Chain of Gold (The Last Hours, book 1)

By Cassandra Clare

Blurb: 
Welcome to Edwardian London, a time of electric lights and long shadows, the celebration of artistic beauty and the wild pursuit of pleasure, with demons waiting in the dark. For years there has been peace in the Shadowhunter world. James and Lucie Herondale, children of the famous Will and Tessa, have grown up in an idyll with their loving friends and family, listening to stories of good defeating evil and love conquering all. But everything changes when the Blackthorn and Carstairs families come to London…and so does a remorseless and inescapable plague.

James Herondale longs for a great love, and thinks he has found it in the beautiful, mysterious Grace Blackthorn. Cordelia Carstairs is desperate to become a hero, save her family from ruin, and keep her secret love for James hidden. When disaster strikes the Shadowhunters, James, Cordelia and their friends are plunged into a wild adventure which will reveal dark and incredible powers, and the true cruel price of being a hero…and falling in love.

Review: 
I think this was possibly one of my most anticipated reads for this year, and it has definitely exceeded expectations. I didn't really enjoy The Red Scrolls of Magic or The Dark Artifices Series as much as Cassandra Clare's other works, so I was worried I wouldn't like this one as much. But you know what, it is definitely up there with The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments. It was perfect from start to finish.

In this story we meet the children of Henry and Charlotte, Gabriel and Cecily, Gideon and Sophie, Tessa and Will, Elias and Sona, and Tatiana. There is quite a lot of children and new characters brought into this, so for a good chunk of the start you will get muddled up and forget who is who and how they relate. I know me and Lauren sure did and Lauren ended up creating a family tree so it was easier to get our heads around.

The main characters within this book are Cordelia Carstairs, James Herondale and Grace Blackthorn. Obviously we have the other side characters which are quite frequent throughout the whole book but I feel that these are the main ones and who have the most input to the book.

Cordelia is quite a shy but an upfront character at the same time. I was very fond her her to start off with and the end of the book I still really liked her. So I was actually quite surprised with that she reminded me of Emma from The Dark Artifices series, and I really didn't like her. But Cordelia's actions were what made me like her and knowing what she truly wanted in life and how good-natured her heart was. I felt like throughout the book she developed a lot as she was making more rash and suitable decisions to protect her friends and the ones she loved. She also lied quite a lot to stop others from getting in trouble, but at the start of the book, I really thought she was too much of a goody two shoes, how quickly my opinion changed.

James 100% follows after his father in my opinion, but i also feel that he has Jace vibes when we discover more about him. He seems like he is a true player with his love relationships just like Jace was. But then I also seemed to get Alec vibes because he'd put on a brave mask at certain times and events. I did really like his character though and I felt that he was necessary in the book because it really wouldn't have been the same without him.

Grace is just 100% a bitch. I hate her so much. At the start of the book, I felt sort of sorry for her and I felt like I should maybe give her a bit of a chance as she was quite mysterious and I felt that the details about her and her personality were hidden from us. But then as events developed my hatred began for her and what she did to her lovers and friends is just appalling, she really annoyed me. I won't mention a certain event but what she did in that test was just damn right wrong and I would love for her to die.

Within this book there is a lot of LGBT+ relationships, which I find is a constant thing within Cassandra Clare books. I do really enjoy the relationships and triangles because it adds that bit of mystery and fun to the book, trying to guess which character will choose who.

We meet some old time favourites which I love, because me met them quite late into the book, I didn't really expect to meet any old characters, so when they turned up it was a nice surprise. To know they haven't changed within this series also makes me extremely happy because it's just 100% them no matter the circumstances.

There are a few characters that I really felt sorry for because they must have been through something truly horrible for them to act the way they do. Which we do discover within the book, so I was happy about that because I got closure.

The actual story of this book was just perfect being truthful. There has been no demons for a while, all the young Shadowhunters are out of practice for fighting demons. But one day they are attacked by demons in daylight which starts this whole mystery and whole new discovery of different types of family secrets and true friendships. I don't feel like the actual plot could have been any better, there was no faults within it. It was truly fast-paced and at times I really didn't want to put the book down because it was that great.

If you enjoyed The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments then this series is 100% for you. This is one of her best works and I really wish that I didn't have to wait a whole year for book 2, it's so upsetting. But hopefully time will fly with the amount of books I have to read.

Favourite Character: James

Read: 06/03/20 - 14/03/20

5 stars out of 5

Written by Sammie