Clockwork Prince - Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Genre: YA Romance/Fantasy

Blurb (on back of book): 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, but 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.

MY OPINION: *****

UPDATES:

This post is so long overdue, and I feel so bad! I didn't have enough time to post two days ago, when I finished the book, since it was around midnight :D I couldn't post yesterday either, because I was in the middle of a BIG book talk/motivational talk...

Hard to explain. I finally can post today. I know it's super late if you are on Pacific Time, but this has to be done. I loved this book way too much and I don't want to waste time and forget what I wanted to say.

Before I start, I want to say, I REDESIGNED THE BLOG. If you are one of my email subscribers and are reading this in the email, please, please, please go visit the actual website! Recommend any new ideas for the next theme, which I change every two months. Thanks so much!

Now, on with the review!

Lately, I have been trying my best to read books and think of them more critically. As some of you know, in the beginning of this blog, I rated every single book a five stars. Gradually, I brought some of them down to fours and NOW I am at threes and maybe even twos. I try to grade the books as if I were a critique more often.

But this book was a different story.

I can't not give this a five stars. I loved it way too much. Just to let you know, there will be LOTS of spoilers, so please skip over the strikethrough formatted words so that you don't get angry! (If you would like me to change this to html so that you can just open or close it, I can do that! Lately, I have been interested in code, but I'll add that in next month.)

Anyways...

Ok, this book was an incredible journey! Some of it was boring, I must admit, but that's to be said of mostly any book. Ok, I am not trying to be mean, but sometimes the books can have way too much description or just plain boring scenes, but as I always say, those are needed. So please just congratulate the author in your head at a job well done.

Tessa definitely changed and matured as a character in this book. She was smarter, thought harder, analyzed things more, was braver, and she was a lot more determined. In the first book, I hated how she was always just pushed around and listened to whatever everyone said. It was so annoying to me. I wished she would be more independent, and that wish was granted partially in this book. She is still controlled mainly by Will, Jem, and Charlotte, but she was a lot more free in this book.

Will. For a while, I couldn't figure out who to ship Tessa with, Jem or Will, but after this book, it was completely figured out. WILL X TESSA. I don't have a great ship name for them, though, because they are all pretty gross. But still. THEY ARE SO PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER.

SPOILER ALERTS

I understand now why Will was such a jerk to everyone, Tessa especially. That curse that he "thought" he was under was impressively hard to live with. I wish he had found out sooner though, BEFORE Jem proposes!! Tessa, no offense, live with your own feelings and CHOOSE WILL, not Jem.

Will was determined, brave, and kinder in this book, and he is different from the first after the middle/end. This book really shows how he is maturing.

I almost cried at the end when Will gives his speech. Saddest scene ever. I feel for him SO FREAKING MUCH. Sorry for language.

Jem. No offense, I don't like Jem much as a character. For a while I shipped him with Tessa out of pity. I didn't like how he was ALWAYS SO KIND and never getting angry. Then when he did, it just seemed half-hearted and out of character, and then he would just forgive everyone and be mad at himself. I don't know about Jem's ending, though. Leave a comment down below as to whether you think that he is going to live or not.

Charlotte and Henry made me so annoyed and angry. Charlotte was made up to be fierce and strong, but in reality, she was delicate and weak. I didn't like her, and I'm sorry. Henry was just... Henry. I don't want to say anything more. Charlotte x Henry romance is just... no. I don't like it.

Jessamine. I don't feel like writing another spoiler about one of my least favorite characters, but let me just say that her character was overrated and very predictable. It was so obvious! I didn't like her, and her stupid attachment to Nate was just plain gross. She is so oblivious and all she wants is for someone to take her away from Shadowhunters and who she is. Her character seems complicated, but if you tear away the outer layers, it technically isn't.

Sophie. She is too obedient. She made me annoyed as well. Her ship with Gideon Lightwood? Just no. I didn't completely agree with Tessa's feelings about their relationship, but still. No. I don't ship them. At all.

After all that, I think my favorite character is Will :D

I wish this book wasn't a multi-perspective book. I don't want to go into detail, but it got kind of annoying after a while.

This being said, I won't go into details about anything else, except to say that this is a wonderful book that is better for mature readers over the age of thirteen or even fourteen.

Main Character: Tessa
Sidekick(s): Will, Jem, Sophie, Charlotte, Henry, Gideon, etc
Villain(s): Mortmain, Jessamine, Nate, etc
Romance/Fantasy Elements: This book features a romantic relationship, as well as multiple fantasy characters and ideas.