Clockwork Princess (audiobook)

June 3, 2013 Uncategorized 0

Clockwork Princess

Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: March 19, 2013
Pages: 568
Series: The Infernal Devices, book three
Source: Audiobook for review
Read By: Daniel Sharman
Audiobook Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Length: 16 hours, 24 minutes

As always with a third book in a series, beware. Spoilers for books one and two ahead!

About the Book: 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.

My Thoughts: Clockwork Princess was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I adored Clockwork Angel and loved Clockwork Prince even more (which I didn’t think was possible!) Clearly I had some high expectations. Thankfully my trust in Cassandra Clare was justified and I was just as wowed by Clockwork Princess. 

After the cruel and unusual punishment err, I mean ending of book two I so desperately needed to know how everything worked out. Tess! Will! Jem! What a mess they ended in. And while Jem is awesome all I could think about was Will! You poor broken boy! There was no way the situation could be resolved in a way that benefited all the characters I cherished. Gah! I get jittery just talking about it!

I love, love, loved the addition of Will’s sister in this book. Not only is she captivating in her own right but we get to see Will in a new light. We learn more about his childhood and see him as a brother. It’s a very different role from what we’ve seen before.

Without giving away spoilers I will say:
*There was a moment (or two!) where I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be able to go on if what I thought was going to happen actually happened. Like, I was literally repeating, “No. No Cassie. No, no, no, no!” 
*More Magnus Bane = More better
*The epilogue. It killed me. Like, I was sitting in my apartment with the book on my lap just sobbing. And it was a mix of heartbreak and happiness. I was just feeling ALL THE THINGS! 

As an aside, props to Cassandra Clare for all of the research she must have done for these books. I cannot even imagine. The depth of knowledge she must have had to draw the reader in to the place and time… it’s amazing. And the way she uses language to do it! I was so impressed with the way she made it authentic to the time so it didn’t pull the reader out but still made it understandable to modern day readers who might not have the background knowledge. I want to know more about the books she read and research she did! I am in awe. 

Audiobook notes: The only issues I had with the reading experience were audiobook related. Daniel Sharman is a great narrator but I had a hard time with the switches in view point. I don’t think that there was enough of a pause between scenes that switch from one point of view to another. When reading there are page breaks to make this transition easier. That was not the case with the audio. Also, I just couldn’t get into Tessa’s scenes as much with a male narrator. I think it distances me a bit emotionally from the story. 

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