Alright. I’m going to do my utmost to keep this spoiler free but I’m bit of a fangirly mess right now, so just yell at me in the comments if I mess up.
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.
First of all I’m going to say that I absolutely hate love triangles. I am so sick of them and how authors always seem to use two different guys, who hate each other, to represent two different directions the main girl’s life could go and now she has to choose between them. I hate it. It needs to not happen it books anymore.
So, when I say I love, love, love, LOVE the relationship between Jem and Will and Tessa you should know that this isn’t like other love triangles. I love it because Will and Jem love each other just as much as they love Tessa. I love that they don’t represent two different paths her life could take. I love that there is no hate, no cattiness, no tension between the three of them. Well, there is tension…but not the normal tension. There’s regret and longing and selflessness and fear and unhappiness. But never dislike. No one ever wants the other to be unhappy. That is probably my favourite thing about these characters and these books.
Now, in the Will vs. Jem department I’m going to save that for our argument discussion review that I’ll do with Christine once the book is released. Mostly because I am Team Will and if I get into it here I’ll just say bad things about Jem. And then people will hate on me in the comments. I will say that both teams acquire some very good ammo in this book and both teams will be able to tell the other team why their ammo is the best. I’m looking forward to the arguments soooo much!
Okay, what else? Henry and Charlotte are my favourite. I just love them so much. Henry…he’s just too cute. Like a puppy. And I think I was one of the few people who really liked Jessamine in Clockwork Angel and…ugh…I can’t actually tell you how I feel about her now. I will just say that I have STRONG FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS. And I was hoping her story would go in a different direction. I felt that it was a bit contrived but I can’t say why.
I can’t say anything about Sophie or the Lightwoods. Other than, I love Sophie and want her to be happy.
Okay, plot. I loved that the characters traveled around a bit and that it didn’t all take place in London, in the Institute. It opened things up a bit and we got to meet some interesting characters. One character, well he had a similar reaction to…some things…as…someone else did in City of Ashes. It intrigues. I think there might be some parallels there. I feel in the year between Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess we will have many discussion and analyzes of him. I’m highly looking forward to it.
Oh, that reminds me! I loved how the the title was worked into the narrative. It makes me really excited for Clockwork Princess…I’m hoping that it will be worked in in a similar fashion.
More than anything though, I loved Will’s story in this. His journey and the way he puts everyone before himself. His thoughts and actions and…I just don’t understand how anyone can be Team Jem. Even after everything that happens in this book I just can’t imagine that Jem feels half so strongly about Tessa as Will does.
There were two things I didn’t like. The first one was…well, we just didn’t get much about Tessa. I understand this. We got a lot about other characters and some things have to be saved for the third book but, I just need to know more about Tessa as soon as possible. And, secondly, there were a couple of moments that just felt off. I can’t explain them without spoiling but there is one point where a certain character appeared for like two pages. And their whole presence felt redundant and silly. And then there was Jessamine’s storyline which really just felt like an out of character plot device. I hope there’s more with her in Clockwork Princess. She intrigues me, a lot.
I will end this review with saying that I loved the last chapter, the last paragraph, and the last line. I feel like all the pieces are set on the board for the last book and we just have to wait a year to see how the moves play out.
I’m very excited for Clockwork Princess. TEAM WILL!