Book Review: Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

We are back with a new book review! I meant to post this in October, but grad school has been kicking my butt. Anyway, I hope it was worth the wait! The next review is coming super soon, hopefully in 1-2 weeks. ♥︎ (As always, if you are only interested in my overall thoughts, scroll to the bottom!)

Think of the universe then as like a honeycomb, each of its chambers a different realm. So some chambers lie next to one another. I believe that the walls between our own world and this world that you are seeing, this world of shadows, have grown thin. You see this realm and you find yourself drawn to it.

— i.

“Not every bit of a good story is true,” said Lucie. Her cheeks were bright pink. The air had become chill; Cordelia pulled her cloak around her. “It’s the story that’s important.”

I cannot reiterate how much I loved falling back into the world of The Infernal Devices. TID has always been my favorite trilogy from The Shadowhunter Chronicles, and while it still is, The Last Hours may just become my second favorite. I know it’s only been one book so far, but I’ve never rated the first novel from one of Clare’s series as high as I rated Chain of Gold. The book was incredible from start to finish, with well-written new characters, lovingly familiar old characters, complex relationships, and a kickass plot.

Long story short, Chain of Gold revolves around Cordelia Carstairs (Jem’s first cousin) and her return to London. She hasn’t seen her friends in years, and now she is permanently living in London. Sona, her mother, wants to marry her off, but Cordelia is looking to be a hero. She gets her opportunity when strange demon attacks begin happening to Shadowhunters. I loved the premise, and I cannot wait to get into this review!

— ii.

“The truth always matters,” Matthew said.
“Not when it comes to stories,” Cordelia said. “The point of stories is not that they are objectively true, but that the soul of the story is truer than reality. Those who mock fiction do so because they fear the truth.”

I was surprised at how quickly I fell in love with Cordelia and her relationship with James. I say this because I don’t care for non-LGBTQ+ characters these days since there are so many of them. Cordelia was already a compelling character, and the more I read the book, the more I fell in love with James’s characterization. But their chemistry? Hot off the charts. They have so much history, and their relationship is so beautiful that when they’re in a room together, I literally cannot notice anything but their dynamic. I can’t bring myself to call James/Cordelia/Matthew a love triangle because Cordelia does not harbor feelings for Matthew (despite Matthew having feelings for her). As Magnus said at the end of the novel, anyone looking at James and Cordelia interacting would think they are in love. It hurts so much to think about how dumb these two are being, especially James. Cordelia loves James so much, and it drives me crazy that she cannot see the only thing that ties James to Grace is that bracelet. And James is a whole new level of dumb altogether. God, everything about them is just so magnetic, and they are my favorite relationship after Anna & Ariadne, my two lesbian warriors.

James and Cordelia’s relationship will have so much angst in the next two books, and oh lord, I am not ready, but at the same time, bring on the angst!

— iii.

“We don’t always love people who deserve it,” said Thomas quietly.
“Maybe not,” said Matthew. “But often we don’t love those who don’t deserve it, and very right, too.”

Cassandra Clare really made most of the characters LGBTQ+, with like, two token straight characters. Anna, Ariadne, Matthew, Thomas, Alastair… hell, even Charles, and nobody likes him. I know Lucie has shown no interest in women romantically. Still, to me, there are just so many things she does and so many characteristics about her that make her radiate bisexual energy. So, really, the only two straight characters are James and Cordelia.

At BookCon 2019, when I asked Clare about LGBTQ+ women in future books, she said regarding her new series, Sword Catcher, that no character in that series is straight. But honestly, I think she might have meant The Last Hours because seriously, nobody is straight. AND WE LOVE IT HERE. This representation means so much to me as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Character-wise, the main characters were well-written; each character introduced brought something new to the Shadow World. I significantly fell in love with Lucie Herondale. She is my favorite character in the series so far, and I have a sneaking suspicion she might be a part of my top three Shadowhunter characters of all time by the end of this trilogy. It is truly remarkable to see someone passionate about books and passionate about writing stories. I tend to be drawn to characters that I find common ground with but are not too similar to myself, and Lucie fits that description, along with Simon Lewis and Tessa Gray.

Other favorite characters include Cordelia, Matthew, and Anna, but I also love Ariadne and Thomas. I genuinely like the entire bunch, and the only characters I dislike are minor ones, such as Rosamund Wentworth. I’m also pretty indifferent to Grace.

As for relationships, Anna/Ariadne and Cordelia/James are my two favorites. It’s safe to add them to my list of all-time OTPs, but I also loved Jesse/Lucie and Alastair/Thomas. I cannot wait to see how the latter two develop in Chain of Iron, with Jesse slowly fading, and Thomas heartbroken and angry because of Alastair.

And of course, I cannot forget to mention the Herongraystairs and Wessa breadcrumbs we got. After Ghosts of the Shadow Market, and now Chain of Gold, my Herongraystairs heart has indeed been well fed. No matter what point in time we visit Jem, Tessa, and Will, their love for each other is always such a focal point of the story, even if they remain background characters for most of it. I loved reading Lucie and James’s musings on the bond their parents and Jem share, and I hope to see more of that in the remaining two books of the series.

— iv.

“We were all very brave then,” said Tessa. “I wonder sometimes if it is easier to be brave when one is young, before one knows truly how much there is to lose.”

The plot was thrilling as well. Considering Chain of Gold is a long book, it took a couple of chapters to pick up, but once the unexpected demon attack happened on the Shadowhunters in broad daylight, I was hooked from beginning to end. I wanted to solve this mystery; I felt the desperation reverberating from these characters. The story was well-paced, despite the start being a bit slow.

The novel’s ending set up great potential for plot expansion in the following books, and there is so much I am dying to read. I cannot wait to see how this fake engagement plays out, I am excited to see how Ariadne will win Anna back, I am dying to read more of Jesse & Lucie and Alastair & Thomas, and so much more. I have high expectations for Chain of Iron based on how strong Chain of Gold was, so I am counting down the days until spring 2021. Only a few short months away now!

— v.

“We do not get to choose when in our lives we feel pain,” said Matthew. “It comes when it comes, and we try to remember, even though we cannot imagine a day when it will release its hold on us, that all pain fades. All misery passes. Humanity is drawn to light, not darkness.”

Cassandra Clare’s writing was flawless, as usual. I took down many quotes from Chain of Gold because I was utterly amazed at her beautiful words. Whether it was dialogue or exposition, Clare has a way of crafting words into magical sentences that make you stop to think. Cassandra Clare has written so many iconic lines throughout The Shadowhunter Chronicles that sometimes I worry she will run out of moving things to say. I love how she proves me wrong every time. Her writing and creativity are indeed out of this world in every way. Not many writers out there can write complex characters and dynamics, a good plot, and still manage to make the writing polished, moving, and inspirational. Well done!

— vi.

She had always thought justice would prevail. But justice was not as simple as she’d thought.

I was a little disappointed about was the lack of Anna Lightwood and Anna/Ariadne scenes. To be fair, Ariadne was in a demon coma for most of the book, but from what I understood, their relationship is supposed to be the main, or at least, one of the primary relationships. Thankfully, Cassandra Clare confirmed on Twitter Anna and Ariadne have a mystery they will solve in Chain of Iron, so I am counting on plenty of more interaction! I genuinely hope this relationship gets as much screen time as Malec did in The Mortal Instruments.

I was also slightly disappointed with the reveal and the epilogue. I remember with The Infernal Devices, I was indeed taken aback that the villain was Mortmain. In The Mortal Instruments, there were so many surprises one after the other that I was getting whiplash (in a significant way). In The Dark Artifices, Malcolm’s betrayal genuinely hurt because I did not see it coming. Clare is great with revealing important points about the plot, so I was surprised it really is just Tatiana Blackthorn working with Belial. The entirety of Chain of Gold gave away too many hints that when the narrative revealed Belial, I was not surprised at all. If anything, I was disappointed. I was not expecting Tatiana to have such close ties to Belial, which was a pleasant surprise, but I was still hoping for something more. I know there are still two more books to go, so all I can say is I’m hoping there is something much bigger at work than Belial and Tatiana or more twists to their plotting. Not to say a greater demon isn’t big, but as I said, the novel just gave away way too many hints to expect anything else.

— vii.

She had him, for this year—a year of bitter joy. She would have her father back as well. She would stay in London and be parabatai with Lucie. She had everything she had wanted, and yet none of it the way she had imagined.
She thought of what James had said about faerie fruit: that the more you had of it, the more you wanted, and the more you ached when it was gone. And yet, was not knowing what it was like to taste it not also a form of torment?
She loved James; she always would. So many people loved without hope of return, without the dream of a touch or a glance from the object of their affection. They pined away in silence and misery like mortals starving for faerie fruit.
What fate was offering her now was a year of such fruit for her table. A year of living with James and loving him might ruin her for any other love, but oh, at least she would blaze up in glory. For a year she would share his life. They would walk together, read together, eat together, and live together. They would laugh together. For a year, she would stand close to the fire and know what it was like to burn.

Overall, I did not know what to expect from Chain of Gold, but I ended up loving every second of it. From the characters to the relationships, to the storyline, to the writing, everything was exceptional. Despite the slow start to the novel, the lack of Anna/Ariadne screen time, and the somewhat disappointing villain reveal, I still have high hopes for the remainder of The Last Hours. All the positive aspects of the book trumped the minimal negative ones by far, which is why my rating is exceptionally high.

Did any of you manage to pick up Chain of Gold? If so, who are your favorite characters and relationships? What are your expectations for Chain of Iron? If you have not picked up The Last Hours but have read other Shadowhunter novels, which series or book was your favorite? If you have not read any Shadowhunter book, tell me about your favorite fictional characters and/or relationships from fantasy novels you’ve read. I would love to read your thoughts in the comments!

Don’t forget to check out my latest articles on all things television from TV Fanatic and my latest review for Ghosts of the Shadow Market! I realize this is the third Shadowhunter novel in a row, but my next few reviews will branch out into other YA genres, so look out for them!

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Rating: ★★★★☆ | GoodReads