ Jem
• "It is as great a thing to love as it is to be loved. Love is not something that can be wasted." ~ Jem

Buy on Amazon.com: Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices)