Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

2011, Margaret K. McElderry Books

Series: Book 2 of The Infernal Devices

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Synopsis: 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.

The Good: I continue to really like Jem. He's like the less dorky Simon of this Cassandra Clare series. Except he actually has a chance with the heroine and is obviously the one good choice for her. In Clockwork Prince, the story pretty much revolves around the interpersonal relationships of the characters, which I think is a good thing. We get to know their hidden secrets and motives, as well as sort of hash out whatever emotional drama needed hashing. This leaves the more major issues of the Magister and Tessa's brother for the last book in the trilogy, where they can be focused on fully.

The Bad: Tessa is Clary and Will is Jace. There is only very minute differences between the characters, even in this second book. If you loved version 1.0, you'll love version 2.0. If you hated them, well, I doubt you'll feel differently here.