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

Pages: 568
Publisher: Walker Books
Released: March 2013

Plot: 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. (Taken from the back cover)

Good Points: One of the major things that I love about Cassandra Clare's writing, especially within this series (TID) is her beautiful descriptions of things that would usually seem ordinary.
 Everything seems vibrant in the world she has created and The Clockwork Princess does not fail to continue in proving Clare's worth as a writer. 
The Infernal Devices series undoubtedly as a whole is amazing. The characters in which I have grown to love continue to develop right up to the very last page of the book and every character in the series felt important, even the cook Bridget whose constant yet prophetic singing annoys the entire institute to the very end. Within the book there is also the inclusion of a series of letters between the consul and the inquisitor and other members of the clave which were an interesting addition to the story giving a back channel to what else is going on outside of the Institute. 
There was everything that I wanted and expected the concluding book to have- action, romance, drama and the bond between Jem and Will is just as breathtakingly good and strong as shown in the first two books, probably more so in this book than the others. 
The ending had me in tears because it was just so... I guess you could call it bitter-sweet. To be honest I'm still unsure on how I feel about it and I'm trying to do this without revealing spoilers and all I can think of saying is that it is like nothing I have ever read before of even imagined would or could possibly happen within the story.
You realise throughout the series that although Will and Jem share the Parabatai bond, they also share another bond with the inclusion of Tessa.The relationship that the three of them (Tessa, Will and Jem)so obviously have and the love that they share for each other is just as described throughout the series with the mention of Sydney Carton from a Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. You realise as the story progresses and this love grows even stronger that each of them is willing to die to save the lives of the other, and the tangled mess which they cannot control is so complex and painstakingly beautiful that the ending could never have been more fitting.

Bad Points: If I am being truly honest I must admit that for the first hundred pages or so I just couldn't get into the book, maybe this was down to the fact that the gap between the last book felt so long, I don't know but that was my only problem with the book. Aside from that it was just...WOW.

To Sum Up... If I had to make the choice between The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments the choice, I think, would be an easy one. Hands down, The Infernal Devices would win simply down to the characters.
 In TID the depth to which the characters are developed and the relationships they share with each other and the reader are just...perfect. I am literally at a loss for words to describe just how good this series is and just how much it means to me. Tessa is the character that most relates with me as a reader simply down to the fact that she reads. She's a character that's real; she's faulted, she makes mistakes yet she tries her best to cope in the world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders which she is thrust into. 
Her relationship with Jem and Will throughout the series has left me hanging on for more. It made love triangles seem unlike the slightly over-used structure of YA fiction and instead made it seem important. I grew at war with myself over who Tessa belonged with and it was clear as the books went on that Tessa's heart truly was split in two.
Overall this books was just the perfect ending to a perfect series. If you haven't read the Infernal Devices I strongly recommend that you read them, not only for the amazing characters, the beautiful described Victorian England setting or to find out who Tessa does end up with in the end, but for the story. I can promise you its not one you'll forget.

*Also try and get the Collectors Edition of the book as it includes a pull out poster with the family trees of the families. 

Did you like the ending? Leave a comment below :)