Book Review: Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare
After spending a couple of weeks recovering from this beast of a book, I am finally ready to review it. I shed lots of tears while reading Chain of Iron and while writing this book review. But I’m excited to delve back into the Shadowhunter world, especially The Last Hours. If you are interested, you can find my book review for Chain of Gold here. Let’s get started since I am ready to cry over Chain of Iron all over again.
Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare: Fast Facts
Release Date: March 2, 2021
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 559
Genre: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, young adult
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Content Warning: alcohol, blood, gun violence, murder, sexual content (not explicit), violence
Synopsis
Cordelia Carstairs seems to have everything she ever wanted. She’s engaged to marry James Herondale, the boy she has loved since childhood. She has a new life in London with her best friend Lucie Herondale and James’s charming companions, the Merry Thieves. She is about to be reunited with her beloved father. And she bears the sword Cortana, a legendary hero’s blade.
But the truth is far grimmer. James and Cordelia’s marriage is a lie, arranged to save Cordelia’s reputation. James is in love with the mysterious Grace Blackthorn whose brother, Jesse, died years ago in a terrible accident. Cortana burns Cordelia’s hand when she touches it, while her father has grown bitter and angry. And a serial murderer is targeting the Shadowhunters of London, killing under cover of darkness, then vanishing without a trace.
Together with the Merry Thieves, Cordelia, James, and Lucie must follow the trail of the knife-wielding killer through the city’s most dangerous streets. All the while, each is keeping a shocking secret: Lucie, that she plans to raise Jesse from the dead; Cordelia, that she has sworn a dangerous oath of loyalty to a mysterious power; and James, that he is being drawn further each night into the dark web of his grandfather, the arch-demon Belial. And that he himself may be the killer they seek.bookshop | indiebound | indigo
— i.
You may fear what will happen if you speak your heart. You may wish to hide things because you fear hurting others. But secrets have a way of eating at relationships, Jamie. At love, at friendship—they undermine and destroy them until in the end you find you are bitterly alone with the secrets you kept.
Will there ever be a Shadowhunter novel that doesn’t make me cry hysterically? Doubtful. Chain of Iron was certainly no exception, mainly because of how the characters pined and yearned. Oh god, the yearning. It hurt so bad, but the angst between them was just so good. So I guess that is where we will begin—the dynamics.
Cassandra Clare delivered on the relationship, but then again, she pretty much always does. I loved the storyline for my favorite dynamic, Anna Lightwood and Ariadne Bridgestock, because it was just a giant angst fest. Ariadne spent the entire novel at Anna’s side, taking what she can get because even if Anna refuses to enter a real relationship, Ariadne would rather have bits of Anna than nothing at all. Naturally, this broke my heart. Please give my girls a rest! I only wished they had more page time because there is just so much Cassandra Clare could do with them.
And then, the epitome of the fake dating trope: James Herondale and Cordelia Carstairs. They turned this trope on its head and got married. My favorite part was despite how James was bound to Grace (unknowingly, but still), he was falling in love with Cordelia all over again, just like he did all those summers ago. They had so many good moments, and while I am terrified to see what Chain of Thorns has in store for them, their love story is just so good. Yes, there is a lot of miscommunication, but the plus side is they fall in love with each other repeatedly without even realizing it.
We have Lucie Herondale and Jesse Blackthorn, who have fallen in love despite their odd circumstances. I was unsure how I felt about them initially, but I grew to love them in this novel, and I know they will persevere. At least, I hope so. I’m pretty sure because there is no one else to carry on the Blackthorn line. And of course, we’ve got Thomas Lightwood and Alastair Carstairs, who I’ve grown fond of. I’m not a big fan of enemies-to-lovers in many cases, but I guess this doesn’t count since they always secretly liked each other. Thomas pined for Alastair from afar, and Alastair never hated him. The pining is intense for these two in this book.
As for the non-romantic dynamics, there is James and Matthew, who prove once again that Will and Jem’s love was more than platonic. I just felt like I had to throw it in there. But Chain of Iron presented a lot of conflict between parabatai pairs—James & Matthew and Lucie & Cordelia. Lucie and Cordelia are not officially parabatai yet, but they have scheduled their ceremony, and they are training to become parabatai. Mainly, the reason for the parabatai conflict was a lack of communication. Everyone was keeping secrets, but it is incredibly unusual for parabatai to keep secrets from one another. Mind you, the entirety of Chain of Iron is just one giant miscommunication circle, and the novel would have probably been half the size (but it provided good angst and plot, so I’m not complaining!). Anyway, the tension between the parabatai physically hurt my soul, especially since I always find parabatai pairs are the best dynamics in The Shadowhunter Chronicles. However, it did not bother me as much for Cordelia and Lucie because their reluctance to share makes sense, and I think it will strengthen their bond in the end. For James and Matthew, most of it revolved around the love triangle (or quartet if you want to count Grace), and unless love triangles are secretly love circles (i.e., they all love each other), this trope bothers me. We have seen so many love triangles throughout The Shadowhunter Chronicles, and I feel like it is overkill at this point. I pray this will not be an issue in The Wicked Powers.
The Merry Thieves warm my heart, and I love how much they care for one another. There is a moment where Cordelia is in awe of how much her friends care for her. They have only been close friends for a few months, but Cordelia would trust her life with them and vice versa. They have come a long way since Cordelia arrived, and they went through so much together. I love how The Shadowhunter Chronicles consistently portrays platonic and familial love as just as critical as romantic love—if not, then more.
Of course, I have to mention my OGs—Will, Tessa, and Jem—it would not quite be a Regal Reads book review of a Shadowhunter novel without talking about them. Unfortunately, Jem was away for most of the book, but we got quite a bit of domestic Will and Tessa, so that was nice. I wish we had more Jem, even if he is Brother Zachariah at this time.
— ii.
“I sometimes wonder,” James said, “if we can ever quite understand other people.” He ran a hand through his hair. “All we can do is try, I suppose.”
Just as with Chain of Gold, I adored the characters. I love how we got to see more of them in-depth, in different scenarios. For example, Ariadne was much more present throughout this book because she was in a demon-induced coma of some sort in Chain of Gold. And she is everything I remembered from Every Exquisite Thing—romantic, determined, and bold. It was a pleasure to read how her experiences and coming out has changed her, and I hope to read even more in Chain of Thorns.
I found Lucie’s character arc to be superior. She is my favorite character, even though I love them all, and it physically hurts to choose between them. I relate a lot to Lucie because we are both writers, and therefore, we view the world similarly. But Chain of Iron moved beyond the surface and explored Lucie’s character through her powers. Learning more about her strengthened her presence and her purpose. She became more than just the writer of the group, Cordelia’s parabatai, or James’s sister (she already was, but not everyone might see that). Essentially, we always knew Lucie was a strong character with so many strengths and flaws, but connecting with her powers and exploring dark magic showed that.
I also liked how Cordelia’s arc dabbled with darkness. Come to think of it, most of these character arcs deal with darkness, but each situation is so unique that it does not feel repetitive. The painful aspect of Cordelia’s storyline is that she genuinely believes she is serving goodness and light. Of course, Cordelia is not a villain and does not become one, but to read about her venture into darkness when she so desperately wanted to be a hero was heartbreaking. It made her character that much more raw, authentic, and flawed. And throughout the arc, we never forget that ultimately, she is good. Cassandra Clare is outdoing herself with the women characters in The Last Hours.
I was only a little disappointed in Matthew Fairchild. Not the character himself—because I would die for him and he is perfect in every way, shape, and form—but because he spent pretty much the entire novel as an angst prop for James and Cordelia. Matthew is so much better than that. He has so much depth and is one of the best-written characters of The Last Hours. It’s a shame we did not get to see him shine the way he deserves, but I’m holding out hope for Chain of Thorns (even though I still think Cassandra Clare is going to kill him off because she loves inflicting pain on my favorite characters). I want Matthew to have his own storyline, go on his own adventures, and realize that his friends and family love him so much. He deserves the best, and I am terrified that he will die before achieving that.
— iii.
“The great powers, the archangels and the Princes of Hell, are playing their own game of chess. They have their own alliances and enmities. Azazel and Asmodeus have worked together, as have Belial and Leviathan, while Belphegor hates his brethren. But all that could change should a new power emerge.” He shrugged. “Mortals cannot see the greater movements of the game, the strategy or goals. But that does not mean one need be a pawn on the board.”
One thing that I found significantly improved from Chain of Gold was the plot. Not to say that the storyline in the first installment was not good because it was. I just felt like I expected more out of it. But I got what I was looking for in Chain of Iron. The serial killer mystery was compelling with the disappearing runes twist. When we find out who the culprit is, well—let’s just say I expected it and unexpected it at the same time. The pieces fit in the right place, and it was a good twist that makes you feel like you just experienced a mind-fuck.
But before we discovered who the killer is, Chain of Iron kept me engaged because of the mystery. Once the characters solved it, I still found myself unable to put it down because it was nonstop action, battles, and angst. The ending especially blew my mind. After I finished the book, I spent the next two days just crying and contemplating life because what just happened? I will go more in-depth about the ending (without spoilers) a bit later, but for now, I’ll say that despite the end, one of Chain of Iron‘s biggest strengths is the plot, and I loved it from start to finish.
— iv.
Belial huffed out a sound that was almost like a laugh. “Spoken like the grandson of a Prince of Hell,” he said. “How practical, James. How logical. Do you know it was logic and rationality that resulted in our casting out from Heaven? For goodness is not logical, is it? Nor compassion, nor love. But perhaps you need to be able to see the situation more clearly.”
I found the world-building to be a bit too much in this book, but that might be because I’ve already read the rest of The Shadowhunter Chronicles (save for The Shadowhunter Codex). But I don’t think it necessarily affected the pacing since Cassandra Clare paced the novel well. It was not zig-zagged or whiplash. To me, good pacing means that it matches whatever is going at the moment. It is slow if it needs to portray a dull moment in the narrative; it is fast if we need to keep moving; it is medium-paced when there is a mixture of both. I felt that Chain of Iron embodied this ideal pace. It is a long book (almost 600 pages), but every page was necessary to pull this story together. So, the slightly excessive world-building did not majorly factor into my overall opinion of the book because the pacing balanced it.
— v.
Was this how it was to be an angel who fell? Cordelia thought. To have once served what was good, and radiantly beautiful, and to find instead that every gesture was turned toward the service of evil and the Pit? Was there a screaming hollow place in Belial’s soul, the way there was now in hers?
Cassandra Clare’s writing, as always, was beautiful. There were so many quotes I took down. I will say that for the first time, I noticed some ideas about morals, wisdom, all that philosophical stuff, etc. was a bit repetitive. I felt like I had already read some lines in other Shadowhunter novels. For now, it is not bothering me because Cassandra Clare is a lovely writer, but it might start to do so if it continues.
— vi.
“Do the Nephilim really understand what is happening to them? It has been thousands of years since Princes of Hell walked on the Earth. The Nephilim are descended from angels, but to them angels are fairy tales. A power that exists but is never seen.” He sighed. “It is not wise to forget to believe.”
“They are human,” Magnus said. “It is not in their capability to understand that which by its nature is almost beyond understanding. They see demons as what they fight. They forget that there are unimaginable forces that can bend the laws of the universe. The gods are walking, Malcolm, and none of us are prepared.”
I do have a couple of reasons why I could not rate Chain of Iron five stars. I felt Cassandra Clare wasted some characters and their potential on other dynamics, especially Matthew. He deserves so much better than being an angst device for another relationship because he is one of the most complex characters in the series. Secondly, I was disappointed again by the lack of Anna and Ariadne. Cassandra Clare said they spend the novel playing detective, which implied they would get a lot more screentime. The plot she referred to was a few pages in one chapter, so you can imagine how disappointed I was. Finally, the ending felt contrived—the events on the last thirty pages were too coincidental to be believable. I understand miscommunication is a large part of the angst, but I found it realistic before the end. The way the last few pages unfolded just seemed to stall the inevitable ending of the trilogy.
But I absolutely adored everything else, which is why I still gave Chain of Iron a high rating.
— vii.
“You cannot save people who do not want to be saved,” said Magnus. “You can only stand by their side and hope that when they wake and realize they need saving, you will be there to help them.”
Overall, I had quite the experience reading Chain of Iron. It was a roller coaster from start to finish, with many laughs, tears (lots of tears), squeals, screams, and general contemplation of life. I will continue to contemplate the meaning of life now that this book review has refreshed my memory of reading Chain of Iron. If you have not picked up a Shadowhunter novel, I recommend reading the series through publication date (i.e., The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, The Dark Artifices, The Last Hours). However, starting with The Last Hours could make a unique and exciting experience. If you read The Shadowhunter Chronicles but have not picked up this trilogy yet, please do! It is quickly becoming my second favorite series in the whole saga, with the first being The Infernal Devices.
And if you’re curious about my order of favorite to least favorite Shadowhunter series, here it is. Keep in mind just because a series is last does not mean I did not enjoy it. I adore The Shadowhunter Chronicles as a whole; I just prefer some books to others.
Series:
- The Infernal Devices
- The Last Hours
- The Dark Artifices
- The Mortal Instruments/The Eldest Curses (I have not decided which one I prefer)
Companion Novels: (I haven’t read The Shadowhunter’s Codex yet)
Final Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
— viii.
“There’s something I always wonder,” she said, her breath against his neck. “We are raised to see demons, and we do. I cannot even recall the first I ever encountered. Yet we do not see angels. We are descended from them, but they are invisible to us. Why is that?”
“I suppose,” James said, “because angels require you to have faith. They want us to believe in them without seeing them. That is, I think, what faith is meant to be. We are to believe in them as we believe in all things intangible—goodness, and mercy, and love.”
I want to hear from you guys! Did you have a chance to read Chain of Iron? If so, what do you think about the novel? If you did not get around to reading it yet, have you read Chain of Gold? Are you planning on reading the second installment? If you have not picked up The Last Hours, are you planning to? Otherwise, tell me all about what you’re reading right now. I’d love to know what you guys are enjoying!
If you have not had the chance to read some of my recent reviews, I reviewed The Gilded Ones and A Dark and Hollow Star, so feel free to check those out! I also began reviewing The Falcon and The Winter Soldier for TV Fanatic, so you can check out my reviews and other articles here. Finally, in case you missed it, here is my February Wrap-Up!
