Clockwork Prince

The Clockwork Prince picks up where the Clockwork Angel lets off, the second installment in The Infernal Devices prequel trilogy. Although the Shadowhunters continue to unravel the mystery of the Magister and the Pandemonium Club, they face a challenge of their own. Charlotte and Henry in charge of the London Institute are being undermined by a rival Shadowhunter—cough cough Benedict cough—who wants to control the Institute himself. The Consul gives Charlotte and the Shadowhunters of the Institute only a few weeks to find Mortmain, an impossibly difficult task, or face having the Institute ripped from them and given to others.

Meanwhile, Tessa and Will had "words" between them at the end of the last book and now there's a lot of awkwardness and suppressed emotion. We learn something about Will—that mystery in him which only tantalizes us in Clockwork Angel—that goes a long way in explaining his attitude and issues. He enlists Magnus Bane's help to solve this...er...problem. All I can say without spoiling anything that it is the reason Will holds back.

Meanwhile—again—the Shadowhunters find out about Mortmain, that he is a disgruntled warlock and son of warlocks who wants revenge on the Clave for a perceived wrong. But delving into his past also causes Tessa, Jem, and Will a glimpse into Will's past. And along the way we come a little closer to understanding who and what Tessa is. We also get a closer, sobering look at the Pandemonium Club, meet up with Tessa's brother, and meet the Lightwood boys.

Finally, the book ends with revelations (think Benedict Lightwood), more betrayal, a giant clockwork monster, broken hearts, and a glimmer of redemption that makes it all worth it. I can't wait to read the concluding book: Clockwork Princess. Throughout it all, Cassandra Clare flawlessly weaves elements of urban fantasy, historical fiction, and steampunk together into one fantastic whole.

A great quote from the book, which is exactly how I feel about books and libraries: "There was something about the smell of books, the ink-and-paper-and-leather scent, the way dust in a library seemed to behave differently from the dust in any other room—it was golden in the light of the witchlight tapers, settling like pollen across the polished surfaces of the long tables."

Clockwork Angel

I am an unapologetic fan of young adult urban fantasy. I'm an even bigger fan of Cassandra Clare, who's books I adore. Besides being a witty writer with fantastic plots, she always adds a mystery, a thread of angst, into her books that you never solve until the end of the series. And it drives you crazy! In a good way.

Clockwork Angel starts off The Infernal Devices series—Did I mention that it's also a historical fiction novel based in Victorian London with steampunk elements?—with the same type of world as she first introduced us to The Mortal Instruments series (of which The City of Bones is being made into a movie). The Infernal Devices starts a couple hundred of years before The Mortal Instruments with some familiar characters—yes, Magnus Bane!—some new characters, and some characters we heard mentioned in the previous series and always wondered about.

The primary characters are Tess, Will, and Jem. Tess is a shapeshifter from New York City who travels to London to find her brother, who has fallen in with some bad sorts. And this is not just normal bad. This is involved-with-evil bad. She only finds out in London that she's can change shapes and that her pendent, a clockwork angel, has some peculiar powers. Meanwhile, she has to deal with an evil magician who wants to use her, a brother who has lost his way, and two shadowhunters who rescue her. 

These two shadowhunters, Jem and Will, are not only best friends, but they also both like Tessa—like her in the no-holds-barred, passionate, irrepressible way of youth. And thus our love triangle is formed, and a series-arching plot element. This book has all the angst, passion, and adventure that I love in a good YA novel.

For all you poor souls who didn't have the good judgement to read Clare's first series and think I'm speaking gibberish, here is a quick rundown of the Shadowhunter world:

• Shadowhunters – Nephilim (half angel) warriors who fight to keep demons out of the world
• Downworlders – Supernatural beings (vampires and werewolves, etc.) that the Shadowhunters have a tentative truce with as long as they don't interfere with Mundanes (you and I—boring humans)
• The Clave – The Shadowhunter population
• Idris – The Shadowhunter home country which is, mysteriously, impossible to breach by Mundanes
• Demons – Really? Duh.

It's a fun world and a fun series. And adding in the historical fiction and steampunk elements actually makes it all work. It seems like a strange combination of genres, but there you go. Love it.