Review: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Title:	Clockwork Prince (Infernal Devices #2)
Author:	Cassandra Clare
Genre:	YA, Steampunk
Rating:	PG
Publisher:	Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date:	December 6, 2011
Pages:	497
Source:	ARC provided by publisher
My Rating:	4.5*

 [Goodreads | Amazon]

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.

This was Jem – her friend, as steady and reliable as a heartbeat. Jem did not set her skin on fire or make the blood rush fast inside her veins until she was dizzy.

“Until death,” Jem replied gently. “Those are the words of the oath. ‘Until aught but death part thee and me.’ Someday, Will, I will go where none can follow me, and I think it will be sooner rather than later.”

Tessa did not need to touch Jessamine’s mind to know what she was thinking. Even the diamond had not been real.

     I was got an ARC of this book from the lovely Jen from Rayment's Readings, Rants & Ramblings and I am so glad that I did.  Getting the ARC actually pushed me to read book one in the Infernal Devices Series, Clockwork Angel.  After reading book one and enjoying it, I immediately picked up the ARC of Clockwork Prince and dived right in.  Seriously, I have no idea how I am supposed to wait for book three now.

     All of the things that I loved in Clockwork Angel were brought right back and doubled in Clockwork Prince.  The setting, the characters, the history and story were just developed so beautifully and at such a great pace.  The story just unfolds effortlessly and hooks you right from the very first page.  Clockwork Prince is definitely one of my favourite books of 2011.

     Remember how in my review of Clockwork Angel I said that I didn't like Will?  Well let me revise that statement to say that I didn't like Will in that book, but loved him in Clockwork Prince.  I found that learning that there was a motivation and reason behind his behaviour made him much more likable.  In fact, by the end of the book you actually begin to see him for what he really is; a seventeen year old boy trying to make the best of a bad situation to the best of his ability.

     Tessa still annoyed me, but it was nice to see her experience some personal growth.  Jess still made me want to light myself on fire every time she appeared.  There really is no other character, that comes to mind, that has ever made me giddily anticipate the moment they finally get what is coming to them quite like Jess does.  Jem finally showed some grit and determination.  There was some steel in his spine and fire in his eyes and it really made me like him that much more.  And of course Magnus Bane is still made of awesome and win.

     Clockwork Prince is a fabulous follow up in the Infernal Devices Series.  If Cassandra Clare keeps writing like this she will continue to cement her place in the hearts and imaginations of readers everywhere.

Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Title:	Clockwork Angel
Author:	Cassandra Clare
Genre:	YA, Steampunk
Rating:	PG
Publisher:	Margaret K. McElderry
Release Date:	August 31, 2010
Pages:	476
Source:	Finished Copy
My Rating:	4*

 [Goodreads | Amazon]

Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

      "He'll get better," Jessamine announced.  "And when he does, he'll know I'm the one who nursed him back to health.  Men always fall in love with the woman who nurses them back to health.  'When pain and anguish wring the brow, | A ministering angel thou!'" she finished, with a self-satisfied smirk.  Seeing Tessa's horrified look, she scowled.  "What's wrong?  Am I not good enough for your previous brother?"   

     The Dark Sisters were there, leering at me from behind their whist cards, their nails like talons.  Women with their faces and shoulders powdered white smiled at me with blood running out the corners of their mouths.  Little creatures whose eyes changed color scuttled across the floor.  I had never imagined such things were real, and I said as much to Mortmain.
     '"There are more things in Heaven and earth, Nathaniel. than are dreamt of in your philosophy,' he said.

              I think I should give you fair warning that at the time I decided to read this book I had already marked some of Cassandra Clare’s other work, namely the Mortal Instruments Series, as DNF.  As a result I was very hesitant to even begin any of the books in the Infernal Devices series.  In the end, I was convinced to give it a try by some of my fellow Ontario Blog Squad members and I am very glad that they did.

                For me the first half of the book was a whole lot of nothing.  Well, maybe not nothing, but not a lot happened.  It was all talk and getting to know the characters, but really very little action.  While I did like having the opportunity to really learn about the characters, it was hard holding my attention when I just wanted something to happen.  I do have to say that when the action started, it pretty much didn’t stop.  It wasn’t over the top gory incidents either.  I didn’t get the feeling that the events taking place weren’t realistic for the story, but rather they seamlessly fit right in.

                While I did enjoy the book, I can’t say that I was really fond of a lot of the characters.  Tessa annoyed me for some reason.  Maybe it was her dependence on others, or her inability to see things clearly that drove me nuts.  Was she a product of her environment and times?  Yes!  Does that mean I should make allowances for her character?  Probably.  Did she still annoy me anyway?  Absolutely! And that was the best part.  As annoying as she was, she was authentic to the times, her upbringing and her character.  I really did not like Will, but he too was authentic.  What I don’t understand is this need for the main male character in every YA book to be a borderline douche.  Jem on the other hand came across as a very likeable, albeit, tragic character.  Jess made me want to light myself on fire every time she appeared in the story.

There was something about the setting for this series that just worked for me.  The setting of Victorian London was spot on and had me believing in the world of Shadowhunters, Demons and the like.  Something about London during that time period comes across as a lot more believable than the backdrop of New York City that we find in The Mortal Instruments.  What we know of London during that time due to historical record lends a great bit of credibility to this kind of world within a world that Cassandra Clare has created.  London, as described in Clockwork Angel, is a cross between being seedy and posh and it is that dichotomy that makes the story work so well.