alexiab's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Of the three books in this trilogy, this was the one that brought out the most emotion in me, in both a good and bad way. On one hand, I found the plot a bit more exciting as it came to a conclusion, and the relationships had me very invested even though I ultimately knew how it ended. On the other hand, the things that bothered me REALLY bothered me, and leave me slightly disappointed with the overall arc of the story.
considering that this book came out in the prime of YA love triangles, this is definitely a unique take on the trope. when you think about what was popular back then, twilight and hunger games and such, most love triangles were two polar opposite males aggressively hating each other and fighting to prove that their love for the girl was superior.
but THIS book, I don't think I've ever seen a love triangle done this way (that didn't end in polyamory anyway, since cassandra clare clearly doesn't love us). Having both boys deeply love each other, Tessa genuinely loving both of them, and the height of the love triangle conflict simply being no one wanting to hurt anyone is genuinely very complex and interesting for this trope. It creates this heartbreaking bittersweetness to the entire dynamic, and makes me want to root for every angle of this threeway to work out.
Which, again, wasn't what it was like 10-15 years ago. Not making the reader fight to pick a side, having both boys be genuinely good options AND be good to each other is a whole new concept and it makes me wonder how much of the popularity of this dynamic lead to the rise in poly ship popularity today.
MUCH TO THINK ABOUT.
Now all of that being said, there were some CHOICES made in this book that were either very out of character or didn't remotely serve the story, and I very much disliked them.
GLARINGLY obvious number 1 - Will and Tessa having sex after Jem dies. VERY out of character decision for them. I don't care if it's their last chance, I don't care if they think they're going to die, neither Will NOR Tessa would ever do anything like that when Jem quite literally just died *and* Tessa only just found out about it a handful of hours before hand. It's a betrayal of their characters. They have spent this entire book struggling to balance their love for each other with their love for Jem, and to have him "die" and IMMEDIATELY have them jump in bed together is just infuriatingly awful.
And number 2 - killing Jessamine for no apparent reason was such a poor decision. I understand bringing her back to the institute was the catalyst in Tessa being taken by Mortmain, but Jessamine didn't need to DIE, it didn't serve any purpose in the story. Why is she a disposable piece after being a main character for the rest of the series? make it make sense.
All in all I found this thoroughly entertaining and emotional. It's fun to see how these books affected me as an adult, and revisiting them was a lot more enjoyable than I might have assumed.
considering that this book came out in the prime of YA love triangles, this is definitely a unique take on the trope. when you think about what was popular back then, twilight and hunger games and such, most love triangles were two polar opposite males aggressively hating each other and fighting to prove that their love for the girl was superior.
but THIS book, I don't think I've ever seen a love triangle done this way (that didn't end in polyamory anyway, since cassandra clare clearly doesn't love us). Having both boys deeply love each other, Tessa genuinely loving both of them, and the height of the love triangle conflict simply being no one wanting to hurt anyone is genuinely very complex and interesting for this trope. It creates this heartbreaking bittersweetness to the entire dynamic, and makes me want to root for every angle of this threeway to work out.
Which, again, wasn't what it was like 10-15 years ago. Not making the reader fight to pick a side, having both boys be genuinely good options AND be good to each other is a whole new concept and it makes me wonder how much of the popularity of this dynamic lead to the rise in poly ship popularity today.
MUCH TO THINK ABOUT.
Now all of that being said, there were some CHOICES made in this book that were either very out of character or didn't remotely serve the story, and I very much disliked them.
Spoiler
GLARINGLY obvious number 1 - Will and Tessa having sex after Jem dies. VERY out of character decision for them. I don't care if it's their last chance, I don't care if they think they're going to die, neither Will NOR Tessa would ever do anything like that when Jem quite literally just died *and* Tessa only just found out about it a handful of hours before hand. It's a betrayal of their characters. They have spent this entire book struggling to balance their love for each other with their love for Jem, and to have him "die" and IMMEDIATELY have them jump in bed together is just infuriatingly awful.
And number 2 - killing Jessamine for no apparent reason was such a poor decision. I understand bringing her back to the institute was the catalyst in Tessa being taken by Mortmain, but Jessamine didn't need to DIE, it didn't serve any purpose in the story. Why is she a disposable piece after being a main character for the rest of the series? make it make sense.
All in all I found this thoroughly entertaining and emotional. It's fun to see how these books affected me as an adult, and revisiting them was a lot more enjoyable than I might have assumed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Gore, and Death
andrikkk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/injury detail, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Deadnaming, Death, Addiction, Drug use, Gore, and Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexual content
mya_reads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I expected Clockwork Princess to be so much better :( I’m not sure why, but it’s been difficult for me to get into Cassandra Clare’s book. The plot and characters are good but it feels like it’s just not interesting. It was like a chore to read. I actually enjoyed the book but it took me a long time to finish. The plot was okay. The ending was really the only good part. I’m rating it a 3 because the book itself is not lacking, it was just not an interesting and diverse read for me! But don’t let that discourage you from reading it! :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
alexxm13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i am in pain but happiness but sadness, this series hurt me but made me laugh.
Spoiler
the ending! (epilogue and the actual final chapter) we got to see the happy ending for will and tessa but the epilogue jem and tessa as they meet at the bridge where they first realised they loved each other and how jem is no longer a silent brother but a human and tessa loving 2 people and to experience it again with jem as she did with will. the final book is the best one of the series, with just it summed it all up i guess. when jessamine i died i was sad as i wished she has her redemption which she did at the last chapter, but when jem “died” i weeped and stared at a wall as saying goodbye to my fav character was harsh for my heart, with the will experience the parabattai rune pain hurt me as if fully confirmed he was dead, then the big reveal during the battle that silent brother zacharia is actually jem as it revealed his silver hair and his face, i weeped more with happiness and continued staring at a wall. in the battle scene when i thought henry was gonna die i was gonna weep as charlotte and the rest were gonna leave him so charlotte could save her baby but she didn’t give up. also charlotte my queen for taking over the council!!!the battle scene was epic and emotional as jem and will had their final battle together and as tessa became the clockwork angel in her necklace and destroyed the shit out of mortmain (as she should) and how cool that looked in my head, with her glowing up the place and destroying the automatrons. with the other ships such as gabriel and cycily which are like a badass duo who don’t give shits about anyone i love, and also gideon and sophie!!!! i love them so much and gideon proposing pls i love them. as writing this my heart is torn with how much i love this series, with a hint in this that magnus moves to new york *cough* (meets alec). i fucking love all these characters so much and boy did will’s death in the epilogue make me cry with his final scene just being with jem and tessa before he closes his eyes. 130 years later tessa and jem meet and begin their relationship as tessa will live forever as she is half shadowhunter and half downworlder (warlock), with magnus saying her first love’s death will always be the hardest to recover from :((( (pls i love will too). as someone who doesnt like romance, this story remains in my heart as beautiful as ever from the first time i love them. luckily for tessa her love for 2 people equally remains, also the way this love triangle they will literally die for each other as that is how much they love each other, i need that lmao
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Grief, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence
ioana_26_tid's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Blood, Death, Gore, Violence, and Kidnapping
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