It's day 2 of our Clockwork Angel Read Along! Please be sure to visit our link here for our schedule, guidelines and to fill out the form to be entered to win some fabulous prizes.
Today's discussion is about chapter 1. We still don't know a lot about what's going on, but we do learn about Tessa's gift and that the Dark Sisters live up to their name.
* Here we learn that the Dark Sisters not only kidnapped Tessa, but Tessa herself has a very unique gift. As the story progresses what kind of role do you think her gift will play in her relationship with the Shadowhunters?
* The Dark Sisters seem to up live up to their name. What motive do you think the Dark Sisters have in "grooming" Tessa with her gift and making sure she's ready for the Magister?
Please feel free to discuss any one or all of the questions below in the comments. There's no right or wrong answer.
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I have to admit that the first time I read the book I wasn't sure if Tessa was going to be working with the shadowhunters or against them. I mean, she seems like a really strong, wise, nice girl, but at chapter 1 you don't know how the kidnap thing is going to end and you have no idea if the Magister will show up before Tessa can be free of the Dark Sisters...
ReplyDeleteThe way the Dark Sisters talk about the Magister, even Miranda, he seems like a very important person that everyone is respectful with him and afraid of him, and the fact that he pays them to do the job, makes me release that The Dark Sisters are not afraid to use their real name infront of Tessa.
i liked the whole introduction of the Dark sister. Its all kind of creepy but you are almost instantaneously sucked into this dark mysterious world of the unknown. a strange power like that could easily be used for good or evil so i think it will be crucial for the shadow hunters, but i think it might scare some people because its so strange so some might not like her. its all so interesting its hard to put the book down once you have read the chapter.
ReplyDeletefrom onelittleorange
Tita- In the book's synopsis it says she's kidnapped by the Dark Sisters and that she takes refuge with the Shadowhunters. Before reading the book I already assume she'd be friends with them.
ReplyDeleteThe mystery surrounding the Magister is intriguing. The first time I read CA I got the impression he was just as bad as the Dark Sisters.
Anonymous- I agree. It's very creepy. I know, it's hard to stop reading at the end of each chapter. I find I have to come go to each chapter and re-read it before I ask question to make sure I don't give something away that happened in a later chapter.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first listened to the audiobook of Clockwork Angel I wondered what the connection between Tessa and the Shadowhunters would be. My first guess was that they would be like a good version of the Dark Sisters... teaching Tessa how to use her power and where it came from.
ReplyDeleteI think the Dark Sisters are mainly motivated be the desire to have the Magister pleased with them. I would guess that power and money would be involved with that. Their house seems like it was once great but could use repair.
Yes I know it was on the synopsis and I knew that finally she'll be with the shadowhunters.. but I didn't imagine it was going to happen so soon. When I first read the book I was so nervous that the Magister was going to show up that night and couldn't help it thinking it LOL
ReplyDeleteThese are hard to answer when you have already read the book before.
ReplyDelete*I already knew like you said that she takes refuge with the Shadowhunters. I could tell that it was something she was unsure of and didn't really want to do, so as far as what role I thought it would play I had no clue. I think I figured she could use it to help them somehow, but didn't know how.
*It was pretty obvious that they would be "paid" for their services. The Magister sounds really important so I knew it probably couldn't be a good thing that they wanted to hand Tessa over to him.
Bring that Tessa was kidnapped by the Dark Sisters, it leaves me wondering what happened to her brother Nate. I know this is an unorthodox way of thinking and I should probably be more concerned about Tessa and her flight from the Magister, and I am, but I'm still curious as to Nate's whereabouts.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Dark Sisters, I assumed they would live up to their name. I wasn't aware what their role would be until this chapter and even after she escapes their grasps, I don't believe this is the last we'll see of them.
I still am unsure of what Tessa's role will be with the Shadowhunters. I'm guessing she will end up at Club Pandemonium somehow and stumble upon them (not too much unlike Clary did), but that's me assuming this series is anything like the Mortal Instruments series. Which, I can already tell, it's got its own character.
I love that Tessa is so different from Clary. At first, I wasn't so sure. But after, she Changed for the first time, it was obvious that she was her own character and not a renamed one. I love the possibilities her Changing can mean for the rest of the book.
I'm still on edge about who and what role the Magister will play. He's obviously a darker character. Possibly the big bad of this book/series? It's too soon to tell for me, but that's my theory.
YA Bibliophile- I thought the same thing between Tessa and the Shadowhunters. For some reason I picture the Dark Sisters house looking like a dungeon. LOL
ReplyDeleteTita- I worried about him showing up as well when I first read CA. Part of me feared for Tessa that she'd have to marry him and the other part of me had me thinking he's probably some sort of intelligent coward, if that makes sense.
Amy- I know! It was hard coming up with questions that wouldn't give anything away.
Jeffrey- I wondered the same thing about Nate when I first read CA as well. It's not unorthodoxed at all. She came to London to see her brother and he's yet to see him.
I like the point you made about Tessa and Clary. I thought Will and Jace would be a lot of like. One of the things I love about this series is how different each of the ID characters are from the TMI ones. There's small similarities, but for the most part they're each a unique character.
The magister wants tessa to marry him for her powers we dont know yet what he wants to do with her power, but we do know he is willing to pay handsomely for her. The payday and the protection the magister gives the dark sisters in return for their services is why the dark sisters are trying to groom tessa and get her ready for him.
ReplyDeleteI believe as the story goes on tessa may use her power to find out why the dark sisters want the mundanes dead and who the magister really is. Tessa will try to help the shadow hunters how ever she can im sure.
I've already read this book before, so that kinda spoils the fun, but the heck with that, I'll still answer! :D
ReplyDeleteWell, Tessa's gift will become of great help to the Shadowhunters, and is ultimately what motivates them to bring her in to their home. Without her gift, a certain conquest later on wouldn't have been possible- but that's another story. But as to what "specie" she belongs to... Well, that's still keeping me curious. :D
At this point we just don't know if the Dark Sisters are using Tessa's talents for good or evil. It would be hard to speculate at this point in the book. I could not, however; overlook the fact that the incident of her changing into Emma Bayliss shows a link between the Dark Sisters and the murder in the Prologue...I'm just going to assume that the girl murdered is the girl the Dark Sisters have Tessa change into. Also the Ouroboros design etched on the knife found at the scene in the prologue and on the Dark Sisters carriage are just too coincidental to not be tied. Definitely intrigued! What are they about and how creepy this Magister is going to be.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time reading the book so if I'm totally off base that is probably why! I'm trying to just read each chapter assigned and not read ahead. I've had the book since it first released, but kept putting off reading it and this was perfect opportunity and timing to read it and have some fun with it. I managed to stay away from reviews so I have totally virgin eyes on this book. :)
I've just read the comments and I can see that there are a couple people who are reading CA for the time, so it's really hard to comment without spoiling it to them.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think Tessa will be a strong ally to the shadowhunters not only during CA as she plays her gift mostly to look for and save her brother but also I have a feeling she do whatever it takes for the greater of good and to help her friends, that's who she is, a brave girl but also a very committed and loyal person to the people she loves. The question I keep asking myself is what is Tessa? I don't want her to be a warlock, I want her to marry Jem and Will (yes, I am team both! can't decide)and have pretty babies! Little baby shadowhunters! Is that too crazy?
As for the Dark Sisters they are pure evil, aren't them? and what about that contract they have with the Magister? I'd love to know the details! haha
Another thing I was dead curious was about that globe Mrs Dark had her finger on when Tessa walked into their chamber. What does it do? Does it read the future?
You know what? Cassandra's brain is like a kinder egg chocolate, you never know what surprise you will get! Never. Love that woman!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete* Here we learn that the Dark Sisters not only kidnapped Tessa, but Tessa herself has a very unique gift. As the story progresses what kind of role do you think her gift will play in her relationship with the Shadowhunters?
ReplyDeleteAnswer: Tessa would be most valuable in terms of information acquiring, deceiving and infiltration. She is the master of disguises and could easily help the Shadowhunters in their missions by assuring much favor on their side. Tessa can easily go through the enemy's territories, increasing the potential of the Shadowhinters winning their match against their opponents. :)
* The Dark Sisters seem to up live up to their name. What motive do you think the Dark Sisters have in "grooming" Tessa with her gift and making sure she's ready for the Magister?
Answer: Their motive is to gain access and information in the Downworld through various connections because of popularity. This kind of power might be useful for future purposes, especially in times of emergencies. The Dark Sisters knew the Magister is a powerful man and going against him was like committing suicide. It appears that they owed a large debt to him, causing much of their kindness towards him and also fear of what he can do.
Tessa's gift is unique and quite lovely I think, though it has to be said that living out another's death could never be described as 'lovely'. However, she is able to tap into another's thoughts, bridge the gap between the living and the dead, and do it all in her mind. Her gift is easily the best ability seen in either TMI and ID—in my opinion. As for what I feel the shadowhunters will make of it? Well since we still don't know about Tessa's heritage it's safe to say we can class her as a downworlder (for the moment) which already puts her beneath the clave in status. I think they will see her as a means to collect information, she's like the perfect undercover spy! She could be anyone with just a piece of their clothing or a belonging of theirs. She is useful and indispensable—unless they know Harry Potter and get some Polle-juice potion, haha!
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Well the Dark sisters themselves claim that they are to be 'paid' for their works with Tessa. What sort of payment we don't know but that already gives them an incentive as to why they would do this. Aside from that they seems to speak of the Magister with excitement, as though he is a great man. Clearly, important to them and pleasing him is of the utmost importance. I have this image of the godfather in my head, only less Italian and not as well dressed.
It is difficult to comment on a chapter win you know the outcome. But I do want to comment as if I have not read it.
ReplyDeleteSo Chapter one, I feel so sorry for Tessa. Here she has powers she never knew she had. First I thought, what have the Dark Sisters done to her to make her that way? and Why her? I thought for sure Nate is dead or almost dead because surely he is being tortured.
Why does this Magister want to marry her? Tessa must have something special that the Magister knew about if he made such an effort to kidnap her and pay the Dark Sisters to bring out the special powers. And the Magister is purely evil, so I wondered what is his plan for Tessa, how is the Magister going to use her.
And Finally -
When is she going to be rescued I need to see some shadowhunter action!! :) LOL
When I first read the book, I couldn't imagine what kind of gift or power Tessa had. I was a little afraid of it since Tessa herself didn't know her own gift or how to control it, but everything played out well and I was glad that Cassie made getting to know the Shadowhunters and a totally different fantasy world very interesting. And now I can't wait to know more about them :)
ReplyDeleteFeel sorry for Tessa... to learn of her ability in such an awful way...to have her identity her self thrown into question...Who??? What??? Is she? A useful abiility that could be exploited for good or evil..
ReplyDeleteThe Darke sister are so evil...they are training Tessa to curry favor with the Magister....if they are so evil and are scared of the Magister...how powerfully evil is he???
I worried for Tessa
StephAnnee
When I first read CA I was sad for Tessa.How overwhelming it must be to lose your family, all of your possessions and to discover that you are not the person you always believed yourself to be. My favorite part in this chapter is how she draws strength from the family she believes is lost to her, and that gives her the strength to go on. The dark sisters are quite evil but I felt that they were motivated by the same things that mundane's are motivated by greed, power and fear.
ReplyDeletePoor Tessa...having history of customs in Victorian times, I knew that women weren't trained so much to fight back, so I was very concerned for her. She had an inner strength, but I didn't see how a "good" girl would get free of that mess. And the way they went about manifesting her power...poor kid. I can definitely see her helping the Shadowhunters though by being able to disguise herself as anyone really. She is an "in" to places she might not have been able to go before.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I can answer the first question without giving away what I know. It's kind of hard to look at it from that perspective now. It's a great question for a first time reader though. I always knew that Tessa would be on the side of the Shadowhunters, otherwise there would be no story. I guess my biggest question when I read it the first time was how she was going to get from where she is now to where she needed to be. Especially given the way that this chapter ends.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the Dark Sister's motives. They certainly weren't doing it as a favor to the Magister. Whatever was behind their "grooming" was strictly for their benefit regardless of who they were doing it for.
One of my favorite chapters is coming up. Hope you first time readers enjoy it.
Tessa will use her ability to solve the mystery of who the magister is, what he wants with her, and what his evil plans are.
ReplyDeleteThe motive the dark sisters have is money and favor with a pwoerful man.
Tessa has a very strange and powerful gift. It could easily benefit good or evil. I'm excited to see what good she can do with it. The dark sisters are a creepy pair! I know I wouldn't have wanted to be in Tessa's shoes. As for the Magister...well we don't really know much about him, but he's no good guy that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteThe Dark Sisters are definitely looking to use Tessa's gift to benefit themselves. They want to get on the Magister's good side--being the ones to "harvest" Tessa's gift would totally give them props. They're creepy. Enough said.
ReplyDeleteI feelad for Tessa. It seems like the Dark Sisters are only using her to please the Magister. He must be a very powerful and scary person.
ReplyDeleteTessas gift i think will help her relationship in the Shadow Hunter world, i think by showing them that shes not JUST a mundane, that she also has power. Since shes not a Shadow Hunter herself, she can also get more information than them, because im not shure that downworlders are all that comfortable with sharing their info with shadow hunters. As for the "grooming", i think the dark sisters were hoping that the Magister would give them some power over her or some use of Tessa later on, or they just wanted to be in good with an all powerful guy.
ReplyDeleteBecause Miranda described the Magister as a very great man and told Tessa it would be an honor to be married to him, I thought the Dark Sisters' motive for "grooming" Tessa was to gain power and status from the Magister. However, I thought that if they were successful in delivering Tessa to him, they would have gotten nothing in return.
ReplyDelete*I loaned my copy of Clockwork Angel to my english teacher because she was interested in it having read all of TMI. Not having the book in front of me, I don’t know if I’m spoiling the rest of the book. SUPER SORRY IF I DO!!!!*
ReplyDeleteWell, having already read the book, I feel like I know their motives and the role of Tessa’s gift. As the series continues, I feel like a lot more characters will come into play. I think that Tessa will meet good people who want to help her and bad people who want to use her. The Dark Sisters seem to pretend to fit into the first category. They act as if they want to help her but they really want to use her. Tessa seems to be a strong, empowered woman though. I feel that if Will didn’t break her out, she would have got out on her own. I think her gift will grow and help her through the whole of the series but I have no idea what could happen next.
Linda Slade:
ReplyDeleteI think it was all money and safety for the Dark sisters. I think they don't care one way or another about Tessa. They are just doing a job for someone more powerful then them.
They clearly don't care about Teesa, only want to us her. It seemed as if they were trying to get in the Magister's favor. Maybe they did something bad and Tessa was their chance to make up for it? I wonder why the Magister is such a big deal...
ReplyDeleteFirst since Tessa had the ability to change into anyone shed be able to infiltrate pretty much any meeting or organization. Useful for the shadowhunters? probably. I personally think the dark sister want to use her gift to steal something for their Magister. They obviously are vying for his attention.
ReplyDeleteThe Dark Sisters seem to be interested in something that the Magister can offer to them, like protection against the shadowhunters or a better position inside the Pandemonium Club, since they're immortal and very powerful, what make them able to get almost anything
ReplyDeleteI believe Tessa's gift will end up dividing the Shadowhunters unintentionally, between those who want to help her out and those who want to use her gift. The Dark Sisters definitely have a self-serving agenda, I believe, and any loyalty that they may have is because they're afraid of the Magister.
ReplyDeleteI questioned whether Tessa would use her gift for good or evil. Both would be very tempting. And with a gift like Tessa's it's very easy to fall either way. I think that the line can become blurred easily. Her gift could both benefit and weaken the Shadowhunters. I think it would make other Shadowhunters very leery of her.
ReplyDeleteI recall when I read this chapter the first time, thinking to myself "Where are the Shadowhunters? Are the Dark Sisters ones themselves, somehow corrupted and cruel?" I quickly discarded the latter after observing their behavior, and the comment about the smell of garbage being present in the room they occupied, which is associated with the presence of demons as told in TMI series.
ReplyDeleteTessa certainly has a unique and frightening gift, and it's unclear what the Dark Sisters are grooming Tessa for, nor why they're threatening hurting her brother, Nate, in order to get her to do their bidding. When Miranda mentions the arranged marriage to the mysterious Magister, it answers some questions and raises more of them.
In her desperate attempt to escape, she still doesn't see much of the building she's being held in, but it seems to be an abandoned mansion that the Sisters happen to have found. I think this would be even more frightening - if no one's supposed to live there, how is Tessa supposed to be discovered/rescued?
We get to learn more about Tessa, and she shows us how brave, courageous, loyal, and strong she is regardless of her situation. This makes me almost think that, since she's refused to allow herself to break down until this point, is this where we see her crack under the pressure? Her making a break for freedom could be viewed as that, but since she doesn't get away, I'm anxious to see what happens when she's brought back into her "prison."
When I first read the book, I thought that the Magister was hoping to use Tessa to make other people with the same abilities.
ReplyDelete*At this point I figure that the shadowhunters will want Tessa as some sort of spy. She could get information 'dressed' as someone else. She has a gift that can be used for good or evil.
ReplyDelete*I think the dark sisters' motives for teaching Tessa have to do with the magister. He must have great power and will reward them handsomely.
Honestly, I'm not sure what's going on, but I love it! I knew there must be something special about Tessa... exactly what I do not know. Could she be some kind of Downworlder and not know it? Or, is she something that I haven't encountered yet in Cassie's wonderfully crazy world? Obviously it must be something that runs in her family, how else would the Dark Sisters know to pluck her right off the boat? Either her brother, or some history with her either of her parents...
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for all your comments! I've enjoyed reading about your thoughts on CA so far.
ReplyDeleteTo those who've already read it, thank you for keeping this spoiler free! I know it's hard :)
The Dark Sisters are obviously hoping a big payout when they are finished grooming Tessa with her gift and making sure she's ready for the Magister. They must have been promised something really great in order to deal with the stress and difficulty of training her.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning, I definitely thought that the shadowhunters would be against Tessa. Tessa herself wasn't bad, but what she could do is very unnatural, and I thought the shadowhunters would have a lot of issues with it.
ReplyDeleteI figured the Dark sisters wanted to groom her b/c the better looking and more powerful Tessa became, the more she would be worth, and the more the magister would pay for her.
Can I just say how excited I am to be reading this book again! I've wanted to re-read it for so long, but there are so many other books I have to read, that there was no time. A chapter a night is the perfect answer!!
I agree with Kristina; I didn't think that the shadowhunter's would take in Tessa because of her gift, though it did totally work to their advantage (mostly).
ReplyDeleteThe Dark Sisters on the other hand...totally evil! It was pretty obvious to me that they were only in it for the power they would get from training Tessa.
It's really great to read the book again, I had totally forgetten some parts of it and now I'm laughing out loud, rereading!
I wasn't even sure if she would use her "gift" to help shadowhunters. I figured she would get mixed up with them sooner or later becuase of the prolog but I wasn't sure if she would hide her "talent" and maybe use it to help later in the series or not. To be another person can always be helpful so I thought at least that she would use it in someway later in the book or series but not exactly how. I also had an idea that she might meet the shadow hunters becuase of her shapshifting but I was more on the track of the first idea.
ReplyDeleteI was guessing the sisters just wanted to impress this magister... or that they really needed the money, since that is what I think of when I hear payment. For some reason I see two ugly witches infront of me that fight all the time and one of them is stupid and one of them is (at least a little) smarter, haha. Even though that's clearly not the case :P
Going for question 1: I think that Tessa's gift could either be an asset for the Shadowhunters or it could put Tessa at opposition with the Shadowhunters.
ReplyDeleteAs for Question 2: I think this ties in with question 1. Whatever power Tessa has the Magister may want to use. This could pit her against the Shadowhunters.
I can't imagine that the Shadowhunters would want to use Tessa's powers the same way the Magister would. The ability to Change would be useful in political power plays or infiltration, but not so much in demon slaying.
ReplyDeleteThe Dark Sisters' motives are probably more than monitary. They must want more influence within the Pandemonium Club, or favors from the other members. But I don't see why the Magister has to marry Tessa when he could just use her as the Dark Sisters have been if he is only interested in her powers.
Like Kathryn, I had imagined that the Shadowhunters would use Tessa as a Spy.
ReplyDeleteI did not trust the Dark Sisters from the moment we met them in the Prologue. And Chapter 1, proves how creepy they are. I imagined their motives had something to do with gaining power or money, or maybe both.
I've always thought Tessa's power was really nifty. As to how it will help the shadowhunters, I'm still not quite sure. But's it's still useful, so no doubt will impact the story tremendously.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Dark Sisters are just rotten. :P
When I found out about Tessa's "talent", I definitely was like "Okay, so she can do that, and obviously there is going to be a problem in the book. So I guess she'll, I don't know, use it (not sayin' what) so they can infiltrate something or get close to someone... as happens in most movies." So, yeah that's what I thought of how her talent might help the Shadowhunters.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Dark Sisters were "helping" Tessa develop her talent, well their name makes it obvious that it's definitely not for something good/ they don't have a good (not evil) motive. What it is... I'm not really sure. All I know is that it would definitely be advantageous to them and "the Magister".
I think Tessa is a major game changer in the book, she has a gift that the dark sister and the magister wants. Still wondering why would the magister want to marry her? can't wait to read more.
ReplyDeleteI think the Dark Sister just wants Tessa to be presentable for the Magister. I'm really intruiged why the dark sister is afraid and are obeying the Magister. Who is the Magister?
Tessa has the gift of becoming someone when holding something of theirs even if they are dead. I think she will be of great use to the shadowhuntersin helping to solve the crimes they are investigating. Tessa will be able to be a huge factor because of her gift.
ReplyDeleteThe Dark Sisters obviously have a lot of love and respect for the Magister to groom Tessa even if its painful to her. But more importantly they expect payment in return which they probably won't get because the Magister just uses people to get what he wants. Both are plain evil with no good in them.
at first when the dark sisters came in, i was like, 'oh they should be good cause her bro sent them..' although i was feeling a tad suspicious because then what would happen next? when tessa started talking about her 'talent' i was thinking, 'what on earth is happening' because the descriptions were strange, but then i realised she could change shape. in terms of with the shadowhunters, her talent must be of some significance to them, since she is the or one of the central characters of the story. i thought that the shadowhunters would be interested in her because of this ability, and it's not like they would harm tessa because of the laws and stuff.
ReplyDeletein terms of the dark sisters preparing tessa for the magister, because they were preparing her, her gift must be unique or of high significance, because she is being trained. the magister sounds like a fancy, important title, so this person/demon/downworlder she is being prepared for has some plan in mind involving tessa and her talent.
It seemed like the Dark Sisters were just grooming her to be a tool for the magister. When Miranda said Tessa was ment to marry him, it didn't seem to fit. Why would you treat your future wife like that unless you were using marriage as a form of slavery.
ReplyDelete- Well, I already know because I read the book. But her gift is a very useful one, not only for Shadowhunters, Downworlders and humans alike. It's scary that she has such power, now she has to be careful if the words gets out because people will want to use her for it.
ReplyDelete- They think of the Magister as Tessa's master, and it made me think that he might be their master too, or maybe just their "boss". They were clearly doing what I stated above, using her to get something they wanted , maybe a recognition or a reward.
* I’m honestly not quite sure yet, but I think she will use her ability to help somehow.
ReplyDelete* The Dark Sisters are probably getting something in return – power, money, et cetera. Maybe even just respect from the Magister.
There is defiantly some alterive motive towards them working for the Magister as there is for any creature that comes to power through darker means. They are the Dark Sisters they know more about what Tessa is and only divulge information to get her closer toward their goals. The Magister is defiantly just a pawn for them though I am still uncertain as to how they will come into play with this relationship later it is defiantly something that will bring about intriguing events. Money, power, and greed are defiantly motivating factors for the Dark Sisters and I guarantee that them helping groom Tessa will inevitably cause good things for the Dark Sisters.
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