The Infernal Devices 2: Clockwork Prince

Boy oh boy. Does Cassandra Clare know how to rip your heart out of your chest, stomp on it a few times, chuck it around and then break it into millions of tiny fragments. I can honestly say I've never had a book affect me as much as Clockwork Prince did. Which is a great way have a first review! I even thought that Clockwork Angel was brilliant - and if that was brilliant, then God knows what this was. Sheer amazingness? I hate to think what Clockwork Princess will be like! Throughout this whole novel I was captivated. Not once did I want to put it down and go to sleep like I should have done. Okay, there was one part where I had to set the book down, as I felt like I was about to explode. Literally. I must have screamed No! No! No! No! over and over and over in my head a trillion times. Cassandra Clare has a definite knack for writing. Just look at how popular TMI and ID are. And the most amazing thing is that her books are full of substance, they are full of character. They mean something. In the second novel in the Infernal Devices, we delve more and more into the Shadowhunter world, with familiar faces cropping up and new ones being introduced. Cassie has clearly done her research well on the locations in the book - I've never read anyone who is not from London describe a city so well. And for a Victorian freak like me, having her novel set in Victorian London is just a God-send, and not once did she disappoint! Her language was eloquent and beautiful, but allowed the reader to understand what was going on within the time period constraints. And for many writers, that is such a hard task! What I love about CP as well is how even though Cassie is a modern writer, she writers as if she is from the Victorian era. All the affections and mannerisms that are shown in the book are true to the time period, there's no sugar coating it. And what I loved about Clockwork Prince is that it is not centred directly on *that* love triangle (more on that later!!). We get the other characters, that other authors might have left out. Cassie leaves no brick unturned here. We are given Charlotte and Henry, Sophie, Magnus. These back stories could be the backbone of the series - especially as a prequel to TMI. Which again, Cassie doesn't forget about. Everything links up, and I mean EVERYTHING. I can literally not wait to get home to Australia where my first three TMI books are and re-read them. Everything that Cassie writes has a meaning, as a purpose, a background, a story. And one thing that has now got me hooked is the fact that she mentioned that Edinburgh, my Edinburgh, has an Institute. Does Cassie realize what she's done now? Every time I walk past a church, I'm going to be wondering. And hoping. And looking. And then there's them. Yes, those characters. The most exquisitely, beautifully, brilliant characters that trump all the rest. Tessa, Jem and Will. Oh Will. Will, Will, Will. What that boy does to me should be considered illegal. I'd always thought that the one fictional character who had me quaking in my boots was Mr. Thornton from North and South, but boy oh boy, has he been tossed aside (well, not quite tossed aside. I still see him regularly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays). Will is just....there are things that Will does to me that no fictional character should ever be able to do. My heart just cries for him. Yes, Jem is great. He's that sweet guy that every girl wants to have in their life, but Jem just doesn't do it for me like Will does. I fell in love even more with Will in CP. And Tessa...a character you couldn't relate to any more. Wow, she's just amazing. Absolutely brilliant! Needless to say, I think I'm going to have to find some sort of book drug den (if that even exists!) to tie me over until Clockwork Princess comes out next year. I have never wanted a book so badly - now I know what Jem feels like!show more

I consider myself to be very lucky to get my hands on a Collector's Edition of Clockwork Prince! I got to read the note Will Herondale wrote in Clockwork Angel. Now on to my review. The book was amazing. I can't find a word to describe it. At first, I liked the first book better than the second, but the ending totally made me change my mind, so I love both of them equally. Lets get to Tessa. She annoyed me a bit in this book. Her constant indecisiveness on who she loves more, Will or Jem made her appear as a spoiled person to me. She kept changing her mind over and over, which made me wonder if she truly loved leither one, or of she just loves them because she couldn't find a better choice. I loved how Sophie, the housemaid, was more involved in this book. I especially enjoyed her love life. While she might have an ugly scar, she is truly beautiful from the inside. I cant seem to choose between Will and Jem in this book either. Finally, we get to learn more about the mysterious Will Herondale, which is pretty exciting. Jem is as beautiful as ever, and in this book, he shows himself more. He doesn't let people take advantage of him anymore, which pleased me alot. In this book, I got to learn many things about the characters, especially that I finally found out who the mysterious traitor is. I was extremely happy with the ending, and I literally squealed when I was done with it. I can't wait for the third book, Clockwork Princess, to come out! Happy Reading!show more