Book Review: Clockwork Princess

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
(Book 3 in The Infernal Devices trilogy)
March 19, 2013
568 pages
McElderry Books
Source: Personal purchase
Genre: Young Adult

Goodreads Summary:

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.

My Review:

I've been sitting on this review since I finished reading this book the week it came out. I wish I could say in all this time I've been composing the most brilliant review known to the man. I'd hoped that I would have by this point, but, well, not so much. The reality is that my words will be nothing compared to the beauty and amazingness of this book by Cassandra Clare. I was already a fan of Clare before this. I love her books. But Clockwork Princess is by far my favorite Cassandra Clare book to date. I absolutely LOVED it!!!

I cannot express enough praise for this book. I spent days tearing up about scenes in the book that truly moved me in so many ways. There is a certain beauty with relationships that Clare was able to convey. This is no ordinary love triangle. I hate love triangles. But the love between Will and Jem and Tess was beyond anything I've ever read or experienced. Thinking about them now I want to cry all over again. And I did cry big ugly tears while reading this book. I love these characters. I love their love for each other. And not just Will and Jem and Tess, but all the beautiful characters that Clare created. I loved loved loved them!!

Now this book is not without it's own action sequences and Mortmain dealings and resolution. There are wild situations and tragedies along the way. And Clare was able to bring the reader action and a moving plotline along with absolutely amazing character development. But for me, one of the things that makes this book so exceptional is the love between Will and Jem. I've always loved the story of David and Jonathan from the Bible. I loved the way this was used to inspire Parabatai. Will and Jem are the perfect epitome of Parabatai brotherly love, and honestly I cared more about their story than I did Tess.

And the Epilogue!! Absolute perfection!! I cried my eyes out. It was beautiful and amazing and moved me into a gushy mess. I'm so glad my family was in bed so they didn't have to witness the drippy, snuffly blob I became. They were happy and sad tears. But perfectly satisfied tears. Clare set the bar on what a perfect epilogue should look like. She should teach epilogue writing courses.

Bottomline: This was the perfect ending to an amazing series.

5 + STARS

Here's a link where Cassandra Clare discusses the epilogue, and the Will/Jem/Tess love. I recommend reading this AFTER reading the book because of spoilers. But I highly recommend reading it. Clare expressed herself so well.
http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/48832269469/cp2-spoilers-questions-and-answers

Book Links:

AMAZON   *   GOODREADS