Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3) by Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Princess

Series: The Infernal Devices, #3

Author: Cassandra Clare

Pages: 567

Genre: YA Fantasy, urban fantasy

Clockwork Angel Rating: ★★★★

Clockwork Prince Rating: ★★★★

Clockwork Princess Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Danger and betrayal, love and loss, secrets and enchantment are woven together in the breathtaking finale to the #1 New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices Trilogy, prequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

THE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

HOW am I supposed to recover from that epilogue!?

Let me just say that this is a very high 4-star rating. I almost gave it 5, but there were some pacing issues for me toward the middle of the book. But honestly, this book was SO good and will stick with me for a very long time.

Once again I’m just going to shower you with my overall thoughts because my head is still swimming from that finale.

Cassandra Clare has proven, again, that she can write romance extremely well. While The Infernal Devices has been a romance-heavy series, I have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it (even the love triangle!). There is just so much good in the relationship between Tessa, Jem, and Will. And I was so pleased with how it all came together. This quote, in particular, will forever stick with me: “Most people are lucky to have even one great love in their life. You have found two.”

And I truly feel like that quote doesn’t just pertain to Tessa, but to Will and Jem, too. The love between Will and Jem was so profound that my heart was racing when their parabatai bond was broken. And, just… I was not expecting the twists that came. Kudos to proving me wrong that this ending was SO NOT predictable.

Aside from the romance, I believe Cassandra Clare is so good at constructing these families that expand generations. I loved searching for any clues as to who is related to who, and where it all leads to in the present Shadowhunters series. The family tree is, hands down, the most interesting thing to read about. I promptly skimmed through the illustrated Shadowhunters book (sans The Dark Artifices since I’m not that far along yet) just so I could visualize everyone. (Side note: While the illustrations are beautiful, I think the illustrated book does a fairly poor job at providing character info and family lineage details.)

So, while I pretty much adored everything in this book, I did have a few qualms. One thing is that I wish we got to see more of Tessa’s power. We got a larger glimpse at her powers in Clockwork Angel, but after that, it didn’t seem to be too focused on what she could do. Tessa is such a strong willed person with highly powerful gifts, so I wish we could’ve seen that more. Also the pacing got a bit slow for me during some parts, and the sub-plot regarding the Consul wanting to overthrow Charlotte got way too redundant and overkill.

But that epilogue. I will never get over it. It was perfect, beautiful, and deeply shattered my heart in the best and worst ways. I can only hope we get to see some of our favorites again as the rest of the Shadowhunters series goes on, because I cannot let these beautiful characters go.

Buddy read with Melanie, Sol, Chelsea, & Terri!

xx,

Amy