Clockwork Prince by: Cassandra Clare (Review)

Title: Clockwork Prince (Infernal Devices #2)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

Number of Pages: 502

Date of Release: December 6^th, 2011

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.

Review: I really never saw the twists and turns in this book as they flew at me. Yes, I thought something weird was going on with a couple of the characters actions, but I never could of guessed what they were doing. There is a certain feeling I noticed when I picked up this book, and when I read any of Cassandra’s books, and I finally understood what it was this time. It feels like I am coming home. That sounds really weird and maybe a bit cliché, but I know for certain that is what it is now. Clockwork Prince did not disappoint and I relished every turn of the page!

Tessa is like my perfect character. She is kind, yet she has guts and knows her limits. Cassandra just keeps throwing her into these situations, where she is forced to make hard decisions and deal with the repercussions of them. Jem, sigh, like many of you know I am Team Jem all the way. Jem takes on a stronger presence, because Will is always off on his own looking into his past. Will is just as infuriating, and everyone calls him out on it this time around. Jem isn’t just the nice pushover friend anymore, he lets everyone around him see all of his emotions now. Henry and Charlottes relationship comes to a pivotal point of no return, and I loved that we got the chance to really get to know them better. The great thing about this book is that even the minor characters seem like main characters. Magnus Bane makes several key appearances, and we get to see another side of him we didn’t know about in the Mortal instruments.

In the beginning I was a little uncertain where Cassandra was taking this series. I mean a lot of times, authors write a spinoff series on their first series, it does not turn out well. The infernal Devices, is brilliant though and the world is vastly different from the Mortal Instruments, but all the rules are the same. The best part though in Clockwork Prince, was there was not one single boring paragraph recapping what happened in a previous book. I really hate it when things have to be recapped, I understand why authors do it, but I am not a fan of it at all.

Then can we please talk about the literary allusions. I am in love with all of the quotes at the beginning of chapters. I really liked reading them and puzzling out what was going to happen next. Then we get a whole talk of A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dicken’s, which is one of my favorite books ever. I was bouncing up and down at the mention of Charles Darnay and my favorite Sydney Carton and his tragic love. Cassandra Clare mentioned many other books, but that was one that hit me like WHAM! It is sweet when an author can talk about classics and literature in her novels for teens, and keep their attention!

I cannot wait to see what Cassandra Clare has up her sleeve next! It is bound to be amazing!!