Hello and welcome to my reading web log! This blog is my reading journey. Here you can find my book reviews, anything related to books, and even some of my original writing. Keep going down for posts and don't forget to look around the blog. Thank you! (this blog is best viewed in desktop mode/web version)
6/14/21:
14. Americana
This book is on my currently reading list. "Denis Johnson, known for his portraits of America's dispossessed, illuminates this highway odyssey with his unique vision..." (from the back summary). I also might be reading this book because someone else I know read it before. 😏☺️
#JustReadPPL
6/12/21:
12. Memories
This book reminds me of high school and one of my first times participating in this Summer reading challenge. This is a book I received for reading my 1,000 points before.
#JustReadPPL
6/11/21:
11. Favorite
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare is one of my favorite books and book series. It's in my favorites bookshelf in my goodreads profile. 🎗️
#JustReadPPL
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| I chose an owl as my avatar! |
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra ClareI’ve read this online already, but I did imagine Tessa in my head as a tall girl with gray eyes of course, which match her last name lol so perfectly. She would smell of lavender and violet water like how Will had described her. Her brown hair perfect for her.
I always watch Christine Riccio’s YouTube videos after I finish reading a Shadowhunter novel because she is the absolute best! I love her passion for reading and the Shadowhunter world. Here is a link to a YouTube playlist I made of her booktalks:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYL0fUO8zjtaMcNVljNMwr6WnecTPU9vJ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7oNhZX_7oo&list=PLYL0fUO8zjtaMcNVljNMwr6WnecTPU9vJ&index=6
I can’t wait to return to the trance-like city of New York in The Mortal Instruments! I miss everyone who lives there! *cries* lol XD
I started listening to drum and bass music from Misfits the UK TV series and I think that this type of music is one of the best background music for listening to when you’re reading The Mortal Instruments. I know that trance music is mentioned in the first book, but I really think drum and bass music is a close second when it comes to matching the vibe of the NYC Shadow World.
I wore my Gothic shirt and Tessa’s angel necklace while I read the last 100 pages. I bought the necklace when I was in high school when I first read the trilogy. I was clutching her angel as I read the last scene with Jem and Tessa. I was holding it in my hands against my chest like how Tessa held it so tight that it made her palm bleed because of the sharp wings. I wore that to celebrate finishing the trilogy a second time. I absolutely loved it!
This is a picture of me typing out my thoughts from my reading journal into my Google Doc that will go into my reading blog. I was listening to drum and bass music while I did this.
Tomorrows Another Day - VIP Mix by Netsky
Now I know why everyone loves this trilogy because I love this trilogy.
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| This is a picture of my physical copy of the book that I own. I got it on an online bookstore. |
“But Jem had set his steps toward the target painted on the wall; when he reached it, he yanked the knife free from the wood. Then he turned and walked directly up to Will. Delicate as he was, they were of the same height, and only inches from each other their eyes met and held. ‘You may use me for target practice if you wish,’ said Jem, as casually as if he were talking about the weather. ‘It seems to me I have little to fear from such an exercise, as you are not a very good shot.’ He turned, took aim, and let the knife fly. It stuck directly into the heart of the target, quivering slightly. ‘Or,’ Jem went on, turning back to Will, ‘you could allow me to teach you. For I am a very good shot’” (13).
I was like, “Oh, damn, lil Jem! You got him good!” XD
“‘Unfortunately, you may have to delay your plans for sororicide a bit longer. Gabriel Lightwood is downstairs, and I have two words for you. Two of your favorite words, at least when you put them together.’
‘“Utter simpleton”?’ inquired Will. ‘“Worthless upstart”?’
Jem grinned. ‘“Demon pox,”’ he said” (23).
lol I guess everyone will now associate demon pox with Will Herondale.
“‘Gideon!’ It was Henry, at the open door, breathless, wearing one of his terrible green-and-orange-striped waistcoats. ‘Your brother's here. Downstairs—’” (25).
I thought that it was rude and mean that Clare decided to call Henry’s waistcoat terrible. I would think it beautiful and awe inspiring. Those two colors seem to fit his personality very well indeed. The colors make me think of exotic candies and Willy Wonka lol
“‘Is Father hurt?’ Gideon went on, coming to a stop before his brother. ‘Are you?’ He put his hand up and took his brother’s face, his hand cupping Gabriel’s chin and turning it toward him. Though Gabriel was taller, the look of a younger sibling was clear in his face—relief that his brother was there, and a flicker of resentment at his peremptory tone.
‘Father …,’ Gabriel began. ‘Father is a worm.’
Will gave a short laugh. He was in gear as if he had just come from the practice room, and his hair curled damply against his temples. He was not looking at Tessa, but she had grown used to that. Will hardly ever looked at her unless he had to. ‘It’s good to see you’ve come round to our view of things, Gabriel, but this is an unusual way of announcing it.’
Gideon shot Will a reproachful look before turning back to his brother. ‘What do you mean, Gabriel? What did Father do?’
Gabriel shook his head. ‘He’s a worm,’ he said again, tonelessly.
‘I know. He has brought shame on the name of Lightwood, and lied to both of us. He shamed and destroyed our mother. But we need not be like him.’
Gabriel pulled away from his brother’s grip, his teeth suddenly flashing in an angry scowl. ‘You’re not listening to me,’ he said. ‘He’s a worm. A worm. A bloody great
serpentlike thing. Since Mortmain stopped sending the medicine, he’s been getting
worse. Changing. Those sores upon his arms, they started to cover him. His hands, his
neck, h-his face …’ Gabriel’s green eyes sought Will. ‘It was the pox, wasn’t it? You
know all about it, don’t you? Aren’t you some sort of expert?’
‘Well, you needn’t act as if I invented it,’ said Will. ‘Just because I believed it existed. There are accounts of it—old stories in the library—’” (26-27).
lolz “worm” I can just imagine Gabriel’s serious face saying his father’s an actual worm! XD
“He looked around the now silent entryway. ‘He has become a worm. That is
what I am telling you.’
‘I don’t suppose it would be possible,’ said Henry into the silence, ‘to, er, step on him?’” (29).
lol, Henry what?!
“‘Tessa,’ he exclaimed, and then he was beside her, helping her to her feet. ‘By the Angel, we're a pair,’ he said in his rueful Henry way, looking at her worriedly. ‘You're not hurt, are you?’” (49).
“There was a silence. Then: ‘Tessa,’ Henry said in an odd voice, and she turned to him, arrested in the act of applying an iratze to his inner arm. He was staring at the wall across from him—the wall Tessa had thought earlier was oddly mottled and splotched with stains. She saw now that they were no accidental mess. Letters, a foot tall each, stretched across the wallpaper, written in what looked like dried black blood.
THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT PITY.
THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT REGRET.
THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT NUMBER.
THE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING.
And there, beneath the scrawls, a last sentence, barely readable, as if whoever had written it had been losing the use of his hand. She pictured Benedict locked in this room, going slowly mad as he transformed, smearing the words on the wall with his own ichor-ridden blood: MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON OUR SOULS” (50-51).
“‘But enough of that. I understand that your sister has already been delivered to the Blackthorns’ residence in Kensington,” she said. “Is there someone you would like me to send a message to for you?’
‘A—message?’
She paused before the fireplace, clasping her hands behind her back. ‘You need to go somewhere, Gabriel, unless you want me to turn you out of doors with only the key of the streets to your name.’
Turn me out of doors? Was this horrible woman actually throwing him out of the Institute? He thought of what his father had always told him: The Fairchilds don’t care about anyone but themselves and the Law. ‘I—the house in Pimlico—’
‘The Consul will shortly be informed of all that transpired at Lightwood House,’ said Charlotte. ‘Both of your family’s London residences will be confiscated in the name of the Clave, at least until they can be searched and it can be determined that your father left nothing behind that could provide the Council with clues.’
‘Clues to what?’
‘To your father’s plans,’ she said, unfazed. ‘To his connection to Mortmain, his knowledge of Mortmain’s plans. To the Infernal Devices.’
‘I’ve never even heard of the bloody Infernal Devices,’ Gabriel protested, and then blushed. He had sworn, and in front of a lady. Not that Charlotte was quite like any other lady.
‘I believe you,’ she said. ‘I don’t know if Consul Wayland will, but that is your lookout. If you will give me an address—’
‘I haven’t got one,’ Gabriel said, in desperation. ‘Where do you think I could go?’
She just looked at him, one eyebrow raised.
‘I want to stay with my brother,’ he said finally, aware that he sounded petulant and
angry, but not quite sure what to do about it.
‘But your brother lives here,’ she said. ‘And you have made your feelings about the Institute and about my claim to it very clear. Jem told me what you believe. That my father drove your uncle to suicide. It isn’t true, you know, but I don’t expect you to believe me. It does leave me wondering, however, why you would wish to remain here.’
‘The Institute is a refuge.’
‘Was your father planning on running it as a refuge?’
‘I don’t know! I don’t know what his plans are—what they were!’
‘Then why did you go along with them?’ Her voice was soft but merciless.
‘Because he was my father!’ Gabriel shouted. He spun away from Charlotte, his breath becoming ragged in his throat. Only barely aware of what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around himself, hugging his own body tight, as if he could keep himself from coming undone.
Memories of the past few weeks, memories that Gabriel had been doing his best to press back into the very recesses of his mind, threatened to burst out into the light: weeks in the house after the servants had been sent away, hearing the noises coming from the upstairs rooms, screams in the night, blood on the stairs in the morning, Father shouting gibberish from behind the locked library door, as if he could no longer form words in English…
‘If you are going to throw me out on the street,’ Gabriel said, with a sort of terrible desperation, ‘then do it now. I do not want to think I have got a home when I have not. I do not want to think I am going to see my brother again if I am not going to.’
‘You think he would not go after you? Find you wherever you were?’
‘I think he has proved who he cares for most,’ said Gabriel, ‘and it is not me.’ He slowly straightened, loosing his grip on himself. ‘Send me away or let me stay. I will not beg you.’
Charlotte sighed. ‘You will not have to,’ she said. ‘Never before have I sent away
anyone who told me they had nowhere else to go, and I will not start now. I will ask of
you only one thing. To allow someone to live in the Institute, in the very heart of the
Enclave, is to place my trust in their good intentions. Do not make me regret that I
have trusted you, Gabriel Lightwood’” (64-66).
All the following notes I am about to write came from my reading journal. I was reading and had so many thoughts at once while I was reading that I had to write them all down before I forgot.
The, “I haven’t got one,” line reminds me of that one song “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” by The Smiths. It reminds me of the lyric,
“I never, never want to go home
Because I haven’t got one
Anymore.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r-qDvD3F3c
This lyric is so true of Gabriel’s situation because his house is being confiscated by the Clave and he has nowhere to go. Charlotte letting Gabriel stay. That scene made me legit tear up because of what Gabriel is going through. He has no one to go to and he had to kill his own father. I really hope he doesn’t betray Charlotte’s trust.
“‘I know that,’ Tessa said. ‘But I also sat with Will while he was delirious from exposure to vampire blood, choking on holy water, and I know the name he called out. It was yours.’
Cecily looked up in surprise. ‘Will called out for me?’
‘Oh, yes.’ A small smile touched the edge of Tessa’s mouth. ‘He wouldn’t tell me who you were, of course, when I asked him, and it drove me half-mad—’ She broke off, and looked away.
‘Why?’
‘Curiosity,’ said Tessa with a shrug, though there was a flush on her cheekbones. ‘It’s my besetting sin. In any event, he loves you. I know that with Will everything is backward and upside down, but the fact that he isn’t here is only further proof to me of how precious you are to him. He is used to pushing away everyone he loves, and the more he loves you, the more he will violently try not to show it.’
‘But there is no curse—’
‘The habits of years are not unlearned so quickly,’ Tessa said, and her eyes were sad. ‘Do not make the mistake of believing that he does not love you because he plays at not caring, Cecily. Confront him if you must and demand the truth, but do not make the mistake of turning away because you believe that he is a lost cause. Do not cast him from your heart. For if you do, you will regret it’” (75-76).
Tessa talking about that scene with Will choking on holy water breaks my heart when he said his sister’s name.
“It’s my besetting sin.” = A main or constant problem or fault.
My Google Keep says that this was chapter 3. March 23, 2016.
“‘I thought you’d at least make a song out of it,’ said Jem.
Will looked at his parabatai curiously. Jem, though he had asked for Will, did not seem in a forthcoming mood. He was sitting quietly on the edge of his bed in a clean shirt and trousers, though the shirt was loose and made him look thinner than ever. There were still flecks of dried blood around his collarbones, a sort of brutal necklace. ‘Make a song out of what?’
Jem’s mouth quirked. ‘Our defeat of the worm?’ he said. ‘After all those jokes you made…’
‘I have not been in a joking mood, these past few hours,’ Will said, his eyes flicking to the bloody rags that covered the nightstand by the bed, the bowl half-full of pinkish fluid.
‘Don’t fuss, Will,’ Jem said. ‘Everyone’s been fussing over me and I can’t abide it; I
wanted you because—because you wouldn’t. You make me laugh.’
Will threw his arms up. ‘Oh, all right,’ he said. ‘How’s this?
‘Forsooth, I no longer toil in vain,
To prove that demon pox warps the brain.
So though ‘tis pity, it’s not in vain
That the pox-ridden worm was slain:
For to believe in me, you all must deign.’
Jem burst out laughing. ‘Well, that was awful.’
‘It was impromptu!’” (78-79).
This is so sweet that Will would sing for Jem even if he wasn’t “in the mood.” *blushes*
“Will let his eyes drift down toward it, and then up to Jem’s face. A dozen awful things he could say, or do, went through his mind. One did not slough off a persona so quickly, he had found. He had pretended to be cruel for so many years that the pretense was still what he reached for first, as a man might absently turn his carriage toward the home he had lived in for all his life, despite the fact that he had recently moved” (81).
“‘...Soon it was taking more of the drug to simply keep me on my feet than it used to take to keep me going for a week. I don’t have years, Will. I might not even have months. And I don’t want Tessa to know. Please don’t tell her. Not just for her sake but for mine.’
Against his own will, almost, Will felt himself understanding; he would have done anything, he thought, told any lie, taken any risk, to make Tessa love him. He would have done—
Almost anything. He would not betray Jem for it. That was the one thing he would not do. And here Jem stood, his hand in Will’s, his eyes asking for Will’s sympathy, his understanding. And how could Will not understand? He recalled himself in Magnus’s drawing room, begging to be sent to the demon realms rather than live another hour, another moment, of a life he could no longer bear” (82).
I love the parallels with Will and Jem here.
“‘I am not afraid of London,’ Cecily said defiantly.
Will leaned close, almost hissing into her ear. ‘Fyddai’n wneud unrhyw dda yn ddweud wrthych i fynd adref?’
She laughed. ‘No, it would not do you any good to tell me to go home. Rwyt ti fy
mrawd ac rwy eisiau mynd efo chi.’
Will blinked at her words. You are my brother and I want to go with you. It was the sort of thing he was used to hearing Jem say, and though Cecily was unlike Jem in every other conceivable way, she did share one quality with him: an absolute stubbornness” (87).
Awww! It’s so cute to think about Will’s little sister following him.
“‘Don’t you even care where I’m going?’ he said. ‘What if I were going to Hell?’
‘I’ve always wanted to see Hell,’ Cecily said calmly. ‘Doesn’t everyone?’
‘Most of us spend our time struggling to stay out of it,’ said Will. ‘I am going to an ifrit den, if you must know, to purchase drugs from violent, dissolute reprobates. They may clap eyes on you and decide to sell you.’
‘Wouldn’t you stop them?’
‘I suppose it would depend on how much they would give me.’
She shook her head. ‘Jem is your parabatai,’ she said. ‘He is your brother, given to you by the Clave. But I am your sister by blood. Why will you do anything in the world for him but you only want me to go home?’
‘How do you know the drugs are for Jem?’
‘I am not a fool, Will.’
‘No, more’s the pity,’ Will muttered. ‘Jem—Jem is all the better part of myself. I would not expect you to understand. I owe him this.’
‘Then what am I?’ Cecily asked.
Will exhaled, too exasperated to check himself. ‘You are my weakness.’
‘And Tessa is your heart,’ she said, not angrily but thoughtfully. ‘Not a fool, as I told you,’ she added at his startled expression. ‘I know that you love her.’
Will put his hand to his head, as if her words had caused a splitting pain there. ‘Have you told anyone? You mustn’t, Cecily. No one knows, and it must remain that way.’
‘I would hardly tell anyone.’
‘No, I suppose you wouldn’t, would you?’ His voice had gone hard. ‘You must be ashamed of your brother—harboring illicit feelings for his parabatai’s fiancée—’
‘I am not ashamed of you, Will. Whatever you feel, you have not acted on it, and I suppose we all want things we cannot have.’
‘Oh?’ Will said. ‘And what do you want that you cannot have?’
‘For you to come home.’ A strand of black hair was stuck to her cheek by the dampness, making her look as if she had been crying, though Will knew she had not.
‘The Institute is my home.’ Will sighed and leaned his head back against the stone archway. ‘I cannot stand out here arguing with you all evening, Cecy. If you are determined to follow me into Hell, I cannot stop you.’
‘Finally, you have seen sense. I knew you would; you are related to me, after all’” (88-89).
lol Will wouldn’t stop the people at the ifrit den if they sold Cecily. I was like OMG Cecy already figured out everything! XD Clever girl! And I was like, “Aw :(,” when Cecy said that the thing that she wants that she cannot have is for Will to come home.
“‘Mr. Lightwood,’ she [Sophie Collins] said, raising herself up on her elbows. ‘Are those scones under your bed?’
…
‘You called for those scones. Nearly every day. You asked for them, Mr. Lightwood. Why would you do that if you didn’t want them?’
His cheeks darkened. ‘It was the only way I could think of to see you. You wouldn’t speak to me, wouldn’t listen when I tried to talk to you—’
‘So you lied?’ Seizing up her fallen cap, Sophie rose to her feet. ‘Do you have any idea how much work I have to do, Mr. Lightwood? Carrying coal and hot water, dusting, polishing, cleaning up after you and the others—and I don’t mind or complain, but how dare you make extra work for me, make me drag heavy trays up and down the stairs, just to bring you something you didn’t even want?’
Gideon scrambled to his feet, his clothes even more wrinkled now. ‘Forgive me,’ he said. ‘I did not think.’
‘No,’ Sophie said, furiously tucking her hair up under her cap. ‘You lot never do, do you?’
And with that, she stalked from the room, leaving Gideon staring hopelessly after her.
‘Nicely done, brother,’ said Gabriel from the bed, blinking sleepy green eyes at Gideon.
Gideon threw a scone at him” (92-93).
OMG! XDXD LOL I mean like come on, Gideon!
“Henry opened his mouth to reply, but before a word could emerge, there was a terrible ripping sound, and the cradle tore free of its mooring and flew across the room to crash against the farthest wall, where it exploded into splinters.
Charlotte gave a little gasp, her hand rising to cover her mouth. Henry’s brow furrowed. ‘Perhaps with some refinements to the design…’
‘No, Henry,’ Charlotte said firmly.
‘But—’
‘Under no circumstances.’ There were daggers in Charlotte’s voice.
Henry sighed. ‘Very well, dear’” (96).
Lol OMG nice try, Henry XD
“Will remembered.
Another day, months ago, in Jem’s bedroom. Rain pounding against the windows of the Institute, streaking the glass with clear lines” (106).
“That had ended the Bach. Jem had put the violin away” (107).
I imagined playing this popular Bach violin concerto. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EiDDDZZjv4
“‘Who?’ Tessa inquired, which did not seem to Will to be germane to the issue, but it was Tessa's way—she was forever asking questions; leave her alone in a room, and she'd begin asking questions of the furniture and plants.
‘Someone with absinthe.’
‘Swallow enough of that stuff and you’ll think you’re somebody else,’ said Will. ‘We’re seeking Magnus Bane; if he isn’t here, just tell us and we’ll not take up more of your time.’
Woolsey sighed as if greatly prevailed upon. ‘Magnus,’ he called. ‘It’s your blue-eyed boy.’
There were footsteps in the corridor behind Woolsey, and Magnus appeared in full evening dress, as if he had just come from a ball. Starched white shirtfront and cuffs, swallowtail black coat, and hair like a ragged fringe of dark silk. His eyes flicked from Will to Tessa. ‘And to what do I owe the honor, at such a late hour?’” (111-112).
“Will thought he recognized a reproduction of an Alma-Tadema” (112-113).
Clare didn’t specify which piece exactly, but I imagine Scott had something like this on his walls, which is so beautiful and light.
“Will did not know what happened after that; everything went suddenly white, and Woolsey’s monocle was flying across the room. Will’s head hit something painfully, and the werewolf was under him, kicking and swearing, and they were rolling across the rug, and there was a sharp pain in his wrist, where Woolsey had clawed him. The pain cleared his head, and he was aware that Woolsey was pinning him to the ground, his eyes gone yellow and his teeth bared and as sharp as daggers, ready to bite” (116).
My original comment was, “pain clears your head???” But now, years later, I clearly understand what Will means here. I do it all the time now. When I want to stop thinking about something I bite my tongue with the sharp part of my teeth or pinch the inside of my wrist. It really does work!
“‘Picking a fight with the head of the Praetor Lupus,’ Magnus said bitterly. ‘You know what his pack would do to you if they had an excuse. You want to die, don’t you?’
‘I don’t,’ Will said, surprising even himself a little.
‘I don’t know why I ever helped you.’
‘You like broken things.’
Magnus took two strides across the room and seized Will’s face in his long fingers, forcing his chin up. ‘You are not Sydney Carton,’ he said. ‘What good will it do you to die for James Carstairs, when he is dying anyway?’
‘Because if I save him, then it is worth it—’” (117).
“‘Pointless, needless suffering and pain? I don’t suppose it would help if I told you that is the way life is. The good suffer, the evil flourish, and all that is mortal passes away.’
…
‘I’ll help you.’ Magnus reached down his shirtfront and drew out something that dangled on a chain, something that glowed with a soft red light. A square red stone. ‘Take this.’
He folded it into Will’s hand.
Will looked at him in confusion. ‘This was Camille’s.’
‘I gave it to her as a gift,’ said Magnus, a bitter quirk to the side of his mouth. ‘She returned all my gifts to me last month. You might as well take it. It warns when demons are close. It might work on those clockwork creations of Mortmain’s.’
‘“True love cannot die,”’ Will said, translating the inscription on the back in the light from the corridor. ‘I can’t wear this, Magnus. It’s too pretty for a man.’
‘So are you. Go home and clean yourself up. I will call upon you as soon as I have information.’ He looked at Will keenly. ‘In the meantime do your best to be worthy of my assistance’” (118-119).
“‘I have come to understand something about novels,’ Tessa said.
‘And what is that?’
‘That they are not true’
…
‘Perhaps, but you would not exist without a woman, would you? However little use you may find us, we are cleverer and more determined and more patient than men. Men may be stronger, but it is women who endure’” (120).
Endure: accustom
“‘A heart divided against itself cannot stand, as they say. You love them both, and it tears you apart.’
‘House,’ said Tessa.
He raised an eyebrow. ‘What was that?’
‘A house divided against itself cannot stand. Not a heart. Perhaps you should not attempt quotations if you cannot get them correct’” (121).
Oooo! Sick burn, Tessa! XD lolz
“‘Oh, I don’t doubt she’s putting on a show for you, Charlotte, weeping and rending her garments—’
‘Well, if she’s rending her garments,’ said Jem, with a flick of a smile toward his
parabatai. ‘You know how much Jessamine likes her garments’” (139).
Lol I love these two and their smiles! XD =D
“—a massive room whose ceiling was painted with reproductions of the Italian Great Masters, including Botticelli’s Birth of Venus” (144).
This painting was in the Argent Rooms, “a notorious music hall and gentleman’s club in Piccadilly Circus” (143).
“‘No,’ Sophie said, looking back down at her red, work-roughened hands. ‘It is better that I never entertain the idea. That way there will be no disappointment’” (150).
That is exactly how I think, Sophie!
“Gideon looked at him for a long time. ‘Was this your plan all along? When you agreed to the Consul’s demands, in the Argent Rooms, was this your plan?’
Gabriel looked away from his brother, toward the rain-wet courtyard. In his mind he could see the two of them, much younger, standing where the Thames cut through the edge of the house’s property, and Gideon showing him the safe paths through the swampy ground. His brother had always been the one to show him the safe paths. There had been a time when they had trusted each other implicitly, and he did not know when it had ended, but his heart ached for it more than it ached at the loss of his father.
‘Would you believe me,’ he said bitterly, ‘if I told you it was? Because it is the truth.’
Gideon was still for a long moment. Then Gabriel found himself hauled forward, his face mashed into the wet wool of Gideon’s overcoat while his brother held him tightly, murmuring, ‘All right, little brother. It’s going to be all right,’ as he rocked them both back and forth in the rain” (153-154).
That last action of Gideon made me think he was being a sort of motherly figure to his little brother, which warms my heart so much! Augh! *heart eyes*
“‘Not you. Gabriel Lightworm over here.’ Will jerked his chin toward the other boy. ‘Sorry. Lightwood’” (161).
“Cecily squinted at her brother. His shirt was open at the collar, showing something scarlet winking in the hollow of his throat. ‘Are you wearing a woman’s necklace, Will?’
Will put a hand to his neck with a startled look” (162).
lol Will must be like, “Um-um!” with wide eyes XD
“The habits of a lifetime were not broken quickly” (163).
I see that Cecily took after Tessa’s quote! Hmmmm *smirks at Cecy* XD Here’s the exact quote, Cecy, “‘The habits of years are not unlearned so quickly,’ Tessa said, and her eyes were sad” (75-76).
“Tessa looked quickly to Will, but he only crossed the room as he always did to lean against the fireplace mantel. Cecily had never been able to decide if he did this because he was perpetually cold or because he thought he looked dashing standing before the leaping flames” (164).
lol, sure he looks dashing! *sighs* Cecy is so observant!
“Charlotte had insisted that Will stay and have his hands salved, and Cecily and Jem had refused to leave him. And Will had to admit he liked it, liked having his sister there on the arm of his chair, liked the fiercely protective glares she shot at anyone who came near him, even Charlotte, sweet and harmless with her salve and her motherly clucking. And Jem, at his feet, leaning a bit against his chair, as he had so many times when Will was being bandaged up from fights or iratzed because of wounds he’d gotten in battle” (170).
“‘Dydw I ddim yn gwybod pwy yw unrhyw un o’r bobl yr ydych yn siarad amdano,’ said Cecily plaintively.
‘You may not know who we are talking about, but no one else knows what you are
saying,’ said Will, though his tone held no real reproof. He could hear the exhaustion in
his own voice. The lack of sleep of the night before was taking its toll. ‘Speak English,
Cecy.’
Charlotte rose, returned to her desk, and set the jar of salve down. Cecily tugged on a lock of Will’s hair. ‘Let me see your hands.’
He held them up” (171).
Audiobook: Part 5 - 00:41:49 - ASMR in narrator’s voice when he said that last line. Aaaaa! It’s probably because Will was really tired in this scene.
This is the narrator of the audiobook, Daniel Sharman, who was born in the UK btw! So fitting! He looks like Will too! OMG <3 HE is my Will just so you know! lolll
lol What? That’s so funny that Cecy pulled on Will’s hair! I love their brother sister relationship so much! <3 <3 So cute! *screams*
“Truth is brighter than the light,
Falsehood darker than the night” (173).
“‘Do you remember the sea?’ he said, exhaustion making his voice heavy. ‘The lake at Tal-y-Llyn? There is nothing so blue here in London as either of those things.’
He heard Cecily take a sharp breath. ‘Of course I remember. I thought you did not.’
Images from dreams painted themselves on the inside of Will’s eyelids, sleep reaching for him like a current, pulling him away from the lighted shore. ‘I don’t think I can get up out of this chair, Cecy,’ he murmured. ‘I shall rest here tonight.’
Her hand came up, felt for his, and circled it in a loose clasp. ‘Then I will stay with you,’ she said, and her voice became part of the current of dreams and sleep that caught him finally and drew him down and over and under” (174).
Gets me everytime! *clutches heart*
“She used to tell me the story of Yu Boya, who was a great player of the qin. He had a best friend, a woodcutter named Zhong Ziqi, and he would play for him” (188).
This is such a beautiful sounding instrument.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffCKlqWOewo
“And there is a beauty that brevity alone provides” (189).
Brevity = concision
“‘Gwilym Owain,’ [Will’s Welsh name] she [Cecily] said again, more softly.
He turned his head to look at her at least, though his eyes were as blue and cold as the water of Llyn Mwyngil in the lee of the mountains” (219).
The Llyn Mwyngil is another name for Lake Tal-y-Llyn (pictured above).
“Magnus stood looking down at Jem. There was sadness etched on his face, that face that was usually so merry or sardonic or uncaring, a sadness that surprised Will. ‘“For whence had that former sorrow so easily penetrated to the quick, but that I had poured out my soul upon the dust, in loving one who must die?”’ Magnus said.
Will looked up at him. ‘What was that?’
‘Confessions of Saint Augustine,’ said Magnus. ‘You asked me how I, being immortal, survive so many deaths. There is no great secret. You endure what is unbearable, and you bear it. That is all.’ He drew away from the bed. ‘I will give you a moment alone with him, to say good-bye as you need. You can find me in the library’” (236).
“Her shoulders and face relaxed. She looked small and defenseless with her anger gone, though he knew she was not. ‘And Cecy,’ he said softly, ‘before I go, I wish to give you one more thing.’ He reached into his shirt and lifted over his head the necklace Magnus had given him. It swung, gleaming rich ruby red, in the dim lights of the stables.
‘Your lady’s necklace?’ Cecily said. ‘Well, I confess it does not suit you.’
He stepped toward Cecily and drew the glittering chain over her dark head. The ruby fell against her throat as if it were made for her. She looked at him over it, her eyes serious. ‘Wear it always. It will warn you when demons are coming,’ Will said. ‘It will help keep you safe, which is how I want you, and help you be a warrior, which is what you want.’
She put her hand against his cheek. ‘Da bo ti, Gwilym. Byddaf yn dy golli di.’
‘And I you,’ he said. Without looking at her again, he turned to Balios and swung himself up into the saddle. She stepped back as he urged the horse toward the stable doors and, bending his head against the wind, galloped out into the night” (250-251).
“‘Da bo ti, Gwilym. Byddaf yn dy golli di.’” = Goodbye, Gwilym. I will lose you.
“‘Yes,’ he said finally. ‘I am Benedict Lightwood’s son.’
‘Wonderful. I have some of your father’s orders here. I was beginning to wonder if he would ever come and pick them up.’
…
In the other hand Sallows clutched a stack of papers, which he set down on the counter.
‘Your father’s order,’ he said with a smirk.
Gabriel lowered his eyes to the papers—and his jaw dropped in horror.
‘Gracious,’ Cecily said. ‘Surely that isn’t possible?’
The satyr craned up to see what she was looking at. ‘Well, not with one person, but with a Vetis demon and a goat, most likely.’ He turned to Gabriel. ‘Now, have you got the money for these or not? Your father is behind on his payments, and he can’t buy on tick forever. What’s it going to be, Lightwood?’” (273-274).
I wonder what was on those papers. Maybe something very graphic?
“‘You know,’ Cecily said, ‘you really didn’t have to throw that man through the window.’
‘He wasn’t a man,’ Gabriel said
…
‘He was an Unseelie Court faerie. One of the nasty ones.’
…
‘And I do think it was excessive to hurl him into the canal.’
‘He’ll float.’
The corners of Cecily’s mouth twitched. ‘It was very wrong.’
‘You’re laughing,’ Gabriel said in surprise.
‘I am not.’ Cecily raised her chin…” (277-278).
lol well it is quite a funny visual, Gabriel.
“‘I imagine that it will not be easy to persuade Mortmain into a bonnet,’ Magnus observed. ‘Though the color would be fetching on him.’
Henry burst into laughter. ‘Very droll, Mr. Bane.’
‘Please, call me Magnus.’
‘I shall!’ Henry tossed the bonnet over his shoulder and picked up a round glass jar of a sparkling substance. ‘This is a powder that when applied to the air causes ghosts to become visible,’ Henry said.
Magnus tilted the jar of shining grains up to the lamp admiringly, and when Henry beamed in an encouraging fashion, Magnus removed the cork. ‘It seems very fine to me,’ he said, and on a whim he poured it upon his hand. It coated his brown skin, gloving one hand in shimmering luminescence. ‘And in addition to its practical uses, it would seem to work for cosmetic purposes. This powder would make my very skin glimmer for eternity.’
Henry frowned. ‘Not eternity,’ he said, but then he brightened. ‘But I could make you up another batch whenever you please!’
‘I could shine at will!’ Magnus grinned at Henry. ‘These are fascinating items, Mr. Branwell. You think differently about the world than any other Nephilim I have ever encountered. I confess I thought your people somewhat lacking in imagination, though high on personal drama, but you have given me a completely different opinion! Surely the Shadowhunter community must honor you and hold you in high esteem as a gentleman who has truly advanced their race.’
‘No,’ Henry said sadly. ‘Mostly they wish that I would stop suggesting new inventions and cease setting fire to things.’
‘But all invention comes with risk!’ cried Magnus. ‘I have seen the transformation wrought on the world by the invention of the steam engine, and the proliferation of printed materials, the factories and mills which have changed the face of England. Mundanes have taken the world into their hands and made of it a marvelous thing. Warlocks throughout the ages have dreamed up and perfected different spells to make themselves a different world. Would the Shadowhunters be the only ones to remain stagnant and changeless, and therefore doomed? How can they turn up their noses at the genius that you have displayed? It is like turning toward shadows and away from light.’
Henry blushed a scarlet color. It was clear that no one had ever complimented his inventing before, except perhaps Charlotte. ‘You humble me, Mr. Bane’” (279-280).
Droll = humorous
Is this where Magnus first got his obsession with glitter? Lol
I thought it was so sweet when Magnus complimented Henry on his inventions and Henry blushed. Like awww! ☺️😊
“...she [Sophie] alone knew that the scar on Tessa’s palm was not from an accidental encounter with a fireplace poker but a deliberate wound, inflicted on herself that she might, somehow, physically match the emotional pain she’d felt…” (287).
“‘I think,’ she said, choosing her words with care, ‘that any good impulse can be twisted into something evil. Look at the Magister. He does what he does because he hates the Shadowhunters, out of loyalty to his parents, who cared for him, and who were killed. It is not beyond the realm of understanding. And yet nothing excuses the result. I think when we make choices—for each choice is individual of the choices we have made before—we must examine not only our reasons for making them but what result they will have, and whether good people will be hurt by our decisions.’
…
‘Do not regret too much the choices you have made in the past, Gabriel,’ she said, aware that she was using his Christian name, but not able to help it. ‘Only make the right ones in future. We are ever capable of change and ever capable of being our better selves’” (300-301).
“The angel had saved her life, it seemed, but it had not protected her from injury.
She touched it now, hoping for guidance, but it was as still and mute as ever. As she took her hand away from her throat, though, she heard Will’s voice in her head: 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.
A character from a book, Tessa thought, a good, sensible one, would follow the stream. A character from a book would know that human habitations and towns are often built by water, and would seek out help, rather than blundering into the woods. Resolutely she wrapped her arms about herself and began to trudge downstream” (306-307).
That quote is from “Clockwork Angel” page 224-225.
“Will looked at the werewolves with an emotion bordering on hilarity. Did they really think they could hurt him, after what he had lost? For five years it had been his absolute truth. Jem and Will. Will and Jem. Will Herondale lives, therefore Jem Carstairs lives also. Quod erat demonstrandum. To lose an arm or a leg would be painful, he imagined, but to lose the central truth of your life felt—fatal” (312).
Quod erat demonstrandum = An exclamation used to convey that a fact or situation demonstrates the truth of one's theory or claim, especially to mark the conclusion of a formal proof.
“They did not come out here to taunt or hurt me, Will realized. They came out here to kill me.
For one black moment Will was tempted to let them. The thought of it seemed like an enormous relief—all pain gone, all responsibility gone, a simple submersion in death and forgetting. He stood without moving as the knife swung toward him. Everything seemed to be happening very slowly—the iron edge of the knife swinging toward him, the sneering face of the werewolf blurred by the rain” (313).
“Keep them in check. She fumed. As if they were all children and she no better than their governess or nursemaid, parading them in front of the Consul when they were washed and dressed, and hiding them in the playroom the rest of the time that he not be disturbed. They were Shadowhunters, and so was she. And if he did not think Will was reliable, he was a fool. He knew of the curse; she had told him herself. Will's madness had always been like Hamlet's, half play and half wildness, and all driving toward a certain end” (327).
“‘I have done wrong,’ said Aloysius. ‘I want to make this right. My blood runs in that girl’s
veins, even if demon blood does as well. She is my great-granddaughter.’ He raised his chin,
his watery, pale eyes rimmed with red. ‘I ask only one thing of you, Charlotte. When you
find Tessa Gray, and you will find her, tell her she is welcome to the name of Starkweather’”
(334).
Tessa Gray Starkweather? Hmmm… sounds interesting to me. But I thought this was
so sweet for Aloysius to admit. I love to think of Tessa as part Shadowhunter!
*tears come to my eyes*
“My enemies. She thought of Nate, his hand closing on hers as he died, bloody, in her lap. She thought of Jem again, the way he never railed against his fate but faced it down bravely; she thought of Charlotte, who wept over Jessamine’s death, though Jessie had betrayed her; and she thought of Will, who had laid down his heart for her and Jem to walk upon because he loved them more than he loved himself.
There was human goodness in the world, she thought—all caught up with desires and dreams, regrets and bitterness, resentments and powers, but it was there, and Mortmain would never see it” (347-348).
“He ran both his hands through his hair and exhaled like someone who’d been running a long distance. Then he turned to her and took a stele from his waistcoat pocket. He carved a rune quickly into his wrist, then placed his hand flat against the door. ‘I do, at that.’
Cecily’s gaze darted from his hand to the thoughtful expression on his face. ‘Can you hear them?’ she demanded. ‘Oh, that is not at all fair!’
‘It’s all very romantic,’ Gabriel said, and then frowned. ‘Or it would be, if my brother could get a word out without sounding like a choking frog. I fear he will not go down in history as one of the world’s great wooers of women’” (370).
lolz!
“Sophie’s eyes tracked him as he crossed the room toward her and knelt down at her feet. Life was an uncertain thing, and there were some moments one wished to remember, to imprint upon one’s mind that the memory might be taken out later, like a flower pressed between the pages of a book, and admired and recollected anew” (372-373).
“But Will was a good man, a much better one than Carton had ever been. And Mortmain was barely a man at all. It was not his better nature she appealed to but his vanity: All men thought of themselves as good in the end, surely. No one believed themselves a villain” (384-385).
“She had fallen asleep with her head on his arm, the clockwork angel, still around her throat, resting against his shoulder, just to the left of his collarbone. As she moved away, the clockwork angel slipped free and she saw to her surprise that where it had lain against his skin it had left a mark behind, no bigger than a shilling, in the shape of a pale white star” (418).
What does this mean for Jace because he has that too?
“‘After all,’ she said, ‘you weren’t lying about that tattoo of the dragon of Wales, were you?’” (435).
Does Will have a tattoo?? Okay, I googled it and they say that he has it on his butt! OMG! Why his butt though? LOLZ XDXDXD
“‘How is he? Our Jem? Is he—adjusting to the Brotherhood?’
She felt Enoch’s reproach. You know I cannot tell you that. He is no longer your Jem. He is Brother Zachariah now. You must forget him.
‘Forget him? I cannot forget him,’ Charlotte said. ‘He is not as your other Brothers, Enoch; you know that.’
The rituals that make a Silent Brother are our deepest secrets.
‘I am not asking to know of your rituals,’ Charlotte said. ‘Yet I know that most Silent Brothers sever their ties to their mortal lives before they enter the Brotherhood. But James could not do that. He still has that which tethers him to this world.’ She looked down at Tessa, her eyelids fluttering as she breathed harshly. ‘It is a cord that ties each of them to the other, and unless it is dissolved properly, I fear it may harm them both’” (466).
This part got me all teary-eyed :’(
“He could not finish the thought. Tessa would live; she must live. As he set off down the corridor, he thought of the blues and greens and grays of Wales. Perhaps he could return there, with Cecily, if the Institute was lost, make some kind of life for themselves in their home country. It would not be a Shadowhunting life, but without Charlotte, without Henry, without Jem or Tessa or Sophie or even the bloody Lightwoods, he did not want to be a Shadowhunter. They were his family, and precious to him—just another realization, he thought, that had come to him all at once and yet too late” (472).
I love when Will appreciates his family! It’s so wholesome! <3
“It was Cyril who finally told Gabriel that Cecily was in the stables, after the younger Lightwood brother had spent much of the day searching fruitlessly—though, he hoped not obviously—through the Institute for her.
…
Gabriel took a few steps forward. The soft yellow glow of the lantern at Cecily’s feet laid a faint golden sheen over her skin. Her hands were bare of gloves, very white against the horse’s black hide. ‘I …,’ he began. ‘You seem to like that horse very much.’
Silently he cursed himself. He remembered his father once saying that women, the gentler sex, liked to be wooed with charming words and pithy phrases. He wasn’t sure exactly what a pithy phrase was, but he was sure that ‘You seem to like that horse very much’ was not one.
Cecily seemed not to mind, though. She gave the horse’s hide an absent pat before turning to face him. ‘Balios saved my brother’s life.’
…
‘You say it as if you wish to convince me to return home.’
‘I say it because I am afraid you will.’ The words were out of his mouth before he could recapture them; he could only look at her as a flush of embarrassment heated his face.
She took a step toward him. Her blue eyes, upturned to his, were wide. He wondered when they had stopped reminding him of Will’s eyes; they were just Cecily’s eyes, a shade of blue he associated with her alone. ‘When I came here,’ she said, ‘I thought the Shadowhunters were monsters. I thought I had to rescue my brother. I thought that we would return home together, and my parents would be proud of us both. That we would be a family again. Then I realized—you helped me realize—’
‘I helped you? How?’
‘Your father did not give you choices,’ she said. ‘He demanded that you be what he wanted. And that demand broke your family apart. But my father, he chose to leave the Nephilim and marry my mother. That was his choice, just as staying with the Shadowhunters is Will’s. Choosing love or war: both are brave choices, in their own ways. And I do not think my parents would grudge Will his choice. Above all, what matters to them is that he be happy.’
…
Gabriel let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. ‘You will give up your home?’
‘A drafty old house in Yorkshire?’ Cecily said. ‘This is London.’
‘And give up what is familiar?’
‘Familiar is dull.’ Is familiar dull?
…
‘I should be very insulted if you chose another,’ she said, and leaned up to kiss him again” (472-476).
The first blush I got was the second quote within this quote lol
The second blush I got was when Gabriel blurted out that he didn’t want Cecily to go home.
Then I got tears in my eyes when Cecily said that all her parents want is for Will to be happy.
The highlighted comment is mine asking myself that after Cecily said that.
This whole Cecily Gabriel scene was great!
The comment below will be coming from my reading journal. I had a long thought after I read this scene and needed to write it all out in my reading journal so I wouldn’t forget what I thought about this scene.
The Cecily and Gabriel scene on page 475 I love. I like Cecily’s character. She’s like a misfit and obviously related to Isabelle Lightwood XD I think Gabriel and Cecily are similar in that way: they are both misfits. That is probably why they are attracted to each other. I could just feel it between them from the start. That whole scene really is a good example of this. About choices. How their parents made a choice and they would respect their children’s choice because all they care about is their happiness. I like to think that most parents feel this way, including my own. I kind of find myself in Cecily because it’s almost like she doesn’t belong there at first, but she finds her way to belong there. I love her so much too! I love that Gabriel cares about her too. When Cecily said, “this is London,” that reminded me of how I feel about my city. I didn’t know how to feel about her comment on what is familiar. Personally, I find comfort in familiarity, but then again I’m not Cecy lol! XD Cecily is more confident, courageous, and determined than myself.
“She paused at the door. ‘Master William,’ she said.
Having just settled himself in the armchair beside the bed, Will glanced over at her.
‘I am sorry I have thought and spoken so ill of you for all these years,’ Sophie said. ‘I understand now that you were only doing what we all try to do. Our best.’
Will reached out and placed his hand over Tessa’s left one, where it plucked feverishly at the coverlet. ‘Thank you,’ he said, unable to look at Sophie directly; a moment later he heard the door softly close behind her” (477).
This snippet garnered a small smile from me, but why couldn’t Will look at Sophie? Was he too worried about Tessa to think of anything else?
“Some secrets, she thought, were better told; some were better left the burden of the carrier, that they might not cause pain to others” (497).
“‘Do you remember when we stood together on Blackfriars Bridge?’ he asked softly, and his eyes were like that night had been, all black and silver.
‘Of course I remember.’
‘It was the moment I first knew I loved you,’ Jem said. ‘I will make you a promise. Every year, Tessa, on one day, I will meet you on that bridge. I will come from the Silent City and I will meet you, and we will be together, if only for an hour. But you must tell no one.’
‘An hour every year,’ Tessa whispered. ‘It is not much.’ She recollected herself then, and took a deep breath. ‘But you will live. You will live. That is what is important. I will not be visiting your grave.’
‘No. Not for a long, long time,’ he said, and the distance was back in his voice.
‘Then that is a miracle,’ Tessa said. ‘And one does not question miracles, or complain that they are not constructed perfectly to one’s liking.’ She reached up and touched the jade pendant about her throat. ‘Shall I return this to you?’
‘No,’ he said ‘I will marry no one else, now. And I shall not take my mother’s bridal gift to the Silent City.’ He reached out and touched her face lightly, a brush of skin on skin. ‘When I am in the darkness, I want to think of it in the light, with you,’ he said, and straightened, and turned to walk toward the door. The parchment robes of the Silent Brothers moved around him as he moved, and Tessa watched him, paralyzed, every pulse of her heart beating out the words she could not say: Good-bye. Good-bye. Good-bye.
He paused at the door. ‘I shall see you on Blackfriars Bridge, Tessa.’
And he was gone” (498-499).
♥️ At this moment, Tessa and Jem are two immortals, but poor mortal Will :’( This was so romantic that it almost brought tears to my eyes. It gave me that catch in my throat. I kind of wanted Tessa to finally say good-bye to Jem, but I knew that they would meet again. Still, it’s all she wanted when she was ill in bed, what she told Will that she wanted in her fever dream. It was like an itch she couldn’t scratch. Not one because they promised each other that they would meet again. 💔
“‘Will, no,’ said Jem, who, as always, understood without Will having to explain. ‘It was not always a box that held my drugs. It was my mother’s. Kwan Yin is the goddess depicted on the front. It is said that when she died and reached the gates of paradise, she paused and heard the cries of anguish from the human world below and could not leave it. She remained to give aid to mortals, when they cannot aid themselves. She is the comfort of all suffering hearts.’
‘A box will not comfort me.’
‘Change is not loss, Will. Not always’” (503).
“Will smiled back, and for just that moment they were Jem-and-Will again. Will could see Jem, but also through him, to the past. Will remembered the two of them, running through the dark streets of London, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, seraph blades gleaming in their hands; hours in the training room, shoving each other into mud puddles, throwing snowballs at Jessamine from behind an ice fort in the courtyard, asleep like puppies on the rug in front of the fire.
Ave atque vale, Will thought. Hail and farewell. He had not given much thought to the words before, had never thought about why they were not just a farewell but also a greeting. Every meeting led to a parting, and so it would, as long as life was mortal. In every meeting there was some of the sorrow of parting, but in every parting there was some of the joy of meeting as well.
He would not forget the joy.
‘We spoke of how to say good-bye,’ Jem said. ‘When Jonathan bid farewell to David, he said, “Go in peace, for as much as we have sworn, both of us, saying the Lord be between me and thee, forever.” They did not see each other again, but they did not forget. So it will be with us. When I am Brother Zachariah, when I no longer see the world with my human eyes, I will still be in some part the Jem you knew, and I will see you with the eyes of my heart.’
‘Wo men shi sheng si ji jiao,’ said Will, and he saw Jem’s eyes widen, fractionally, and the spark of amusement inside them. ‘Go in peace, James Carstairs.’
They stayed looking at each other for a long moment, and then Jem drew up his hood, hiding his face in shadow, and turned away.
Will closed his eyes. He could not hear Jem go, not anymore; he did not want to know the moment when he left and Will was alone, did not want to know when his first day as a Shadowhunter without a parabatai truly began. And if the place over his heart, where his parabatai rune had been, flared up with a sudden burning pain as the door closed behind Jem, Will told himself it was only a stray ember from the fire.
He leaned back against the wall, then slowly slid down it until he was sitting on the floor, beside his throwing knife. He did not know how long he sat there, but he could hear the noise of horses in the courtyard, the rattle of the Silent Brothers’ carriage pulling out of the drive. The clang of the gate as it shut. We are dust and shadows.
‘Will?’ He looked up; he had not noticed the slight figure in the doorway of the
training room until she spoke. Charlotte took a step forward and smiled at him. There
was kindness in her smile, as there always was, and he fought to not close his eyes
against the memories—Charlotte in the doorway of this very room. Didn’t you recall
what I told you yesterday, that we were welcoming a new arrival to the Institute today? …James Carstairs…” (505-507).
Wo men shi sheng si ji jiao = We are life and death in Chinese.
I love how Clare made Jem and Will’s final good-bye like how it was at the beginning of the book where there was a flashback of when Jem first arrived at the Institute. In the same room where they met is where they said good-bye. And when Charlotte came in it all came together perfectly. It tied it all together.
“‘Mr. Rochester never courted Jane Eyre,’ Tessa pointed out.
‘No, he dressed up as a woman and terrified the poor girl out of her wits. Is that what you want?’
‘You would make a very ugly woman.’
‘I would not. I would be stunning.’
Tessa laughed. ‘There,’ she said. ‘There is Will. …” (521-522).
lol
“‘I recall what you said to me once,’ Will went on. ‘That words have the power to change us. Your words have changed me, Tess; they have made me a better man than I would have been otherwise. Life is a book, and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read. I would read them together with you, as many as I can, before I die—’” (538).
I think this picture goes perfectly well with this quote.
“Will’s mother gave a gasp—though she sounded more surprised than anything else, to Tessa’s relief—and Will’s father’s gaze went immediately to Gabriel, and then to Cecily, his eyes narrowing. ‘And who is the gentleman?’
Will’s grin widened. ‘Oh, him,’ he said. ‘This is Cecily’s—friend, Mr. Gabriel Lightworm.’
Gabriel, half in the act of stretching out his hand to greet Mr. Herondale, froze in horror. ‘Lightwood,’ he sputtered. ‘Gabriel Lightwood—’
‘Will!’ Cecily said, breaking away from her father to glare at her brother.
Will looked at Tessa, his blue eyes shining. She opened her mouth to remonstrate with him, to say Will! as Cecily had just done, but it was too late—she was already laughing” (544).
XD
“They spoke of his regard for books, and how he had taught them all to love them too, to respect the printed page and cherish the stories that those pages held.
…
...and of the fact that though his prose was excellent—he had written several histories of the Shadowhunters when he'd retired that had been very well respected—his poetry had always been awful, though that had never stopped him from reciting it.
Their oldest child, James, had spoken laughingly about Will's unrelenting fear of ducks and his continual battle to keep them out of the pond at the family home in Yorkshire.
Their grandchildren had reminded him of the song about demon pox he had taught them—when they were too young, Tessa had always thought—and that they had all memorized. They sang it all together and out of tune, scandalizing Sophie” (548).
They scandalized Sophie because she is engaged to a Lightwood. *giggles*
“They had all laughed about his habit of taking Tessa on romantic ‘holidays’ to places from Gothic novels, including the hideous moor where someone had died, a drafty castle with a ghost in it, and of course the square in Paris in which he had decided Sydney Carton had been guillotined, where Will had horrified passersby by shouting ‘I can see the blood on the cobblestones!’ in French” (549).
lol XD OMG I love how the narrator said the last sentence! XD I wanna put an excerpt of that sentence in here now! XD
Audiobook: Part 16 (00:46:06 - 00:46:31)
That sounds like a neat idea to visit places from books on vacation. Would Will decide where Sydney was killed because it wasn’t clear in A Tale of Two Cities exactly where he had been guillotined?
“Will. For a moment her heart hesitated. She remembered when Will had died, her agony, the long nights alone, reaching across the bed every morning when she woke up, for years expecting to find him there, and only slowly growing accustomed to the fact that that side of the bed would always be empty. The moments when she had found something funny and turned to share the joke with him, only to be shocked anew that he was not there. The worst moments, when, sitting alone at breakfast, she had realized that she had forgotten the precise blue of his eyes or the depth of his laugh; that, like the sound of Jem’s violin music, they had faded into the distance where memories are silent” (559).
“‘And it is a miracle. And you remember what I once told you about miracles.’
He smiled again at that. ‘“One does not question miracles, or complain that they are not constructed perfectly to one’s liking”” (563).
“And if the Thames that ran beside them, sure and silver in the afternoon light, recalled a night long ago when the moon shone as brightly as a shilling on this same boy and girl, or if the stones of Blackfriars knew the tread of their feet and thought to themselves, At last, the wheel comes full circle, they kept their silence” (565).
“The Infernal Devices began with a daydream of Jem and Tessa on Blackfriars Bridge, and I think it is fitting that it ends there too” (A NOTE ON TESSA'S ENGLAND 567).
---
