This book left me speechless. I don’t know how Cassandra Clare does it, but she creates such fantastic stories with plots that pull you in with every single word and characters that are so real. I find it difficult to believe that there are people in the world who read The Infernal Devices and hated them, or even slightly disliked them. I fell in love with these books, the world inside them, and the characters. I did find some parts relatively cheesy, but I think when I put it into perspective of how amazing every other aspect of this book and the series is, those parts can be overlooked. Also, I must mention the skill at which Clare writes; she writes so flawlessly and beautifully so that every single word has a purpose. The characters in this book and the previous ones were brilliant as well. I wanted to wrap my arms around every single one of them (except the evil ones…that wouldn’t be a good idea). Furthermore, Clare mastered the ability of creating characters that the reader is destined to fall in love with. Yes, I may be thinking of Jem Carstairs right now…Which brings me to the only love triangle allowed in the world: Jem vs. Will. If you haven’t noticed already, I fully believe Jem and Tessa are meant to be together, but I can name multiple people who would be willing to argue with me on that one. I don’t hate Will, don’t get me wrong, but he’s just not favored in my mind. [if you don’t want *vague* spoilers, don’t continue reading] Also, I believe I ought to mention the epilogue which succeeded in doing its job of destroying the reader (me) very well. I didn’t cry, but I can imagine millions of people did, I’m just not the most emotional reader. The ending was just so sad and heartbreaking. Authors should not be able to do that. Honestly. Though, once you get past the ending that likely made most readers bawl, the book was fantastic! It’s one of the most well-done pieces of young adult literature (along with Harry Potter and all of Clare’s other books). I highly recommend this series to fantasy lovers and even to those who prefer contemporary.

-Book Hugger