Clockwork Princess Review: Best Finale To The Series
One of my 2019’s resolution is that I complete all book series that I have with me and give a second chance to the books I did not finish reading. So, I kick-started my noble decision with ‘The Infernal Devices’ and finished ‘Clockwork Princess’. I was done with this book in a week because I was completely immersed in this world right from the start to the end. Clockwork Princess is probably one of the best finales I have read till now. Spanning over 500+ pages, the book does get dull in parts but that’s only towards the end. The first 500 pages are a treat to read. The plot was engaging and surprisingly I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Walker Books
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.
(Blurb as on Goodreads.com)
I LIKE ‘Clockwork Princess’ Because,
…even though the book predictably followed the path I knew it would, I was content with the road that lead to the conclusion. This book reminded me of ‘City of Glass’ which I simply adored. Like City of Glass, Clockwork Princess is also action-packed with something interesting happening each time the page turned. The loose ends were neatly tied. Back-stories explained. Secrets revealed. Characters justified. Love stories progressed. Villains died. Heroes lived. Everything you expect from a series finale is there in this book. I won’t call it a perfect ending but it surely is a good conclusion.
…I loved the camaraderie between Jem, Will and Tessa. It’s almost like Jacob, Edward and Bella but with a twist. Here Will and Jem are like brothers with each of them willing to sacrifice his life for the other without a second thought. There is no jealousy or spite. Despite the complications, there is only love between the three of them which is something is truly admired. I appreciate the fact that they have each other’s back and that is what matters most in a bond of true friendship.
…I enjoyed reading the parallel love stories in the book. Lightwood brothers Gideon and Gabriel falling for the maid Sophie and Will’s sister Cecily, respectively, made the book all the more interesting. Love when mixed with fantasy, danger, suspense, and fear makes a very interesting read. A read that I savour the most.
I Do NOT Like ‘Clockwork Princess’ Because,
…of the overstretched climax. Like ‘City of Heavenly Fire’ the climax goes on and on and on making the last 100 pages unbearably long. There comes a point when Jem has a crucial conversation first with Tessa then with Will. These two conversations seem to never end. Then there is the conclusion to all the parallel storylines in the book which was decent but loooooooong. Will and Tessa’s love story too is stretched unnecessarily. And then there is the most unexpected ending to Tessa’s story. What surprised me most was that even though I found it to be a very convenient trick to make the readers happy, I still kinda liked it.
Favourite Quotes in ‘Clockwork Princess’
“Men may be stronger, but it is women who endure.”
“You don’t think I can fight.” Tessa said, drawing back and matching his silvery gaze with her own. “Because I’m a girl.”
“I don’t think you can fight because you’re wearing a wedding dress”, said Jem. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think Will could fight in that dress either.”
“Perhaps not,” said Will, who had ears like a bat’a. “But I would make a radiant bride.”
“There are so many worse things than death. Not to be loved or not to be able to love: that is worse.”
“Five,’ she said. Her lips and cheeks were flushed, but her gaze was steady.
‘Five?’ Gabriel echoed blankly.
‘My rating,’ she said, and smiled at him. ‘Your skill and technique may, perhaps, require work, but the native talent is certainly there. What you require is practice.’
‘And you are willing to be my tutor?’
‘I should be very insulted if you chose another,’ Cecily said, and leaned up to kiss him again.”
“With tears running down her face, Cecily had reminded him of the moment at her wedding to Gabriel when he had delivered a beautiful speech praising the groom, at the end of which he had announced, “Dear God, I thought she was marrying Gideon. I take it all back.”
“Change is no loss, Will. Not always.”
“I feel like you can look inside me and see all the places I am odd or unusual and fit your heart around them, for you are odd and unusual in just the same way. We are the same.”
Final View: If you’ve cruised through the first two books in ‘The Infernal Devices’ series, this final book will enchant you. This book is a better finale as compared to ‘The Mortal Instruments’.
You can check out Amazon.in to read the FREE copy of this book.
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