A Real Happy Ending: The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare Review

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I never planned to read any of Cassandra Clare's books.

A few years back when I was looking for something new to read, The Mortal Instruments were one of the top candidates to be chosen as my next read. Maybe I would have read it it not hearing my friend say it wasn't really remarkable because it just kept repeating its plot. Now I trust this person and her taste in books. She has suggested books to me that were very much well done. Because of this, I got turned off. I decided that I won't read it anymore along with Clare's other books in the Shadowhunter world

Then 2016 happened.

I don't know what it was about 2016 or what happened to initiate this but suddenly a lot of my classmates were picking up The Infernal Devices, the prequel to the Mortal Instruments. It was like it was a newly released series when in fact the last book has been published for over three years now. A very close friend of mine picked it up over the summer and LOVED IT. She pretty much begged me to read it so that she can talk about it with me. After some further encouragement from another good friend and Lyka Cali (wanderfulreads.blogspot.com) and reassurance that I didn't need to read Mortal Instruments to understand Infernal Devices, I finally bought the box set with the new covers (which in my opinion is much prettier than the old ones). I didn't really know what to expect from the story. I have heard countless times over the internet that these were the best books Cassandra Clare has ever written. It had less criticisms from others than the Mortal Instruments so that was definitely a good sign. But still, I was afraid I wouldn't like it because I really wanted to. I can safely say, after reading all three books, that I loved it!

For this review, I will briefly critique each of the books in The Infernal Devices trilogy then I will give my overall thoughts

Clockwork Angel:

Clockwork Angel was definitely a good start to The Infernal Devices trilogy. It had a good plot that held a somewhat dark and mysterious atmosphere. I'm not sure if Clare's other series are like this but she really made it work in this one brought on by the storylines in the book. I feel like the first book was the only one in the trilogy that had this feeling. This one had the most satisfying climax too. It didn't feel too short and rushed as a proper climax should be. The characters were the best part. You will be seeing this a lot throughout the review but please bear with me because I know, if you've read the books, you will agree too. The introduction of Tessa, Will, and Jem felt just right as well as the supporting characters. You immediately latch on to these characters and thus adds tension when something troubling is happening to them. More than that, I felt that the world building was good, As someone who has not yet read The Mortal Instruments, I don't know much about the Shadowhunter world and Clare introduced the world (I guess for the second time?) just right. The only flaws I do see are the predictability of some parts. I would have liked to be jumping out of my seat while reading the revelations and turn if events but sadly I wasn't because I saw it coming. Not to say this made the book terrible and stagnant but I would have liked to be as shocked as I should have been. Looking at Clockwork Angel as a whole, I cam confidently say it was a good read with great plot and amazing characters that everyone would enjoy.

Clockwork Prince:

Clockwork Prince was a great follow up to Clockwork Angel. Although, I would have to say that in terms of being the most memorable plot, this would have to go last. Like Clockwork Angel, it had some predictable moments. Clockwork Angel's plot was also more intricate. Clockwork Prince's plot was simpler. The simplicity, I believe, gave more opportunities to improve the characters because their layers were added to everyone especially Will Herondale. Suddenly, you are so attached to these characters that it feels like you're dying when they're in pain (AKA the last few chapters). The emotional depth of this book has tripled. The way it was left off leaves you itching to read the final book. I don't know how those who read it immediately after it was released were able to waited for Clockwork Princess. I had to wait for a few weeks before reading the last book because of projects and tests in school and I felt like I was on the verge of having an attack from not knowing what happens next. All in all, Clockwork Prince was a great continuation to a great book while still standing on its own. The characters were greatly developed thus were ten times better than what they were in the first book and leaves you on the edge of your seat.

Clockwork Princess:

Clockwork Princess is basically a more sophisticated name for heart-breaking. Excruciating is also a great synonym for this. So is suffering, sobbing, and hysteria. All jokes aside this is hands down the best one in the series. The plot for one is the best of all the three. The stakes were raised. You feel like something bad will happen every time you start a new chapter. In Clockwork Prince, most of the emotionally heavy parts were towards the end. In Clockwork Princess however, it was more spread out. Remember when I said that the characters were ten times better in Clockwork Prince? Well they were once again improved upon. So I would say that from Clockwork Angel, they are a hundred times better in the final book, What's just sweet is the fact that the supporting characters outside of the London Institute that we didn't really care for suddenly became more likable and relatable. There is just an abundance of likable and relatable characters in this series! There were only about a handful of characters you wanted to slap to the next life. The plot complemented all of them so well! You see their strengths, weaknesses, and dreams. I suppose my only problem with the book is that I thought the climax ended too quickly. It felt almost jarring when it ended. I would have liked to see it stretched out more. The ending you ask? Absolutely perfect if you ask me... even though I was hysterically crying by the time I flipped the last page. Clockwork Princess was pretty much what we all needed. An incredible and satisfying last book to a mesmerizing trilogy.

As a bonus, here is a playlist I made that is inspired by Clockwork Princess:


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Overall Thoughts on the Series:

The Infernal Devices will probably be one of my favorite series as long as I live. The books were consistently good, not one of them disappointed me. The characters are the ones that shined. If we had bland characters, the story wouldn't have worked out as well as it did. They elevated the story to something truly special. Although, it did have some flaws here and there and some things I would have liked more time on to make it more effective. But even with these, you get why this is the most acclaimed Cassandra Clare series yet. Did I love anything more than the characters? I would say I love one more thing to the same degree as the characters and that's pretty huge. That thing is the ending of the entire series. I love a happy ending as much as the next guy but we've never really seen a happy ending based on reality before, especially in Young Adult Fiction. It really felt nice to see that... though I have to admit that that realization only came in after cursing Cassandra Clare's name for around three days for making me feel I was being killed slowly while reading the book. The whole thing can be considered unique based on the ending alone. A real happy ending for the characters in the book and a real happy ending for its passionate readers. If you haven't picked this up yet (which I know if there are, it is only a small number), you definitely should. It is worth your time.

8.5/10 stars

You can all expect that there will be more Cassandra Clare book reviews coming in the near future. Why? Because after reading The Infernal Devices, I have decided to read all of the books in the Shadowhunter Chronicles starting with The Mortal Instruments series. I have completely fallen in love with the world and 'm not ready to give it all up just yet...