Book Review: Clockwork Prince, by Cassandra Clare

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.

Reaction at end of book: Aaaargh!! Why is Cassie Clare so damn good at torturing both her characters and her readers?! But despite the fact that my heart is breaking for two particular characters, I loved this book!

My thoughts after calming down:

My overall impression of CLOCKWORK PRINCE is that I enjoyed it waaay more than its predecessor, CLOCKWORK ANGEL. I mean, please don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed CA. It was a fantastic story. It just didn't... wow me like the MORTAL INSTRUMENTS books did when I first discovered them. But CP? Yeah, it wowed me. It wowed my freaking socks off! (or it would have if it was winter here and I'd been wearing any socks).

CA was all about setting up the story and introducing the characters. And they were awesome, and I loved them (except maybe Will. He crossed the line into complete and total jerkville). But CP went into a lot more depth. There was far more character development. The story was told from just about every character's point of view, and every point of view was interesting! There wasn't a single character's story that I wanted to skip through.

There were a few hot scenes that made me want whip out my fan and cool myself down a little (balcony scene anyone? And Jem's bedroom? Whew!). Loved those! And, in true Casandra-style, there were a lot of squirming, heartaching, how can you do that? moments. But you know you love those ;-)

Bottom line: totally freaking awesome book.

And one more thing: After reading CA I thought I'd never be Team Willl. He was just over the top rude and downright cruel. I was always and forever Team Jace. But after reading CP, after seeing the world through Will's eyes and discovering the motivations behind everything he does... I've done a 180. It's a close call, but I think I can say I'd pick Will over Jace!