Book Review: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

THE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Be sure not to miss the special first edition of Clockwork Princess, complete with an exclusive family tree.

-barnesandnoble.com  

Clockwork Princess takes place not too long after Clockwork Prince.  Mortmain has disappeared with little to know hope in finding him.  Jessamine was their only shot and she has seemed to have lost her mind and keeps babbling something about Idris.  Ever since Will found
out about Tessa and Jem's engagement he has completely avoided her and since Cecily won't go home he has taken up the task of training her to be a Shadowhunter.  When Gabriel Lightwood show's up at the institute covered in blood they find that Benedict Lightwood has reached the final stage of demon pox and they are forced to slay him.  But what they find within the Lightwood libriary is much more disturbing.  "THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT PITY, THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT REGRET, THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT NUMBER, THE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING".  Mortmain may be gone but he is definatly not finished with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.  He has bought and block all trasnport of yin fen to London and without it or a cure Jem with die very soon.  Clockwork Princess is the most heartbreaking, beautiful, action packed story that I have read in a long time.  Unlike some series where the first book is the best that the series ever produces this triology has kept getting better with each book.  I'm not big on love stories or love triangles for that matter (I feel like they have been over done lately) but I absolutely loved this one.  It will go down on my list as one of the greatest competable with that of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth.

Jem is the most kind, selfless person real or fiction, dead or alive that has ever been.  While I knew that to some degree in the first too book, I didn't realize the full capacity of it until CP2.  For this reason I think that everyone should read this books if only to have something to strive for in day to day life.

Gabriel Lightwood was an interesting character to follow in CP2.  While Gideon evolve in the last book it was Gabriel that changed the most in this one.  In the previous two books you only know Gabriel to be Will's greatest enemy (besides himself) and blindly loyal to his father.  But in CP2 Gabriel is a tormented character.  Should he be the son his father raised him to be or the Shadowhunter that the world needs him to be?  The dynamics between him and Gideon have changed as well.  A part of him still feels betrayed by Gideon for leaving him and his father for the London Institute.

Will's sister that arrived at the end of CP may have became one of my favorite characters if the three main ones did not manage to outshine her so much in this last book.  She is brave, determined, and loving in all of the right times.  She manages to "ruffle Will's feathers unlike anyone else" and captures Gabriel's attention unlike anyone ever has.  Although this wasn't her story I would like to have gotten to know her character better.

Will is someone that he wasn't in the last two books.  His curse was broken.  Almost as if by coincidence as Jem is dying he is able to let other people in.  Don't get me wrong he is still his hilarious, witty self.  But the motives behind his actions are no longer the same because he know longer has to fear that those that love him will die.  You see a loving side of him that was only ever shown towards Jem.  He is surprisingly fearously protective of Cecily which makes for funny situations at the least.  The biggest part of this book is that he can't keep a lid on his feelings for Tessa. 

Cassandra Clare is the bestselling author of The Mortal Instruments and Infernal Device series.  She is currently working on a new middle grade series with Holly Black and will also have yet another Shadowhunter series, The Dark Artifacts, in the not soon enough future.  TMI City of Bones will hit the big screen this coming August. 

PS sorry for the delayed review. I thought the book came out on the 29th not the 19th.

Mainstream Monday: Trylle Movie News!

Happy news everyone!!

I'm taking a break from my insane wedding planning to share what came across my news feed late last week.

Terri Tatchell (District 9) is aiming to make The Trylle Trillogy her next movie project!

Just like the rest of us, Terri says that when she read the Trylle books, the images were so beautiful and vivid that this story HAS to be made into a film for the big screen. You can see the full article here.

Amanda Hocking seems to think that Terri is the best fit for this project and knowing her history as a (as Terri put it) "movie buff", I trust her judgement. If you want to see Amanda's article about her thoughts with the project, click here. Media Rights Capitol officially has the rights to the book and Terri is working on a layout for the screenplay. They hope to begin filming this fall. However, a director has not been chosen and no actors have been selected.

Of course, like any project, this could fall through. But we at The Ink Puddle are pumped for the opportunity Amanda has been presented with no matter what happens.

We want to know what you think! Are you excited? Who are some of your celebrity choices when it comes to Finn, Loki and of course, Wendy? Stay tuned because we'll announce our favorites for the part next Monday!

Book Review: Hunted By P.C. and Kristin Cast

What if the hottest guy in the world was hiding a nameless evil, and all he wanted was you?

At the start of this heart-pounding new installment of the bestselling House of Night series, Zoey’s friends have her back again and Stevie Rae and the red fledglings aren’t Neferet’s secrets any longer.  But an unexpected danger has emerged. Neferet guards her powerful new consort, Kalona, and no one at the House of Night seems to understand the threat he poses.  Kalona looks gorgeous, and he has the House of Night under his spell. A past life holds the key to breaking his rapidly spreading influence, but what if this past life shows Zoey secrets she doesn’t want to hear and truths she can’t face?

On the run and holed up in Tulsa’s Prohibition-era tunnels, Zoey and her gang must discover a way to deal with something that might bring them all down.  Meanwhile, Zoey has a few other little problems.  The red fledglings have cleaned up well – they’ve even managed to make the dark, creepy tunnels feel more like home – but are they really as friendly as they seem?  On the boyfriend front, Zoey has a chance to make things right with super-hot ex-, Erik, but she can’t stop thinking about Stark, the archer who died in her arms after one unforgettable night, and she is driven to try to save him from Neferet’s sinister influence at all costs.  Will anyone believe the power evil has to hide among us?

-barnesandnoble.com

The nerd herd and red fledglings barely escaped Neferet's wrath and Kalona's spell.  Stevie Rae has a bowe in her chest and Stark has come back as a red fledgling minus the humanity.  The Raven Mockers have killed several of the Tulsa humans.  Thank goodness Zoey has zero guy problems at this point.  Wrong.  Just when her and super hottie Erik are getting back together, Heath shows up at the depot and causing a jealous guy show down.  When Zoey manages to break them up and walk Heath to the car she is attacked by a raven mocker and is so injured they have to go back to the House of Night.  Let's just say the welcome back wasn't warm.   Hidden has a new danger that the other House of Night books had yet to touch on.  It contains secrets, new relationships, action, love, and good vs evil that will leave you wanting more.

What I really like about this book is Stark.  Yes he lost his humanity and is an ass.  But when you see him with Zoey you see a spark of who he used to be.  My favorite parts of the book that I like the most are the ones that contained Stark.   

Darius is kind of awesome.  He puts up with and seems to love Aphrodite.  He always seems so serious and put together and basically saves the day every time.  He is strong enough to stand up to Kalona and Neferet and sticks to his guns.

There is some new found tension that wasn't there before between Stevie Rae and Zoey.  Stevie Rae is better but you can't go through what she has without being different.  The fact that Stevie Rae is trying so hard to hide that she is a different person puts a wedge between her and Zoey.  Without her best friend Zoey and Aphrodite become close because Aphodite is her only confident and actually becomes a great friend.

Heath plays a bigger role in this book as well.  In the other books he just the guy that Zoey was with as a human and she imprinted with.  In this book you see him as more than a not so smart football player that is borderline stalker.  He has depth and is really sweet and caring and while some may see him as a lapdog of a boyfriend his character really steps it up in this book.

 The House of Night Series is written by P.C. and Kristen Cast.  P.C. cast has written several series and she has received several awards for them.  Kristin Cast is P.C.’s daughter and has written a few other series herself.  She currently goes to college in Oklahoma, where they both live.  To learn more visit www.pccast.net.