REVIEW: The Last Hours series

By Denise @ Life With No Plot on August 25, 2023 • ( 0 )

About the Books

Titles: Chain of Gold, Chain of Iron, Chain of Thorns

Author: Cassandra Clare

Series: The Last Hours

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 583, 656, 778

Edition Read: Kindle eBooks

Dates Read: February 20 – March 4, 2023

Blurbs:

Chain of Gold: 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’s friends discover that 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.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Chain of Iron: 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.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Chain of Thorns: Cordelia Carstairs has lost everything that matters to her. In only a few short weeks, she has seen her father murdered, her plans to become parabatai with her best friend, Lucie, destroyed, and her marriage to James Herondale crumble before her eyes. Even worse, she is now bound to an ancient demon, Lilith, stripping her of her power as a Shadowhunter.

After fleeing to Paris with Matthew Fairchild, Cordelia hopes to forget her sorrows in the city’s glittering nightlife. But reality intrudes when shocking news comes from home: Tatiana Blackthorn has escaped the Adamant Citadel, and London is under new threat by the Prince of Hell, Belial.

Cordelia returns to a London riven by chaos and dissent. The long-kept secret that Belial is James and Lucie’s grandfather has been revealed by an unexpected enemy, and the Herondales find themselves under suspicion of dealings with demons. Cordelia longs to protect James but is torn between a love for James she has long believed hopeless, and the possibility of a new life with Matthew. Nor can her friends help—ripped apart by their own secrets, they seem destined to face what is coming alone.

For time is short, and Belial’s plan is about to crash into the Shadowhunters of London like a deadly wave, one that will separate Cordelia, Lucie, and the Merry Thieves from help of any kind. Left alone in a shadowy London, they must face Belial’s deadly army. If Cordelia and her friends are going to save their city—and their families—they will have to muster their courage, swallow their pride, and trust one another again. For if they fail, they may lose everything—even their souls.

Review

I think it’s no secret that I absolutely love Cassandra Clare. She can write as many Shadowhunter stories as she wants and I will happily eat them up one by one.

This story is a sequel to the Infernal Devices series, following the children of Will and Tessa, the Infernal Devices protagonists: James and Lucie. We also have Cordelia Carstairs, who has become one of my absolute favorite of Clare’s heroines. That’s one of my favorite things about Clare’s writing: her characters are so compelling, you can’t help but love them. Even when they are doing wrong things, you still hope that they will find their way and succeed. Sure, there were many times when I wanted to take two of them and bang their heads together (Cordelia and James, I’m looking at you), but that was because I was rooting for them so bad. You can’t help but love them.

This book takes place in London at the turn of the 20th century, so we have lots of cool historical notes mixed in with all the Shadowhunter magic and adventure. I really think that the Shadowhunter world fits so well in that time period. Don’t get me wrong – I love the stories set in the modern world too – but since so much of Shadowhunter society is so hidebound and archaic in many ways, it just fits so well in a time period without cell phones. Does that make sense?

Also, can I please join the Merry Thieves? Please? I have a sword! I don’t know how to use it, but I have one!

This series, like Clare’s other series, has everything. Romance? Got it. Adventure? Got that too. Cool magic and battles? In spades. Fights of good versus evil? All over it. Sharp writing with a sarcastic wit? Absolutely. All the heroes making extremely poor decisions? Nearly every page.

If you are a fan of Cassandra Clare’s work, you definitely need to check these out if you haven’t already. If you haven’t read her work before, you can still read these and not be too lost. Shadowhunters = demon hunters. That’s basically what you need to know to get started. There are some connections to previous books that work like Easter eggs to fans who have read them before, but there are also explanations for anything that you need to know for this story to make sense.

These books are looooong, but as you can see from my reading dates above, it did not take me very long to read it – over 2000 pages in just 13 days! I could not put it down. The books are long, but they don’t FEEL long, if that makes sense. They pull you in and keep you reading the whole time.

GoodReads rating: 5 stars