Chain of Gold

Cassandra Clare

Mar 2020 · The Last Hours Book 1 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

From #1 New York Times and USA TODAY 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 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.

Ratings and reviews

This new series is actually a continuation of the next generation of the shadowhunter generation after Tessa, Will and Jem. I was worried about the characters not being distinct, but right off the bat the POVs were distinctive and all very much their own character and easy to follow along with. My second worry was family ties and keeping everyone straight. All the major families are back and with at least two kids to boot. That's a lot of characters to keep straight, but the first few chapters have sorted everyone out rather quickly. It will also be interesting to have a cast of characters with siblings. So far the Blackthorns and Lightwoods are the only shadow hunter MCs that are not only children. I'me very excited to see how that dynamic plays out. In the opening chapters we are introduced to quite the gang. The boys of the major families have formed their own sort of group that seems to have each other's backs while also having a grand time of things. Their easy camaraderie reminded me that of past (or present) shadowhunter relationships, but more because of the size of the group. James seems to have Will's looks but take after Tessa and is hopelessly in love with Grace, only no one knows and she didn't tell him she was moving to London. Meanwhile, Cordelia Carstairs has just arrived in London as well after a scandal and is hopelessly in love with James herself. Although we know who ends up marrying who, this already seems like a tragic mess and like it will be a fun to watch it all play out. Above all this though, there is the mystery of why there are fewer and fewer demons in London. The writing seems to be in line with more of The Infernal Devices Trilogy than that of The Mortal Instruments. It feels a tad more mature. The descriptions of London were on par as per the TID trilogy and it seems as if we'll be exploring the backdrop of London more than that of the previous trilogy which will be exciting. I also loved knowing how certain people would end up together but not knowing how they would get there. So many dang twists and turns. Also might be slightly obsessed with Anna Lightwood and Matthew Fairchild.

Cassandra Clare has been a favorite author of mine for years. Sooo many years. I was even lucky enough to meet her at a book event once so whenever she has a new book out I need to buy it as soon as possible. I have absolutely loved every single book she's written before and Chain of Gold wasn't an exception at all. I was especially excited for this book because it's set at the London institute during the Edwardian era and the history geek inside me can't get enough of that. Also, I will always jump at the chance to read more about Will (who's a sexy silver fox now) and Tessa's married life even though they were secondary characters in this book. They're forever my faves and nothing will change that. I really lived for their appareances, especially the scenes together they had. Jem also appeared quite a few times and it took everything in me not to cry. I should really re-read The Infernal Devices at some point. But this time around the story is more about Tessa and Will's children, James and Lucie Herondale. It's also about Cordelia Carstairs who has traveled to London with her older brother and mother. I knew beforehand that I would love James and Lucie. But I absolutely adored Cordelia too. She was just so awesome and badass with her sword Cortana. I also loved the Merry Thieves, which along with James was a group of his friends. In the group were his parabatai Matthew Fairschild, Chrisopher Lightwood and Thomas Lightwood. They were awesome. How could I not love them. Especially Matthew, who is precious and needs to be protected at all cost. Aside from all the characters that I loved (and some I didn't because there need to be villains of course) there was a lot of action, humor, unexpected twists and romance. But oh the romance... Cassandra Clare really knows how to write good kissing scenes. I may have totally melted at one and god I need more! What else can I say? Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare actually blew me away. It's definitely one of the best Shadowhunter books I have read and I'm already absolutely dying for the next one. The wait will be so horrible because I couldn't get enough of the characters, setting and just everything!

I've read most of the shadow hunter series books and I really liked this one compared to others! I like Tessa, I really liked the clockwork books not sure if it was the time area or that I liked the characters more or that it was the first books I read but im looking forward to the rest of this series out so I can reread them both together! There was times in this book when I found myself bored but not much compared to the last one I read, but I also always end up putting off reading these books until I have to finish them quickly lol so that may be it This is a book I really do want to reread with the clockwork series though, since I feel its been awhile since Ive read them and don't remember all the characters as well a I would if I did and would probably get more out of this book!

About the author

Cassandra Clare is the author of the #1 New York Times, USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Shadowhunter Chronicles. She is also the coauthor of the bestselling fantasy series Magisterium with Holly Black. The Shadowhunter Chronicles have been adapted as both a major motion picture and a television series. Her books have more than fifty million copies in print worldwide and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. Cassandra lives in western Massachusetts with her husband and three fearsome cats. Visit her at CassandraClare.com. Learn more about the world of the Shadowhunters at Shadowhunters.com.