Book Review: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
- Paola Santana
- Mar 28
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 2
Still reeling from her terrifying confrontation with the Magister and her brother's betrayal, Tessa Gray is drawn ever deeper into the Shadowhunter's dark underworld of demons and danger. In a desperate attempt to help her friends, Tessa tries to uncover the truth about the Magister and learns that he blames the Shadowhunters for the murder of his parents nearly a half century ago. Determined to unravel the secrets of his past, Tessa, Will and Jem journey to mist-shrouded Yorkshire, only to encounter corrupt Shadowhunters more intent on burying the past than finding the Magister - a past that holds the key not only to the enemy's motivations and weakness, but to the secret of what Tessa really is and what she was born to do. Meanwhile, Tessa's feelings for Jem and Will are growing more complicated, and soon she is forced to acknowledge that any choice she makes will either save the Shadowhunters of London or end them forever. 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.
BOOK SPECS:
Number of pages: 498
Format: Paperback
Genre: YA Romantasy, Steampunk, Historical Fiction
Tropes: Love Triangle, Good vs. Evil, Mysterious Artefact, Werewolves, Vampires, Magic, Fairies, Demons, Angels
SHORT REVIEW:
Clockwork Angel, the first book in this series, was full of action and really well written - after all, it's Cassandra Clare! - but I just didn't get into it as much as I thought I would, and it took me watching one of Clare's interviews to understand certain aspects.
On Clockwork Prince, however, I was completely and utterly hooked. Cassie was very good at explaining the mindset of the times in baby steps so even people like me - with little cultural and conceptual understanding of Victorian times (sorry, we didn't study British history in Brazil) - could get the hang of it.
HEART RATE:
SMUT SCORE:
FULL REVIEW:
Series Overview:
Clockwork Prince is the second book of Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series, which is a prequel to her more contemporary The Mortal Instruments / Shadowhunters series.
Dare I say it, I have never been a fan of period drama or steampunk and, despite being a big lover of Clare's original series - The Mortal Instruments, I wasn't particularly won over by the first book of Infernal Devices. Maybe it was narrow-mindedness, maybe it was just that I'm not familiar with the period and needed to know a little more, or maybe it is just that it didn't use to rock my boat.
Plot
If you are a romantasy, paranormal romance, or YA fantasy fan, you will want to read this book. Romance, mystery, betrayal, action... It's all in there.
While this is the second book of the trilogy, and you should be getting somewhere with solving the puzzle, by the time you finish reading it, you will feel no closer to resolution. In fact, things just got a lot more complicated. Oh heck! I am now biting my nails for Clockwork Princess, the third and final instalment of Infernal Devices.
Characters
I am a big fan of drop-dead gorgeous bad boys with a good heart (call it cliché if you must, but I still like them), herewith represented by Will, and I always side with them in any series. However, on Clockwork Prince, and for the first time ever, I caught myself cheering for the other team: the equally drop-dead gorgeous take him home to your mother good boy, a.k.a. James (Jem). Who would have thought! I almost feel I'm betraying myself!
As for the rest of the cast... I can't fault them. Clare's characters always get me hooked.
Smut & Romance Score
There is something else this book has done for me. It made realise that in period drama the romance is a lot more dramatic and intense because, back on those days, it wasn't acceptable to show desire or affection for someone, especially in public. That kind of uptightness usually explodes into really good scenes and it almost makes me wish we weren't so liberal today, so that we could appreciate the little signs, touches of affection that we are able to enjoy as part of today's relationship code of conduct. But that is the magic of books for you! I'm sure the reality back then wasn't just a rosy sea of intense eat-you-from-the-inside-out romances either.
This is a my long way of saying that there is no smut in this novel, but that doesn't mean it's not charged with romantic tension and desire.
Writing
This is Cassandra Clare, queen of making you believe that it could rain cats. Need I say more?
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