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

I don’t really even know what to write for this review. I finished the book last night and I tried to give myself some time to process it and get a handle on how I felt before I wrote my review...here goes nothing...

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.
 

Whew. And it’s finished. The Infernal Devices trilogy has come to a close. It took me awhile to actually start reading CP. I would start and then stop and Ih ad a hard time getting sucked into the story as I did with all of Clare’s other books. I think the reason for that is because I just didn’t want it to end. I love the romanticism and poetry in this historical fiction and so it was hard to think that the series would be over. I’m hoping Clare will dive back into the past of the Shadowhunter histories to bring us stories from different eras.

Now down to the story. I promise you this will be a completely spoiler free review so don’t worry about shielding your eyes. If you’re a fan of Clare’s other works, you’ll definitely love this one. It’s got romance, tragedy, comedy and of course demon fighting action.

While I did like the story, this wasn’t my favorite book of hers. I felt like she did a lot to fit an ending into one book and I was finding myself skimming the romantic, tedious language used at times. I felt like some of the internal dialog could have been cut and the story could have been a bit more concise. Towards the end, the story shifted perspectives so much I found myself getting frustrated (but I think that was the point). Just when we’d be about to find something massive, she’d switch to the meeting of two forbidden lovers. I got frustrated, but it served it’s purpose of making you want to read more.

Now for the ending (again, spoiler free! I promise!). I’m not sure how I felt about it. I was with Clare all the way up to the Epilogue and that’s where I’m not sure how I feel about things. We end the story in 2008, presumably right after things go down with our favorite shadowhunters in NYC. There is reference to an “adventure” ending with Herondales, Lightwoods and Fairchilds. It was a bittersweet ending and I’d love to hear what those who have read the book thought.

Overall, I’m sad to be leaving the world of 1800’s London behind but I know that I’ve got a lot to look forward to with the Mortal Instruments finale looming and a new series on the horizon. What did you guys think of the ending?

** A word to the wise: If you don't’ want the ending spoiled for you, don’t peek at the map on the inside of the slip cover... it’s a character map and ruins a lot of surprised**

8 out of 10

Happy Reading :)

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Like This, Try This (3): Halloween Version! Vamps, Demons, Zombies, Oh My!

Happy Tuesday! It's time for my new favorite meme, "Like This, Try This" from Krista over at Nawanda Files! This meme is "designed to introduce YA books that are similar to TV shows, movies and other books!" This week, in the spirit of Halloween, I've decided to do a Halloween theme! Make sure to hope over to Nawanda Files for more info on how to add this weekly meme to your blog!

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Cassandra Clare on Rape culture, sexuality and myth in fiction

Cassie Clare today posed a discussion on her tumblr page addressing the growing amount of concerns and mail she's been receiving regarding the sexuality of her characters and also a particular scene in City of Lost Souls that involves sexual violence.

Clare addresses many concerns of her readers and discusses sexual assault as it pertains to fiction in today's society. This was such a great piece to read as it concerns not just fans of young adult fiction but all readers as fiction is written to reflect reality. Take a look at her posting because I found it to be a very informative discussion. I very much enjoyed reading her thoughts and beliefs on these particular issues.

Enough rambling, but please check out the post, it's a must read :)

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City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5) by Cassandra Clare - Review

Welp, this is the last of the reviews for The Mortal Instruments books... until next year when I get to read Clockwork Princess (eep!). While it makes me sad I will no longer be reading Shadowhunter stories, I'm also sure that you, the readers, are utterly sick and tired of my Cassandra Clare book reviews. Don't worry, there are some new and exciting books I've been dying to read and they will be up on the blog as soon as my little eyes can read them.


Once again, I'm not going to give too much of a synopsis for City of Lost Souls, just in case we have some Mortal Instruments virgins out there. I would hate to ruin any part of these stories for anyone. Basically what you need to know is that Jace is in trouble... and I mean big trouble. It's not only the Clave that he's in danger from, but Sebastian has become the largest threat in his life and it's up to Clary and the gang to find a way to save him from Sebastian and himself. They'll have to search for help from the most dangerous of sources. As any family would, they'll do anything they can to save their Jace.

While I know it's always the feeling after reading the next installment of a book series to say that it's your favorite, this one tops my list of Mortal Instruments books for a few reasons:

For me, the best part of this book was the fact that there was a lot of world travel. For some reason, this aspect of the story took it to a whole new level and I could hardly put the book down. We get to see Venice, Paris, Prague and a lot of other really cool places and I loved every minute of their worldly adventures. It showed you that no matter where our characters  were in the world, Shadowhunters existed and so did Downworlders and Demons. While I know what you're probably saying, "Well duh, how could you not have known that?" Well of course I knew this, but  it was awesome to see our characters somewhere other than New York City.

Next, there was a lot more "sexy time" in this book. And I don't mean just from Clary and her man Jace, but really everyone! We saw couples and non-couples throughout the whole book cozying up to one anther and demonstrating their love to each other. "This was one of your favorite parts of the book," you ask? Yes. Yes it was. I'm a girl and a sucker for a good book romance so who could blame me for being excited to see a little bit more snogging and dark-corner snuggling?

I think the last thing I'm going to talk about is Sebastian, our evildoer. I love Sebastian. I know you're all gasping in your seats and wondering how a seemingly nerdy, but nevertheless normal girl like myself could possibly say that they love Sebastian. I'll tell you why... he's one of the best villians I've seen in a while. Unlike many of the evil masterminds we see today, he isn't just some demented figure bent on world destruction who rubs his hands together menacingly and has a maniacal laugh. No, Sebastian is truly a super evil person. He is not only trying to hurt our main characters (which we will never forgive him for), but he is quite literally trying to oppose heaven and heavan's servants. Who does that?  It is also in this story that we see Sebastian become a little more complex. He is struggling internally with his loneliness, his family being gone and his longing for partners in the new world he creates. This leads to a little venerability in Sebastian that even Clary struggles to not fall for. I love Sebastian in that he is one of my top villians of all time. Gotta love that evil little bastard.

Clare really hit this one out of the park for me. I enjoyed this story and I cant wait for everyone to read it!

10 out of 10

Happy Reading :)

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City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4) by Cassandra Clare - Review

In reading this story again, I realized how much a I missed in reading City of Fallen Angels the first time! I think I got so excited to figure out what was happening, I basically skimmed the last 80 pages, which was a detriment to me and my love of Cassandra Clare's writing. This book was unexpectedly wonderful and to be frank, crazy awesome.


In this 4th installment of The Mortal Instruments series, we find ourselves in the aftermath of The Moral War. Without giving too much away, Clary is in the midst of training as a Shadowhunter and it seems that life is pretty much perfect. Especially when it comes to her relationship with her boyfriend, the lovely and witty Jace Lightwood. But, in typical Clare fashion, The Mortal Instruments crew gets a little shaken up and it turns out the The Mortal War was only a small problem for them to deal with when held against what's coming next...

City of Fallen Angels introduces us to a new enemy, one worse than Valentine (if that is at all possible). I will obviously not be telling you who said villain is as it would completely ruin the story for you. But I did like this addition to the series. After City of Glass had ended, I was interested to see how the next story would unfold with our evil mastermind seemingly put to rest.

I am loving how these books and The Infernal Devices are intermingling. We see our characters ancestors coming through into the story taking place in present day and I'm thinking that in City of Lost Souls we are going to see some more of that. I'm stoked.

I also realized in reading this book that I do like The Infernal Devices books better. That's not to say that I haven't enjoyed The Mortal Instruments or that I didn't like this particular book. It's just that I'm a huge sucker for historical fiction and steampunk themes and I have to say I'm more excited for Clockwork Princess to come out than any other book written by Cassandra Clare.

We'll, I think that's enough rambling for one day! I am staring City of Lost Souls today, so be prepared for you last Cassandra Clare book review for a while! (Are you excited?)

8 out of 10

Happy Reading :)

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City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare

All right people... I thought I could stop afterCity of Bones, but quite obviously you see that I could not. After finishing City of Bones for the second time, I figured I might as well read the rest of the books in the series, as City of Lost Souls comes out in roughly a week. I got through City of Ashes much faster thanCity of Bones and so hopefully my quick reading streak continues and I can finish City of Glass and City of Angels before May 8th. Now, I'm going to write this as spoiler free as humanly possible, so feel safe in reading my review if you are new to The Mortal Instruments series!
City of Ashes takes off right whereCity of Bones leaves us... some big stuff happens... people change...there's fighting? How can I even begin to describe this book without any spoilers? Well, here goes! Valentine is still bad, very bad. Clary and Jace try to deal with and fight with their big heritage issue... think Starwars. Simon and Alec discover whole new lifestyles, and it's definitely not what you think. In this second installment, Clary and the gang must work even harder to overcome not only the bumps that Valentine put in the road, but they must also overcome a few personal obstacles before they can hope to defeat him.

In book two, Clare introduces us to her brand of writing where everyone has a part. We've got vampires, werewolves, some man on man love, warlocks, demons, Shadowhunters, Faeries and more. It seems that Cassandra Clare's invisible world is a world just like our own. One full of not only prejudiced people, but all kinds of people. It's not often we see young adult fiction featuring homosexuality, especially in a book series as widely popular as The Mortal Instruments. This is a huge reason for my love of Clare's books: she writes for everyone. Instead of devastatingly beautiful princesses falling in love with dashingly charming princes living happily ever after, Clare's characters are ordinary. Ordinary you ask? Didn't your list above include supernatural demon hunters descended from Angels? Her characters are ordinary in that they have real problems. Simon is in love with his best friend who won't return his love. Clary, while pretty in her own right, is described as an awkward ginger who is short and gangly. We have Shadowhunters finding out how to express to their friends and family that they are gay, in a world where being a warrior and being gay never go hand in hand. The characters go through their own struggles while still saving the day and that is a huge reason why these books are such a must read.

The book as a whole sets a different mood from the first book. In City of Bones, we find ourselves dying for as much information as we can, learning about the invisible world in Clare's writing. In this book, we dive further and further into their world with Clary as she discovers more about herself in the mundane world and the Shadowhunter world. She becomes ever stronger as she learns of unrequited love, forbidden love and the love and bonds of a family. Clary grows up fast in these books and unlike many other stories, her growing pains are pains indeed. She comes to realize that life isn't easy, it's the difficult choies that you make that make you an adult, not the fact that you're glowingly happy all the time. Clary is definitely one of my favorites. Dare I say a close second to Hermione Granger... yep I said it.

While there is still a lot of character development in this book, we find more in the plot department as well. We learn more of Valentine and his plans and also about the fate of the Clave and the Shadowhunter world. The action in this book is simply awesome too.  Sword fighting, giant venom spitting Demons, explosions, it's great.  While these books do have a fair amount of blood and guts, it's not in excess and even the most squeamish reader will find themselves devouring page after page, yearning for more.

What can I say? Each book gets  better and better! If you'd like more information about Cassandra Clare's upcoming releases, what she's currently writing and the City of Bones movie, check out my review of City of Bones and scroll to the bottom for news :)

Happy Reading!

8 out of 10

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