Chain of Iron - Cassandra Clare

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA Fantasy

Blurb (on back of book):

The Shadowhunters must catch a killer in Edwardian London in this dangerous and romantic sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Chain of Gold, from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Cassandra Clare. Chain of Iron is a Shadowhunters novel.

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.

MY OPINION: *****

Once again, Cassandra Clare strikes and pulls at your heartstrings in the most unforgivable ways. 

I loved this book. It's been on my TBR for YEARS but I haven't thought to pick it up until recently, since the third and final book of this series just came out a couple months ago. I reread the entire series starting from the beginning, despite having read the first book a couple years ago, just so I would be caught up completely on everything. 

While this book felt slow-going at times, the second half was superb and everything that I love about a good Cassie Clare book. The love triangle that seems to be a classic trope for Clare was supreme. It's definitely not as tragic or incredible as Herongraystairs (The Infernal Devices) but it was a close contender. 

Cordelia is still a slay. I love reading about her adventures and seeing her process emotions. She's definitely a strong female lead that we love to read about in one of these fantasy books. I can't imagine marrying the absolute love of my life while under the impression that he is solely in love with another woman and was going to leave me after a year was up. She was so brave for that one because I wouldn't have been able to handle it, I'm confident.

James was definitely more likable in this one. I ended the previous book more leaning towards Team Matthew but this one definitely had me leaning back the other way (though really, I can't 100% choose). James is clearly the better choice for CORDELIA, though, which is all that really matters. I personally loved Matthew a bit more but in terms of Cordelia's perfect match, James is definitely the one. He's kind, he's brave, and he's conflicted. I loved seeing the complexity of his character. He definitely takes after his father (the love of my life, William Herondale).

Matthew is the love of my life in this series. He deserves everything and more. He is so clearly hurting and no one really seems to notice besides Cordelia. I can't imagine how much pain he is in, knowing that Cordelia can see him but doesn't love him in the way that he loves her. He is spiraling and NOBODY is helping him, especially James, his parabatai, which is shocking to me. Matthew better have the happiest of endings in the last book because he is the BEST one here. 

Christopher was cute and I am really enjoying the little romance brewing between him and Grace, though this was just hinted at and nothing has actually happened yet. Speaking of Grace, she isn't all that bad but even if she is being manipulated by her treacherous mother, she still has a free will... I wasn't a big fan of her still, though I know many readers converted in this book. I understand what she's going through but it doesn't make her any more likable, especially in her misguided attempt to raise her brother from the dead (or wherever he is).

Speaking of Jesse, I love that man. He played a very integral role in this novel and his character was definitely more prominent and likable. I don't 100% see the chemistry with him and Lucie, but I think they were cute. They definitely aren't my top ship though. Lucie is so creative and brave and kind but I do think her character felt more two-dimensional in this book. I hope we get to see more of her in the last one. 

Thomas and Alastair. Do not even get me started. At the moment, I am rooting for them more than I am rooting for Cordelia and James. They are the ship we all wanted and needed. They're so perfect. I love them so much. 

Ariadne and Anna are also a close contender for top ship. They're definitely more complicated and dealing with a lot but I hope they're endgame in book three because they both deserve some happiness.

The ending was insane. Almost as crazy as TID endings. So many crazy things happened in this book with the demons and everything that you expect from a Cassie novel, and I can't wait to see how it all ends. Though I did hear that it was in the top 3 saddest endings so I'm definitely not excited for that one.

I'd definitely recommend reading this series if you're a Cassie Clare fan because she does the same level of talented work as her other series (perhaps excluding TMI).

Main Character: Cordelia

Sidekick(s): James, Matthew, Ariadne, Anna, Lucie, Thomas, Alastair, Kit, Grace

Villain(s): Belial, Tatiana, Lilith, etc

Fantasy Elements: This book was based on a fantasy world.