The Infernal Devices

Love: Will Herondale

Books: Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince

Characteristics: When Tessa first sees him she thinks this:

He had the most beautiful face she had ever seen. Tangled black hair and eyes that shone like blue glass. Elegant cheekbones, a full mouth, and long, thick lashes. Even the curve of his throat was perfect. He looked like every fiction hero she'd ever conjured up in her head. Although she'd never imagined one of them cursing at her while shaking his bleeding hand in an accusing fashion.

He's also British. I see him like this:

Why I love him:

            First off, he was conjured up in the mind of Cassandra Clare, my favorite author EVER, so I was predisposed to like him.

            That aside, he makes me giggle with his wacky ramblings, and general oddness. When I think of Will Herondale, I picture a Logan Lerman looking boy singing about his hatred for ducks, or his odd obsession with demon pox or saying something generally odd, like:

"As for the temperature of Hell, Miss Gray," he said, "let me give you a piece of advice. The handsome young fellow who's trying to rescue you from a hideous fate is never wrong. Not even if he says the sky is purple and made of hedgehogs."

OR

            "You know about the Magister," Tessa said. "They said they were preparing me for him."
            "For him to do what?" Will asked. "Eat you for dinner?"

            Yeah, you get the picture. He's also incredibly, ah brave? (though some may say "stupid," since he often puts himself in situations in which he could die) However, I find it brave, even if he does like to show off while displaying said bravery. In the prologue, he and Jem (his fighting partner, or parabatai, & his best friend) are demon-hunting, and he is trying to show off, and is disappointed when Jem is not there for him to show off to.

            He enjoys reading, and can quote large portions of every book he's read. When Tessa is nervous about fighting vampires, he turns to her and says: "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." (picture that in a British accent, and it's an immediate *swoon* for me)  I love a guy who enjoys reading!

            His relationship with Jem is one of his most redeeming qualities, because Will seems to not care about anyone else, and you can see that he truly loves Jem, as if he were his brother. Its because of this relationship that I can tell that there's something less awful under his marble shell.

My favorite Will moments:

            "I will thank you not to speak of my family," Gabriel snarled, reaching behind him to pull the door shut. 

          "How unfortunate that the prospect of your gratitude is not a tempting one," Will said.

            "I hope not. I intend to marry Agatha myself. She may be a thousand years old, but she makes an incomparable jam tart. Beauty fades, but cooking is eternal." 

            "Blue does not go with everything," Will told her. "It does not go with red for instance."
             "I have a red a blue striped waistcoat," Henry interjected, reaching for the peas.
             "And if that isn't proof that those two colors should never be seen together under Heaven, I don't know what is."

             Will's eyes were very blue. "There's plenty of sense in nonsense sometimes, if you wish to look for it." 

So, Will seems a bit mad at times, but I do so love him!

By inamorataofbooks (from tumblr)

My thoughts on the book:

            I loved this book!!! Honestly, the characters and the imagery were amazing and beautiful. I could picture this nineteenth century London that Mrs. Clare created for us. My favorite scene was when Tessa and Will walk into the party at de Quincy's, and she describes the red candle wax leaking onto the white marble, and the room is only lit by candles, and its cold. I just loved that I could see it so vividly!

            I also adored our heroine, Tessa, because she's a riot. She puts Will in his place, without meaning to, when no one else is able to. She's also sweet and loving and I just wish I was her! My favorite conversation between Tessa and Will was:

            "I want to be back before dark," Will said. He was leaning nearly across Tessa's lap, and she could smell that faint boy-smell of leather and metal that seemed to cling to his hair and skin. "I have an assignation in Soho this evening with a certain attractive someone."
            "Goodness," Tessa said to the back of his head. "If you keep seeing Six-Fingered Nigel like this, he'll expect you to declare your intentions."

            I suppose that serves as good enough proof that Tessa is quite funny. I also like Jem, because he is kind and musical and just really great (NOT great enough that I want him to end up with Tessa, uh-uh no way). Although, he is really funny, in his own way:

            "You're thinking, If they call this damp nastiness summer, what must winter be like? You'd be surprised. Winter's actually much the same." He moved away from the door and sat down on the step beside Tessa, though not too close. "It's spring that's really lovely."
             "Is it?" Tessa said, without much real interest.
             "No. It's actually quite foggy and wet as well."                                                                                       

And then he goes on to be sweet and caring! So, yes he is a pretty great character, he just isn't Will.
            I liked that Charlotte (the woman in charge of the Institute) took each of these kids in (Jem, Will, Jessamine, and Tessa) and cares for each of them. Even if Will is a jerk to her, and even if Jem is deathly ill all the time, even if Jessamine is a brat, and even if Tessa isn't even a shadowhunter. She's lovely and sweet and caring, and she's created this little makeshift family, with her husband and these kids, and its kind of wonderful.

            Each character had a kind of dark past, and that made them each a teensy bit more loveable.

            I didn't add anything about Clockwork Prince, as it tore my heart to shreds, and I can't possibly flip through it to find quotes without crying, so I didn't! Unfortunately, said heart ripping was the goal of the beloved author; she said so in a recent tumblr post about the new City of Lost Souls trailer (http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/21340634331/city-of-lost-souls-trailer-q-a) and at the end of the post she says this: "It is not a book designed, like Clockwork Prince was, to hopefully cut your heart into tiny pieces. . ." She definitely captured that desired effect on me! (Seriously, I cried like a recently dumped teenage girl while she watches the Notebook and eats Ben & Jerry's. Yeah, it was that intense for me.) The book itself is amazing, though, and I still highly recommend reading it!

            The entire Infernal Devices series, so far, is amazing. Clockwork Princess comes out in 2013 (too far away, if you ask me) and that'll be the last book in this series!

            So, I'm super excited, and I feel that EVERYONE should read these books, because they are amazing and wonderful and unique and necessary to those who say they like the YA genre.

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