TITLE: Clockwork Princess
AUTHOR: Cassandra Clare
SERIES: The Infernal Devices, #3
RELEASED: March 19th, 2013; Margaret Ferguson Books
GENRE: Fantasy
AGE RANGE: YA

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.

book 1 | book 2

Everyone warned me that this series would take everything I love, chew it up, spit it back out, and stomp on it while I wept in a corner (okay, they didn’t use those exact words, but that was their meaning), but honestly, you can’t know just how much this finale will break you until you experience it for yourself—and then again, you also can’t know how satisfying and beautiful this finale is until you read it.

“You endure what is unbearable, and you bear it. That is all.”

Let’s get the unimportant stuff out of the way: the world-building of this series has grown on me tremendously as the story advances, and the plot is enjoyable, though to be fair, the events unfolding aren’t the focus of the story—the characters are. Did I enjoy how the whole war against the automatons and demons and baddies turned out? Sure. Did I care about any of it? No.

“Life is a book and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read.”

Before you think I’m saying that as a complaint against the book, please know that I’m not in the slightest—I just adore these characters so much that nothing else matters. They could have all sat around the fire shooting the breeze for 500+ pages and I would have loved it just as much, because Cassandra Clare excels in crafting these beautiful, precious, flawed, intricate little beans that win my whole heart (and, usually, break it in the process).

“Most people are lucky to have even one great love in their life. You have found two.”

I know I rambled about this in my Clockwork Prince review, but it bears repeating: this is how love triangles are meant to be written. I have never had such a hard time taking ‘sides’ in a love triangle, because in this one, you really can’t choose sides. Will and Jem are so precious and wholesome, and if I must admit that I loved Will the tiniest bit more, truly, it was 51/49—hardly any preference at all. So help me, I have never wanted on-page polyamorous rep this badly in a book in my life.

“The world is a wheel. When we rise or fall, we do it together.”

But aside from the romance, the one thing that I loved most of all, that broke my heart over and over again in this series, was the parabatai relationship between Will and Jem. I am literally crying just from typing this right now. Found families mean so much to me, and the way Will and Jem came together and saved one another from the cruel world outside the Institute, their fierce devotion and love for one another and their desperation to fight at each other’s side as long as they possibly could—that meant everything. I don’t know if any fictional friendship will ever stand out in my heart the way this one has.

“Bright star,” Magnus said, and his eyes were thoughtful, as if he were remembering something, or someone. “Those of you who are mortal, you burn so fiercely. And you fiercer than most, Will. I will not ever forget you.”

The last thing I want to gush about was the tremendous foreshadowing—particularly during intimate moments with my sweet little bi warlock cinnamon roll. I am so glad that I read these books in publication order, because Magnus constantly said and did things that reminded me of moments involving him in the TMI series, and the one thing that stuck out most of all to me was his love and affection for Will Herondale—and the way it has stayed strong in his heart over the years. Beyond that, there’s some information about a certain Silent Brother—no spoilers!—that literally made me gasp out loud at one point, and I know it would never have held the same weight if I hadn’t read the books in the order I did. I adore the way Cassie pulled so many details together in this finale, and it’s made me even more excited to read the TMI finale, City of Heavenly Fire, next.

“Atque in pepetuum, frater, ave atque vale.”

There’s nothing else I can really say, because anything else would just be me blubbering on and crying endlessly about how beautiful this finale was, and how perfect and heartbreaking the ending was, and how much I adore this universe and these characters and Cassie’s writing. Instead, I’ll just be over here in the corner, weeping and nursing my bruised heart until I can muster up the strength to say goodbye to The Mortal Instruments, too.

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