Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (Infernal Devices book 2)

SPOLIER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the Infernal Devices trilogy, Clockwork Angel, STOP! I don’t want to ruin one of my favorite series for you!

In Victorian England, Tessa Gray has found safety from the Magiater within the confinds of the Institute and the Shadowhunters who have become her friends. Her safety is in jeopardy when Benedict Lightwood goes before Counsel Wayland in an attempt to remove Charlotte Branwell as head of the London Institute. If Charlotte is replaced, Tessa will be out on the streets and easy prey for the Magister.
In an attempt to find out why the Magister’s war against the Shadowhunters is personal, Tessa travels to York with the fiercely loyal James Carstairs and the brooding William Herondale. There, a shocking discovery is made that sends one member of the trio into a tailspin. Back in London, the Shadowhunters realize that Mortmain’s web reaches further than they ever imagined and that one of their own has betrayed them.

As questions are answered, even more secrets come to light and the mystery surrounding not only Tessa and the Magister, but Will deepens. Tessa is soon caught up in not only finding out what she is but torn between two boys. Even though her rejected her at the end of Clockwork Angel, Tessa still finds herself longing for Will while at the same time discovering her burgeoning feelings for Jem, who is more than willing to reciprocate.

Join Tessa and the London Shadowhunters as they race against the clock to uncover the Magister’s evil plan.

The Infernal Devices trilogy will conclude with the publication of Clockwork Princess in the fall of 2012.

Visit Cassandra Clare's website.
Visit the Infernal Devices website.

Clockwork Angel: Infernal Devices book one by Cassandra Clare

"Magic is dangerous - but love is more dangerous still."

The Infernal Devices series is a prequel to the Mortal Instruments and deals with characters related to those in the original series.

In 1878, sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray sailed aboard the Main from New York City to London to meet up with her brother Nate after the death of their only remaining relative, Aunt Harriet. Upon her arrival, Tessa is greeted by Mrs. Black and Mrs. Dark who have a letter from her brother stating that the Dark Sisters are his landladies and can be trusted. Tessa soon learns that the two have plans for her and they are not good. Six weeks after intense training with the Sisters, Tessa learns she has the ability to Change. When given an item belonging to someone, Tessa is able to transform herself physically into that person and recall details of their life and especially their deaths. The Dark Sisters praise her for a job well done and declare that she is ready to marry the Magister.

Tessa tries to escape but is soon caught and restrained to her bed. She Changes herself into the last person she atempted and soon makes herself smaller and is able to loosen her bindings. Upon hearing someone coming into her room, Tessa smashes a pottery jug on the arm of a figure who sees her but doesn't move  quickly enough. Tessa soon realizes the figure is a young man not much older than herself. Dressed like a workman with a variety of knives and daggers attached, it is his beauty that causes her to stare. Tessa has just met Will Herondale and he has come to her rescue. The Dark Sisters attempt to stop them from leaving and a battle ensues in the basement where Will is joined by two other guys. Tessa begins to realize that Will and the Dark Sisietrs are not what they seem and is knocked out during the battle.

Later, Tessa wakes up from a distribing nightmare in a room with two strangers. One is Charlotte Branwell who introduces herself as the head of the London Institute and the other Brother Enoch who Tessa thinks is a monster for he has no eyes and his mouth is sewn shut. Charlotte tells Tessa that Will has brought her there because she hit her head. Tessa wishes she could leave and Charlotte informs her that the Accords forbid Nelphilium from trapping Downworlders under duress. Tessa is confused and Brother Enoch draws up his robe hood to leave. In the doorway Enoch stops and "speaks" to Tessa or rather she hears his voice inside her head. "You are Eidolon, Theresa Gray. Shape-changer. But not of a sort that is familiar to me. There is no demon's mark on you." Tessa is surprised that he knows what she is.

Charlotte invites Tessa to stay at the Institute and promises her that she and her husband Henry will search for her brother. At dinner, Tessa meets the other Shadowhunters at the Institute, Jessamine Lovelace, Henry Branwell and once again Will Herondale. Henry is an inventor who works on new weapons and armor for the Shadowhunters. During the course of dinner, Tessa demonstrates her ability to the astonishment of her companions. After dinner, Will takes her on a tour of the Institute and shows her the library. Tessa is touched that he remembers her love of books. Will gives her a brief history lesson on the origins of Shadowhunters and gives her The Shadowhunters Codex to read. Tessa later wakes from a dream to hear beautiful violin music. She crosses the hallway to meet James Carstairs. Jem as he is called, was too ill to come down for dinner. Jem and Tessa soon realize that they are both orphans. 

As the Shadowhunters continue to search for clues about Tessa's powers and her brother's disappearance, they soon realize that something sinister is going. Soon Tessa is drawn into a plan to find out what the Magister is up to. She will have to face some difficult choices,not only whether to save her brother or save the world but between two best friends, Will and Jem. Join Tessa on her journey and discover some background on the Shadowhunters from the Mortal Instruments series. And for fans of the earlier series, one character makes a shocking appearance in this series.

Visit Cassandra Clare's website.

 

Gemma Doyle Series by Libba Bray

A Great and Terrible Beauty - book 1

In 1885, Gemma Doyle, her mother and Indian servant are passing through Bombay's market district to have tea and cake at Mrs. Talbot's house for her sixteenth birthday. Gemma is in a foul mood because she wishes she was in London with her grandmother to begin her life in society. When a dark-cloaked Indian man and his younger companion exit a train, Gemma realizes she is slightly attracted to the young man even though she shouldn't be. The older man tells Gemma's mother that "Circe is near" and she becomes horror-stricken. Gemma's mother gives her the necklace she always wears, a cresent moon with an eye above it, as a bribe to leave. Gemma is sent home but not before she tells her mother that she doesn't care if she comes home at all.

Gemma becomes lost on the way home and two men are terrified of her necklace. In her wanderings, Gemma once again encounters the young cloaked man when she is overtaken by a spell where is is no longer concerned with losing her virtue but her life. While unconscious, Gemma sees her mother being followed into a shop that bears the same moon and eye symbol as her necklace. There in desperation, Gemma's mother kills herself.

Two months later, Gemma's brother Tom is taking her to finishing school at Spence Academy to become a marriable woman. On their way through the slums of London, their carriage is stopped by a man and woman who argue with the driver. While stopped, Gemma has another vision similiar to the one she had when her mother died. A young girl tells her that Mary is looking for her but so is It. A hideous shadow creature appears and Gemma comes back to reality and tells the couple to leave and the carriage to continue. Tom is taken aback as that is no way for a young lady to behave. As they approach Spence, a gypsy woman appears and when she sees that it is Gemma, says "Oh, but it's you. You've come back to me." Gemma is thrown when she asks her where is Carolina and calls that "Mother Elena sees everything."

Upon her arrival at Spence Academy, Gemma finds it to be unwelcome place. Mrs. Nightwing, the headmistress, introduces Gemma to her classmates. Right away she notices a small group of girls about her age. One is a beautiful brunette but the blonde in the clique seems to be the leader. Gemma walks to evening prayers with her new roommate, Ann Bradshaw. Ann is an orphan who is a scholarship student at the school to become a governess. She soon learns that the two girls are Felicity and Pippa and are downright cruel. Felicity's clique of girls play a horrible trick on Ann after dinner but Gemma stands up for Ann and turns the tables on Felicity. Later in the night, Felicity comes to Gemma's room for a midnight initiation to their group. The girls take Gemma to the chapel to steal some of the communion wine to prove her worth. When she enters the chapel, she is locked in. Paybacks for standing up for Ann earlier in the evening. Gemma soon realizes that she is not alone in the chapel. The young dark-cloaked man from India who found her in the streets is there. He tells her his name is Kartik. He has followed her from India and wants to know the story of her mother's death. His brother was killed by the monster and tells Gemma to work to make her visions stop. They will be watching her. Gemma takes the wine and flees back to school before the vicar finds her.

On Gemma's way back to the schol, she runs into the young girl from her vision in London. Gemma follows her to a cave where she finds the dairy of Mary Dowd hidden behind a rock. Mary writes of having peaceful visions so unlike Gemma's. Later Gemma has a vision of her mother and awakes to find a piece of her mother's dress in her hand. But the tables are turned in Gemma's favor when she discovers a terrible secret of Felicity's. Will Gemma be able to stop her visions or will she try and embrace them? Who is Kartik and why does he want her to stop? What is the symbolism of the necklace Gemma's mother gave her? Do Gemma and Felicity become best friends or mortal enemies? And who is Circe and what does she want with Gemma? What secrets must Gemma unlock to learn the truth not only about herself but her other's past?

Visit Libba Bray's website.

Rebel Angels - Book 2 of Gemma Doyle

SPOILER ALERT!!  Kartik has been given his orders by the brotherhood of the Rakshana. He must gain Gemma's favor and help her find the temple in the realm, the true source of the Order's power.

It is Christmastime at Spence Academy and Gemma is going home to London to celebrate with her family. Along with her closest friends can she accomplish what must be done in the realms and bind the magic in the temple? And can Gemma survive the ultimate fight against Circe when her true identity is revealed? And what choice must Gemma make when the charming and handsome Simon Middleton enters the picture?

The Sweet Far Thing - Book 3 of Gemma Doyle

SPOILER ALERT!! The conclusion of Gemma Doyle's story as she figures out who to trust and not, the mysteries of the Relams and who she is. Lots of shocking plot twists to keep the reader on the edge of your seat until the very end. The last 200 pages will be hard to put down.

The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade

"A true wretch of a creature crouched in the cage ... On the bottom of the cage a plaque read L'ENFANT DU MONSTRE."

For the last thirteen years of his life, fourteen-year-old Modo has been raised in seclusion at Ravenscroft by Mr. Socrates. Hunchback Modo was found by Mr. Socrates by a traveling freakshow in an orphange near Notre Dame and is purchased by Mr. Socrates when he notices that the grotesque toddler is able to transform his face for limited amounts of time. While at Ravenscroft, he has been tutored by motherly Mrs. Finchley and trained in the martial arts by Tharpa. One day Mr. Socrates determines that Modo is ready to see the world beyond the walls of his windowless rooms and takes him to London. There he abandons Modo in a dangerous part of town with nothing to survive on his own. His first assignment is to either sink or swim.

Octavia Milkweed poses as Audrette Featherstone one night under the pretense of hiring a private detective by the name of Mr. Wellington. Mr. W has never been seen by any of the staff at the Red Boar where he has a room at the top of the stairs. Octavia/Audrette hires Wellington to find out where her brother Oscar goes at night. It soon turns out that Wellington is really Modo. For the past six months, Modo has been working as a private detective with an ad in the London Times. Modo travels through London by walking across the rooftops. On the night he is following Oscar, he stumbles across a meeting of the Young Londoners Exploatory Society. Quite literally, a hornet's nest is stirred up. After escaping death, Modo tracks down Octavia who gets him back to Mr. Socrates.

Turns out Modo passed his test and his first assignment brought to him by Octavia. Modo and Octavia are both agents who work for Mr. Socrates and his secret society. Their job is to find out what the Young Londoners Exploratory Society is and what new steam driven technology they may have created and why experiments are being conducted with humans. Join Modo and Tavia as the race across London to stop the Clockwork Guild's secret weapon.

Modo and Octavia's adventures continue in The Dark Deeps - The Hunchback Assignments 2 is due out on September 14, 2010.

Visit Arthur Slade's website.