What a whirlwind. What a stunning, heartbreaking, emotive, brilliant novel. Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Princess exceeds my expectations of a trilogy final and firmly establishes itself on my favourite books of all time shelf. Very few make it up there, but Clockwork Princess has been up there since the beginning, my first read, and every reread since. What started with Clockwork Angel has culminated into this astounding trilogy finale that I will never shut up about.

A net of shadows is tightening around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his army of automatons to destroy the Shadowhunters, and he needs only one last item to complete his plan: Tessa. Charlotte, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes, but when Mortmain abducts Tessa, Jem and Will – who lay equal claim to her heart – will do anything to save her. Tessa and Jem are now engaged, but Will is as much in love with her as ever. As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realises that the only person who can save her is herself. Can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army? Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

This book kicks off just as Clockwork Prince did, throwing us into action and chaos. It is full of witty character interactions, fluid dialogue, simmering tension, and an action-packed fight scene. All the best ways to start a read, right? What follow is an intriguing, entertaining, and tragic plot that is equal parts laughter-inducing as it is tear-worthy. I don’t know what it is, but Clockwork Princess hits a little part of my soul and I am never the same after reading it.

We have our core characters, but Clockwork Princess brings a few more into the fray and deep into the heart of the Institute. We have Gabriel and Gideon walking the walls, as well as an exciting new addition – Cecily Herondale, daring young Shadowhunter and Will’s younger sister. This brings with it many teasing jabs and remarks, as well as a few new relationships and interactions to mix into the tense and emotional plot. I genuinely like so many of the characters in this book – Will, Jem and Tessa are all angels, Sophie and Charlotte are so stoic yet so sweet, the Lightwood boys are so typically broody and Gabriel especially has prejudices he working to rewrite in his perspective of the world. All of these characters, and more, are written with such an expert hand, and it is so fulfilling reading this novel and seeing how their lives impact one another.

There are several themes are are brought up in this novel, some of which are touched upon but not explicitly delved into such as class and status, but one that I cannot help but mention is love. There are many different kinds of love that are explored in this novel, from platonic to familial, and then the obvious romantic love. I love seeing such great examples of the various kinds of love shown in this book, not only between characters but in general. Considering one of the big plot points of Clockwork Prince was Will’s curse and how that impacts his life and those around him, being able to see the other side of that is as rewarding as it is gut-wrenching.

Clockwork Princess marks the end of an era with the Shadowhunter chronicles, but is it by no means the end. I adore this trilogy, the characters within it, and the writing techniques and storytelling methods utilised to tell the tales of the Shadowhunters and various Downworlders of late-1800s London. What I will miss about this era I cannot say, but I am eager to reread The Last Hours trilogy which follows from the Infernal Devices chronologically, containing fan favourites and a richly detailed historical world while still keeping the familiar fantasy elements and story world action alive. I have not reread this trilogy yet, and Chain of Gold and Chain of Iron were read a few years ago, so I feel as if it will be similar to a first read experience. I remember general plot points and character details, such as relationships and interactions, but the majority of the books are yet to be carved into my brain. You won’t have to wait long for reviews as I have Chain of Gold lined up for December reading as part of my physical TBR smackdown, but aside from that it is the next Shadowhunter work on my list to dive into and I cannot stray from the work of Cassandra Clare for long.