Home       About Me       Review Archive

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Review: Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2) by Cassandra Clare


Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: December 6, 2011
Pages: 497
Source: For Review from Simon and Schuster Canada (Thank you!)
Rating: 4.5 Stars


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.

In short: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare is an exciting sequel featuring heart-wrenching story developments that make for a truly addictive read.
Cassandra Clare has a true talent for messing with her characters' emotions, putting them through hell just when you think they might get a happy ending. This in turn causes the reader to be put through hell too as she also does such a good job at making us fall in love with her characters that it is all the more heart-wrenching when terrible things happen to them. Heart-wrenching sums up my feelings for Clockwork Prince pretty well. And I loved every second of it.

I know I say this in every review of Cassandra Clare's books that I write, but I am terribly fond of her characters. Somehow, Cassie has managed to come up with a whole slew of enigmatic characters just waiting for us to read about to uncover their secrets and mysteries. Every character, main and side, have their own unique and well defined personalities and their own intriguing back stories. It's addictive, this need to uncover the new additions to the seemingly endless backstory reveals for each character. From the moment I opened Clockwork Prince, it was a race to the finish.

The plot progresses nicely in this sequel. Not only are characters changing and developing (in Will's case, drastically), but the plot line surrounding The Magister, his clockwork creatures, and the mystery behind what sort of magical being is Tessa, continues in a rather intriguing way, with lots of action and surprises. It still came off as the second book in a trilogy in that there was a definite building up of even greater things to come, but at no point did the plot seem like unimportant filler as is often the case in second books.

My one quibble is the introduction of the love triangle. I find that they mess with my mind too much, and not in a good way. I find them a bit stressful, to be honest. I would have preferred to have seen more action scenes in the stead of all the love triangle drama that crowded the end of Clockwork Prince. Despite this, Clockwork Prince was an exciting and addictive sequel to an amazing series. I would highly recommend giving The Infernal Devices Series a try if you haven't yet, and checking out Clockwork Prince when it's released December 6, 2011!

Also, check out the newly released (and amazing!) book trailer!

In case you missed it, my Clockwork Angel Review and my Clockwork Prince Teaser Review.

Other Reviews:
Mundie Moms
Planet Print

Author Links:
Website
Blog
Twitter
Goodreads
Fansite - MortalInstruments.net
Fansite - Mundie Moms

14 comments :

  1. Awesome review Aylee! This book sounds great (I need to see if I can read this series soon!) mostly due to your commendation of the characters. I love when characters have their own unique personalities then I can tell them apart! And plus it adds a whole new attachment to them especially when they have backgrounds to uncover! The pacing sounds perfect too! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, this was the first review I read for it and I hope to read other glowing reviews!

    ReplyDelete
  2. *sigh* I can't bring myself to read any more Cassie Clare after the incest-that-isn't-really-incest love.

    Great review, though!

    And I get a giggle out of your blog header, every time I see it. (being slightly Harry Potter obsessed myself, lol)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love triangle drama is definitely annoying sometimes...but I'm glad that overall it was an amazing and addictive story! I'll definitely be checking it out,

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh no. You said heart-wrenching. I should expect that from her by now, but it still makes me so nervous to read this book even though I'm dying to know what happens. I guess it would be boring if were 300 pages of everyone being perfectly happy, but my poor heart always takes a beating with her books:) Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Eke! I loved CA, and I've been dying to get my hands on CP. As I mentioned before, I'm not happy about that love triangle either. Like you said, they are stressful, and just not cool. But I agree, Clare's characters are magnetic and I would be willing to journey through hell to hang out with them.

    Love the new trailer!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great review! There's a lot of talk around this series, and Cassandra Clare's other one as well. I think I need to pick these up!

    Andrea

    ReplyDelete
  7. I agree; Cassandra is terrible to her characters! Haha.
    But anyway, thank you so much for the review! It's good to hear that Will gets some character development (I wasn't completely sold on him), and I'm looking forward to all the big reveals! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. You're right, there was some excellent character development in this novel. Especially Will. I like that he went from being a complete jerk to someone with emotions and depth. It just re-affirmed my love for him!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Aw, thanks so much for including my review! :). I agree, the love triangle is so stressful. I agonise over it, I seriously do. I don't know what Tessa is going to do, I feel sorry for the poor girl. And definitely agree about the characters - Cassie knows how to make a character win you over! :P. Fantastic review - can't wait for Clockwork Princess!

    ReplyDelete
  10. That book trailer really is amazing! Now I'm thinking I want to read this book. Great review! I know what you mean, there are some love triangles that tend to stress me out, too.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lulu: I love it too! Cassie is so good at having multiple narrators too. They all have there own voice, which is so impressive. I am very much attached to every single character. I honestly care about all of them, which is pretty unusual. I do hope you check it out sometime and I hope you love it as much as everyone else. Thanks for reading!

    Madigan: haha, I was sort of in a love/hate relationship with that plotline in TMI. Frustrating, but I think it had a good payoff. And thank you! :)

    Lea: Yeah, the love triangle drama wasn't enough to get me down. I just wish there was slightly less of it.

    Jenny: Yup, we should all expect that from her by now. She is so cruel. And you can tell that she really enjoys being cruel, as well. But it sure makes for a captivating read. Ultimately, I have faith that there will be a happy ending for the most part for her characters. They just have to go through hell first.

    Missie: Sooo stressful. I don't know who she should choose. Part of me thinks neither of them. I know I wouldn't be able to choose! But I guess that's a sign that she's a good writer that she can leave me so conflicted. I would also experience the hell that they go through just to be with them, haha.

    Andrea: You should! I recommend it.

    Lauren: haha, sometimes I wonder if she even really likes them. You're welcome! I was eagerly awaiting Will's story this entire time. He was seriously annoying me. But I understand now.

    Christa: Me too! I was completely Team Jem in CA. I am just so tired of the bad boy character. So, nice to know that he had an actual good reason for his horrible behaviour.

    Liz: You're welcome! I don't know what Tessa is going to do either and that's what's so stressful. Especially if she is immortal, then neither choice is particularly good, is it? It's amazing that she can be so horrible to her characters but I can still be won over by them.

    Jessica: Isn't it? I guess they had the money for it. You should read it, despite the stressful love triangle!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yet another Cassandra Clare series I need to read!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Can you believe it? I haven't read anything by Cassandra Clare. I need to get with it!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I like the book so far I hope Clare Cassandra write the infernal devices they are good books and i like the others ones too. I like how they go back in time.

    regards,
    russel of Xeon E5

    ReplyDelete