Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Cassie Clare struck gold with her series The Mortal Instruments. And to be perfectly honest, I never quite understood why. They're not bad or anything, but at the same time they're not... well, not exactly high quality. Jace is flat out creepy as a male "lead," and I can't figure out why anyone would find a butt head (using nice words, people!) of such epic proportions attractive. I guess that illustrates part of what is wrong with society these days. A guy can be a total jerk, and girls still want to date him. Sigh.

Anyway, I digress. So with this success, Clare decided to head back in time with a new series, The Infernal Devices. I can't lie--last year I was pretty excited to read Clockwork Angel. It turned out I wasn't disappointed, and I had a blast reading it. So when the second book in the series, Clockwork Prince, came out in December, even though I was trying to not buy for myself, I couldn't resist snatching it off the shelves.

In Clockwork Prince, the same characters are revisited not long after the events in the first book end. Tessa is back, falling deeper into that we-all-saw-it-coming love triangle between Will, the brooding dark-haired hottie, and Jem, the sweet and considerate boy with a terminal illness (but don't worry--he's hot too). The Magister is still at work with his evil schemes, and naturally chaos ensues as the Shadowhunters try to get to the bottom of his sinister plot and save the world... or at least Great Britain.

I'm sorry to say that this book disappointed me slightly. There was a revelation about Will's past, and it bothered me because it really seemed to take away from his personality. It felt forced and fake, and now at the end of book two I'm not any closer to figuring out who the REAL Will is. I want to know. Meanwhile, Tessa was just... there. Not much of a voice or personality, and for that reason it makes it difficult for me to believe that Will has a thing for her. I can kind of believe Jem might have a thing, but even that's a stretch. It's sad to me. I love young adult characters with a voice. For instance, Sophie Mercer in the Hex Hall series is a voice that I would recognize anywhere. Same with Evie in the Paranormalcy series. Love those girls.

Nevertheless, I have to admit I loved reading this book anyway. The time period is wonderful, I do enjoy the intrigue and mystery behind the plot, and the characters are still fun, though a bit shallow. I highly recommend this series if you're into the Young Adult genre and want a little nonsensical fun.

The third installment of this series, Clockwork Princess, is scheduled to be released November, 2012.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

It all started when 15-year-old Clary Fray witnessed a murder inside Pandemonium Club in New York City. But the problem was that she seemed to be the only person who witnessed this murder, along with the body disappearing into thin air.

One night later she has a run-in with one of the murderers, the beautiful, golden-haired, and impossibly-egotistical Jace. But Jace isn't your average teenage boy: He's a Shadowhunter, a group of Nephilim whose job is to kill demons and other "downworlders." So when Clary's mother disappears and a demon suddenly shows up in her apartment, Clary can't help but wonder: What does her mother have to do with all this? And why can Clary see things that other people can't?

The premise of this book was very good, and I did enjoy it. However, it felt extremely disjointed to me: It seemed like it just jumped from scene to scene sometimes without a whole lot of flow, and I thought some parts were unnecessary to the overall story as well. I can sort of see why there's a lot of hype surrounding this book and the rest of the series, but I'm not sure if I'm buying into it.

I will say that I love Clary. I think she's a great character with some great wit and fearlessness. Jace's arrogance felt incredibly forced, and while I know there was certainly some depth there, it just made him feel so flat to me. It's a shame because I think he has the potential to be so great, so I'm hoping Clare is able to really bring this character to new levels in the next books in this series.

One other problem I had with this book I can't really discuss because it's a major spoiler. However, I call it the "Star Wars Syndrome." This book has it in spades, and I really wish it didn't because it really detracts from the rest of the story.

I will continue with the rest of the series because Cassandra Clare really has made an incredible fantasy world come to life in these books. I figure since this is the first, they can only get better from here... right?