SHADOWHUNTERS AND DOWNWORLDERS

Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, epic urban fantasy set in a richly imagined world of shadowhunters, vampires, werewolves, fairies, and more, has captured the imaginations and loyalty of hundreds of thousands of YA readers. Originally a trilogy (City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass), the series has extended to six titles, plus a prequel trilogy, the Infernal Devices, and a planned sequel series, the Dark Artifices. A feature film is planned for 2013.

Shadowhunters and Downworlders, edited by Clare (who provides an introduction to the book and to each piece), is a collection of YA authors writing about the series and its world.


Authors Who Contributed:
Holly Black / Kendare Blake / Gwenda Bond / Sarah Rees Brennan / Rachel Caine / Sarah Cross / Kami Garcia / Michelle Hodkin / Kelly Link / Kate Milford / Diana Peterfreund / Sara Ryan / Scott Tracey / Robin Wasserman
 

Paperback, 198 pages

Published January 29th 2013 by SmartPop 

 

First line:

"There's a question that every writer both is intimately familiar with and dreads having to answer."

 

I am one who has really enjoyed the Mortal Instruments series. Therefore, I enjoyed this book with insights and creativity all centered around this book. There were many clever short stories.

3 STARS

 

Thanks, netgalley

CLOCKWORK PRINCESS (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.
 

Hardcover, First Edition, 570 pages

Published March 19th 2013 by Margaret K. McElderry Books (first published 2013)

First line:
"York, 1847
"I'm afraid," said the little girl sitting on the bed."

Three things I liked about this book:
1. Twists
2. Will
3. Surprises

Where does Ms. Clare get all her stories and words? How can she write sooo much and still keep us readers hooked?
My daughter and I read this series rather quickly. I had to wait for her to read this book first! I liked this book the second best with the first one being my favorite.

Why does Mortmain need Tessa? Why diabolical scheme will he use her in? oh. Interesting. ok.
What will happen to Jem? He is dying. Who or what will save him? OH. Really? Hm. Didn't see that one coming. Kinda makes me want to reread Mortal Instruments again.
How will Herondale live without his one true love? Sweet.
Who will save the day? Wow. Cool. Happened quicker than I thought but cool.
Will Cecily get her own story some day?

My daughter loved the series and loved the ending.


Rating: PG 16
V:Fighting
L: No
S: Kissing, lusting,

Liked:
Surprises
Relationships
Trying to figure out the different twists

Disliked:
Um, don't hate me, the ending ending

4 STARS

CLOCKWORK PRINCE by Cassandra Clare

In magical Victorian London, orphan Tessa found safety with the Shadowhunters, until traitors betray her to the Magister. He wants to marry her, but so do self-destructive Will and fiercely devoted Jem. Mage Magnus Bane returns to help them. Secrets to her parentage lie with the mist-shrouded Yorkshire Institute's aged manager Alyosius Starkweather.

Hardcover, Collector's First Edition, 502 pages

Published 2011 by Simon & Schuster, Margaret K. McElderry

Ms. Clare has quite a way with writing. Scenes, characters, plots, etc. It's hard to put her books down. Even though sometimes I don't enjoy some of the sappy stuff and I tend to skim it. 
About 3/4 of the way into the book I wondered if I would ever read about Mortmain, the bad guy. Where is he? And when oh when will we finally find out what Tessa really is??
Poor Will finally free to tell Tessa he loves her and... then he can't because. 
Jem. Sweet, silver-haired, drug addict Jem. How will Ms. Clare keep him alive? 
And Tessa. Choose.
This book felt more like a bridge book. I have to admit I was disappointed in the way the love triangle played out. We will see what happens in the next book because, yes, I have to finish this series.

Rating: PG 16
V: Fighting, demons
L: Not much
S: Kissing, making out

Liked:
Characterizations
Setting
Plot
 
Disliked:
Love triangle
Not a lot of plot that moves the story along

Listened to this book on audible

3 1/2 STARS

CLOCKWORK ANGEL(The Infernal Devices #1) by Cassandra Clare

Orphan Tessa Gray, sixteen, crosses the ocean from New York to find her brother Nate in Victorian London, her only possession a clockwork angel necklace from her mother. She is ignorant of her power to transform; the Dark sisters are not. They kidnap her for the Magister, who wants to marry Tessa and claim her power.

Shadowhunters, warriors of angel blood, battle demons and keep the peace in the Downworld of vampires, warlocks and other supernaturals. Orphan teen Shadowhunters Jem, Will, and Jess rescue Tessa and agree to help save Nate. Vengeful vampire Lady Camille Belcourt and her current lover, warlock Magnus Bane provide entrée to the Magister's secret Pandemonium Club.


First line:
"London, April 1878. The demon exploded in an shower of and guts."

How? How does Ms. Clare keep me reading her books? Sigh.

Rating: PG 13
S: No. Tensions
L: No
V: Fighting, intense images of death and paranormals

Liked:
Will
Jem
 

Disliked:


4 STARS

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (Mortal Instruments Book 2)

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

  
Yes, I read City of Ashes again. Yes, I give it 4 STARS this time (language and homosexual portrayals). Now that I'm writing more and understand better pacing, storytelling, foreshadowing, character arcs, I like this story better. 


Likes:
Jace (he always surprises me)
Families taking care of each other
Mothers and fathers present!


Dislikes:
swearing
homosexual portrayal
couldn't put it down

Rating: PG 16
V: Yes
L: some
S: No

4 STARS

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

I dubbed this book my 'bathtub' book and reread it again. I don't know why I enjoy this book! Clary, Simon, Jacy, Alec, Isabelle--I enjoy each character. They have their unique voices, habits, idiosyncrasies and conflicts. 
The storyline moves and there are constant obstacles in the way of Clary and Jacy. 
There is also a great villain.


Rating: PG 15
V: Yes. Paranormal fights
L: Sprinkled throughout
S: Innuendos. kissing.

25% test (p. 121):
"...fantasy and mystery thrown in. Clary remembered plowing through the entirety of the The Chronicles of Prydain here, curled up in Luke's window seat as the sun went down over the East River.
"I think he's still around," called Simon, standing in the doorway of Luke's small kitchenette. "The percolator's on and there's coffee here. Still hot."
Clary peered around the kitchen door. Dishes were staked in the sink. Luke's jackets were hung neatly on hooks inside the coat closet. She walked down the hallway and opened the door of his small bedroom. It looked the same as ever, the bed with its gray coverlet and flat pillows unmade, the top of the bureau covered in loose change. She turned away. Some part of her had been absolutely certain that when they walked in they'd find the place torn to pieces, and Luke tied up, injured or worse. Now she didn't know what to think.
Numbly she crossed the hall to the little guest bedroom where she'd so often stayed when her mother was out of town on business. They'd stay up late watching old horror movies on the flickering black-and-white TV. She even kept a backpack full of extra things here so she didn't have to lug her stuff back and forth from home.
Kneeling down, she tugged it out from under the bed by it's olive green strap. It was covered in buttons, most of which Simon had given her. Gamers do it better. Otaku wench, still not king. Inside were some folded clothes, a few spare pairs of underwear, a hairbrush, even shampoo. Thank God, she thought, and kicked the bedroom door closed. Quickly she changed, stripping off Isabelle's too-big--and now grass stained and sweaty--clothes, and pulling on a pair of her own sandblasted cords, soft as worn paper, and a blue tank top with..."

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

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.

I felt like I was back in time reading this book. And in a different dimension with the magic, demons and mundanes.
The characters reminded me of the ones in The Mortal instruments: love interest/triangle; rebel girl; hurt boy who can't love another; mentor; bad guy who isn't; interesting demons and Downworlders.
Good story, interesting characters, great twists all make a book hard to put down.
Beware! Many questions left unanswered.
Less sexual tension than the Mortal Instruments.
But I have got to STOP reading trilogies until all three are published!!


Rating: PG 13
V: fighting, blood and gore, vampires etc blowing up
L: a little swearing
S: kissing, references to brothels etc




Page 69 test:
"...hazel eyes, he wore a torn tweed Norfolk jacket over a shockingly bright striped waistcoat; his trousers were covered in what looked peculiarly like coal dust. But none of that was what had made Charlotte scream; it was the fact that his left arm appeared to be on fire. Little flames licked up his arm from a point above his elbow, releasing tendrils of black smoke. 
"Charlotte, darling." Henry said to his wife, who was staring t him in gape-mouthed horror. Jessamine, beside her, was wide eyed. "Sorry I'm late. You know, I think I might nearly have the Sensor working--"
Will interrupted. "Henry," he said. "You're on fire. You do know that, don't you?"
"Oh, yes," Henry said eagerly. The flames were now nearly to his shoulder. "I've been working like a man possessed all day. Charlotte, did you hear what I said about the Sensor?"
"Charlotte dropped her hand from her mouth. "Henry!" she shrieked. "You arm!"
Henry glanced down at his arm, and his mouth dropped open. "Bloody hell" was all he had time to say before Will, exhibiting a startling presence of mind, stood up, seized the vase of flowers off the table, and hurled the contents over Henry. The flames went out, with a faint protesting sizzle, leaving Henry standing soaking wet in the doorway, one sleeve of his jacket blackened and a dozen damp white flowers strewn at his feet.
Henry beamed and patted the burned sleeve of his jacket with a look of satisfaction. "You know what this means?"
Will set the vase down. "That you set yourself on fire and didn't even notice?"
"That the flame-retardant mixture I developed last week works!" Henry said proudly. "This material must have been..."