Belongs to me. Not the book, which belongs to Cassandra Clare, or the cover image, which belongs to Goodreads, but Jem. Jem belongs to me.
Rating: 5/5 stars.
Before I begin writing about the book, let me make one thing crystal clear: Jem is mine.
“‘Just some dust in my throat,’ Jem reassured them. He looked not ill but very tired, though his exhaustion only served to point up the delicacy of his features. His beauty did not blaze like Will’s did in fierce colors and repressed fire, but it had its own muted perfection, the loveliness of snow falling against a silver-gray sky.”
I love Cassandra Clare and yet I dislike her. I thought Alec from TMI was perfection, but Jem… I am so confused. My heart is torn. All I know now is that falling in unrequited love with fictional characters beats having romantic relationships in real life. There’s no contest.
As for the book itself, Cassandra Clare does it again. Before reading Clockwork Prince The Infernal Devices had always been behind The Mortal Instruments in my mind, but now this series is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Consistent characters that are each believable and easy to connect with, a tight plot full of twists that will have your heart pounding, and a beautiful setting in the backdrop of Victorian London. Besides being utterly perfect, there are two more things that took this book above and beyond for me.
I loved the various literary allusions within Clockwork Prince. When Tessa compared herself to Jane Eyre I almost wanted to squeal like I do for Jem. Even though there were some references to books I haven’t I read I still thoroughly enjoyed Clare’s mentionings of other novels in her book.
Finally, the love triangle. It’s an actual triangle. Like she stated in her interview at Entertainment Weekly, this isn’t a V, it’s a triangle. Not only are there deepening bonds between Tessa and Jem and Tessa and Will, but there’s the brotherhood-like connection of being parabatai between Jem and Will! Jem and Will mean as much to each other as Tessa does to Will or Jem does to Tessa, and there’s no way that anyone can avoid heartbreak if the triangle itself is broken. In other words, a love triangle done right.
I’ll end this review by 1) ordering everyone to read this book and this series, and 2) providing everyone with another delicious Jem quote:
“She had clearly caught him in the middle of readying himself for bed; his shoes and jacket were off, his shirt open at the collar, his hair an adorable rumpled mess of silver. She wanted to reach out and smooth it down. He blinked at her.”
I need Clockwork Princess. So, so badly.
So, yeah, I marked awesome Jem moments and descriptions. I missed some, but I'll get them once I reread it...
the quiet voice 