Review: The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare || Where it all began…

 
Title: Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Infernal Devices trilogy
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, [Young-Adult]
Heat Rating: Cool
Format: Paperback
Published: September 4th, 2010; May 1st, 2012, September 5th; 2013 by Walker Books Ltd respectively
Source: Purchased
My Rating:

 

Blurb (from Goodreads):

Clockwork Angel: Magic is dangerous — but love is more dangerous still

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London’s Downworld, where vampires, warlocks, and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Friendless and hunted, Tessa seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters, a band of warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Drawn ever deeper into their world, she finds herself fascinated by — and torn between — two best friends and quickly realises that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Clockwork Prince: In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will – the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do? As their dangerous search for the for the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa’s heart is increasingly torn, especially when one of their own betrays them…

Clockwork Princess: 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.

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Sooo, I recently started The Dark Artifices trilogy by Cassandra Clare, and I thought why not review everything from the Shadowhunters universe from the very first. So here it is! Also, a fair warning for the TID fans, I am more of a TMI fan so there might be some unpopular opinion, don’t take it to your heart, it’s just what I felt during reading this series.

I had already read the first 3 books of The Mortal Instruments series when I learned it would be better if I finished The Infernal Devices trilogy before I proceeded any further and I am glad I followed that advice because it definitely made a few link ups clear to understand when I picked up TMI again.

*Beware of Spoilers, mundanes!*

Tessa Gray arrives in London after finally getting a letter from her brother. But things go down the very minute she steps into the city. She finally gets rescued by Shadowhunters where she learns about a whole new universe where she also realises she’s not a human either. The only person who can unlock her secret is Mortmain but if she gives into, she might endanger everyone she loves.

“One must always be careful of books,” said Tessa, “and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.”

The plot of this book was quite engaging. Cassandra Clare’s books always have the mystery element that’ll keep you up all night. Likewise, I couldn’t put the book down as well. I enjoyed how everything was executed in this series and I absolutely didn’t see the plot twist coming in Clockwork Angel. So many secrets were revealed throughout the whole trilogy and all of them were pretty interesting and kept me on my toes.

I finally understood why people were crazy about Will. I finally boarded the Will train guys!! It was so worth it! XD But, I am actually serious, he reminded me a lot of Jace, ah! why won’t he, they got the same genes after all. And, also I am team Will, how could I not be? He is addictively charming, bold and everyfreakinthing! Of course, I adored Jem but Will was something else.

Tessa was a mature character and I always see a lot of comparison of her with Clary and I am kinda also going to disagree on that. Clary always kinds of feels more reliable and self-sufficient to me and I didn’t get that vibe from Tessa, instead, she always felt more of a damsel in distress kind. Nonetheless, I did like Tessa but she just didn’t impress me like Clary did. I felt Sophie and Charlotte were much more interesting than Tessa.

I do not enjoy love triangles, there are only a countable number of books where I have actually liked them. Unfortunately, this was not one of them. Forgive me, if I don’t understand how someone can equally love two people (romantically) at once and even if felt fair to Jem and Will, it didn’t feel fair to me because they deserved more than half a love, even if they were parabatai, even if they were brothers. Though I did see the chemistry between Will and Tessa but I didn’t feel a single spark between Jem and her.

“I’ve never minded it,” he went on. “Being lost, that is. I had always thought one could not truly be lost if one knew one’s, own heart. But I fear I may be lost without knowing yours.”

That brings me to the parabatai relationship. I absolutely love the parabatai tradition among the Shadowhunters (which I am actually hating very much right now because of the “things” in The Dark Artifices trilogy) and I adored the bromance between Will and Jem. They cared about each other so much and it killed me to see Will’s heart getting broken because of Jem’s illness. But I really didn’t like how Jem never understood Will’s feelings for Tessa, he never even realised it. Also, it kinda felt selfish how Jem insisted on marrying Tessa because he would only have a few days to live. I know, I know, he just wanted to live to the fullest before he died but it just something you don’t do to the people you love. It’s usually a mutual decision of two people and it felt Jem made the decision for both of them.

“It wasn’t enough, not nearly enough, but it was all there was.”

The minor characters were pretty interesting! I absolutely loved Sophie, she was so brave. I freaking loved her so much. And her chemistry with Gideon was so freaking cute! I loved how their relationship fanned out. Jessamine was definitely another interesting character and I didn’t expect what happened to her and I hated her for her betrayal but that was short lived. (I kinda love how she pops up now and then in other books!) My another complaint is that there was not enough Magnus Bane! Why was there not enough glitter in this series?!

Also, can we talk about Mortmain? I wanted him to be more villainy but he just didn’t live to up my evil expectations, he did feel a little bland. Anyhow, I absolutely loved the climax and the revelation moments. Well, they are always my favourites and here in this series although I wanted more, the climax definitely was explosive! But, but, but what was the ending!! It felt like Cassandra Clare mushed everything up in order to satisfy both Will and Jem fans, instead of a wow moment, it just felt meh! Believe me, I love seeing Jem popping up now and then, in the other series but that ending was so bland, I was not satisfied.

Overall, The Infernal Devices were a great read. I enjoyed how the plot was executed and I loved the chemistry between Will and Tessa. The writing was beautiful and smooth and the pace was even throughout the book although many portions felt a bit dragged! Stay tuned for more Shadowhunters review!

Image: Source

Recommend it?

Yes.

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So guys, what are your thoughts on this trilogy? Or is it still in your tbr?

• 3 stars
• 3 stars out of 5
• Cassandra Clare
• Clockwork Angel
• Clockwork Prince
• Clockwork Princess
• Fantasy
• love triangle
• May release
• paperback
• Purchased
• romance
• September release
• TDA
• The Infernal Devices
• The Infernal Devices trilogy
• TID
• TMI
• trilogy review
• YA
• Young-Adult