About the book
Title: Chain of Gold
Series: The Last Hours #1
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Shadowhunters
Publication: March 3rd, 2020
Pages: 617
Read: March 2021
Series: The Last Hours #1
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Shadowhunters
Publication: March 3rd, 2020
Pages: 617
Read: March 2021
My Copy
Publisher: Walker BooksEdition: Hardback
Purchase Location: Book Depository
My Rating:
Welcome to Edwardian London, a time of electric lights and long shadows, the celebration of artistic beauty and the wild pursuit of pleasure, with demons waiting in the dark. For years there has been peace in the Shadowhunter world. James and Lucie Herondale, children of the famous Will and Tessa, have grown up in an idyll with their loving friends and family, listening to stories of good defeating evil and love conquering all. But everything changes when the Blackthorn and Carstairs families come to London…and so does a remorseless and inescapable plague. James Herondale longs for a great love, and thinks he has found it in the beautiful, mysterious Grace Blackthorn. Cordelia Carstairs is desperate to become a hero, save her family from ruin, and keep her secret love for James hidden. When disaster strikes the Shadowhunters, James, Cordelia and their friends are plunged into a wild adventure which will reveal dark and incredible powers, and the true cruel price of being a hero…and falling in love. |
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My Spoiler Free Review
How do I express my feelings for this book? I don’t know! But let me try! This feels like the uncountable-th book that I’ve read by Cassandra Clare, and honestly, I could read uncountable many more! I never get bored! I really like the Shadowhunters’ world and it has been a while since I’ve read a book in this setting. I still need to catch up on some stories, but after having started with the The Last Hours series now, I am fully invested again. So far, TID series was my absolute favourite, and that still hasn’t changed. But my emotions for the characters in this new(er) series are just as strong. And obviously, I am so happy to read about Will, Tessa and Jem again! It’s even more exciting to go on adventures with their kids now. And there are so so many of them! I had a really hard time following who was who, and who is related with whom and so on. At one point I just stopped trying to remember everything and saw thought of all of them as cousins.
In Chain of Gold we follow the story of Cordelia Carstairs and her soon-to-be-best-friends-group, as they try to fight against mysterious demon attacks in London. We get to closely know James and Lucie Herondale (Will and Tessa’s kids!!!) and read about the apparently first ever known demon-shadowhunter-pairing’s grandchildren. Without surprise, this means that they have inherited some powers from Tessa and their demon grandfather, whose identity James tries to figure out. I have come to love everyone in the group of the Merry Thieves as they call themselves. It is a Cassandra Clare story, so of course there is going to be a love triangle mixed into this story (or multiple, or love rectangles and worse) next to all the drama of the shadowhunter society and attacks against human- and shadowhunterkind. So, it is not surprising that there are hints of another big “Main Trio Love Triangle”, although at this point it is probably already a love quintuple? I am very intrigued and can’t wait to see what’s in store for the romantic part in the sequel!
Because I cannot fully describe my feelings for every single character in this book, I will have to suffice with some honorary mentions.
Matthew: Oh my god, my love for this character is indescribable! Why do I have such a weakness for such self-destructive characters, that seem to wish for no more than to burn down their own lives (as Magnus wisely described)? It has been pointed out to me that I need to read Ghosts of the Shadow Market to find out what makes Matthew look a bit too closely at the bottom of his flask that he always carries with him. But Matthew seriously has to be protected AT ALL COSTS! If anything bad happens to him in the rest of TLH, I will seriously throw the books out of a window!
James and Cordelia: At the very beginning I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about Cordelia, as she seemed a bit rather curt and not that interesting. She was too focused on her mission to rescue her father and saving the family's face and therefore finding a suitable husband. But with time, I warmed up to her and her strong character has really proven me wrong! James is the book boyfriend all of us have and want! Prove me wrong, if you don't agree! It is so painful to see this lovely character not being able to live his own truth as I'm sure that there are too many things meddling with his destined path!
Lucie: I believe (and hope) that there is more to her friendship with Jesse and that there will be some interesting developments there! I can’t wait to see her get a better understanding of her ghost-powers and I hope we’ll get to see more interactions between her and Cordelia. I don’t quite understand why they haven’t done the parabatai ceremony yet? But Lucie is truly precious and I love that she secretly ships Cordelia and James, too!
Anna: Yes, yes, yes! She is everything I ever needed in a historical setting like this and I really hope that we will get to read more about her in Chain of Iron!
Alastair: Honestly, I have high hopes for him and you probably all know who I ship him with so dearly! I really hope that their relationship will properly unfold in the next book and that Alastair can try and make things right! I do not like bullies, but I hope he finds a way to ask for forgiveness again and to get it.
Thomas: Please, Cassandra Clare, can I get more chapters about Thomas in the next book? Please please please!!!
And now lastly, let’s talk about the character that I really don’t like. Is there anybody who at this point has any positive feelings towards Grace? I have ZERO!I mean it is pretty clear that she LITERALLY has put some kind of spell on James and I cannot understand why not even Matthew, who has also fallen a victim to her magic or whatever that is that she can do, realised something is up! That bracelet is seriously messing with James “feelings/emotions” and whatnot and I just hate that he and Cordelia are not able to catch a break and talk about their true feelings towards one another! Ughhhh, honestly, I know Grace has been through a lot and lost a lot of people, but no! I just really don’t like her. And I really have a longing to re-read the Infernal Devices trilogy now!! But I don’t have the time for it and so many other new books still on my TBR! Ahh, the biggest sorrows of a book-nerd! :3
In Chain of Gold we follow the story of Cordelia Carstairs and her soon-to-be-best-friends-group, as they try to fight against mysterious demon attacks in London. We get to closely know James and Lucie Herondale (Will and Tessa’s kids!!!) and read about the apparently first ever known demon-shadowhunter-pairing’s grandchildren. Without surprise, this means that they have inherited some powers from Tessa and their demon grandfather, whose identity James tries to figure out. I have come to love everyone in the group of the Merry Thieves as they call themselves. It is a Cassandra Clare story, so of course there is going to be a love triangle mixed into this story (or multiple, or love rectangles and worse) next to all the drama of the shadowhunter society and attacks against human- and shadowhunterkind. So, it is not surprising that there are hints of another big “Main Trio Love Triangle”, although at this point it is probably already a love quintuple? I am very intrigued and can’t wait to see what’s in store for the romantic part in the sequel!
Because I cannot fully describe my feelings for every single character in this book, I will have to suffice with some honorary mentions.
Matthew: Oh my god, my love for this character is indescribable! Why do I have such a weakness for such self-destructive characters, that seem to wish for no more than to burn down their own lives (as Magnus wisely described)? It has been pointed out to me that I need to read Ghosts of the Shadow Market to find out what makes Matthew look a bit too closely at the bottom of his flask that he always carries with him. But Matthew seriously has to be protected AT ALL COSTS! If anything bad happens to him in the rest of TLH, I will seriously throw the books out of a window!
James and Cordelia: At the very beginning I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about Cordelia, as she seemed a bit rather curt and not that interesting. She was too focused on her mission to rescue her father and saving the family's face and therefore finding a suitable husband. But with time, I warmed up to her and her strong character has really proven me wrong! James is the book boyfriend all of us have and want! Prove me wrong, if you don't agree! It is so painful to see this lovely character not being able to live his own truth as I'm sure that there are too many things meddling with his destined path!
Lucie: I believe (and hope) that there is more to her friendship with Jesse and that there will be some interesting developments there! I can’t wait to see her get a better understanding of her ghost-powers and I hope we’ll get to see more interactions between her and Cordelia. I don’t quite understand why they haven’t done the parabatai ceremony yet? But Lucie is truly precious and I love that she secretly ships Cordelia and James, too!
Anna: Yes, yes, yes! She is everything I ever needed in a historical setting like this and I really hope that we will get to read more about her in Chain of Iron!
Alastair: Honestly, I have high hopes for him and you probably all know who I ship him with so dearly! I really hope that their relationship will properly unfold in the next book and that Alastair can try and make things right! I do not like bullies, but I hope he finds a way to ask for forgiveness again and to get it.
Thomas: Please, Cassandra Clare, can I get more chapters about Thomas in the next book? Please please please!!!
And now lastly, let’s talk about the character that I really don’t like. Is there anybody who at this point has any positive feelings towards Grace? I have ZERO!
I know there are a lot of people who do not like Cassandra Clare or her writing. Or even did like her books at some point but now cannot pick up another series of her set in the same shadowhunter world. How do you feel about this? Are you like me and can never get tired of this or are you of the opinion that she should just put down her pen and not write another shadowhunter related book/series? I’d love to hear what you think about it in the comments! |
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