The Infernal Devices Trilogy Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with another summer reading challenge post! I finished the Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare, and I've posted discussions about each of the books individually. Here are the links to all three posts:

Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Prince

Clockwork Princess

Now, I'm here to discuss the series as a whole, including my opinions about the entire series, my rankings of the books, rankings of the covers, and some of my favorite things in the series.

Series Summary

The Infernal Devices trilogy begins in 1878 and is centered around our main character, Tessa Gray, an American teenager who has just traveled across the Pacific Ocean to London to live with her brother, Nathaniel. She discovers that she has the unique ability to shapeshift into different people and finds herself becoming more and more entangled in the secret world of demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves, and Shadowhunters (people who are half angel and half human, who protect people by hunting demons). She discovers that a mysterious leader named The Magister plans to use Tessa and her power as the centerpiece to a disastrous plan. And, in the midst of impending danger, Tessa finds her heart torn between two Shadowhunters.

Overall Opinions

I had read the first 4 books of The Mortal Instruments series (Cassandra Clare's other series, set in the same world, in present day) before reading The Infernal Devices, and had already fallen in love with the Shadowhunter world that Clare has created. This Infernal Devices series has only solidified my love of this exciting world. I had been extremely skeptical about its ability to impress me as much as The Mortal Instruments did, but I was happily extremely impressed. The characters at first glance seem like simple carbon copies of other characters Clare has created, but they are so incredibly complex and fascinating. The relationships between the characters are so well developed and beautiful, especially the love triangle. The love triangle is one of the best that I've read, if not the best. The three characters' relationships are all so unique and you know that no matter what happens, and who ends up together, everyone is going to have some sort of heartbreak. 

I fell in love with this trilogy in a way that I never expected. It's so hard for me to give it an actual star rating. A 5 star rating system doesn't seem descriptive enough for this series. Even a 10 star rating system doesn't seem descriptive enough. However, I'm not going to go crazy, so I'll go with a 10 star rating system. I don't want to give it a full 10 stars, just because I feel like I can't call it perfect. However, a 9.5 star rating doesn't seem to be quite good enough. I'm going to give it 9.75 stars out of 10. Excessive decimals? Maybe. But this series merited that rating. 

Ranking The Books

#3: Clockwork Angel

It almost pains me to say that this is my least favorite book of the series, solely because I loved the book so much. However, it just wasn't as good as the other two, simply because it was laying the foundation for the rest of the series. It wasn't quite as exciting as the other two books, and we hadn't yet gotten the development of the characters or the relationships between the characters that we grow to love in the last two books. And we don't get to see a ton of Magnus Bane. 

Favorite moment: Probably when Tessa and Jem first meet. It's too adorable.

Rating: Overall, continuing the 10 star system, I'd give it 9 stars out of 10.

#2: Clockwork Prince

This was a big step up from Clockwork Angel. We learn more about the characters in the series, the love triangle is incredibly believable and well-developed. There are secrets and betrayal that are just so incredible. There are so many more moments of action and excitement and I found it really hard to put down. It was really great.

Favorite moment: Maybe the moment when Magnus kisses Will. It's just too funny. 

Rating: I'd have to give it 9.5 stars out of 10.

#1: Clockwork Princess

I read this book almost in one sitting. If I hadn't been forced to go do some things (because unfortunately, there is such a thing as real life), I would have just sat there and read and read and read. This book was so action-packed. Something exciting was constantly happening. There were no slow points, and I just couldn't tear my eyes away from it. I was expecting Clockwork Princess to be better than Clockwork Prince (because the GoodReads rating avg. for Prince was 4.48, and Princess was 4.58). However, I wasn't expecting it to be that much better. The rating avg. for Angel was 4.29, so I figured that the difference between the quality of Prince and Princess would not be as large as the one between Angel and Prince. But I was wrong. I was astounded at how perfect of an ending it was. As I said in my Clockwork Princess discussion, I thought that it was the perfect combination of heartbreak and happiness. It was beautiful. 

Favorite moment: The epilogue. The epilogue. The epilogue. It was so beautiful.

Rating: It was a clear 10 stars out of 10. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Ranking The Covers

#3) Clockwork Angel

I've never been the biggest fan of this cover. I don't think it's a very good depiction of Will. The background is really pretty, but the cover is nowhere near as dynamic in person as it is in the above image. I'm sure the hardcover is a bit prettier, but either way, this one is easily my least favorite cover. 

#2) Clockwork Princess

This cover is gorgeous. Tessa looks great, and I love that she has the codex and her clockwork angel. I especially love the bridge in the background because of the meaning behind it in the series. However, I'm not a huge fan of pink or rose gold, and that's kinda the color scheme of the cover. Also, I'm not a big fan of the building in the background. The buildings on the other books look nicer. 

#1) Clockwork Prince

This cover. This cover. This cover. Jem Carstairs. The blue color scheme. It's so incredibly gorgeous. I don't have any complaints about this cover. It's so great. I don't even know what else to say. It's just beautiful. 

Favorites/Least Favorites

Favorite character: It's a toss-up between Jem and Will at this point. They're both really great and dynamic and I love both of them. I also really love Magnus. 

Least favorite character: I'm not going to be obvious and choose a villain. I don't like Jessamine. I honestly don't. I didn't feel bad for her at any point. 

Favorite ship: Tessa and Will. I love Tessa and Jem as well, but I like Tessa and Will more. 

Least favorite ship: *This is a small spoiler, proceed with caution!* I would have to choose Gabriel Lightwood and  Cecily Herondale. It wasn't instalove, but it was pretty close. 

Spoilers!

Favorite moment: In the entire series, the epilogue. The epilogue. 

Least favorite moment: When Will and Jem's parabatai relationship was ended. It was such a painful moment. I think it was beautifully written, and it was one of the sobbing moments. It's such a bittersweet moment for me. It was so well handled, but I hated that it had to happen. My heart went out to Will at that moment. 

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So, there you go, that's all for the Infernal Devices Trilogy Discussion! Have you read the series? What did you think of it? A chapter of The Secret Lightning Scar should be up on Saturday. Sometime between now and then, I plan on getting my City of Bones discussion post up, and maybe even a City of Ashes discussion!

Thanks for reading this! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all soon!