Cassandra Clare is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Chain of Gold as well as the internationally bestselling Dark Artifices trilogy, Mortal Instruments series, and Infernal Devices trilogy. She is the coauthor of the Eldest Curses series with Wesley Chu; The Bane Chronicles with Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson; Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy with Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, and Robin Wasserman; and Ghosts of the Shadow Market with Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Kelly Link, and Robin Wasserman. Her books have more than fifty million copies in print worldwide and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages and made into a feature film and a TV show. Cassandra lives in western Massachusetts. Visit her at cassandraclare.com. Learn more about the world of the Shadowhunters at shadowhunters.com. You can find more of my reviews of Cassandra Clare's works here.
Cordelia Carstairs seems to have everything she's 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 the 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.
Cassandra Clare knows how to write a book, and she's only gotten better at it with each book in her career. Chain of Iron is, without a doubt, her best yet. Opening the book with the wedding between James and Cordelia, highlighting the tension between Lucie and Cordelia and within the Merry Thieves: genius. Including new POV chapters with Grace, Ariadne, Thomas, and Anna was a smart move, in getting us to empathize and understand new characters who no doubt will play a bigger role in the big finale of the third book. This also allows us to see how the secret-keeping is affecting all of the characters, not just the secret-keepers. All of the characters have exceptionally compelling storylines and arcs, so being able to dive into each of their heads in the sequel was very exciting. Even more than that, we got to also see little snapshots of the murders as they were happening, adding to the tension and mystery surrounding the whodunit part of the novel. I believe it causes readers to be more excited about the reveal, and makes rereads more fascinating knowing the ending. The descriptions of characters, places, and feelings are even richer and more comprehensive, and I genuinely believe through that alone we can see how Clare has grown as an author and storyteller.
I was highly anticipating the love triangle drama between Matthew, James and Cordelia and I was not disappointed. Between secret kisses, fantastically written heightened tension, and an absolutely stunning scene at the Shadow Market, fans of these three might now have a hard time choosing which man they want Cordelia to end up with! Watching James battle through his "infatuation" with Grace was so tough, knowing that every second of the way he was somehow hurting Cordelia. And Cordelia was dealing with so much throughout the course of the novel, between family things, personal things, and the demon things. Simultaneously, knowing Matthew was in love with her the whole time and watching him fight for her in his own small ways was heartbreaking! The moments between Matthew and James, especially, were incredibly heartbreaking, just knowing all the secrets they were keeping from each other. I enjoy how they don't resemble the other parabatai relationships we've seen in other Shadowhunter novels, because it makes their future more uncertain. Similarly, I enjoy how the love triangle dynamic does not in any way resemble that of Jem, Will, and Tessa, because it makes the outcome more nerve-wracking. I was on my toes the entire time with these three, and where Chain of Iron ended left me dying for more.
Alcoholism is a big part of the story. Between Elias Carstairs's complicated relationship with alcohol and his family, to Matthew Fairchild's decisions with alcohol and his relationships, it is difficult to ignore the ways in which alcohol influences the text. Unlike today where resources are more accessible to those who want them, in 1903 it was difficult to find help or to talk through the stigma surrounding it. I believe Clare handles the delicate topic well, and highlights the similarities and differences between Elias's and Matthew's situations. In a certain sense, the commentary on their alcoholism feels like a commentary on how modern day people can shy away from openly discussing mental health, and the destructive tendencies of those who need help. It doesn't make those moments in the text any less heartbreaking; in fact, you are hoping the entire time that one character will speak up and help Elias, or to steal Matthew's flask. Cordelia's one condition to Matthew at the end gives me complete hope for Matthew.
At first, I was hesitant about the Grace Blackthorn "Days Past"-resembling chapters. The idea of getting to know Grace was interesting, as it "humanizes" the character that we've so long associated as a "villain" or antagonist. I was hesitant because, naturally, I did not understand her and thus disliked her. But as Clare revealed Grace's past to us slowly, and how her present was unfolding in 1903, I started to understand her. And that understanding led to a grudging like of her. While at first I felt like they interrupted the main action of the story with the characters I did enjoy reading (re: Matthew, Cordelia, James, Lucie, etc.), I started to recognize that they played an integral part of this story. Had Grace's chapters not existed, the moment when (spoiler alert!!) Grace's bracelet snapped, or the conversation between Lucie and Grace near the end of the novel would not be so hard-hitting or impactful. Knowing nothing about Grace would not have helped us or aided us throughout this story, because it meant we wouldn't have understood her motivations as she talked to Lucie, or understood her reaction to her bracelet being broken. In understanding her, I feel like I can now sympathize with her. Like James, I'm not sure I can completely fall in line and agree with everything she did, but I can see why she felt like she had no choice. Overall, this definitely makes Grace Blackthorn the most nuanced of Clare's characters, and I'm glad she took the time to develop Grace's backstory and share that with us.
Along with Grace, Lucie is making some pretty troubling choices with the purest of intentions in mind. In her eyes, she is ignored as a female despite having a power equally as worrying as her brother. In the same way as Grace, understanding Lucie's motivations is what makes us understand and empathize with her, even as she falls down a path that is really hard to follow. Lucie's ending with this novel was completely shocking and also exciting, especially since we don't get to see her again in the last chapter. I am very curious to see how Lucie, Jesse, and Grace's storyline plays out in the final novel. In Chain of Gold, it seemed pretty cute and fun how Lucie and Jesse got to be together; but now, it's become an even richer, more dangerous kind of relationship and dependency, and I'm curious to see how it's going to end. I want the best for these characters, of course, but when they fall down a dark path, I only expect even more darkness to follow. . .
I will be (im)patiently waiting for the final book in this trilogy, Chain of Thorns, slated to release in March 2022. Until then, find all my reviews of Cassandra Clare's books here, and stay strong y'all!
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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