Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Release Date: December 6, 2011

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when it becomes clear that the mysterious Magister will stop at nothing to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends. With the help of handsome, tortured Will and the devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal and fuelled by revenge. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister knows their every move--and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa is drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets, and give Tessa answers about who she really is? As their search leads to deadly peril, Tessa learns that secrets and lies can corrupt even the purest heart.

Words cannot even describe how excited I was to receive an advance review copy of Clockwork Prince back in October. I had to delay reading it for a few weeks, but when I finally read it, I really couldn't put it down. Cassandra Clare is an amazing writer, and she proved it again with Clockwork Prince.

After the big fight with the Magister, the Shadowhunters of the London Institute are under the scrutiny of the Clave and Tessa is doing everything she can to try to help them. After everything they have done for her, Tessa feels a little responsible for what happened, especially since it's her the Magister is after. But there's a lot more going on in Tessa's life, what with not knowing who to choose between brooding Will and attentive Jem. Not only that but Tessa still doesn't know exactly who or what she is. As Tessa and the Shadowhunters try to find the Magister, they discover that there may be more going on than meets the eye, and more people involved than was originally thought. Now not only does Tessa have to help stop the Magister and his plans, she also has to figure out which boy she wants to give her heart to.

Cassandra Clare is most definitely a master of her craft. And I absolutely love her writing. Right from the first page, I was so excited to be back in the world Cassandra Clare created and reading her words. The world she created is simply and absolutely magical one, and even then it still felt completely real. I've been to London many ties before and know the city really well, but reading Clockwork Prince, I felt like I was discovering a whole new city, that's how great a writer Cassandra Clare is. And then there's the characters she creates, and those alone are reason enough to read the books.

I have grown so attached to all the characters in this series, even the ones who turn out not to be so great. Tessa is an absolutely wonderful heroine, even though sometimes I questioned some of what she said and did. But still Tessa is amazing and I absolutely love her. And how she manages to make up her mind between Will and Jem is a complete mystery to me. Normally, I can pick on of the boys in the books I read, but here I can't seem to choose between Will and Jem. On the one hand, Jem is completely attentive and sweet and perfect at all times. On the other there's Will who hurts everyone around him most of the time, but then there's that other side of him that I absolutely love. And then there's me in the middle constantly being pulled from one side to the other, unable to make up my mind. Cassandra Clare is just particularly gifted at creating absolutely dreamy boys.

Clockwork Prince is absolutely amazing, so much so that I may have to read it again when it comes out. Cassandra Clare once again wrote a fantastic story that kept me on my toes the whole way through. Now I just have to wait for the release of Clockwork Princess...