March 9, 2012

Book Review of "Clockwork Prince" by Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Prince (Infernal Devices #2)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Classification: YA Fiction, Historical Fiction, Paranormal
Source: Bought from Amazon


Overall Grade:
A+
I thought...
!!!! fdsfsafhuihjjajefnc,xku=gn !!! 
This is what your brain looks like after reading this book!!


Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon



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Summary (from Goodreads): 
In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends. 
With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them. 
Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do? 
As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.
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My Thoughts:


Holy holy holy crap. This book.

If you read this book and do not think that it is FULL OF AWESOME, you are probably an automaton and have been programmed to be immune to the lure of romance and intrigue and kissing and secrets and JEM and Victorian England and FREAKING WILL HERONDALE and general awesomeness and Clary will probably create a rune that kills you soon, so say your last goodbyes.

I'm not going to gloss over the fact that the last two Cassandra Clare books I read (Clockwork Angel, City of Fallen Angels) did not live up to my utter adoration of the first three books in the Mortal Instruments series. I read those three books in as many days, ignoring responsibilities left and right, breathing Jace and Clary and Simon every waking moment.

What I loved about those books came back to me in Clockwork Prince.

Tessa is a fantastic heroine. Her attitude, past experiences, and stoicism remind me of Jane Eyre, one of my all-time favorite characters.

Jem's character is given new dimension in Clockwork Prince. In the first book, we see Jem as merely the foil to Will--the damaged boy with silver hair and eyes who is the only known person on the planet who could be parabatai to Will Herondale. (OH MY GOSH JUST TYPING HIS NAME MADE ME SMILE WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!)

However, in Clockwork Prince, certain events force Jem to show more emotion than he's used to. We see him angry and frustrated. Finally this boy is given a few flaws! It was terribly refreshing.

But most of all, we see Jem being romantic and sexy. Seriously sexy.

Each of the minor characters is also given new depth: Jessamine, Charlotte, Henry, Nathaniel, the Lightwoods, and Sophie. Magnus Bane is awesome as ever, but also fills a role in this book that made me love him even more.

Then there is Will Herondale.

This is Cassandra Clare at her absolute best. (Yes, I know she has a bajillion more books coming out... but I'm going out on a limb here).

Where Jem is developed into a more functional love interest that readers will certainly root for, William Herondale becomes something else entirely: a tragic hero. An obsession of girls everywhere. Jace squared, cubed, quadrupled.

By the end of Clockwork Prince, we see a new side to Will. We finally get something true about the boy that Tessa is trying desperately to get over. Something that changes your mind about him.

But does it change Tessa's mind...?

That's the question to be answered in December's Clockwork Princess, as well as our remaining questions about the state of the London Institute and the elusive Magister.

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Overall Grade:
A+
I thought...
!!!! fdsfsafhuihjjajefnc,xku=gn !!! 
This is what your brain looks like after reading this book!!


Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon



(Full Disclosure: Any books purchased from Amazon through the links on this page will result in a small commission to me.)

1 comment:

  1. I agree 10000% with your review. Clockwork Princess can't come soon enough!!!!

    PS: I am also dying of a crush for Will.

    ReplyDelete

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