Clockwork Prince is a filler book in the series. This book starts off with the London Institute needing to find The Magister and ended in that same manner. Instead this book decided to focus on the main characters, their development and their relationships.
PACING
The first 200 pages of Clockwork Prince were boring. The plot consisted of talking, walking, carriage riding, training and travelling. It also focused on the main character Tessa and her relationship with her two potential love interests, William Herondale and James Carstairs. In the last 200 pages of the book, the plot was interesting and intense. I couldn't put Clockwork Prince down. I felt like I was reading an entirely different story and I became more invested in the story.
THE MAIN CHARACTERS
TESSA
I didn't like Tessa at ALL! I felt as though she was weak and an extremely sexist hypocrite. She's a lady in the Victorian Era, but she does such unladylike things for that day and age. When other people do the same, she is quick to warn them against it and judge them for it. I just couldn't deal with her and I couldn't find anything super special about her.
JEM
Jem is an extremely likable character and my heart seriously goes out to him. When this book started, I was leaning towards Team Jem. But, that changed after I read the second-half of this book.
WILL
After reading Clockwork Angel, I was unable to understand why people saw William Herondale as their ultimate book boyfriend. He was arrogant, sarcastic, cruel and unlikable. In the first half of Clockwork Prince, I felt exactly the same way I did while reading Clockwork Angel. Certain things that were supposed to make me feel sympathetic towards Will were revealed, but I didn't feel anything for him. However, in the second half of the book, Will suddenly became a likable character that I will not yet claim as book boyfriend (He still needs to prove himself), but I'm definitely on his team. GO Team Will!
THE LOVE TRIANGLE
I had SEROUS problems! I hated the love triangle in Clockwork Prince. I couldn't understand what Jem and Will were attracted to about Tessa. To them she's such a special person and I just wasn't buying it. Firstly, I didn't like Tessa. One minute she making out with Jem and the next minute she will be thinking about Will and vice versa. She kept on stringing Will and Jem along and I felt that they both didn't deserve it. Secondly, Will and Jem are parabathi. I found it quite strange that two people who call each other brothers didn't notice that they both love the same woman. I couldn't buy the romance that Clare was trying to sell.
Jem asks Tessa to marry him and she agrees. However, she keeps on thinking about Will and still has a place in her heart for him. She even starts to question whether she should marry Jem or not. It made me so MAD!!! Jem is madly in love with Tessa. She's the only girl in his heart, but Tessa is only marrying him to make him happy. I think Tessa was supposed to seem righteous and full of sacrificial goodness, but she ended up being undecided, immature, a liar and ruined Jem's happiness by lying that she was completely in love with him. I also found Jem's engagement speech to be moony-eyed and cheesy, while WIll's proclamation of love was beautiful and gave me a bunch of feels. It was this proclamation that made me part of Team Will.
"We live and breathe words. It was books that kept me from taking my own life after I thought I could never love anyone, never be loved by anyone again. It was books that made me feel that perhaps I was not completely alone." (Will Herondale to Tessa Gray)
THE SECONDARY CHARACTERS
My love for the secondary characters far outweigh the little feelings that I had for the main characters. Magnus will always be awesome! Charlotte and Henry are my #OTP and I really want Sophie and Gideon Lightwood to admit that they like each other and be together forever. Throughout this book, I kept on wondering why either Sophie or Charlotte couldn't have narrated this book. Their stories are so much more interesting and their characters are much more likable and interesting.
Clockwork Prince made me feel like I was reading two completely different books. The first half of the book was "meh" and I put this book down so many times. The second half of this book was action-packed and couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I just wished that I could love this series more...