Review: Clockwork Princess

10:00 Cilla 2 Comments

Title: Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
Source: E-book borrowed from the library
Synopsis: If the only way to save the world was to destroy what you loved most, would you do it? The clock is ticking. 

Everyone must choose. Passion. Power. Secrets. Enchantments. Danger closes in around the Shadowhunters in the third and final installment of the bestselling Infernal Devices Trilogy.

Review: ⋆⋆⋆⋆

"You hear that, James Carstairs? We are bound, you and I, over the divide of death, down through whatever generations may come. Forever.”  

To be honest, I came into this book with quite a bit of reluctance. I had enjoyed Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince; I liked the plot around Mortmain and his automatons, but the persistent Will/Tessa/Jem love triangle frustrated me. It's partly because I'm just tired of love triangles in general at this stage, but also because I'm very much in Jem's corner. Anyway, I kept putting off reading this until last week, when I realised I could borrow an e-book version from the library. I ended up finishing it in three days, stealing every moment I could to read just a little bit more. 

For me, this book is most enjoyable when it focuses on the world of Shadowhunters. The politics and power play are intriguing to read, and I was genuinely frustrated on Charlotte Branwell's behalf by the sexism against her. Cassandra Clare has done a good job building this world, and I enjoy every moment where we get to see a ritual, a piece of its history, and even a spark of tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders. I love reading the Shadowhunters in action too; scenes where they are facing an enemy - whether it is a full-blown battle or just tense conversations - are my favourites. The way the automaton plot unfolded is brilliant; I could not have predicted anything that happened, and that resolution was pretty damn cool. 

That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the romance, and romance was here in abundance. It seems that just about everyone found their soulmate here, and at times that felt way too neat. I kind of wanted to see at least one romantic relationship truly tested by the circumstances, in a 'are we really compatible with each other?' kind of way rather than a 'we're from two different worlds, this cannot be but I love you anyway' kind that Clare tends to go for. 

And of course: the love triangle. I could probably write a whole other post about it, but I'll refrain. As mentioned above, I've always been very much in Jem's corner because I wanted the girl to choose the kind, steady guy over the fierce, beautiful one. At the end of the day though, I'm satisfied with the way Clare wrapped it up. Still, I felt the strongest relationship in this book was the one between Will and Jem. It was the one that always leaped off the page most for me. I'm glad I read this book if only because I got to read more about the brotherhood between them. 

2 comments:

  1. Erika12 November 2015 at 21:37

    Love triangles are beginning to become a little redundant, I agree. However, I found that this was quite the unusual one, given that Will and Jem were so close, and neither tried to sabotage the other. Their brothership was fantastic to read about!
    ~Erika @ Books, Stars, Writing. And Everything In Between.

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    1. Cilla14 November 2015 at 09:40

      It's true that they never tried to sabotage each other! I still found myself glazing over the parts with Will and Tessa though, which I suppose is the downfall of a story leaning quite heavily on a love triangle like this series. A reader (like me) could get really attached to one of the contenders and have that colouring their enjoyment of the book.

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