 Cassandra Clare

Cordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained since childhood to battle demons. When she travels to London, she encounters childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and is drawn into their world of glittering ballrooms and supernatural
salons. 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 demon attacks devastate London. 
Trapped in the city, Cordelia and her friends discover that a dark legacy has gifted them with incredible powers - and a brutal choice will reveal the true cruel price of being a hero.

The Last Hours (Book 1)

Chain of gold

Sarah Campbell

Let no one who loves be called altogether unhappy. 

"O 'Melia, my dear, this does everything crown! 

Who could have supposed I should meet you in Town? 

And whence such fair garments, such prosperity?" 

“O didn't you know I’d been ruined?" said she.... 

— “I wish I had feathers, afine sweeping gown, 

And a delicate face, and could strut about Town!" 

"My dear — a raw country girl, such as you be, 

Cannot quite expect that. You ain't ruined," said she. 

To less than gods. On the other side up rose 

Belial, in act more graceful and humane. 

A fairer person lost not Heaven; he seemed 

All places shall be hell that is not heaven. 

The dead are sleeping in their sepulchres: 

And, mouldering as they sleep, a thrilling sound, 

Half sense, half thought, among the darkness stirs, 

Breathed from their wormy beds all living things around, 

And, mingling with the still night and mute sky, 

—Percy Bysshe Shelley, "A Summer Evening Churchyard, Lechlade, Gloucestershire"

"Oh whence do you come, my dear friend, to me, 

With your golden hair all fallen below your knee, 

And your face as white as snowdrops on the lea, 

And your voice as hollow as the hollow sea?" 

“From the other world I come back to you: 

My locks are uncurled with dripping drenching dew.

You know the old, whilst I know the new: 

and death and the grave gave up their dead. 

Where beauty has no ebb, decay no flood, 

But joy is wisdom, Time an endless song. 

I kiss you and the world begins to fade. 

—William Butler Yeats, Land of Heart's Desire

She dropped her glove, to prove his love, then looked at him and smiled. 

He bowed, and in a moment leaped among the lions wild: 

The leap was quick, return was quick, he has regained his place, 

Then threw the glove, but not with love, right in the lady’s face. 

“By God!" said Francis, rightly done!" and he rose from where he sat: 

"Not love," quoth he, but vanity, sets love a task like that." -

For they were young, and the Thames was old,

And this is the tale that the River told. 

Knowledge is proud that he has learn'd so much; 

Books are not seldomn talismans and spells. 

—William Cowper, "The Task, Book VI: Winter Walk at Noon"

Close, side by side, from morn till night,

—Algernon Charles Swinburne, "The Garden of Proserpine”

Shall shine the traffic of Jacob's ladder 

Pitched betwixt Heaven and Charing Cross.

 —Francis Thompson, "In No Strange Land"

"Many waters cannot quench love; neither can the floods drown it. I will never stop loving you, Will —“

James lay on the bed in his room, atop the covers, his arm flung behind his head. He was gazing at a familiar crack in the ceiling that was shaned a bit like a duck. His father would be horrified.

—Robert Louis Stevenson, "Bright Is the Ring of Words"

—Alfred, Lord Tennyson "The Deserted House

Glance, and flicker like fire-flies bright; 

—Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "The Lady of Shalott"

Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold 

So haunt thy days and chill thy dreaming nights 

That thou would wish thine own heart dry of blood 

So in my veins red life might stream again. 

Though one were fair as roses, His beauty clouds and closes; And well though love reposes, In the end it is not well. 

—Algernon Charles Swinburne, "The Garden of Proserpine"

Ellie M.

** spoiler alert **
           This book really shows how much Cassandra Clare's writing improved through the years. 
- this book was slightly boring since it was more dialogue and descriptions than plot-wise and action. 
- i love the new characters and how they are people of color. 
- i love the lgbtq representation and how it is normalized throughout the book. 
- THE WHISPERING ROOM SCENE. SLAPS. JAMES AND CORDELIA'S KISS. 
- MAGNUS BANE STAYING IN LONDON FOR THE DRAMA SENDS ME. 
- DILF WILL. 
- We got see more of Will and Tessa AND I LOVED HOW EVERY SCENE OF THEM JUST MAKES ME SMILE. 


***
- Grace Blackthorn annoyed me the entire time. She's still up for a redemption arc though. 
- Cordelia ruined her reputation for James and he really thinks it's because she adores him as a childhood friend of his?? BRO HOW DENSE ARE YOU. 
- Henry and Charlotte really had a son named Charles who has no personality and only cares about Shadowhunter politics. He was an asshole for ending his engagement with Ariadne and just for using women to cover his identity and for keeping Alastair a SECRET who was willing to give him everything just to be seen in public with him as who they really are. 
- Tatiana is a mad woman who blames everyone for her demise.

Helena

superior unmatched ground-breaking unique amazing show-stopping outstanding legendary spectacular revolutionary one of a kind award winning never been done before the standard
——
*thoughts*
matthew i love you already choose me pick me 
herondaisy come to me 
lucie you are me i am you you’re so cool but how you gonna date a ghost pls no more necromancy in these books
grace go to the forest and never come back idk
wessa my parents i miss you never leave me please
jem the only man ever best tsc character you’re the loml 
magnus bane you’ll always be famous

Hanna Rybchynska

Eu comecei a ler este livro só sabendo que era da Cassandra Clare, não fazía a mínima ideia do que seria. Ao início comecei a gostar bastante do livro, porque novamente fui colocada no mundo dos Caçadores de Sombras e aqui acompanhamos a história dos filhos da Tessa e Will (as personagens da saga (As Origens). 
A medida que a história foi desenvolvendo, comecei a perder-me um pouco com as personagens (pois eram muitas) e depois a história foi desenvolvendo muuuuuito lentamente. E metade do tempo a escritora focava-se muito mais a descrever os olhos das personagens *reviro os olhos*! 
Em geral a história foi boa, não foi muito previsível, mas teve um bom desenrolar final.

Amira 

The amount of love I have for Matthew Fairchild is terrible, especially considering how much pain he’s causing me while also JUST being a side character. Like? Curse you blonde second male lead who can never get the girl, curse you.

Nisindi

In itself chain of gold is an enjoyable book. But in comparison with Clare’s previous series’s it fell a tad short from my expectations. In the start of the book I found the characters interchangeable and lacking in personality while being rather two dimensional. Since this is a very character driven story it did effect the overall mood. I did find the last few pages of the books were well done and the problem I stated above was less present. The presentation of some of the old characters we knew in previous series’s were very different in this series. Overall, a strong start to the series, although the plot is lacking.I look forward to reading chain of iron.

Edit: this is when I thought CC was the best writer that ever existed and pointedly ignore all plot holes and problematic things she’d written.

Tatiana

Chain of Gold: 4.5/5

“We don’t always love people who deserve it.”

Chain of Gold is the first book in a brand new shadowhunter series called The Last Hours. After finishing The Dark Artifices, I was nervous this wouldn't live up to my expectations, but I was 100% wrong. This was better than I could have ever expected.

Writing & Plot:
This book definitely needs to be read after The Infernal Devices. I am begging you to read those before this. Also, the stories within the novella bind-ups provided important insight on past character development. I highly suggest the short stories involving these characters.

Chain of Gold takes place in the early 1900s, and follows the children of the main couples from The Infernal Devices series. The London Institute has lived through a relatively long period of peace until demons start showing up in broad daylight. The Merry Thieves, plus Cordelia and Lucie, must find the source and stop the demon attacks. 

For me, the plot took a while to get going. It felt like the plot was very straightforward and kind of in the background until the second half. However, when it picked up, I was entranced and surprised myself with how deeply I felt while reading. I felt myself get angry sometimes and would yell at the book periodically. I genuinely cannot remember the last time I had done that.

Regarding the writing, although it is elevated, I still felt as though Cassie Clare repeated the plot multiple times for no reason. For example, I think Anna Lightwood was described three different times, but it all said the same thing. This seems like something that should have been removed by the editor, and I couldn't ignore it, even though it didn't take away from the story/plot.

Characters:
These characters fully stole my heart. Dare I say I like The Merry Thieves more than The Infernal Devices trio? Perhaps. The banter and comedic moments are out of this world. I fell in love with each character, and even the villains felt so real. Like I genuinely hate them. I didn't know I would have such a charred reaction. 

I desperately fell in love with Cordelia Carstairs and James Herondale. Their romance is top tier, and I am impatient to know what happens next (also infuriated). Matthew Fairchild, Lucie Herondale, Anna Lightwood, and all the rest are engrained in my heart as well. I am excited to know even more about them in Chain of Iron.

Conclusion:
As this Shadowhunter journey comes to a close, I can't help but feel terror and sadness. I desperately do not want it to end, and knowing that I will have to wait a whole year before Chain of Thorns comes out makes me want to throw up. 18 books down, two to go (Chain of Iron & The Shadowhunter's Codex).

nina 

i was mad about this for a good few days after finishing

Vivi

★★★★☆ (4.5)
“You decide the truth about yourself. No one else. And the choice about what kind of person you will be is yours alone.”
No sé porqué sigo leyendo Cazadores de Sombras si sé que siempre termino sufriendo. A este punto ya es un acto de masoquismo puro de mi parte que no puedo detener. 

RTC.

I love a Herondale, and James is no exception. Any spawn from Will will have a soft spot with me. 

I had to create a family tree on a piece of paper while reading this to remember which character was the child of whom from the previous series. Near the end I started to remember, but man, was it difficult to remember for a while. 

A close knit group of about ten people all procreated and it was a lot to take in. 

Nonetheless, I love this group. Charles was a little trifling, but hopefully he’ll have a good redemption arc like Gabriel previously did. 

This was a great start to a series. 

I love a Herondale, and James is no exception. Any spawn from Will will have a soft spot with me. 

I had to create a family tree on a piece of paper while reading this to remember which character was the child of whom from the previous series. Near the end I started to remember, but man, was it difficult to remember for a while. 

A close knit group of about ten people all procreated and it was a lot to take in. 

Nonetheless, I love this group. Charles was a little trifling, but hopefully he’ll have a good redemption arc like Gabriel previously did. 

alexandra

3.5/5 — really slow start but so good when you get into it !!!!! classic cassie with the angsty complex relationships and plot twists. i grew to love all the characters so so much ;—;

Victoria

Where do I even begin? Cassandra Clare has had me wrapped around her fingers for years now and this book is no exception. I have fallen deep into the Shadowhunter world and I am in love with the stories of the different generations of Shadowhunters. 

It is so cool to be able to see James, Matthew, Thomas, Lucy, Cordelia, and Christopher grow into themselves and see their parents grown. We get to see their coming of age story after having reading about their parents own tales. 

The foreshadowing that takes place within this book is magical as well. As someone who has read the original series, it fills in blanks that sometimes I didn't even know where blank. And for someone who is reading the books chronologically, it builds the story up.

I love this book and am so excited to read Chain of Iron (which I already pre-ordered) to see what happens to our group of Merry Thieves. Also can I just say how much I love Cordelia, She is such a strong character and her development is amazing.

Ariella

Once años y Cassandra Clare aún me sigue trayendo a su mundo.
¿Cómo es posible que después de 16 años aún siga creando más tramas, más personajes y más dolores en el mismo universo? ¿Y QUE YO QUIERA SEGUIR LEYENDO?
Cuando supe que este libro sería ambientado nuevamente en Londres, me emocioné. Pero cuando supe que los protagonistas serían los hijos de los personajes de Los Orígenes, exploté en un millón de purpurinas.

Nuevos personajes más los ya conocidos.
Mismo mundo con nuevos problemas.
Mismo WILL HERONDALE pero adulto y padre (insertar gritos).
Siiiii, Will Herondale hizo que tomara este libro y supiera, SUPIERA, que sería bueno, porque ¿Cómo van a decir que la historia donde tienen a Wil no es buena?
¿Cuántas veces diré Will Herondale? No se sabe, no se sabe.

Esta nueva trilogía tiene a protagonistas a los descendientes, un montón de chicos que se meten en problemas no porque ellos lo hayan buscando sino porque los problemas los buscan a ellos (es de familia).
Se centra en la joven Cordelia Carstairs, (prima de Jem) y futura parabatai de Lucie, que tiene como meta principal ayudar a su padre quien está en juicio. Cordelia viene a Londres con el objetivo de hacer contacto con las familias más poderosas (y uno piensa que se eso se trataría su historia, al menos la de ella pero nooooooooo).
Aquí entran Matthew, Thomas, Cristopher y James.
Al principio debo admitir que me confundía, llevo años que leí Los Orígenes por lo que saber quien era los padres de quién me causaba confusión. Creo que es normal que el principio de una nueva historia confunda un poco, a pesar de que sea un universo al cual estamos ya al tanto, los personajes sí que son nuevos.
Cada uno de estos chicos tiene su propio color, su propia personalidad y su propio plot, ninguno queda solo como "el bueno", "el simpático" o "el héroe". Es fascinante descubrir de a poco sus comportamientos y como es que son amigos tan cercanos que siempre se apoyan.
Obviamente, siempre hay uno que tiene que sobresalir, y para mí fue Matthew, ay, Math, mi pobre Math, creo que entiendo qué es lo que Cassandra quiere hacer y no tengo de otra que leer y tener esperanzas.
En cuanto a James, hijo de Will Herondale, es todo lo que esperaba de un hijo de la mejor pareja de esta crónica, pero a pesar de eso, no es perfecto, es un tonto, (alguien tenía que decirlo), ama a sus amigos y su familia con la intensidad de un Herondale pero es bastante ingenuo lo que lo hace caer en CIERTAS TRAMPAS QUE TODOS YA SABEMOS.
Thomas me sorprendió bastante, sé que apenas hemos visto una partecita de él, pero me tuvo totalmente enganchada, queriendo más, más y más. (y espero tener más capítulos de él).
Es Cristopher de quien poco recuerdo, no logré aún entenderle bien pero creo que así es como debía ser, aún faltan dos libros asi que confío en que tendrá también su momento.
También están otros personajes, como Lucie Herondale, la hija de Will Herondale, que quiere ser ESCRITORA y que lleva tomos y tomos escribiendo sobre Cordelia y sus aventuras. Lucie es super interesante, todos sus capítulos, todas sus conversaciones, amé cada una de ellas, además todo lo que se revela sobre ella tiene un tremendo potencial.
Anna Lightwood, ¿qué puedo decir de esta chica? Ah, sí, QUE MERECE SU PROPIO LIBRO, diablos señorita, si Anna me pisara sería un honor jajajaja.

Ahora, dejé para el último un personaje que no pensé que me sorprendería y me dejaría con ganas de más, Alastair Carstairs, es que primero te pintan que es de una forma entonces ya decis "ay no" pero luego suceden cosas y te quedas "mmm vaya, vaya" y luego terminas con "¿porqué me siento mal si no debería?" este personaje es uno de los que en un solo libro mostró diferentes colores y fue super bien escrito.

Como verán, son muchos los personajes y aún así todos llegan a mezclarse en una sintonía perfecta, lo que hace a esta trilogía más centrada en los personajes que en el drama, y no tengo ninguna queja de ello.
Quiero leerles a cada uno, en sus mejores momentos y en sus peores (peores dije, no cuando mueren, NO QUIERO LEER NINGUNA MUERTE CASSANDRA).
NO voy a hablar de Grace porque aish, solo no y ya.
AL final del libro te das cuenta que hay varios sentimientos no correspondidos y que hay más de un triángulo amoroso y no sabes qué hacer con esa información, como yo ahora, intentando escribir una review decente.

En fin, 5/5. Cassandra yo siempre volveré al lugar donde todo comenzó.
Jamás pensé que a los 16 años descubriría la magia y que fue Cazadores de sombras la razón de descubrir la comunidad literaria.

"champagne problems" by taylor swift !!!!! 

"because I dropped your hand while dancing Left you out there standing"

"runes given to you by your parabatai are the best."

tbh I was anxious starting this bc next generation books can be hit or miss and I was worried since the parents are my absolute favorites. however, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I love this! this is becoming my favorite cc series (after tid). reading about all the characters from the infernal devices felt heartwarming and i heavily enjoyed meeting all their kids (well some of them). it was so interesting to see glimpse of their parents in the kids and to also see how the kids have grown up to be their own person!

“You decide the truth about yourself. No one else. And the choice about what kind of person you will be is yours alone.”

i'm not the biggest fan of the trope love triangle but cc definitely knows how to write them so i'm eating this up!! i'm so ready for this love square? hexagon?? GAHHHH IM SO EXCITED FOR THE DIRECTION THIS PLOT/LOVE STORY IS GOING!! i am seated for the next book!!

"champagne problems" by taylor swift !!!!! "because I dropped your hand while dancing Left you out there standing"
"young and beautiful" by lana del rey
"heather" by conan grey
"paris" by taylor swift hehehe

"runes given to you by your parabatai are the best."

tbh I was anxious starting this bc next generation books can be hit or miss and I was worried since the parents are my absolute favorites. however, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I love this! this is becoming my favorite cc series (after tid). reading about all the characters from the infernal devices felt heartwarming and i heavily enjoyed meeting all their kids (well some of them). it was so interesting to see glimpse of their parents in the kids and to also see how the kids have grown up to be their own person!

“You decide the truth about yourself. No one else. And the choice about what kind of person you will be is yours alone.”

i'm not the biggest fan of the trope love triangle but cc definitely knows how to write them so i'm eating this up!! i'm so ready for this love square? hexagon?? GAHHHH IM SO EXCITED FOR THE DIRECTION THIS PLOT/LOVE STORY IS GOING!! i am seated for the next book!!

Finty Williams

Chain of Gold

Aishling

I really liked the characters in this, but I felt like the plot wasn’t super interesting especially towards the end. It’s very likely though that it’s just the mood I’ve been in lately, since I’m too easily bored, rather than the book itself. 

I’m looking forward to see how all the relationships develop in the next book since there’s at least four potential relationships and possible more along with some love triangles mixed in, which makes for very stressful but entertaining reading.

Leonor

** spoiler alert **
           I don’t wanna speak too soon, but this has the potential to be my fav trilogy out of all the shadowhunters series. Im officially a MESS. I have so many questions and I absolutely loved the friend group dynamics but like can someone please please please pay attention to matthew?? The poor guy is suffering and only lucie seems to notice- 
Im sensing there’s going to be a big deal of parabatai action in the next books which I’m a sucker for and it always makes me cry. I’m more than glad to see magnus again and I gotta say cordelia is my favorite female lead out of all the main girls from the other series.
And that last short story about will and tessa?? I will N E V E R get over it. I also couldn’t help but get emotional every time jem showed up and whenever these three interacted or were mentioned in the same sentence I LOST IT. 
IDK I JUST CANT WAIT FOR CHAIN OF IRON.

mercy

i wanted so much more than what i got... this cast of characters is one of my favorites out of all the tsc books but that's pretty much it?
 i didn't care that much about the plot (but then again i don't read tsc for the plot). i liked jamescordelia but i'm not invested in their romance yet. also luciejesse and alastairthomas? they would've served if cc had given them more than 3 pages. and the love triangle is absolutely WACK it makes zero (0) sense. i'd hoped this would be on par with tid but should've known cc peaked with that trilogy nothing could compare. all that being said! i still enjoyed this and will continue to read the rest of the series because apparently i can't let these books go and honestly chain of iron has so much potential to be so good.

4 stars for the merry thieves lucie alastair cordelia jesse and the fact that will herondale, my forever boy, is alive and breathing and happy with tessa

Jamieson

I'm undetermined on if I didn't like this as much as previous Cassandra Clare books because my reading tastes are just not the same anymore, or if it was because it was just genuinely not that well written? This felt so long and the plot really dragged in places, actually, I think the plot was really weak? No real interesting villains and not much tension to hold the book together. That said, I really am only here for the characters and for hot people in angsty love which I got a lot of. I liked James, Cordelia, Anna and Matthew as characters and I liked Cordelia/James dynamic as well as Cordelia/Alistair's sibling relationship. I wasn't sure if I would continue this series but then /something/ happened at the end that forces me to highly consider it because I LOVE THE TROPE. 

Overall, I think perhaps I just love Lady Midnight (2016) so much all future Clare books will be a let-down. That said, I really was just looking for something enjoyable I didn't have to think about to read on a rainy day and this did work perfectly for that.

brianna

"we do not get to choose when in our lives we feel pain. 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."


first read: may 2020
second read: march 2021

i wish i had the brain capacity to put into words how much this book has begun to mean to me. when i first read it in 2020 i knew i loved it, but upon rereading, i finally realized how much i do. chain of gold feels like a breath of fresh air in the shadowhunter chronicles. one that i haven't felt since lady midnight. 

the last hours has probably my favorite cast of characters and i think they were all introduced so well and i felt like i've known these characters for years even though it has only been 1 book. chain of gold feels like a warm cup of hot chocolate on a cold night and it has definitely made its way into my top 3 of the shadowhunter chronicles.

Jules

First print edition contains special content, including bonus art and a new short story! From #1 New York Times bestselling author Cassandra Clare comes the first novel in a brand new trilogy where evil hides in plain sight and love cuts deeper than any blade. Chain of Gold is a Shadowhunters novel.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 Edwardian London in the hope 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 the 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 force a brutal choice that will reveal the true cruel price of being a hero.

taylor alyse pisanie

she literally had no plot up until the end but we loved her <3 thankful for the beautiful set up and characters i’ll carry in my heart forever. as always, miss cassandra clare has outdone herself

giorgia :)

Loved it so so much the characters interactions and lives are so interesting to read and they are all so realistic person, none of them are perfect (except for my amazing james and cordelia they are perfect)

As usual with Cassie's books, this sucked me in. And reading it slowly helped me keep calm during our very own lockdown

Annabella

** spoiler alert **
           I loved it but it didn’t blew my mind away. 

For the « negative » aspect, I had trouble reading it as I found the chapters way too long. There was a lot of descriptions and moments that, I felt, didn’t need to be described and only made the book longer. It’s still the same dynamic as in every Shadowhunters books, so we can be sure it will be action packed but it’s also predictable. I understood from the beginning that Grace used her powers on James and other than that I didn’t feel like there was any « big » revelations. 

On the other hand, on the « positive » aspect, I loved every characters in this book! We understood why they were all here and I loved that! It was quit confusing for me to remember who was the son of who but other than that I found them all amazing (except Grace). I love the relation between Alastair and Thomas. I also love Cordelia and I love that she is such a strong woman! I don’t know if I want her to be with James or Matthew, I feel like James does not deserve her and doesn’t see how cool and nice she is (I still love James) and I think Matthew genuinely loves her and I would love to see the main girl end with the side guy character for once (like Tessa ended with Will and not Jem or Clary with Jace and not Simon...). I would’ve loved for Jesse to be alive and with Lucie so much but well... Anna is such a good character, I love her with all my heart and I can’t wait to see if we will know more about her in the future, same about Christopher as I feel he is not enough talked about. 

I still can’t wait to read the second book and see how it goes!

Chain of gold The Last Hours (Book 1)

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