The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

*transferred from my other blog*

Please don’t click the link if you don’t want to know what happens.

 MAJOR SPOILERS.!

This won’t be a summary of the entire book, but mainly major points that stood out to me and my reaction/feelings on certain parts of the novel.

I was anticipating this book for quite some time and could not wait to dive right into it. Since it has been awhile since I read Clockwork Prince, it took a while to remember the events that happened and characters. It was also a bit confusing since I’ve read The Mortal Instruments in between so a lot of the last names kept going back and forth. It is probably best to read The Infernal Devices in its’ entirety but I had no time to do so.

The first thing I’d like to bring up is the struggle of Will and his love for Tessa and vice versa, it seems almost unfair to Jem, but the whole time, I really wanted Tessa to be with Will. The scene where Will finds Tessa in mountain caves and basically ‘make love’ was much anticipated and I wish they went 50 shades of grey on us and gave more details, but of course that didn’t happen since this is not an NC-17 rated novel. I just wished for a little more detail in it, not just sexual, but with the pent up feelings and emotions of both Tess and Will.

The next scene I want to discuss is the revelation of Jem as a Silent Brother! I truly did not see that one coming, for I really did believe he choose death especially after Will felt the Parabatai connection cease to exist, basically. Since he was in the beginning of training of being a Silent Brother, he didn’t look like a typical one, and because he had so much of the yin fen in his system, a lot of the runes wouldn’t take so he pretty much still looked like Jem-sans blinded eyes and stitched mouth. It’s interesting because his name becomes Brother Zacaraiah, and he is in the Mortal Instruments, but it gets really hard to keep track of. It’s interesting also because in the Mortal Instruments, this character strives to keep the Herondale blood line and you don’t understand why till you read Clockwork Princess.

This next scene was a bit of a disappointment. When Tessa Changes into the Angel Ithuriel, and grabs the Magister and kills him, it was kind of anticlimactic. Here’s a build up of her feeling the Angel and Changing into him, but the scene of the Magister’s death was a bit short, I wish there was more to it, maybe the emotions going inside the Magister’s head at that moment—or something more. It seemed a bit rushed and not dramatic as the build up of the battle.

The last 2 parts I’d like to talk about is the relationship between Tessa and Will and Tessa and Jem. The first part was the epilogue, discussing Tessa and Will’s relationship. I actually started tearing up as the author discussed the aging of Will and Tessa, being immortal, did not age and eventually Will passed on. Tessa, being immortal, was left young as she had to watch her husband die and watch her children and grandchildren age becoming older than her—physically. To live like that, where the love of your life dies and your children die, is painful, especially when you will not age, so I totally understand her need to leave.

Then the ritual or every year, Jem/Brother Zacaraiah meeting with Tessa and having it kept in secret, kind of bothered me, mostly because she had to keep it from Will.  But Will was still able to see Jem in certain circumstances. What threw me for a loop was the ending—Jem curing himself of the Yin Fen and not being a Silent Brother anymore. Being another true love in Tessa’s life, the ending of the Epilogue basically hinted that those two were going to be able to be with each other, but it honestly weirded me out. Mostly because I kept wondering if they were going to get married and have children together, and what would become of Tessa when Jem would eventually die since he isn’t immortal, unless, the ritual of becoming a Silent Brother would keep him immortal? I’m not sure but that part did leave me questioning the whole situation, because it would be really sad for Tessa to have to go through that whole process again.