Then, we learn that it wasn’t a coincidence at all–it’s because Will had read Tessa’s letters to Nate! Will hid those letters in his copy of A Tale of Two Cities.

It may take moments, it may take years, but any who look upon you with love will die of it, unless you remove yourself from them forever.”Īs Will acts all mopey to Magnus Bane, he says this one quote: “If no one cares for you at all, do you even really exist?” Sound familiar? That’s because Tessa said something along the same lines in Clockwork Angel… “If no one in the entire world cared about you, did you really exist at all?” I literally paused while reading because it was such a deja vu. His only exception is Jem who is already dying from his yin fen addiction. As a result, he spends the next 5 years of his life pushing away anyone that tries to get close to him. (Side note: what kind of parent just leaves this box lying around in the midst of nosy preteens.) The demon curses him, saying that anyone who loves him will die. When he was 12, he opened his father’s Pyxis which is basically a box that seals in a demon. When we learn about his curse, we’re able to better understand his choices and empathize with his inner turmoil.

It just breaks my heart to see him so closed off. The story begins with Will wandering around the Shadowhunter’s equivalent of a black market looking for a love potion, or rather a potion that will make him stop loving Tessa. Still, I loved learning more about Will’s past and why he’s so closed off, getting to meet the Lightwood brothers, and all the little bits and pieces in between. I’m just simply gathering information on my journey before I reach my final destination of Clockwork Princess. This book felt like a filler where I was learning more information about each character than the plot actually moving forward. If Clockwork Angel were a 10/10, I’d rate Clockwork Prince as 8/10. Personally, I found Clockwork Prince to be less engaging and action-packed than Clockwork Angel, BUT it’s still a great read. I started off reading Clockwork Prince with my hardcover copy, but I ended up switching to my Kindle version halfway…

Clockwork prince book