Clockwork Prince
picks up shortly after the conclusion of Clockwork
Angel, although enough time has passed for both relationships and routines
to be established. Tessa has come to feel at home in the Institute, so it is
unfortunate that Charlotte's position of leadership there is threatened. If
they do not find the Magister in a timely manner, then Charlotte will lose her
authority, and Tessa will find herself homeless. Racing against the clock, the
team struggles to outsmart the devious man who has been calculating his revenge
for decades.
Not going to lie, this book took well over 100 pages to
enrapture me, but, once it did, it was hard to look up for even a moment. As
the story progressed, I forgot all about the earlier tedium and was swept away
by this dark world.
Tessa really grows as a character in this. She is no longer
married to the idea that she has to look and think like a proper lady. She is
expanding her knowledge of the reality of the world and her ability to defend
herself. She yearns to learn more about what she herself is and what she can
do. There's just something about her in this book that makes her so much less
delicate and so much more admirable.
I guess you could say she also grows... sexually as well. It
would probably be difficult not to, what with fellows like both Jem and Will
professing eternal and undying love for her. However, this love triangle thing is a dilemma, sometimes a brutal thing
to read. It's especially difficult to experience because the reader becomes
privy to things that the characters are not.
This is something I have a problem with. We are allowed to
be in the know because the perspectives from random characters appear
throughout the book. Tessa is the primary narrator, of course. The role of
secondary narrator probably belongs to Magnus Bane, but there are several other
characters that have random, singular chapters throughout. I found this to be a
little bit jarring and almost... too intimate. I felt like I had no business in
knowing what was going on in a character's head for such a small number of
pages and that their chapters exist only for the purpose of info-dumping. Had
there been a little more consistency with the characters used, I possibly would
not have even noticed it, let alone have been bothered by it.
I hate hate hate
love triangles, even if they are done well- nay, especially if they are done well! Because if they are done well, then you fall a little
bit in love with both parties, and your heart is going to be a little bit
broken no matter what the outcome is. Most people seem to easily flock to one
side or the other, but I (again, only if it's done well) flounder and flitter
hopelessly between the two until I've mentally exhausted myself. This is truly
a very trying process and is better left avoided most of the time.
This love triangle is particularly harsh for the following
two reasons:
1. Because the two young men are not only best friends, they
are parabatai (a very intense form of Shadowhunter partnership, more or less).
2. Because it's not so easy to blame Tessa for the awkward
situation they are all in. If she were at all malicious or beguiling, then it
would be simple to pin the blame on her and hate her. But she is not a hateful
character, and therefore tension is just unbearable.
But she did not love
anyone else in the world. These were the boys she loved. For better. And for
worse.
It's a shame she can't just marry them both. And what about
Magnus? He's still my favorite.
Really, there is a lot more to this series than just the
aspect of romance. It takes place in an intricate, well-planned, and consistent
universe with an ever-increasing panoply of supernatural creatures. As time
passes, you can begin to see the story lines weaving together, although all of
said lines are seamless. There is so much foreshadowing, but at the same time,
no real hints. I was enraptured to learn the fate of Nate and Jessamine. I love
the side characters, both the old ones and the new ones. I love the side
romances-Henry and Charlotte, Sophie and Gideon.
Now I'm a little scared to read Clockwork Princess. Not because it will not be enjoyable, but
because these characters are so very real and close to my heart that it's going
to break no matter the conclusion.
