Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare Review

Overall Review: 5/5 Stars

"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."

Goodreads

Non-Spoiler Section:

I have been waiting for this book for soooo long, and let me just say it did not disappoint. Chain of Gold is the first book in The Last Hours series, the latest series in Cassandra Clare's world of demon fighting Shadowhunters.

For anyone who isn't familiar with the different Shadowhunter series, it's highly recommended that you read them in publication order. If you don't want to read all the series that come before this one (there are a lot), at least do yourself a favor and read the Infernal Devices before jumping into Chain of Gold. The Last Hours is a direct sequel to the Infernal Devices and follows the children of the original characters. This book was absolutely everything I wanted and more. I already adore all these characters so much and I can't wait for the next two books in the series.

This is your SPOILER WARNING! If you haven’t read Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare and don’t want to be spoiled, Stop Reading Now! (Of course come back after you’ve read so we can discuss!!)

Plot (A+)

Okay, so, basically in Chain of Gold, we are introduced to Will and Tessa's children, James and Lucie, Cecily and Gabriel's children, Christopher, Anna, and Alexander, Sophie and Gideon's children, Thomas, Barbara, and Eugenia, and Henry and Charlotte's children, Matthew and Charles. The important characters are Cordelia Carstairs, James, Lucie, Christopher, Thomas, and Matthew. They've all been training to be Shadowhunters since they were little. The only problem is... there really haven't been many demon attacks in London throughout their whole lives, which is very odd.

Until, one day, demons start attacking and spreading a plague that is pretty much impossible to recover from. Oh, and also, the demons are attacking in broad daylight, which they've never been able to do before. Immediately, when finding out about the plot, it's pretty obvious that at least one character was gonna die. I think it was smart for that to be Barbara and her fiancé, because they weren't majorly important characters, but they were related to and deeply connected to some of our main characters.

It's pretty obvious that Tatiana Blackthorn (Christopher and Thomas' aunt) has something to do with the weird demon attacks. She has become a bitter woman, who hates everyone because of things that happened in her life, that was out of anyone's control. She has a very..... villain type of vibe. So, in the end, when we see that pretty much confirmed, when she's discussing things with a powerful demon, I don't think anyone was shocked.

Alright, let's talk about James Herondale and Grace Blackthorn. I'll talk more about them as characters in the character section, but let's discuss their situation. James has been "in love" with Grace since they were kids. Or so he thought. It's pretty clear that Grace is either evil, herself, or being controlled by her adoptive mother Tatiana. Either way, Grace has some control over James, and... I don't like it. But, I think we'll find out more on that in the next two books.

Also, I just have to talk about Lucie and Jesse Blackthorn real quick. Jesse is the biological son of Tatiana Blackthorn. According to the Shadowhunter family tree in Clockwork Princess, Lucie and Jesse end up getting married. There's only one problem with that...Jesse is currently a ghost. But, he's not a normal ghost. Lucie is the only one with the ability to see him right now and she can also touch him. Soooo, I feel like Lucie definitely finds a way to bring him back to life in one of the next two books.

Characters (A+++++):

Since there are so many characters, I'll only be discussing the main group

Cordelia Carstairs: Cordelia is such a really interesting character. The only character from the Infernal Devices that she is really attached to is Jem. He's her... second (?) cousin, but this isn't something that is overused too much, which I liked. It's mentioned but not brought up every 2 seconds. I felt like Cordelia is someone that everyone should want as a friend. She technically is an outsider to the group. Although, she grew up seeing Lucie and James, meeting on a trip to France and remaining great friends with Lucie, she has just moved to London. However, she fit right into the group. You can immediately tell that she is a very strong person, she has that type of persona. I did feel bad for her, because she spends the whole novel trying to save her father's reputation and learns some things about him that her mother and brother were trying to keep from her, to protect her. I also love how this is the first time we're actually getting to see two girls being parabatai, as she is training to be parabatai with her best friend, Lucie.

James Herondale: James Herondale is fantastic. He's similar to Will, you can definitely tell that he is his son, but he's also completely his own character. He can be oblivious at times (He can't tell that Cordelia likes him even when it's blatantly obvious), but at the same time he's very intelligent. He has this problem where sometimes he's pulled to the "shadow realm" (because Tessa is part demon) and has trouble controlling It. It seems to be a problem that bothers him a lot internally, but he doesn't let this control his life. I just wish he'd see that that weird bracelet thing that Grace has is somehow controlling him and has powers.

Lucie Herondale: Lucie has quickly become one of my favorite Cassie Clare characters. The novel actually begins with Lucie, as a young girl wandering into Brocelind forest in Idris at night. She accidentally falls into a fairy trap and is saved by a boy that she at first thinks to be changeling. In present day, when she is a teenager, she meets this boy again and learns that this boy is Jesse Blackthorn and he is a ghost and she is the only one outside his family who can see him. Again, since family trees say that they get married, I predict he somehow gets brought back to life later in the series. I love how Lucie wants to be a writer, yet she is also a skilled Shadowhunter. It is also one of my favorite things that any time anyone insults James for being a Herondale and the son of a warlock, Lucie is quick to say "Hey! I'm a Herondale too!", not because she's defending James, but because she doesn't want to be left out. She's so funny.

Matthew Fairchild: Matthew is the son of Henry and Charlotte and is James' parabatai. Matthew is a really good best friend to James and is most of the time, the comic relief part of the story. However, he also has a lot of serious plot points as well. It is insinuated numerous times that he has a drinking problem and most of the time when he's drunk you can't even tell, but he does get clumsy, as we see when he almost slips on a rope they are all climbing up. It is also mentioned (in a sort of flashback chapter) how Matthew accidentally caused the death of his younger sibling, but nothing else is said of this, and nobody but Matthew knows apparently. I think a lot of this book was giving us glimpses into his life and I'm really excited to see what he brings in the upcoming books and what else we learn about him.

Christopher and Thomas Lightwood: Christopher and Thomas are cousins, due to their dads being brothers. Christopher's mother is actually Will's sister, making him Lucie and James' cousin as well. I really enjoyed both of their characters and hope we get more from them. I love how Christopher is very close with Matthew's father, Henry, because they are both really into science and inventions, I also hope Cassie gives us more with this relationship. Thomas goes through a lot in this book, because he actually loses his sister Barbara. I'm also curious to see who, if anyone, Thomas marries, cuz he's got a lot going on there as we know. Even though they both go through a lot in this book, they still are a part of the group, and want to help solve what is happening with the demon attacks.

Anna Lightwood: Anna is Christopher's sister. Okay, okay, here's my very unpopular opinion...I know that everyone absolutely adores Anna, and that's totally cool and awesome. However, she didn't do much for me in this book. Personally, it kind of annoyed me how whenever there was a demon attack or some kind of action she was nowhere to be found and suddenly reappeared when they didn't need help anymore. Maybe and hopefully this gets explained in a later book but I just feel like... isn't it kinda your job to fight demons?

Tatiana and Grace Blackthorn: AKA THE WORST. It was kinda obvious from the start of the novel that Tatiana never had the best intentions. When she was pregnant with Jesse, her father (also Christopher, Thomas, and Anna's grandfather), turned into a demon and killed her husband. Later in life, her teenage son Jesse got sick and died. Because of all this, Tatiana became a bitter woman and resented all Shadowhunters for not being able to help her. This makes it pretty apparent that Tatiana is going to be some form of antagonist, which is confirmed when we see her basically working with demons. I just wonder what Grace's role is in this, is she a willing participant, is she under a spell, or is she just being forced by Tatiana?

Setting (A+):

As always, Cassie did not disappoint with the setting of this series. I've gone to many Cassandra Clare panels and signings, where she has mentioned visiting England to make sure the setting of the Infernal Devices was as accurate as it could be. This book has a very similar setting, the only difference is that it takes place a few years later.

Actual locations are used, which can be googled if you have never been there, which provides a great visual. Cassie also does really well writing for different time periods. You definitely get the feel for the time by the way that characters speak, the clothes they wear, modes of transportation, etc. However, it never feels forced or like it's trying to live up to the stereotypes of the time period.

Aesthetics (A):

Cassie always does a great job naming her series. This one is called Chain of Gold (obviously). The second and third are titled Chain of Iron and Chain of Thorns. They are all different titles, with a common theme that Cassie will tie together by the end of the series.

I really enjoyed the cover, but I feel like more could have been done with it. Since the title has to do with gold, I really would have liked if there was more shimmer to the cover, but overall, I did like that too.