[Infernal Readalong] Clockwork Angel Week 3: Chapter 14 - Chapter 15

Week 3: Chapter 14 - Chapter 15

Hey quirks! As you may remember from this post, I'm participating in a readalong of Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Devices! We are continuing to read Clockwork Angel through October. It's still not too late to join us, whether you've never read the series or are a TID old hat! Check out our reading schedule here. [Also, sorry I'm a bit late with this. Had a big book trip and company last week and got behind on the blogging. ^_^]

In my recap posts there is a high chance of  SPOILERS. If you do not want to be spoiled on anything, I suggest reading the listed chapters before reading this post or avoiding these posts if you haven't read the book.

Chapter 14
We pick up right where we left off in Chapter 13, with Jem leading Tessa to his favorite spot. They go through the city, with Jem showing her things, like a Downworlder tavern, until they arrive at a bridge. They are having a pretty deep conversation, and I'm loving every minute because JEM. They talk about Will, which I'm like, of course they do, but why does Will have to harsh my OTP? (okay, not really. I love Jem but I'm not sold that Tessa is his perfect match.) And we learn a little more about Jem, and he calls Tessa human (saying that she is human in all the important ways), but then another couple is on the bridge, and Tessa and Jem turn to leave. Turns out the two people are the Dark Sisters' coachman and another automaton. They attack and we hear some more weird stuff like we heard from Miranda before. Jem defeats the two assailants but then sees that there are more headed for them, so he and Tessa run. The problem is, despite his Shadowhunter blood, Jem tires out pretty quickly, having to do with his mysterious illness no doubt. They make it to the Institute but can't get inside because Jem can't stand up and let them in (Tessa can't do it because she doesn't have Shadowhunter blood).

The group of automatons have followed them and have broken through the gate and are upon them. They attack Jem, and Tessa tries to defend them with his cane, which gets broken pretty quickly. But the rest of the Shadowhunters come to their rescue and they destroy most of the creatures with only a couple escaping. Will goes to Jem immediately when it is clear he is not okay and everyone goes inside.

Chapter 15
When Tessa is inside, she checks on Jem's status with Sophie, who says he should be okay, and then she is questioned by Henry and Charlotte about what happened. They discuss the automatons and that they were sent by de Quincey as a declaration of war, and that they were better and faster than previous ones Tessa had seen. Then Will arrives and tells Tessa that Jem wants to talk to her. When they get to Jem's room, Will makes it known that he doesn't think Jem should tell Tessa what he is about to tell her, but Jem wants to and Will leaves.

Jem proceeds to tell Tessa about his family and how he came to be at the London Institute. I knew from earlier portions of the book that his parents had been killed by a demon, but the story was much worse than that, and I wasn't expecting that Jem's illness was from being tortured by the demon. I thought it was very interesting how much his affliction did compare with opium addiction and I commend Clare for using that to tie in the time period with the Shadow World. I also really liked all that Jem had to say about his condition, considering the fact that the demon poison makes him feel better but is also slowly killing him. Tessa is, of course, unhappy about this. They have a sweet little exchange about just meeting each other yet having some kind of strong feeling regarding each other. Then Will comes in and ruins everything and Tessa leaves.

A couple things happen after that, one of which Tessa realizes that Sophie is in love with Jem. Then Tessa goes and checks on her brother and finds that he, and Jessamine who is still at his bedside, have fallen asleep. Then she goes to bed and has a weird dream and is woken up by Sophie. At some point during the night, Nate has gone missing.

My verdict so far:
I really liked how much Jem I got in these chapters. One thing I've realized I've begun worrying about in this book is if the story is going to stall, but so far, for every dip, there's a rise in action soon after, so that's good. I am starting to get a little annoyed at Tessa always being the damsel in distress though. I know that she has absolutely no combat training, but it doesn't seem as if she can really think on her feet, aside from grabbing something and swinging it around. At the very least she should have the self-preservation instinct to run, but she doesn't. She seemed to have more of it at the beginning of the book but it feels lost now. Other than that, I'm excited to see where things go next!

Check back later this week for recaps of the last chapters of the book!