Sofia's Reviews > Clockwork Prince

Jem Carstairs is one of my new favorite characters and I just want to hug him, okay?


This book rises far above Clockwork Angel, which was a true dumpster fire and basically a carbon copy of City of Bones. But Clockwork Prince took those same characters, developed them deeply, and added different romantic/angsty subplots that elevated it to a level higher than Clockwork Angel ever was.


Tessa Gray is safe in the Institute--or so she thinks. Mortmain is still on the loose, his clockwork creations wreaking havoc in London. Meanwhile, the Clave is trying to replace Charlotte with Benedict Lightwood, a cunning man who thinks women are incapable of holding leadership positions. They strike a deal--if Charlotte can apprehend Mortmain, she will be able to keep her job. But time is running out, and the mystery just gets more twisted.


There wasn't much plot in this book. In fact, there was hardly any plot at all. Mortmain was barely present. The clockwork creatures only showed up once. There wasn't much tension related to the plot, because this book was basically filler. There was no progression in the plot. There was just one betrayal at the end that this whole book was building up to.


However, plot was never high on my list of things I look for in books. I honestly don't care if the book has a plot or not if I love the characters. And I did love the characters in this book. Well, I loved one of them and tolerated the rest of them, but my love for that one character trumped my mild dislike of the others.


That character is Jem Carstairs.

I love him so much. He's one of my favorite characters of all time. He's a sweet, genuine, precious cinnamon roll and I must protecc.



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I want to give Jem a giant hug. He is a kind, sensitive, insightful character who cares so deeply for everyone around him. Everyone thinks he's fragile because he's sick, but he goes through so much without complaining. He tolerates Will's carelessness with his feelings. He tolerates everyone treating him like a porcelain doll. And he does so with grace and love. He never snaps at anyone for no reason. He is calm and clear-headed, unlike Will.

Instead of lashing out at others because of his inevitable fate, he treats them with kindness and care and gentle love. I have so, so much admiration for his character and Jem as a person. I just want him to live happily ever after with his violin and his cat.

Everyone takes him for granted until he's not there. Everyone gives him very little of the true care and attention he deserves beyond "have you taken your drugs." He is not seen. They just accept that he's going to be sweet and precious and they don't appreciate him for it. And it makes me triggered. My poor cinnamon roll deserves the world and they do not see it.



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LOOK AT HIM.
LOOK AT HIM.
ISN'T HE THE MOST PRECIOUS THING YOU'VE EVER SEEN.
My heart is bursting.


I am not going to tell you anything about my opinions on Jessa vs. Wessa because I don't have a preference. Will and Tessa were made for each other, and Jem and Tessa don't have that kind of chemistry, but I need Jem to be happy. I don't particularly ship either of them.



Tessa Gray is definitely better in this book than she was in the previous one. She's calmed down a bit and isn't as hypocritical as she was before. She's kind to Jem, and that means I like her.



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In general, she's very caring and kind and considerate, and I appreciate that. She's in a love triangle, which automatically makes me a little annoyed, but I really didn't care about that as much as I did in the first book. I... might have even liked it, actually, once I got over my initial annoyance. I love angst.



As always, I don't like Will Herondale. Only now I use the words "don't like" and not "hate," because I guess there was a reason why he was so cold and rude and moody? Although I still dislike him because tortured doesn't look good on him. Will runs away when they need him most. He's kind of a jerk. He's disrespectful to everyone, doesn't think about Jem before he acts, and he's so unbearably angsty and in a bad way. There was a reason for his anger issues, but quite honestly, I don't care. I don't care about whatever bad stuff happened to him in the past.



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And then there's this quote from him that I wanted to chuck out the window:

You see it, don't you, James? Without Tessa there is nothing for me--no joy, no light, no life. If you loved me, you would let me have her. You can't love her as I do. No one could. If you are truly my brother, you would do this for me.

Will, honey, you basically ignored Tessa for most of the first book. The gaslighting in this scene is real.

There was a scene where Will brought Tessa tea and she was so shocked that he was being nice to her that she drank all of it, even though she didn't like it.



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The villains were the worst part of this book. Mortmain did nothing, and Nate was a terrible antagonist. He's such a 2D villain. What are his motives? Why is he so heartless? No one knows. It felt cheap as a result.

As always, Cassie's writing style is entirely addictive and time passed so quickly while I was reading. I genuinely enjoyed myself reading this, and that's more than I can say for most books.



🚨🚨This next section has spoilers, but it's basically just me fangirling over yet another Jem scene🚨🚨



The Jessa kiss scene made me die, but in a good way. There was one moment that really destroyed me.

"I know," [Jem] said, looking down at himself self-consciously. "I am not--I mean, I look--"
"Beautiful," [Tessa] said, and she meant it. "You are beautiful, James Carstairs."

My heart did a really weird fluttery thing and I may or may not have whisper-screamed. (This is the moment when I became a Tessa fan, by the way.)

THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
THEY LOVE EACH OTHER EVEN THOUGH JEM DOESN'T FIT THE TYPICAL EUROCENTRIC BEAUTY STANDARDS.
*crying*



🚨🚨Spoilers have ended🚨🚨




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4 stars, the Jem fanclub is my new home


Clockwork Angel review