Book Review #9: Clockwork Princess

Straight From The Reader Mouth. 

One Read  At a Time.

Book Review #9

Clockwork Princess By Cassandra Clare

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy

Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?

Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.

A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

* The Break Down:

“You know that feeling,” she said, “when you are reading a book, and you know that it is going to be a tragedy; you can feel the cold and darkness coming, see the net drawing tight around the characters who live and breathe on the pages. But you are tied to the story as if being dragged behind a carriage and you cannot let go or turn the course aside.”"  

― Tessa  Gray

A lot of people rave about The Mortal Instruments series and whilst I do enjoy those books my heart belongs to The Infernal Devices. So on today’s post instead of just reviewing what I thought about it, I’m going to do a whole spiel about the series:

Starting with the characters.

In this book there was one moment that was both highlight and sticky-note worthy.  You wouldn't think so, but it was actually during Will and Jem's goodbye:

“Will rose slowly to his feet. He could not believe he was doing what he was doing, but it was clear that he was, clear as the silver rim around the black of Jem’s eyes. “If there is a life after this one,” he said, “let me meet you in it, James Carstairs.”

“There will be other lives.” Jem held his hand out, and for a moment, they clasped hands, as they had done during their parabatai ritual, reaching across twin rings of fire to interlace their fingers with each other. “The world is a wheel,” he said. “When we rise or fall, we do it together.”

Will tightened his grip on Jem’s hand, which felt thin as twigs in his. “Well, then,” he said, through a tight throat, “since you say there will be another life for me, let us both pray I do not make as colossal a mess of it as I have this one.” 

Cassandra Clare made me feel and understand their relationship and what it means to be Parabatai. To my surprise Jem and Will’s relationship became the most important relationship to me in this series; it says so much about both characters.

Excluding the main character in this book, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED Charlotte and Sophie in this book, scratch that, in all the books. They have officially entered the league of bad-ass females in YA fiction, congratulations.

On to the Lightwood Brothers. 

In all honesty, they kind of pissed me off. Not because their story line wasn't super interesting or because I don't totally ship them off with Sophie and Charlotte, but because I kept getting them confused. Gideon and Gabriel.

…Seriously

“A very magnanimous statement, Gideon,” said Magnus.

“I’m Gabriel.”

Magnus waved a hand. “All Lightwoods look the same to me.” 

Half the time I thought each was the other. The whole hard G and the 3 syllable name nearly killed me! I always had to think who was talking to whom.

Now, the Plot twists (WARNING SPOILER ALERT):

Jem turning into a Silent Brother, wasn't exactly for me a big surprise because the idea of it was always there, floating in the back of my mind. BUT the plots twist of Tessa's origin... uhmmm did NOT see that coming, it was brilliant.

(Don’t know what I’m talking about? READ THE BOOK)

Finally to the ending and that epilog:

“They say you cannot love two people equally at once,” she said. “And perhaps for others that is so. But you and Will—you are not like two ordinary people, two people who might have been jealous of each other, or who would have imagined my love for one of them diminished by my love of the other. You merged your souls when you were both children. I could not have loved Will so much if I had not loved you as well. And I could not love you as I do if I had not loved Will as I did.”  ― Tessa Gray

Cassandra Clare gave me everything I wanted, and nothing I wanted. She gave me the ending that I could have only dreamed about but then again she ended the series so....

I think that Tessa, Will and Jem’s circumstance is a unique one that required a unique ending I don’t think a lot of authors could have pulled that epilogue off but for this story it worked beautifully.

Finally, the thing I loved about this series is the foreshadowing Cassandra Clare does for The Mortal Instruments. In this book we find out that Henry and Magnus actually created the portals which I loved. We also find out how Church ends up in New York and Magnus’s comment on all Lightwood’s looking the same nearly killed me! Its little details like this that I absolutely love about the books set in this world. Cassandra Clare’s world building is so rich and detailed.

Overall Clockwork Princess was a phenomenal bittersweet ending. I usually hate love triangles but Cassandra Clare has created the ultimate triangle in The Infernal Devices one of respect, love and loyalty that run from angle to angle between all three characters.

 This is a series that I 100% recommend to everyone reading taste because it contains it all: Kick-ass action, Heart-wrenching love, friend-ship and loyalties.

“Every meeting led to a parting, and so it would, as long as life was mortal. In every meeting there was some of the sorrow of parting, but in everything parting there was some of the joy of meeting as well.” 

― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Princess