Rachel Rambles About Clockwork Prince

Hey. So there's this book. It's called Clockwork Prince. Maybe you've heard of it, I don't know.
If you haven't, then I'll just assume you've been living under a rock your whole life. In which case, WELCOME BACK. I know you probably have a lot of things to do to cope with the emotional damage and stuff, but before you do any of that, you should go to Goodreads to check out this amazing book.

So anyway. I finished Clockwork Prince last night.
Basically, this is my brain: akdfhslfkeuoiiiiiidahflkjiyoialcmghaoweiruoaighnclkaj

I mean, how am I even supposed to put my feelings into words??
This book. THIS BOOK.

Just in case you can't tell, I am a HUGE CRAZY SUPERFAN of Cassandra Clare. So far, I've been to three of her signings (more on that later), and she is just AMAZING.
So I thought I'd be used to her heartwrenching twists and cliffhangers by now. Apparently not.

I'm not going to bother anyone with a summary of the plot. The plot is too amazing to put into words. Just read it yourself. Trust me. READ IT. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

Instead, I'm going to give you my reactions. (Remember, this is not a review. This is a RAMBLE. So don't be expecting coherent or intelligent opinions. You, my friend, get unlimited access to my THOUGHTS and FEELINGS that happened while I was reading this. But without spoilers, because I hate spoilers.)

The first chapter went something like this: HOLY CRAP YAY I LOVE THIS BOOK I'M SO GLAD I FINALLY GET TO READ IT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOREVER FOR THIS OH MY GOSH THIS IS SO EXCITING.

I was not thinking about the tales of tears and heartbreak that haunted Twitter and Tumblr from the people who'd already read Clockwork Prince. I was not remembering the fact that Cassie had told everyone that she cried while writing this book.

So, blissfully unaware of what was to come, I raced through the first half of the book. I laughed at the witty one-liners, jumped up and down with excitement, and swooned over the swoony boys. (Because, really. So. Much. Swoon.)

And then I got to the second half.
!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!
Shocked gasps. Wide eyes as I stared at the book in horror. Confused looks as I had those "Wait a minute..." moments of realization. Clenched fists as I fought the urge to throw the book at the wall in frustration. Tears. Many tears. The feeling of my heart being ripped from my chest, torn in two, broken, crushed, shattered.

And. Then. It. Freaking. Ended.

At which point I collapsed on my bed, sobbing. (Which freaked my sister the hell out, by the way. You see, she has not finished the book yet. And I don't think my reactions were very promising.)

As I lay there, on my bed, I very closely resembled Bella in New Moon when Edward leaves her and she curls up in the fetal position in the middle of the woods. Except this was worse. My sparkly vampire boyfriend leaving me? Whatever, I can handle it. I'll just go find a werewolf.

But this? THIS? I could not handle this. In fact, I still cannot handle this. As soon as I finished this book, I texted Megan: "MY LIFE IS OVER."

Seriously, today was a very difficult day for me. I walked around school with about three hours of sleep in me, with a haunted look in my eyes as I struggled to come to terms with this book.


But...

But. Even after saying ALL OF THAT, I still loved this freaking book. So much. In fact, it might even be my favorite of Cassie's thus far. MAYBE. I'll wait until I'm sure to tell you, though. It's hard to tell, because they are all JUST SO GOOD.

Because the thing is, if a book can do this to me, it must be good. It must be. Cassandra Clare is a freaking genius. I mean, she has managed to create the ULTIMATE LOVE TRIANGLE. Never before have I read a love story like this. Yes, this book has many things besides romance. Action, violence, suspense, scandal, demons, magic, corsets, British accents, death, history, London. All of those things make this book the AMAZING thing that it is.

But for me, the love triangle is the best part. Love triangles are pretty common in YA books nowadays. But it is usually pretty easy to pick a side. Readers separate into teams, where they have very strong opinions of what character is the BEST CHOICE. Not with Will and Jem though. They are completely and totally equal. Jem's flaws are Will's strengths. Whatever Will does wrong, Jem does right. They are in perfect balance. So much so that it is impossible to choose a side.

And another thing about love triangles. I went to a signing for Cassie Clare the other night (post on that coming soon), and she talked about how many love "triangles" are often just love Vs. Two guys love the girl, and the girls love them. But there is no connection between the two guys. It's a V.

In Clockwork Prince, the love Jem and Will have for each other is as strong as their love for Tessa. The relationship between them, between TWO TEENAGE GUYS, blew me away. It is a very rare thing to see such a deep, brotherly love. All I can really say is that Cassie is a GENIUS.

She's also made of evil. EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO TRY TO MEND MY BROKEN HEART. It's like she enjoys torturing her readers.

But I still love her. And her book is still amazing. So, please. Go read Clockwork Prince right now.

Just do it.

-Rachel