Synopsis: 

Set not long after the events of Chain of Gold, Chain of Iron brings us back to the deliciously dark Edwardian London. The opening of the book is set just a few days before James and Cordelia are set to get married and for the first time since we met the Last Hours gang all seems well. 

James and Cordelia get married without anyone, who did not already know, finding out it is a lie. Lucie is still conversing with the ghost of Jesse Blackthorn and is now working with Grace to find a way to bring him back. 

Shadowhunters are being targeted by a serial killer and once again James, Cordelia, Lucie and The Merry Thieves are trying to solve the mystery. All whilst juggling secrets of their own. 

Review: 

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again Cordelia Carstairs is one of the best characters Cassandra Clare has ever written. I just love everything about her and you know what I’m a little disappointed that this series will only be a trilogy. 

Now, this next point is only a minor spoiler and is probably one you could guess. But my god will they just tell each other how they feel already! This book was torture (in the best way), there were so many times that James and Cordelia wanted to tell each other about their feelings and every time it didn’t happen I died a little more inside. 

I never thought this relationship would overtake the heartbreakingly beautiful love between Emma and Julian, but honestly, it’s getting there. Well not quite because I think we can all agree that Emma and Julian broke our hearts on more than one occasion, but its definitely getting there. Especially with the line “You are my constant star, Daisy” I could have wept. These Herondale boys really are something else. 

I always find it hard to review anything by Cassandra Clare as my love for her books sits so deeply within me that I cannot find the words to describe what I feel. Chain of Iron is not different. 

I adore pretty much every character in this series, I especially loved the more frequent appearances of Ariadne. Even Grace has become a character I really like and no one saw that one coming. 

It is rare that a series has a truly interesting cast of characters but The Last Hours has perfected it. I know everyone is loving that we get to see Will and Tessa as a married couple, myself included, and even the smaller characters like Ariadne are great inclusions to the story. 

The different personality types and dynamics within The Merry Thieves is the best yet and I love that every member brings something different to the table. 

Honestly, there were no parts of this book that I did not like. I know that sometimes they take a while to get to the action and there are a lot of mundane (excuse the pun) things going on, but that’s part of the reason why I love them.

The mystery of the story was so intricately woven that I was hooked from start to finish. Although it is somewhat obvious who is behind the murders there was an excellent twist on how they were doing it. I honestly did not have this revelation until the characters did and once again I am in awe at Cassandra Clare’s ability to write greatly intertwined storylines. 

There were a lot of recalls to past series which I really enjoyed. Seeing how Malcolm Fade reacts when he finds out that Annabel is dead and getting to experience the moment he decides that he wants to find her body was a great nod to The Dark Artifices. Seeing how this came about has made me want to re-read that series. 

Obviously, there are a lot of references to The Infernal Devices as this is somewhat of a sequel series. I loved the little pop-ups of Jessamine and I really wish Magnus had a bigger role in Chain of Iron, as you can never have too much Magnus. 

The action scenes are always so well described and every scene where Cordelia is fighting with Cortana is just incredible. Cortana will always be my favourite weapon of this series and I really hope we get to see it a lot more. 

With every new book that Cassandra Clare releases I find myself falling deeper and deeper into this world. A world that I have been enamoured with for half of my life and will probably continue to be forevermore. 

Words truly cannot describe the feeling I get when reading a new book in this universe as I do not think they could do it justice. At first, I was a little apprehensive that this series was going to be another one set back in the early 1900s, however, it may just possibly become my favourite. I’ll have to see how Chain of Thorns ends before declaring that for real but I have hope that it will. 

Now let’s talk about the stunning cover. I thought The Dark Artifices was going to win for the best (original) covers, but boy was I wrong. Both Chain of Gold and Chain of Iron are sitting up there with some of my favourite covers of all time. 

After reading the book and looking back at the cover there is definitely a lot more information on it then it first seems. I was genuinely confused about the moths at first because why the heck would you want a moth on the cover, but now it makes total sense. 

I cannot get enough of these covers and I absolutely cannot wait for the cover reveal of Chain of Thorns. Well, just Chain of Thorns in general really. I have no idea how I am going to wait so long. 

As with all of Cassandra Clare’s series I cannot recommend this enough. If you are looking for a book world that you can become completely lost in look no further as the Shadowhunter world does that and so much more. 

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