Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
Blurb (on back of book): Chain of Gold, a Shadowhunters novel, is the first novel in a brand-new trilogy where evil hides in plain sight and love cuts deeper than any blade. .
Cordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained since childhood to battle demons. When her father is accused of a terrible crime, she and her brother travel to London in hopes of preventing the family’s ruin. Cordelia’s mother wants to marry her off, but Cordelia is determined to be a hero rather than a bride. Soon Cordelia encounters childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and is drawn into their world of glittering ballrooms, secret assignations, and supernatural salons, where vampires and warlocks mingle with mermaids and magicians. All the while, she must hide her secret love for James, who is sworn to marry someone else.
But Cordelia’s new life is blown apart when a shocking series of demon attacks devastate London. These monsters are nothing like those Shadowhunters have fought before—these demons walk in daylight, strike down the unwary with incurable poison, and seem impossible to kill. London is immediately quarantined. Trapped in the city, Cordelia and her friends discover that their own connection to a dark legacy has gifted them with incredible powers—and forced a brutal choice that will reveal the true cruel price of being a hero.
UPDATED REVIEW
MY OPINION: *****
*short review*
I LOVE this book. I decided to do a little reread three years later because the third book in the series just came out and I had zero memories of what happened in this book. I also did not ever continue on to the second book so I knew I had a ways to go before I could start the new one.
I loved this book. Cassie always manages to hook you in so easily and even though her books are gigantic, you can read them in what feels like such a short amount of time. I took a little longer than necessary this time around just because of school, but when I really had the time, I'd do 200-300 page chunks per sitting, which was very efficient. You never really feel like it drags on, even though the chapters are incredibly long.
I am not the biggest fan of James (yet). I know he's the son of the actual love of my life, William Herondale, but this book is not doing him justice. It's mostly because of Grace (if you know, you know) and I'm excited to see him develop as the series goes on and her hold on him starts to weaken. We all know James and Cordelia are going to end up together but it's all about the journey. This is definitely the slowest of slow burns.
I LOVE Matthew. If Cordelia doesn't want him, I do. He's giving similar energy to Will, even though he's not Will's son (and weirdly, James kind of gives Jem). I wish him all the very best because this boy deserves so much more. He's literally crying out for help and nobody, not even his own parabatai, seems to notice or care. I hope he gets noticed more in the next books because I love him so very much.
Cordelia is a queen. She has her flaws and weaknesses, especially when it comes to James, but instead of letting those bring her down, she uses them to build herself up and progress as a person. She's brave, loyal, and strong, and even though she often falls victim to her insecurities, she never lets anything fully destroy her. I can't wait to see where she and Cortana go in the next books.
Alastair. I love him. I'm sorry, yes, he has his flaws, but my heart broke for that boy the entire novel. I want him to get anything and everything he wants and I really hope the Merry Thieves learn to forgive him, ESPECIALLY Thomas (I have faith). He is clearly repentant of his past flaws and bullying, so I have faith that he will prevail and find his happily ever after. I love that he wasn't defined by his sexuality and that the representation in this book did not feel like it veered into the realm of tokenism (at least not to me).
The Merry Thieves are so cute <3
Grace can die for all I care. No, sorry, I didn't mean it (yes, I did). I do feel bad for her because she is getting manipulated by her mother, but it's like, she knows what she's doing and that it's wrong and yet she keeps doing it??
The plot in this one was super unique and I like how we get to explore more of Tessa's backstory and lineage through James and his encounters with one of the Princes of Hell.
I love all the cameos from our loves, Will and Tessa, and our favorites, Gabriel/Gideon/Cecily/Sophie!
Definitely read this one if you love the Shadowhunters series or if you just want to get immersed in this world. While you don't have to read all of the books that came before, I'd definitely say to read The Infernal Devices at the very least just so you know all the characters.
Main Character: Cordelia, James, etc
Sidekick(s): Thomas, Alastair, Christopher, Matthew, Lucie, Jesse, Anna, etc
Villain(s): Demons, Prince of Hell, disease, etc
Fantasy Elements: This book had fanatic elements, including characters, demons, setting, etc.
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