Welcome, everyone!! We are almost with the third book (Clockwork Princess) for the #READshadowhunter readathon; can you believe it?! It seems like we just began this amazing readathon and here we are…almost done with the first Shadowhunter series. Be sure to visit Stephanie at Books in the Skye. For those of you who don’t know what this readathon is, that’s alright because I am going to talk a little bit about #READshadowhunter before getting into the discussion just so those of you who are new know what this readathon is all about.

Before that, I apologize for this being a catch-up post. I’ve been so busy with my metaphysical store that my blog has been put aside. But no fear, I am not done with it yet! I want to continue to take part in events on my blog so here we go.

The world is full of people who love the Shadowhunter series written by Cassandra Clare. I even ran into two of her fans at Barnes and Noble yesterday while I was taking a break from writing! We chatted a while about her books among others and it honestly made my day. Stephanie decided that she wanted to reread the series and better yet, she wanted all Shadowhunter fans to join in. Thus, #READshadowhunter was created. This is no ordinary readathon though. Many of you are thinking “There are so many books and I’m crazy busy. How the heck am I going to manage this?!” I’ll tell you… We are only reading one book a month so that everyone can keep up even if their lives are busy with blogging or reading other books. Yep there you go. Even people as busy as myself can manage to keep up with this one. I know the #OWLsreadathon2019 is going on as well so we are all busy this month. As far as OWLs go…I’d rather not talk about it. I gave my writing a front seat for a while.

Although these book series’ were published in a specific order, many of us agree they read better in a different order. Therefore we are starting with the Infernal Devices. We are now almost through the third book of the Infernal Devices, Clockwork Princess.

There will be spoilers so do not read if you do not want to see them!

Week 1

1. Woolsey Scott and Tessa are talking about her dilemma with Will and Jem. He observes that she loves them both and remarks that Tessa was lucky to have found 2 loves in her lifetime, that one true love is rare enough. Do you think it’s possible to have two great loves like Tessa?

Love is a tricky subject, it comes in different forms for everyone. I feel that in our previous lives, we make arrangements for people to help us learn a certain lesson. We meet then in this life, sometimes romantically and it doesn’t always work out. That is my belief about soulmates. So, yes…I think it is possible to have two great loves like Tessa. I think it is possible to find more than one person you love, someone that you feel that deep and intimate connection with. Not everyone is lucky enough to find two, or even one great love but I do believe that more than one exists for everyone, whether we find it in this life or our next is the bigger question.

2. We find out that Consul Wayland is actually against Charlotte and Henry. At the end of these chapters, he proposes Gabriel and Gideon to spy on Charlotte and report back to him. To ignore these orders could have devastating consequences for their family and their pregnant sister. But Charlotte and the London Institute have been nothing but warm and welcoming to them. What would you do in their situation?

This is a terrible situation for anyone to find themselves in. On one hand, those who have allowed me in their home, as stated above, have given nothing but warm kindness. I would hate to bring any harm to those who have put aside their feelings and welcomed me into their home as one of their own. However, if my family was at risk I would have to side with them…maybe. My sons for example, if someone told me to do something or they would harm my sons I would obviously have to protect them. I would feel terrible about either choice. If I were them, the only one I would really be concerned about would be my pregnant sister. I would try to get her away and to a safe place and only then would I turn my back on Consul Wayland. In the end, I would have to protect my family first as hard as it might be at times. AS a family person, they will always be first.

Week 2

These are such difficult questions, more difficult because I understand both sides of this. On one hand, a family is everything to me so I would want to stand by their side. That being said, I can not call standing by someone knowing that what they do and stand for is wrong…honorable. In my opinion, we have a responsibility to stand by our moral compass. If we know what someone is doing is wrong, family or not, we need to take a stand and do what we know is right.

I know, easier said than done. Family is a strong bond, especially between a parent and child. I understand completely how Gabriel felt and why he stood by his father but it does not negate the fact that in my opinion, it was wrong.

Knowing that she will lose the institute, either way, I would do the same thing. Charlotte will not be able to do what she needs because Consul Wayland refuses to give his concent…wanting her to fail. What else is she to do? If she follows orders, she fails. If she doesn’t she still fails and loses the institute. So…Why not? Why not give it everything you have, fight against those who would see you fail. Show them that you will not lay down and let them dictate how things end.

In my mind, she is being strong as always and doing the right thing. It might not be really wise because Wayland could make this even worse for her but…it is the right choice.

Further Thoughts

Can we all just agree that this was the most emotional part of the entire book?! If this does not pull at your heart and make it break are you even human? I can feel the pain Will must feel, losing his Parabatai and having his true love captured. He has dealt with so much in his life and it seems that he never gets a break. I just want to hug him, hug him and tell him that things will be alright and I am there beside him feeling everything he is.

What other books have played with your emotions as this one does?

Sometimes we all just need a book that rips our heart out and takes us on an emotional roller coaster.

Have you cried while reading a book and finding out that a character you’ve grown close to dies?

I am a bit of a crier as my husband likes to say. So yes…I have cried while reading books and I am not ashamed to say it. That only means that the author has done an amazing job, making me bond with the characters so much so that I feel their loss as one of a close friend.

If you have not read this series, do you have any predictions for how it will end?

I really don’t know what to write here at the moment. This book in the series is the one where things get really intense, emotions are high, trust is being tested…

Would you be able to trust someone who has come forward and admitted they knew all along that someone close to you was hoping for your failure? Someone that they knew it was wrong all along but stood idle none the less?

I know that I would have a really hard time with that. If they knew all along and did nothing, how was I supposed to know that for sure they were being honest and are not in it themselves? Maybe that is me being too paranoid but I would be on edge around them until I could build a trusting foundation.

Have you ever stood by someone who did something wrong despite knowing you shouldn’t?

I have…many times. My sister always pushed the boundaries of the rules. I hid my report cards as a child because she had gotten poor grades and if only mine showed up I knew she would get into trouble. I lied about her going to friend’s houses when my father was out of town. I even tried to cover up for her when she was caught stealing from a local gas station, stealing candy I might add.

I knew all of this was wrong but…she was my sister. We had gone through so much together and I knew what my father was like when he was angry. I was more than aware of the consequences of helping her lie and hide things yet I did it…because she was my sister and I did not wish any harm to her. I was trying to protect her as Gabriel was trying to protect his father.

Thank you for joining us again for another #READshadowhunter discussion post. I look forward to seeing your responses. Let’s talk about the heart-wrenching story!