Chain of Gold, by Cassandra Clare

 

Hey, all! 

I just finished reading Chain of Gold, by Cassandra Clare! This is the first book of the Last Hours trilogy, a series that follows The Infernal Devices, about 20 years later. 

This was an incredibly anticipated book for me, and I'm making sure to review this without letting my anticipation for it guide me. It will also be spoiler-free, so don't worry about the possibility of running into things that may reveal the plot! 

"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."

This book... wow! Cassandra Clare is getting increasingly better at writing, continuously weaving more intricate plots and characters with every book she releases. From page 1, I felt a sense of comfort and familiarity from reading about the London group of shadowhunters, something I now realize I was really missing when reading The Dark Artifices. In fact, it's super easy to consider the London bunch separate from the New York/LA groups. This book felt right, and even though I had never read it before (obviously), it was as comforting as re-reading an old favorite. 



As usual for Clare's books, I adored her characters and their interactions. The core group - James, Matthew, Thomas and Christopher were an amazing group of friends, each who had incredibly distinct personalities. James became increasingly likeable, Matthew and Thomas have become incredibly intriguing, and Christopher is an absolute cinnamon roll who is relatable in every way and I adore him and doom come to those who may say ANYTHING bad about him.
 Lucie was a fantastic character who I had a lot of fun reading about, Alistair is super duper awesome and I can't wait to read more about him, and Grace thoroughly creeps me out. Anna has the confidence of a thousand suns and honestly was the Magnus Bane of the book (even though he was actually there but she definitely had that kind of presence).

Sadly the only character I disliked... was Cordelia herself. I found her more annoying than I care to admit. Sucks for me that she was the main character, I guess, oops! I'm not even sure what it as, there was just something that irked me, but hey, there can't be a reason for everything! 

The book had a little bit of a slow start, plot-wise, but it was compulsively readable, because it was such a comfortable read to me. About halfway through the book, however, things start to pick up. Characters who seem innocent become shady, shady characters get redeemed, and 

so
many
demons
!!!! 

I swear, these guys couldn't go outside without there being demons everywhere, and without people getting hurt. No one ever had a break! Cassandra Clare definitely has an evil plan for this trilogy, and I cannot wait to see what this may lead to! 

There were also many little side things I particularly enjoyed

 

- The book overall was never overbearing with nostalgia from TID. Yes that tugged at my heartstrings, but it never felt like it was there to bring nostalgia for old readers - It never got in the way of the main plot. 

- The side characters were brought into the plot concretely enough for them to feel real and to be appreciable. Their names are certainly going to be remembered. 

- Magic is awesome 

- Scientists (especially chemists) have FINALLY been mentioned in popular fiction!!! 

- The Wessa wedding... I'm not even gonna deny it, I cried like a little baby.


This book is definitely worth it. Go pick it up and adore it and while you read, please give Christopher (ok sure and Alistair) a hug for me <3

I'm giving this book 4.5/5 stars! 

 
Stay bookish! 
Wash your hands and stay home!