Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare
The Last Hours #2
Young Adult, Fantasy
Rating:
Synopsis
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.
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Review
Chain of Iron has to be one of the most angst-filled books I have ever read! It is also my favorite Shadowhunter book ever!
What I love about this particular Shadowhunters series are the characters. Yes, Will and Tessa’s children are great, but I must admit I think James and Lucy are my least favorite characters in the book. I adore Cordelia and Thomas and Christopher and, well, all of them. Though none of them come close to my precious Matthew, they are all fantastic. I love seeing Will and Tessa as parents, and of course, I love seeing Magnus Bane.
I love the dynamics between the younger characters, and even though it is often just freaking heartbreaking, all this unrequited love adds something to the story. This is, of course, a Shadowhunters tale, so it is packed with adventure and danger as well. And the heartbreak goes beyond all the unrequited love. This story, much more so than the others, shows the shadow hunter community. In this group of teenagers from various Shadowhunter families, we see the friendships and rivalries that have formed. And it is even more helpful than we know the histories of all of their parents as well.
The overarching story is very engaging, but it is indeed the characters that kept me Turing the page. I loved this book and the first one, and I am equal parts eagerly awaiting and dreading the next book!
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