I have been waiting for this book for two years. Two years of knowing exactly where Will and Tessa and Jem were headed and being completely unable to prepare myself for it. Cassandra Clare knows how to make a reader suffer, and Clockwork Princess is her masterclass.
If you’ve been following The Infernal Devices since the beginning — and if you haven’t, stop here and go read Clockwork Angel immediately — then you already know the central tension isn’t about the villain or the fate of the Shadowhunter world. It’s about a girl who loves two boys, and two boys who are best friends, and an illness that has been ticking down like a clock since book one. Clare set this up with extraordinary patience, and Clockwork Princess is where she finally lets it run out.
What She Gets Absolutely Right
The pacing in this final volume is different from the first two books. Clare isn’t building toward revelation anymore — she’s burning through kindling she’s spent three books stacking. The London Institute sequences have a beautiful, suffocating urgency. Everyone knows what’s coming. Nobody can stop it. The characters keep moving anyway, which is exactly what people do.
Will Herondale is still the most compelling character in this entire universe — including the Mortal Instruments cast — and Clockwork Princess finally gives him room to breathe. When we understand him fully, all those earlier scenes reread differently. That’s good writing.
Jem Carstairs is the harder character to write because he’s so genuinely good, and goodness is difficult to make interesting. Clare manages it. His chapters are quiet and wrenching in equal measure.
Tessa remains a protagonist I care about more than I expected to. She makes choices in this book that surprised me, and they felt earned.
The Love Triangle Question
Let me be clear: this is the love triangle I will hold up when anyone tells me love triangles can’t work. The reason it works is that Clare never asks us to root against either option. Both choices are right. Both choices are wrong. The resolution she lands on is audacious — some readers will hate it, some will think it’s the only honest ending — but nobody can accuse her of taking the easy way out.
I had my prediction going in. I wrote about my expectations after the Clockwork Prince teaser, and I was half right. The half I got wrong is the half that wrecked me.
A Few Honest Criticisms
The villain, Mortmain, has always been the weakest element of this trilogy, and Clockwork Princess doesn’t fully rehabilitate him. The Shadowhunter world’s larger political stakes feel thin when placed against the intimate emotional plot. And the ending — which I will not spoil — is either deeply satisfying or deeply frustrating depending on your tolerance for a certain kind of romantic resolution. I found it both.
The book is also long. Very long. There are subplots that could be trimmed without losing much.
Final Thoughts
None of that matters much, in the end. Clockwork Princess does exactly what a trilogy conclusion is supposed to do: it pays off every emotional promise the earlier books made. I ugly-cried on a train. I do not regret this.
If you came to Cassandra Clare through The Mortal Instruments and never picked up The Infernal Devices because they felt like a side quest — please reconsider. This trilogy is the better work. Clockwork Princess is the reason.
Published: March 2013 · Genre: YA fantasy / steampunk · Series: The Infernal Devices, Book 3
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Clockwork Princess about and why is it the series’ emotional culmination? Clockwork Princess concludes The Infernal Devices trilogy, resolving the central tension between Tessa, Will, and Jem that Clare has been building ‘with extraordinary patience’ since book one. The review describes it as ‘Clare’s masterclass in how to make a reader suffer,’ as the illness counting down since Clockwork Angel finally runs out. The London Institute sequences have ‘a beautiful, suffocating urgency — everyone knows what’s coming, nobody can stop it.’
How is Will Herondale developed in Clockwork Princess? Will Herondale is described as ‘still the most compelling character in this entire universe — including the Mortal Instruments cast — and Clockwork Princess finally gives him room to breathe.’ When the reader understands him fully, the review notes, ‘all those earlier scenes reread differently — that’s good writing.’ His arc is the book’s most satisfying individual thread.
Why does the love triangle in The Infernal Devices work when most don’t? The review calls it ’the love triangle I will hold up when anyone tells me love triangles can’t work — because Clare never asks us to root against either option.’ Both Will and Jem are fully realised and worthy; ‘both choices are right, both choices are wrong.’ The resolution is described as ‘audacious — some readers will hate it, some will think it’s the only honest ending — but nobody can accuse her of taking the easy way out.’
What are the review’s honest criticisms of Clockwork Princess? The review acknowledges that the villain Mortmain ‘has always been the weakest element of this trilogy and Clockwork Princess doesn’t fully rehabilitate him.’ The book is also ‘very long’ with subplots that ‘could be trimmed without losing much.’ The larger Shadowhunter political stakes ‘feel thin when placed against the intimate emotional plot.’
How does Clockwork Princess compare to the Mortal Instruments and who should read it? The review argues that The Infernal Devices is ’the better work’ and specifically addresses readers who came to Clare through Mortal Instruments and skipped the Devices ‘because they felt like a side quest — please reconsider.’ Clockwork Princess is positioned as the fullest expression of Clare’s craft: ‘it pays off every emotional promise the earlier books made. I ugly-cried on a train. I do not regret this.’
Further Reading from Authoritative Sources
- Clockwork Princess — Wikipedia’s Clockwork Princess article provides publication details and series context, helping readers understand the final Infernal Devices instalment and its place within Clare’s broader Shadowhunter universe.
- The Infernal Devices — Wikipedia’s The Infernal Devices article provides series-level context that helps readers understand Clockwork Princess’s place in the trilogy and why the review recommends starting from the beginning with Clockwork Angel.
