When reading a novel readers are happy to accept one or maybe two ‘miraculous’ events, but when the impossible becomes possible over and over again those miracles lose their narrative power. I don’t know enough about Clare and the Shadowhunters fandom to say for sure, but at times this series felt like the kind of fan-service found in anime series that have their own in-jokes, and information is included for a purpose outside of the actual plot of this series.

It had me wondering about the context in which it was written. But there is so much about the series that is unnecessary.

There are some beautiful passages and incredible quotes, Clare has a real flair for ‘quotable’ phrases. Having read the trilogy over the course of a few months I strongly feel that there was a story worth telling in there somewhere, but not enough to justify a whole set of three books. It’s just that those things are not enough for me to overlook the rest of the issues that I had. But I’ll say up front that for all my criticism I did find reading this series entertaining, and some of the characters are truly wonderful and memorable.

This was a hard review to write, and for fans of this trilogy it might be hard to read. Cassandra Clare has written a beautiful, perfect love story, it’s just such a pity that not much else in this trilogy is worthy of the same commendation.

Clockwork princess cassandra clare