Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Princess
by Cassandra Clare
Read: March 20-21, 2013
Published: March 19, 2013 by Margaret K. McElderry Books 
Source: Purchase
Category: Urban Fantasy, YA
Series: The Infernal Devices (TID) book 3

Note: Clockwork Princess is the third book in a series. My review is (mostly) spoiler free for the first two books in the series. I do give warning at the part with spoilers, but read below at your own discretion. My thoughts are safe for the final book. 

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. (From Goodreads)






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"You know that feeling," she said, "when you are reading a book, and you know that it is going to be a tragedy; you can feel the cold and darkness coming, see the net drawing close around the characters who live and breathe on the pages. But you are tied to the story as if being dragged behind a carriage, and you cannot let go or turn the course aside."

This was essentially how Tessa and I approached the last book in Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series. If you follow my blog at all you know that I have a pathological dislike of love triangles. I think the third book is where they usually fall apart, and I was upset by another triangle series that recently concluded that I had previously adored. Because this series has the trickiest love situation I have ever seen, I was very wary about starting Clockwork Princess. Thankfully, I have thus far had tremendous faith in Clare’s writing. I know she plots her series mercilessly, so I was hopeful that she would give her characters the ending they deserve, and that while undoubtedly painful, it would also be satisfying.  In the end, I believe she accomplished exactly that. 

Of course, Ms. Clare doesn't make anything easy for her readers. Going into the final book in this series, she had created an impressively complicated knot of love between Will, Jem and Tessa. Let's break it down. Beware of SPOILERS for the previous 2 books in the listing, skip to the paragraph below this section if you haven't read them. 

Jem loves Tessa.

Tessa loves Jem.

Will also loves Tessa.

Tessa loves Will too.

Will and Jem are best friends and parabati.

Jem and Tessa are engaged.

Jem does not know that Will loves Tessa.
Will does not know that Tessa loves him back.

Jem does not know that Tessa loves Will.

Jem is dying. There is no cure for his disease.

Jem dying will destroy Will.

Jem dying will destroy Tessa.

Will is determined not to benefit from Jem’s death and will not be with Tessa when Jem is gone. 

I don't think the fact that Tessa (and I) thought that she was barreling towards an enormous precipice of tragedy is that unreasonable under the circumstances. However, for me, the more important point about this complicated love triangle, and what has set it apart from any triangle I've read before, is the fact that it is a true three-way relationship. Will, Tessa and Jem all love each other. If one of them falls, they ALL loose something. Throughout this story, I was continually amazed at how strongly Clare was able to emotionally tie them all together - and me to them. Even more, none of them had absolute power over the others, which is the case in most triangles where the girl is the one holding all the cards and essentially has to pick which heart to break. Every decision/outcome came with a sacrifice for all of them. 

Another part of this story that I loved, for itself and also for how it enhanced the love triangle, was the Victorian setting. Clare (for the most part) kept her characters mentally within the confines of that world. People living in Victorian England lived under a very different set of social rules than we do today, including a strict code of propriety and decorum. I think the historical time period helped me to focus on the high emotional content of the triangle, without suffering through some of the more annoying features of most love triangles (i.e. a constant back and forth between the two guys). Don't get me wrong, there are some great kissing+ scenes throughout this series, involving both guys. But that wasn't the focus of this series, as much as how their love for one another impacted each individual relationship. I think the story worked better because of that. 

Although for me, the main focus of Clockwork Princess – at least emotionally – was the love triangle, that is in no way all that happens in this book. These characters face very stressful life and death situations outside of their own personal dramas, especially from Mortmain and his Infernal Devices. Amazingly, Clare ties off all the loose end from the previous books (including questions about Tessa's origins), and answer new ones from this book. There are also lots of incredible secondary characters, who have their own relationship issues, all of whose stories I was highly invested in. One of my favorite parts of this book was seeing the small connections between this series and the Mortal Instruments. You aren’t missing anything if you’ve not read both series, but it was a fun addition to the plot. 

Clockwork Princess is Cassandra Clare's strongest written book. The story took me longer than it should have to read, because I was  focusing so much on her characters' incredible words and thoughts. Clare has said that this series is a loose retelling of A Tale of Two Cities, and the way that Dickens' story weaves into this one, was particularly moving. One thing that continues to impress me about this author is how well she knows the inside of her characters, and as a result how very complex they all are.  But most of all I appreciate the grace she has shown to Tessa, Will and Jem. Although this book is incredibly heartbreaking at times, and each of the three carries burdens and faces impossible sacrifices, I felt like they all would be proud of their place in this story and in each others' lives. 

Love Triangle Factor: HIGH all around - but I still loved this book*!

Cliffhanger Scale: Series conclusion. Loose ends are tied. No room for a sequel for these characters. 

A personal note: As much as I loved this book, I still don't really understand love triangles. Although I got caught up in Tessa's world, and can completely understand how you can love multiple people in your lifetime, I rolled my eyes a few times at how much Tessa was equally in love with both guys at the same time. I truly wanted it to work out for all of them - which is a testament to how well Clare crafted her characters and their story, but I think my heart will always romantically choose one over the other. But that just explains how amazing this series is, because I still believe that this triangle was extremely well done and satisfying, and that you should read it.