In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.
With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.
Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?
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.
This is the second book in the Infernal Devices Series and continues where the first book left off. I really do recommend this series and I'll link my review to Clockwork Angel.
Spoiler-Filled Review
This was a heck of a lot better than Clockwork Angel. One of the main things that I loved was the character development. It was utter perfection. So many of my original opinions about certain characters were completely switched or strengthened.
First, I need to discuss Will. Remember when I said I couldn't understand why people liked him? Well now I do. His story is so touching and we finally understand why he acts so rudely to everyone, especially Tessa. It made sense that the curse was fake because his family wouldn't have stopped loving him just because he left, so theoretically they should have all been dead. But asides from the curse, Will is such a terrific friend to Jem. He does everything and anything for Jem, regardless of the pain he has to go through.
Then we have Jem. Don't get me wrong, I love Jem. But he's no Will. While Will was tough and mean on the outside, he was selfless and caring on the inside while Jem was just the opposite. He's sweet and endearing on the outside but completely self-absorbed on the inside. He claimed he didn't want everyone worrying about his illness, but took every mistake, every action someone did, as a personal offense.
Will went and got high, he was obviously making fun of his disease.
Tessa wasn't romantic and loving towards Jem, it's obviously because of his disease.
It left little freedom to the other characters and just annoyed me.
Of course where there are two males and a female, a love triangle ensues. Tessa said she was in love with Jem? Nah, I think she's pronouncing it wrong. It's Will. WILL. W-I-L-L.
Normally within love triangles, it's fairly easy to predict who the protagonist is going to end up with. It's usually the hot, new guy, never the best friend. But with these three I really don't know, mostly because her and Jem was so out of the blue. I'm leaning towards Will. Mostly because she had to tell herself she loved Jem over and over again. In terms of this love triangle, Tessa failed miserably. She couldn't make a decision and continually went back and forth between the two. One night she'd make out with Will, the next Jem, and so forth. THEN, Jem gets the brilliant idea to propose to her, and instead of saying she'd think about it, or just flat out no, she says yes?! AND THEN, LITERALLY RIGHT AFTER WILL DECIDES TO ADMIT HIS LOVE FOR HER. THIS WAS SUCH BAD TIMING.
First, I need to discuss Will. Remember when I said I couldn't understand why people liked him? Well now I do. His story is so touching and we finally understand why he acts so rudely to everyone, especially Tessa. It made sense that the curse was fake because his family wouldn't have stopped loving him just because he left, so theoretically they should have all been dead. But asides from the curse, Will is such a terrific friend to Jem. He does everything and anything for Jem, regardless of the pain he has to go through.
Then we have Jem. Don't get me wrong, I love Jem. But he's no Will. While Will was tough and mean on the outside, he was selfless and caring on the inside while Jem was just the opposite. He's sweet and endearing on the outside but completely self-absorbed on the inside. He claimed he didn't want everyone worrying about his illness, but took every mistake, every action someone did, as a personal offense.
Will went and got high, he was obviously making fun of his disease.
Tessa wasn't romantic and loving towards Jem, it's obviously because of his disease.
It left little freedom to the other characters and just annoyed me.
Of course where there are two males and a female, a love triangle ensues. Tessa said she was in love with Jem? Nah, I think she's pronouncing it wrong. It's Will. WILL. W-I-L-L.
Normally within love triangles, it's fairly easy to predict who the protagonist is going to end up with. It's usually the hot, new guy, never the best friend. But with these three I really don't know, mostly because her and Jem was so out of the blue. I'm leaning towards Will. Mostly because she had to tell herself she loved Jem over and over again. In terms of this love triangle, Tessa failed miserably. She couldn't make a decision and continually went back and forth between the two. One night she'd make out with Will, the next Jem, and so forth. THEN, Jem gets the brilliant idea to propose to her, and instead of saying she'd think about it, or just flat out no, she says yes?! AND THEN, LITERALLY RIGHT AFTER WILL DECIDES TO ADMIT HIS LOVE FOR HER. THIS WAS SUCH BAD TIMING.
Bro Tip 102: When you love someone, tell them right away. Don't wait, otherwise they might get engaged to someone else.
AND THEN THIS MOTHEREFFER (Jem) was telling Will about his engagement and thought that Will saved Tessa for Jem. NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU JEM. And Will being the wonderful person he is let Jem have Tessa. I was actually crying at this point because Will deserves everything, but gets nothing. And the really only option is that Jem dies. Is it bad that I'm hoping it happens?
Besides the love triangle, which caused me the most feels, there are a few more characters I want to talk about. The minor characters were much much more prominent in this book, including Sophie and Jessamine. Sophie was the stand out character in this book. She started out as barely even a side character and slowly climbed her way to the top.
Anything good I said about Jessamine I take back. The fact that she was willing to betray her family for a way out of the Shadowhunter life is ridiculous. I thought her demeanor might have just been a shell, like Will's was, but she was just as rotten inside as she was on the outside. She has two options in the next book. She can either redeem herself or die.
As soon as the book started we jumped right into the plot. First we have the Enclave meeting where Benedict Lightwood challenges Charlotte's jurisdiction over the Institute, simply because she's a woman and women "think not with their minds but with their hearts" So Charlotte is given two weeks to find Mortmain. They exhaust every path and Mortmain seems to foreshadow every one of their moves, which is a bit suspicious. Mortmain didn't strike me as a particularly intelligent guy.
They then find an invitation to Jessamine from Nate inviting her to attend Mortmain's ball, held by Benedict Lightwood. For "true love", Jessamine has been spying for Nate, which is exactly why Mortmain knew exactly what to do.
Since the beginning Will has been making jokes about a disease called "demon pox", which was introduced as a joke, but ended up being a real thing. It's basically the mystical chlamydia.
"Demon pox, oh Demon pox
Just how is it acquired?
One must go down to the bad part of town
Until one is very tired.
Demon pox, oh Demon pox, I had it all along--
Not the pox, you foolish blocks,
I mean this very song--
For I was right and you were wrong!"
At least Charlotte got reelected to lead the Institute. And her and Henry made up, which was great. They are a good example for how couples should communicate.
Mortmain is still missing, so I'm assuming that's what the next book will be about. I heard Clockwork Princess is a chock full of feels and I am not prepared at all.
I also don't approve of Jem and Tessa's marriage so I'm not letting it happen.
What was your favorite scene? Mine was definitely when Sophie knocked Jessamine in a panic. She is quickly becoming my favorite female character in this series.
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