Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare – Book Review

“Will rose slowly to his feet. “If there is a life after this one,” he said, “let me meet you in it, James Carstairs.”

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. – Goodreads

Genre: Urban fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult.

Review: I rated this book 3/5 stars, the major reason being the beautiful, heart wrenching and haunting portrayal of Will and Jem’s parabatai bond. Other than that, the plot wasn’t mind-blowing in any sense; rather it was melodramatic throughout the 3 books in the series. The storyline was predictable and many chapters seemed to add nothing to the story. The story arc wasn’t executed well; the ending felt compromising and the antagonist was shallow, with vague reasons for his evil plans. Considering the hype surrounding it, it didn’t live up to the expectations.

While the book isn’t slow-paced, some scenes are stretched out without reason which hinders the flow of the story. Clare followed through with several annoying tropes that made this book reminiscent of SJ Maas books.

This book and this series are often portrayed as better than the Mortal Instruments. This can be seen in the fact that the protagonist isn’t as annoying and that the parabatai are closer and more true to the definition. But the plot of The Mortal Instruments series is more varied and adventurous than TID even if it suffers from (more) aggravating tropes.

On the brighter side, Tessa and Will’s shared love of books and poetry was shown well; with the reader being introduced to some beautiful verses from Chaucer, Milton, Shakespeare and Tennyson. Will’s memories of Jem’s love, kindness and patience for him saved the book for me, personally, because the emotions were dealt with beautifully, with raw and mesmerizing depiction of brotherhood and a family beyond blood. The epilogue is beautifully written and tugs at the heart-strings, so do some paragraphs listed below. Will’s and Jem’s character was crafted with fascinating charm and makes the reader care for them with intensity.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes reading about Families, Paranormal romance, Poetry, Victorian Literature and Love Triangles.

Themes:

1. Victorian Society and women’s position in it
2. Family
3. Self-discovery
4. Friendship
5. Love
6. Magic & Fantasy

“And now I need you to do for me what I cannot do for myself. For you to be my eyes when I do not have them. For you to be my hands when I cannot use my own. For you to be my heart when mine is done beating.”

“She leaned forward and caught at his hand, pressing it between her own. The touch was like white fire through his veins. You kindled me, heap of ashes that I am, into fire. He had wondered once why love was always phrased in terms of burning. The conflagration in his own veins, now, gave the answer.”

“Bright star,” Magnus said, and his eyes were thoughtful, as if he were remembering something, or someone. “Those of you who are mortal, you burn so fiercely. And you fiercer than most, Will. I will not ever forget you.”

“You know that feeling,” she said, “when you are reading a book, and you know that it is going to be a tragedy; you can feel the cold and darkness coming, see the net drawing tight around the characters who live and breathe on the pages. But you are tied to the story as if being dragged behind a carriage and you cannot let go or turn the course aside.”

Get Clockwork Princess on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2IoAHoA

The Infernal Devices on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2FeWSLZ

~ Saadia

The Broken Prince

Inspired by The Mortal Instuments

I never say this ( I should ) but whatever I do here is all due to the people who read my blog posts. Thank you so much to whoever is reading this. You are all the reason behind this post and much more 🙂

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And, on another note

If you have an instagram follow me along . My username is saadia_20

byeee ❤

 

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Quote of the day: ‘To love is to destroy’ – Cassandra Clare, author of the Shadowhunter Chronicles

I Was In Your Wake

” I was the sky

and you were the sea,

wandering to find you,

consumed the best parts of me,

I was the sun

and you were the moon,

I hid myself each night,

just to let you burn,

I was the moth,

and you were the light,

I sacrificed myself,

Just to feast my eyes with your sight.

I was the fire ,

And you were the rain,

I gave away myself,

So that you’d never wane.

I was the earth,

and you were the breeze,

In the end, your existence,

forced my devastation to cease.

~ Saadia

Grant Her that Garden

She was alone, sitting under the tree, petting her dog who wanted to run boundless and accelerated but the girl held him close. Why? Simply because he was her sole companion. She was tired of listening to the names the other children called her, she was tired of fighting back, she was tired of trying to fit in. The other kids played hopscotch but she was left alone and deserted, like always. As it turned dark, she walked back home, another walk down street without any friend. 

At home, she read till late at night and then cried herself to sleep like she did every night. The angels above were troubled, they realized that life was harder for her than death. So, the angels at dawn took the girl to heaven with them, they broke her from every bit of pain inflicted by her fellow humans…………….She was set free…………

When her dog saw her in the morning, motionless and finally relaxed, he whined once and lay dead on her feet. And from then on, the girl and her dog played in the garden of bliss for ever more. The people who had given her an unmatched amount of pain, were now, themselves in agony but Alas! there is no coming back from the destination we all share.

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That girl is in every one’s life , open your heart to her, to another troubled soul, maybe you can be the angel who’ll grant her that garden of bliss in this world, just by extending your hand. 

~ Saadia

Just like the Moon

You have a bright and a dark side,

Just like the Moon itself,

But I will accept ,

The dark side,

For the brightness,

that fills my nights.

~Saadia

Rewind

‘ My mind plays those moments

back on rewind,

and lingers on your face,

for just a little while.’

~ Saadia

Still

You still keep me anchored,

prevent me from drifting away.

You still keep me centred,

prevent me from giving away.

You still pierce me with a gaze,

like a beam of light through the haze.

~ Saadia

Happily

Andrea lay in bed, tired, weary and above all fed up with everything , her life, her existence and her fate. She watched all the other girls play badminton, run around and swim but she herself was stuck in bed, sick, unhappy and ailing. She was diagnosed with cancer ( osteosarcoma ) a few weeks ago and there she lay, her body weak and swollen with medicine. She just didn’t want her kind of life anymore, boring , unproductive and above all she didn’t even know how far was she going to go.

Andrea’s dad came in and pecked her on the cheek, told her not to worry, like always and told her to cheer up. Suddenly , the nurse came in and told her that she was going to be operated an hour later. She was used to it, surgeries, heavy doses of medicine, scans and extensive unconsciousness. She simply said okay. After the operation, her parents were informed that she won’t be living for long….. That broke her parents’ heart. But they decided not to tell her about it, to let her enjoy the remaining time of her life….

After a week, an unexpected visitor came to her ward. The woman introduced herself as Rachel. They didn’t know each other but they seemed to like each other on a single sight and they talked for hours together. For the first time in a month had Andrea smiled and enjoyed her life… Rachel promised to visit again and slowly but steadily it became a habit. They spent a lot of time together, talking, laughing, sharing jokes and ideas. Andrea began to live in real terms and looked forward to Rachel’s visits. She enjoyed all the books that she read her, the flowers she got her and the movies they watched together. One day, Rachel stayed with Andrea till late at night, read her some of her favorite poems and when it was time for her to leave, she promised to come back again, like always. Andrea smiled a peaceful and detached smile…………. ……………… ……………. She never woke up again. The next morning when Rachel came, she found her bed empty. She inquired about her and was informed about the inevitable. She cried on the unprecedented pain that pierced her heart and realized what an important part of her, she had lost….

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The truth was that when she visited her for the first time, she realized that she had entered the wrong ward after leaving the hospital, but she continued to visit her because she knew how lonely Andrea was, how much she had longed to be free, out of the machines and into the world…. Rachel had formed a special bond with Andrea , a bond that was impossible to break and yet Andrea escaped into thin air, like she had never existed , leaving a scar in Rachel’s heart…………………But Andrea died a happier person, a loved person, a gifted person and whenever she had felt alone and excluded, she had Rachel, a companion she had found by mistake….. Andrea didn’t have a long life, a long road to go but she ended her journey like everyone would want to – happily.

~ Saadia

With response to the Five Photos-Five stories challenge.Thanks to naturelover@Story Teller for nominating me for this challenge (https://valiantwarrior.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/five-photos-five-stories-day-3/) I would like to nominate  Perspectives on Life, the Universe and Everything to do this challenge with me today. This is not necessary but I will be happy if you’ll accept it.Its a lot of fun.. I need to post a picture every day for five days and write a story that goes along with it.I decided to go with the pictures I captured myself. It can be a piece of fiction or non fiction.  there is no restriction for the length of the writing.

Together

Sonmarg (hill station)

Jane, a girl in her teens was a simple yet sophisticated one, careless yet concerned, enthusiastic about everything yet patient, sociable and yet an introvert. She spread positive vibes wherever she went, her heart was pure and she was innocent. She was happy with what she had , jealousy had never found a way into her heart. She loved her life, every single minute of it . Whenever she felt lonely, she would just divert her attention to her best friend and all she’d gone through and in the process , she found herself happy and loved. Both of them sat on the beach then and Jane started to rewind on  how they had met and how they had been together ever since and promised to be till timelessness…………………………….

One fine day, she was sitting in her class and a new girl sat right next to her. She found it difficult to strike up a conversation. Then, the girl who introduced herself as Belinda broke the ice. As they talked, they realized that they had a lot in common, hobbies, passions, weird fetishes , favorite books and much more. That day, they walked home together. On their way, Jane asked Belinda to come over at her house so that they could do their homework together. Belinda shaked her head once and ran off. Jane was surprised at her behavior and she walked to her home. She was welcomed by her parents and her grandmother. She wished them, did her homework and went to sleep. The next day Belinda again sat next to her. She was astonished and asked her the reason for her strange behavior . Belinda told her that it was just her circumstances that didn’t allow her to come over at her house and a tear fell from her eye. She quickly wiped it off but Jane had already noticed it. She changed the topic of the conversation and asked her if she would like to play softball with her after class. Belinda agreed and gave her a warm smile, a smile which showed the beginning of a new friendship, a new era……..

After two months when their friendship had become deep, the teacher asked students to work on a project in groups of two. They decided to do it together. After a week’s work on the project, it was time for them to work on the project on the weekend. Jane inquired about Belinda’s address and headed for her home, she thought that Belinda wouldn’t mind her coming without informing her. As she knocked on her door repeatedly, without anyone opening it, she thought that they would have been busy. Suddenly, Belinda opened the door and she was shocked on seeing Jane there, horror struck her and she went pale. Jane said hi and informed her that she’d come over to work on their project. Belinda told her to go away, she told her not to come back to her house ever again. Jane was astonished. She was about to ask her a question when she heard shrieks from one of the rooms. Belinda slowly sobbed to herself. Then, a well built man with a thick mustache slapped Belinda and asked her what was she doing there instead of bringing him a glass of wine. A woman persuaded him to go to his room. He retreated with a snarl. The woman had bruises all over arms and face. She gave a feeble smile to Jane and asked her to come in. Jane reluctantly entered the house. Belinda had recovered now, she knew that she had to tell Jane the long hidden truth, the truth that had snatched her childhood from her, the truth which had never let her be happy with life. Belinda started to narrate her story. She explained that her father , the man with the the mustache , was a retired army officer, or rather thrown out from the army because of his conduct. He had gambled away all their ancestral property and had spent the rest drinking. It was then her mother, who had struggled to keep her alive, she’d worked in people’s homes, she’d polished shoes and sold fruits to earn something for herself and Belinda who was a baby at that time. Slowly and steadily, she was given a job by one of her bosses in an agricultural sector , she gave everything to her job and earned enough within a year to rent a house and take care of her daughter. Then she worked harder, not caring for her health, facing the abuse by her husband, receiving lashes and beatings and still she worked to send her daughter to a reputed school. Even then her father had not spared her mother and continued to beat her under the effect to alcohol. Belinda had watched her mother being beaten since she was a toddler and when she protested , she also received a slap or two…..Her father had ruined her mother’s life and her childhood…. He had acted like a monster to them…Tears rolled down uncontrollably through Jane’s eyes . Her own life flashed before her eyes and she remembered all the comforts she had had. When she thought of all Belinda had gone through, shivers ran down her spine. She hugged her tight and they sobbed to one another, a moment which was there till what seemed like a forever………………………

Jane was determined to do something for Belinda. She had learnt that life had always been a stoney path for Belinda, one problem after the other, one difficulty following another…. she had always embraced the bruises, preserved with all she’d got but now Jane could not let her take anymore. She talked about this matter to her parents, got Belinda’s father enrolled in a hospital for the mentally sick and Belinda and her mother shifted to the house near Jane’s. Belinda and Jane graduated after two years and happiness seemed to have seeped back into Belinda’s life through Jane…. her best friend…..her sister….her soul…

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When Belinda asked Jane to get up, that it was time for the sun to set, Jane smiled and told her that their sun would never set as they always had each other. Belinda smiled back at her and told her that it was her who has removed the stones from her path one by one, step by step till she regained the meaning in her life…………… They walked away knowing that life was never fair but everything could be tackled ‘together’………….

~Saadia

With response to the Five Photos-Five stories challenge.Thanks to naturelover@Story Teller for nominating me for this challenge (https://valiantwarrior.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/five-photos-five-stories-day-3/) I would like to nominate Richard Ankers @ Richard Ankers to do this challenge with me today. This is not necessary but I will be happy if you’ll accept it.Its a lot of fun.. I need to post a picture every day for five days and write a story that goes along with it.I decided to go with the pictures I captured myself. It can be a piece of fiction or non fiction.  there is no restriction for the length of the writing.