Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Book Review: Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare

 
Title: Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publishing Date: March 19th 2013
Length: 568 pages
Keywords: YA, fiction, fantasy, romance, Shadowhunters, paranormalcy, 19th century London
Source: Bought 

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.


Summary by Goodreads  





March 19th was an epic date for every Shadowhunter fan. With the release of CLOCKWORK PRINCESS we got a first class ticket back to one of our most beloved set of 19th century Shadowhunter darlings. At the end of CLOCKWORK PRINCE many things were left unsolved. What is Tessa's heritage? What's it about her mysterious Clockwork Angel and who will get the girl in the end?

The main focus of THE INFERNAL DEVICES is on the clockwork creatures that have been invading the Shadowhunters' peace for quite some time now. A werewolf here, a faerie there, but their presence is not as remarkable as in Cassandra's THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series. A great part of the story is about the relationships of the Shadowhunters and their friends and the power struggles of the Clave. Its relationships are as nifty and delicate as in a Jane Austen novel, its battle scenes and imaginative storyline uniquely Cassandra Clare.

Will and Jem are truly a gift. This book is Cassandra Clare's best so far, also her hardest and most sincere. Big parts of it are about facing death and what it means to lose the people you truly love so much, you simple can not bear to be without them.
Jem and Will are friends and the best Team! In CLOCKWORK PRINCESS Cassandra Clare explores the possibilities of two great loves in one life and the endless boundaries of a true friendship. Friends, almost like brothers, don't necessarily need to become enemies because they are in love with the same girl. And said girl doesn't always have to be the pressured one. Tessa is very strong and headstrong and luckily has the capacities to decide on her own.

Unsurprisingly, CLOCKWORK PRINCESS continued the love triangle between Tessa, Jem and Will and acted on its threats to cause heartbreak for everyone involved, regardless of whether you are rooting for one or the other boy.
There's much time to untangle personal relationships and issues of all kinds. Each couple is different in its own wonderful way and it was a pleasure to get to know them better individually and as a pair.  Gabriel, Gideon, Cecily, Will, Jem, Tessa, Charlotte, Henry, Sophie, Magnus.
Cassandra Clare found fluent passages from one chapter, one story, to the next and everything's very consistent.
 
I was so thankful for the last hundred pages of this book. Cassandra Clare didn't end the fight and with it the story. She gave us and her characters time to say goodbye. Mellow and intimate. Words I needed to read, secrets I wanted to know. Overall a well-rounded trilogy. The ending had a very Downton Abbey Christmas special feel about it and it made me feel so increibly good about the characters and the story and everything at that moment.
Some things, I knew, were inevitable. Yet reading about them, broke my heart, every single word equaling a teary sob. I hadn't expected that to happen and it got even worse towards the epilogue. The epilogue. You might have heard about it by now. The epilogue is everything all at once. How can you have a happy ending and at the same time you are only partly happy about it? 

And I just couldn't resist to compose a little song for my favourite Shadowhunter:


Shadowhunters break my heart,
with their sweetness, kindred souls,
off to bake a duckling tarte,
for my sweet sweet Will. 






1) of parabatais that throw you off your feet with their sweetness
2) of 19th century bookworm references
3) of all its adorable couples
4) of the funniest songs
5) of its tearful epilogue





5/5 ***** CLOCKWORK PRINCESS - YA dreams come to fulfilment. Brilliant and all-consuming!

I can wholeheartedly say, this is one of my favourite series, even among the favourites! Reading CLOCKWORK PRINCESS was just marvelous! Cassandra Clare has found a writing voice that draws you into her stories like no other. CLOCKWORK PRINESS is her best book so far, making the THE INFERNAL DEVICES series so incredibly hard not to adore.












* Have you read Cassandra Clare's THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series yet?

* Click here for an excerpt of CLOCKWORK PRINCESS!

* Watch the book trailer.

* Find the CLOCKWORK PRINCESS family tree here

* For further information about Cassie and her books visit www.cassandraclare.com


3 comments:

  1. How can you have a happy ending and at the same time you are only partly happy about it?

    I really wish I knew, Sarah! I loved this book overall, even though it left me feeling incredibly hollow afterwards. I'm still of two minds about the epilogue, but I couldn't be happier with the way this series ended. It definitely lived up to my expectations.

    Fantastic review!

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  2. Sigh. Such an amazing review. <3 I'm so glad you loved it too :D But gah. Yeah. The epilogue. Not very happy about it :( I wanted this one person to live forever and ever. <3 Sobs. Still. It did make sense. Sort of :D Thank you for sharing your amazing review. <3

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