Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare Book Review

“‘I think he is possessed,’ said Thomas. ‘He’s defacing a book.'”

(pg. 353)

About

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Series: The Last Hours books two

✼ I recommend reading The Infernal Devices before The Last Hours ✼

Other series by Cassandra Clare: The Infernal Devices, The Mortal Instruments, The Bane Chronicles, The Shadowhunter Academy novellas, Ghosts of a Shadow Market novellas, The Dark Artifices

Click to buy Chain of Iron

Click to read my Chain of Gold book Review

Click to read more book reviews

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.

Review

Spoilers Contained Below

To the Shadowhunters,

My gosh.

Big books give me a boost of serotonin because there’s a lot of content to take in, analyze, and love. And Cassandra Clare did not fail me when she gave me the content, baby content (if you know, you know) 😉.

Let’s get to it, shall we!

The wedding was heartbreakingly beautiful—heartbreaking because it was a “fake” wedding, but I wanted it to be real. It felt real. Honestly, I am here for Cordelia and James being endgame and realizing that their fake wedding was their real wedding and that after their deal, they will choose to stay married together. Heck, maybe they could have a redo wedding in the future—one that James can actually remember and appreciate 😅. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the wedding and how elegantly described Cordelia was. Gosh, James was Mask James or Zombie James, and had no emotion or reaction to seeing his bride whatsoever . . . or that’s how I felt. If we had real James, he would have been writing sonnets and poetry about how regal Cordelia looked. Gosh, you know what I just thought about? How sucky that must have felt for Matthew to see Cordelia all glorious and strong and stunning and to know she was marrying his best friend who didn’t even love her. GOSH 😫. That’s something I will talk more about later! But I thought it was kickbutt that Cordelia walked down that aisle with a FREAKING SWORD on her back!!! Most women walk down the aisle with a bouquet of roses or a flower of choice. Cordelia Carstairs? Nope! She walks down with a luscious, scintillating, powerful sword. That’s a power move, right there and I LOVED that for her! 🔥 There was one part about the wedding that had me CACKLING. It was the part where they were saying their promises to each other, and one of the things was “nor height.” I CACKLED. Cassandra Clare threw that if for the ladies who like their men six feet and taller 😆. I also teared up when James heard the sound of a violin outside the Institute. Uncle Jem was there for Cordelia and James and I loved that for them 🥺. It was nice to hear Jem playing the violin again 💙.

After getting married, James and Cordelia had a big party to celebrate—guests and all. On Cordelia’s wedding day, Elias finally showed up after being released from the Basilis where he was getting help for his alcohol addiction. He was supposed to return home weeks before, but had not. So everyone wondered where in the world he could be. My first thought was he was out getting drunk. In actuality, he came home with a nice scabbard for Cortana, as if a nice scabbard could gloss over the fact that he nearly missed his only daughter’s wedding.

One wondering I had in my Chain of Gold book review was what the relationship between Sona, Alastair, and Cordelia would be like with Elias back. Honestly, it was pretty rough. I liked how Cassandra Clare explored a complex family relationship because many children or families do grow up with a parent who battles alcohol addiction. In some cases, the children still love the parent, and in some cases the children resent, are angry, or confused at the parent’s behavior. No reaction is wrong because that is a very difficult situation. Alastair represented the child who was angry because he had to grow up protecting Cordelia from the wrath of their fathers inebriation, and to preserve this healthy father image to her. I have so much respect and love for Alastair, which I will discuss more later. But he was such a good brother and I do not blame him for being angry at Elias. I liked that moment between Alastair and Cordelia where she told Alastair that their new baby sibling was lucky to have him as a big brother. I loved that. People could say what they wanted about Alastair, but they couldn’t say he was a bad person with a bad heart 💙. I also just LOVED Alastair and Cordelia’s relationship. We really get these lovely scenes where they are looking out for each other because they are all each other have and they bond over this complex situation with their dad. I also loved their relationship because we see the real Alastair when he is with Cordelia—someone who is kind, thoughtful, observant, protective, and caring. I love how Cordelia also inspires the best in Alastair, and vice versa. They have such a wonderful sibling relationship and I loved seeing it.

“‘The boy I knew at school wouldn’t visit my brother, just to spite me. Don’t make your sister a liar; she’s a better person than you are, and if she believes in you, you should try to be someone she can believe in. I know I do.'”

(pg. 577)

At the lunch wedding party thing, the dad got drunk—unsurprising. He said all these mean things about how he should have been Cordelia’s suggness when, you know, he wasn’t even there until that day 🙄. I also felt terrible for Coreldia and James because it was their day and the dad had to make a scene. I know he probably didn’t mean to, but he did. However, I absolutely loved the familial care everyone had by drawing attention away from Elias. I liked how James and Matthew stepped up to help get Elias out of there. They were all acting like a family already, and I loved that.

When the party was over, they went to their new home, as married couples did back in the Edwardian London era. What boggled my mind was how Will and Tessa straight up bought James and Cordelia a MANSION at seventeen—- a mansion that was fully furnished. Heck, these days not many parents would just buy their kids a mansion, yet alone furnish it! I swear, whatever income the Shadowhunters get, I need that 😂. It was soooo sweet how they had their own house with all their rooms—- it was like they were playing house, but in real life. I loved loved loved how thoughtful James was in decorating the house. I loved how he considered Cordelia in every aspect of the design, from the books, colors, and decorations. Get you someone who is thoughtful 👏🏼. When they got to the bedrooms, I was slightly disappointed 🙈 that they had separate rooms. But you know, James was a respectful and honorable man. I did like how he made Cordelia’s room to her liking. I loved their little marital pastime of playing games with each other. I definitely got Queen’s Gambit vibes when they played chess. I liked their whole whoever wins has to answer a question game. I loved seeing them just be very homely and comfortable with each other because if they started to grow comfortable, maybe they could fall in love and stay married. You know?

I liked how Cordelia would mention seeing James shaving and how improper that felt because she never saw a man shave before. I also liked how they would prepare meals with each other and eat them in different rooms of their house. I liked how they had those intimate moments to know each other. I also loved how they talked about travel, books, and mythology. I could NOT when James got her a two week wedding anniversary gift—I mean, fake marry someone who is THOUGHTFUL and SWEET!

“‘We talked so much of travel,’ James said. ‘I wanted to give you the world.'”

(pg. 127)

What a fabulous line, James! He has my heart! 😆

I loved the whole cliché moment when he put the necklace on her. I imagined the Troy Bolton and Gabriella moment—the one where he put the T-necklace on her. We love a necklace moment!

I LOVED the tension of James taking off Cordelia’s wedding dress!!!! The night of their wedding, I was like, “Are they going to have a wedding night?” 😏. They didn’t. But they did have a steamy moment where James was all hot and bothered and tense because he got to run his fingers down to open up Cordelia’s dress. They might as well and a wedding night by the way things were heading 🙈. During this scene, in my head I kept hearing the song Dress by Taylor Swift because . . . you know. But it was a real tease of a scene, and I would take all the James and Cordelia content I could get, especially since this boy was under a FREAKING SPELL WITH HIS DARN GRACELET!!!

The Gracelet. I saw someone on Goodreads call the silver bracelet, the Gracelet, and I quite liked that! So, the Gracelet it is!!!

This GRACELET RUINED EVERYTHING!!! The real evil in this book was that Gracelet. I mean, Chain of Iron who? More like Chain of Cheap Steel because that sucker needed to go!!!! 😂

In the last book, we all knew James was being controlled by this Gracelet—if he wore it, he was under Grace’s spell to love her, and when he wasn’t wearing the bracelet, his true heart showed. Now the thing that I didn’t really like about James was that we barely had time with the real James. We still got to know James through the Gracelet—his kindness, loyalty, thoughtfulness, and care. But I felt the Gracelet put up a wall where we didn’t know the real James. In Chain of Thorns I want moments where we see James thinking, his passions, his inner-confidence, because all of that was blocked with the Gracelet. I love James’s character, but it was just difficult for me to l LOVE his character when I missed the inner workings of who he was. I just feel like the real James needs to shine in the next book because that James has a good heart and a good mind and I want to know that James rather than Masked Zombie James.

I liked how Cassandra Clare kept this Mask idea running throughout the story because it showed how everyone felt James was keeping at a distance. They all felt like it was natural for James to have a Mask on, but boy, did he NOT EMOTE 🙈. Like I just wanted a reaction from James throughout the majority of the book because, again, I wanted to know the real him beneath the Mask. Cordelia noticed the Mask, and in some ways so did Matthew. It is beyond BOnKERS and wrong how for about three years, James had been controlled to love Grace and forget Cordelia and his love for her. I think the Gracelet’s power must have been stronger once Grace put it back on him in Chain of Gold because he forgot a lot of pivotal memories he had with Cordelia—core memories of why he loved her. I didn’t remember James being that forgetful of those memories in the last book, but that could just be because I read Chain of Gold a while back. Nevertheless, James forgetfulness made my heart sad 🥺! Especially the fact he forgot the time when he truly fell for his Daisy—when he was sick and Cordelia read to him. I felt Cordelia’s heart drop when James forgot their special moment. If anything his forgetfulness should have been a red flag to her that something was wrong. I mean, real James wouldn’t have forgotten such a pivotal moment in their relationship.

I also appreciated how James would have moments when he would say he would take off the Gracelet, but he never seemed to do so. I mean, I didn’t appreciate he had the Gracelet on, but I liked how he was self-aware enough to want to take it off. Honestly, halfway through the book, I got sooooo fed up with this Gracelet, I was like, someone just take a chainsaw at cut that sucker off his wrist already 🤪!!!! Or Cortana it off because I could NOT! I just wanted the real James.

“The worst part was that she could sympathize. She knew what it was like to be near the person you loved yet feel as if you were a million miles away.”

(pg. 154)

The real James loved Cordelia with his whole heart, and part of Mask Zombie James loved Cordelia in the small ways he showed he cared. But he didn’t love her because his heart and mind were being controlled. There was this part of the book where Matthew and James talked about Grace, and Matthew asked him about what future James saw with Grace. James couldn’t say he saw a future with Grace, but just felt that he loved her. But his love for Grace was very surface level and finite and I liked how James was starting to question why he even loved Grace in the first place when he had reasons that he loved Cordelia. More importantly he could see a future with Cordelia. Grace wasn’t his future.

Don’t even get me started on Matthew and James’s tense relationship in this story. I felt like most of the time they were fighting over how James was being ridiculously unfaithful or wrong in his love for Grace. Matthew loved Cordelia and it hurt him to see her with his best friend who didn’t even love her (as Mask Zombie James). Matthew would get angry because he wanted James to appreciate Cordelia and the life they had, and I respected Matthew in how he stepped back in his feelings because he knew they were married and they could grow to love each other. I liked how we saw Matthew get all respectfully mad at James. But the real moment of tension was at the Shadow Market when they fought in the alley. This scene shattered my heart like the bottle Matthew threw beside James’s head 🥺. They were parabatai, and they never fought. But they truly weren’t themselves that day—or James hadn’t been his true self is such a long time. I remember in Chain of Gold James mentioned how he never talked about Matthew’s drinking problem because it was an unmentionable thing between them; that was the one line he wouldn’t cross with Matthew. However, James mentioned drinking to Matthew in their fight and that really unsettled Matthew because if his parabatai knew something was wrong, I think Matthew felt like he knew that he had a problem that other’s saw. I don’t think Matthew knows how much people love and care for him—how much they see how unhappy he is, but don’t know why.

“All I want for you, Math, is that you love yourself as much as I love you.'”

(pg. 249)

James loved Matthew and just wanted him to be happy—-to love himself enough to forgive himself and find peace. We all want that for him 🥺.

My heart literally can’t with Matthew because he’s so fragile and sad and I know what that feels like. Matthew’s a true best friend and he deserved the world, I tell you, the world. I will continue my talk about my precious Matthew later on, but I just wanted to touch on their friendship while I was on topic.

Back to James, he would forget to remove the Gracelet because whenever he had those thoughts, he was trained to forget it, so he kept wearing the Gracelet. However, I loved seeing the moments where he would fight the Gracelet. He would get headaches because he would be thinking of Cordelia and how much he loved her or memories that started to surface. The more the story went on, the harder the headaches James would get because he was resisting the Gracelet. also liked how he saw the Gracelet start to fracture because of his resistance and love for Cordelia. It was whenever they kissed that the Gracelet cracked; kind of like true love’s kiss broke the spell kind of thing, which I loved! I didn’t know whether to laugh or scream when they first kissed on James’s bed. James was tied up with ropes to his bed, and I was laughing at how awkward that must be to position herself to kiss him. I mean, the dude was tied up, but gosh did they really have a steamy scene with how he showed her how to kiss. He really showed her!!!🤪 Gosh, gracious! In the great words of Anna of Arendelle:

And it was true love and passion that that SUCKER finally BROKE!!! Let’s go hormonal teens 🤪!!!! Their second steamy makeup session was the definition of passionate. Gosh, gracious this scene needed to come earlier so that Gracelet could go! Cassandra Clare really said let’s let their passion BURN!!! 🤪 Burn baby Burn! Don’t even get me started how weirdly funny it was when James said, ‘Touch me—do what you want–anything.” 🙈 EXCUSE ME. LEt’s GO JAMES!!!! When they heard that tinkling sound, I was like, “What the heck?” Then they saw the Gracelet in two, and I can’t express how happy I was—fist bumps, jump in the air, Volcra scream level of exhilaration that that “loyalty binds me Gracelet was no more.”

Grace had nothing on James now!!!!!

Here’s the thing, I have a love-hate relationship with Grace. I understand her, but I don’t like her that much. But I also do like her because I understand her. I don’t know, she’s just so interesting 😆. I appreciated getting Grace’s backstory because it made me understand and empathize with who she was and what led her on this path. Grace was adopted after both her parents passed away. She wasn’t desired by her relatives because they had their own big families to care for. However, Tatiana adopted Grace once Grace could be adopted . I thought it was interesting how it was mentioned that Tatitana was looking to adopt a girl and how she paid to adopt Grace. I wonder why Tatiana wanted Grace so much. Like why Grace, specifically? I also wanted to know who in the sane mind let Tatiana adopt a child? 🤪 Am I right?

I also enjoyed the flashback moments of Grace and Jesse. They were all each other had because Tatiana was still stewing in her bitterness and wasn’t a caring or loving mother to Grace or Jesse. Grace thought that being adopted, she would have a normal family, but that wasn’t the case because she felt even more alone and melancholy by how distant Tatiana was. However, Jesse was her saving Grace 😉(see what I did there). They were all each other had—similar to Alastair and Cordelia’s relationship. I liked how we saw how they cared and looked after each other. Jesse and her would secretly train as Shadowhutners because they wanted to be prepared to fight if they needed to. But you know, Tatiana would go livid if she knew because Tatiana repulsed Shadowhunters and blamed them for everything. She was just a bitter, old, resentful hag and I am not going to retract that statement because I don’t like her ✌🏼🤪.

Grace was only ten when she saw Jesse—the only person she loved, trusted, and cared for—pass away. That hurt my heart for her. She had nothing left 🥺—no one left. And seeing her brother pass away, that’s something no one should have to experience. What got me was how Tatiana knew what would happen to Jesse if he took a rune. It just FREAKiNG bOGGLES and AngERS my mind that she KNEW what would happen if Jesse took a rune, and yet she let him!!!! What kind of freaking mother did that!? A SICK, twisted, demented hag that’s who! Tatiana knew Jesse wouldn’t survive taking a first rune because of how she worked with her “patron” Belial to place an anchor of Belial in Jesse when he was younger, so that if Belial wanted to walk the earth, he would have a host body to do so. Belial wasn’t sure if Tessa would have children who he could use as a host body, so for insurance, he worked with Tatiana and had Jesse as a host body—as Belial’s anchor. At that point, Jesse had demon blood in him and he would obviously not react well to taking a rune. But yet, she LET Jesse, no, agreed, to let Jesse take a first rune knowing that he had demon blood in him. She knew what was going to happen, and she consented?! I literally don’t have a response to that because what the literal FREAK?!

Tatiana honestly never cared for her children and only cared for herself and her vengeance. I mean, she would much rather spend her life seeking bitter revenge than living a healthy life. She would rather work with a demon to take down Shadowhunters. That’s sad. She should have just said a thank you next and lived her life and moved the FREAk on. But noooo she had to drag her children into her mess.

Because her children were her pawns in this long twisted game and plan she had to exact her revenge. She needs psychological therapy and I ain’t joking.

“As the months passed, she realized that loneliness had driven her adoptive mother mad. Grace wanted to love Tatiana, but her mother would not allow such love to grow. Her loneliness had become so twisted up on itself that she had grown afraid of love, and rejected the affections of anyone besides Jesse. Slowly, Grace came to understand that Tatiana did not want Grace’s love. She wanted only her loyalty.”

(pg. 56)

After Jesse passed, she had a warlock, Emmanuel Ghast, preserve Jesse’s body. She probably just wanted to preserve his body for Belial because gosh knows she didn’t actually care about who Jesse actually was. I felt absolutely terrible for Grace because she was stuck in this dark, dreary, down sodden home with a mad woman. Grace needed someone to grieve with—to comfort her and talk with. But Tatiana wasn’t going to be that person for her. So, I understood why Grace retreated into herself and how downcast she felt. I liked how Jesse came back to talk to her because he knew how lonely it could be in that house with Tatiana. In life and death he loved and cared for Grace 💙. Jesse deserved so much more than a mother with a sick agenda.

Grace got her powers from Belial in, of course, a Brocelind Forest—the forest where good things do not happen. I’m curious how exactly Belial gave Grace her powers and why. Why control men? I mean, was the plan always to control James because he was the main man they wanted to manipulate? I mean, pretty girl + flirtation with a seventeen year old boy isn’t a bad way to convince the boy to be the host body for his grandfather. That’s a sentence I’d never thought I’d write. But here we are 😅. I guess so. But Grace had no choice in her life—what was done to her. Her powers weren’t a gift—they were unnatural. As far as I still understand, she’s a Shadowhunter, so she could still take runes and such. But her power seemed to complicate things.

“‘You are your mother’s blade. . . cutting these arrogant boys down to size.’

And Grace would smile back, agreeing. ‘I am my mother’s blade indeed.'”

(pg. 240)

More like pawn, I tell you.

Grace went along with Tatiana’s bidding because Tatiana was now the only person she had in her life and she wanted to make her mom happy. She also wanted to do right by her mom—to please her, to be her blade. So Grace again, didn’t have a choice because she was just a kid and she didn’t know better to what she was doing. Grace’s entire life reminded me of the sentiment of nature versus nurture because I think Grace is a good person. I know deep down she has a good heart and she wants to do the right thing, but she grew up with a difficult past. She also grew up with a mentally unwell mother who used her as a pawn to seek vengeance and never gave Grace the chance to learn right from wrong. She only gave Grace the chance to learn evil and do-as-I-say. Grace was nurtured to be cold, distant, unfeeling, and a bit unabashed. She didn’t know how to kindly communicate with people because she never grew up around enough people to know how to communicate. She didn’t know better. And I didn’t blame her or hate her for it because I felt like Grace felt trapped in her mother’s cycle.

Tatiana was in the Adamant Citadel during this book, but she could speak to Grace through people or through objects like a mirror. Her mother would ask her updates and tell her things to do to keep the plan going. Grace would follow what her mother said because that’s what Grace knew how to do best. However, there was that one scene at the end that I Loved so much for Grace: the scene where she looked at her mom in the mirror and stood up for herself. Grace didn’t want to be a pawn. I laughed at Tatiana’s whole speech to Grace about how “mother knew best” 😆. What was Tatiana, Mother Gothel?! Might as well be. I also could not with how Tatiana was like “seduce Jesse.” What the living heck?! Seduce her brother? Grace didn’t seem like the incest type 😅. Tatiana was being ridiculous. But I loved how Grace realized how her mother would never change because she harbored too much hate and resentment in her heart—she never was going to care about Jesse or her.In this whole scene, Tatiana and Grace also had a conversation about choice, and Grace also acknowledged how she was never given a choice—not with her mother. So I cheered for Grace when she broke that darn mirror and told her mother no. Stand up to her Grace, she doesn’t control you!!!

I also thought it was interesting when Grace had the realization that she could only control men because Tatiana didn’t want her to be stronger than her—have power over Tatiana. Honestly, Tatiana’s a weak woman hiding behind a bitter soul and all these deranged plans she had.

Throughout the book, Grace would make visits to James or see him. The first time she saw James, Cordelia wasn’t home, but gosh if she were I would have thrown a fit! I still threw a fit when she saw James at their house on Curzon Street. Like, Grace go away! And the AUDACITY she had to tell James to kiss her 🙄. But I did respect how James told Cordelia about the kiss; he was a man under a spell, but a respectful man at that. At the end of the book, Grace made the decision to see James and ask him for help to get away from her mother. Grace also had the AUDACITY to fling herself at James. He was a married man 👏🏼. Grace didn’t love love him and he didn’t love her either, so she needed to get her twisted hands off Cordelia’s man! I honestly CACKLED when James was like:

“‘Thank God,’ he said again. ‘Thank God and the Angle that this farce is finally over.'”

(pg. 615)

Even James was tired of being her prisoner!!!! 😂👏🏼 I just felt the sass oooooze out of James in this sentence. He was ready to throw down on Grace and tell her straight!!! I LOVED how revulsed he was at Grace 😂! Gosh, that makes me sound terrible, but I was thriving with how furious he was at her. It felt like he was the principal and he was scolding a student. I laughed when James said to her face that “I don’t want to look at you.” James was so DISGUSTED he couldn’t stand the sight of her 🤪. That’s the energy I needed! I also loved it when he was like, “I don’t even want to be your friend.” Set those boundaries!!!

I’m glad she didn’t try to play it off because she knew better to try. I didn’t like how she played the Gracelet off as James knowing that at least he loved Cordelia.

“‘I can’t impinge the life you must have had,’ he said harshly, ‘that would lead you to offer that to me as comfort.'”

(pg. 620)

I have a heart, and I will say that I felt for Grace. She made the best decision for herself—she made a choice—to be better than her mother’s pawn/blade and she sought help from the only person she trusted. James was also the only person she thought she had left. I felt for Grace because she had nowhere to go and she just lost James from her secrets and deceptions. I didn’t blame James for being angry, and I felt Grace felt she deserved his anger. But James was an honorable man and I liked that he decided to help her despite everything. To prove herself changed, James agreed to protect her if she went to the Clave and tried to get rid of her power. I wonder if she ever did go to the Clave and Jem since we last saw her. Effie was tasked with calling the Counsul and Brother Zachariah so Grace could explain herself, so in the next book, I hope we see what has become of Grace and if she chose to change.

I still wonder how the Gracelt worked, though. I know Belial put a spell on it to counteract James’s warlock and Shadowhutner blood, but what exactly was in that Gracelet that made it so powerful—-powerful enough to convince James he loved Grace and forget about his love for Cordelia.

“‘Love leads to pain, but if you are careful with the way you wield it. . . you can use it to wound, as well.'”

(pg. 238)

The end with Grace, James, Cordelia, and Matthew was a true screwed up mess.

Cordelia knew that James and her were fake married. Like the rest of us, she hoped it could be something real. I didn’t blame her for thinking James actually loved her after all those kisses they shared. I mean, if I were here, I would also think so. We all knew deep down he loved Cordelia and wanted to be with her, he just wasn’t himself. It really pained me because Cordelia went through this entire book thinking James didn’t love her and thinking that she wasn’t good enough to be loved or she would never be loved by the one she loved. That freaking sucked. That’s why I detested Grace. She even had a conversation with her mom where Sona knew James and Cordelia were not exactly in love.

I would have liked more moments with Sona, she seemed like a great mom.

“‘Layla—what I want for you above all things is that you follow the truth of your dreams. No scorn, no shame, no part of society’s opinion matters more than that.'”

(pg. 586)

Cordelia needed to hear everything with her mom because she was still a teen. Cordelia needed to know that above all, her happiness matters most and she should do what was best for her. I liked how the mom gave context about her and Elias and how she never thought they would turn out like they did. I also liked how the mom wanted Cordelia to be free and not worry about her.

When Grace flung herself at James, Cordelia saw it. She also heard James say, “Thank God,” when Grace said she was going to leave Charles. Freaking Cassandra Clare, queen of angst!!! That was soooo taken out of context!!!! If Cordelia heard the rest, she would have laughed with us. She would have also known that James was under some spell and she wouldn’t have run away and she wouldn’t have run even further away and everything wouldn’t have been a screwed up mess 😫!

“‘But there were moments–not all the time, but moments—where I thought it was changing. That he cared for me. And the moments were becoming more frequent. More real. I thought. But it seemed those were only moments that I was deluding myself. It was my delusions that were becoming more frequent.'”

(pg. 636)

The one place Cordliea felt safe going was to Matthew’s new apartment on Oxford Street. She didn’t want her mom or brother to judge or comfort her, she also didn’t know where Lucie was, and she wasn’t sure how Anna would take the news. So she naturally found Matthew’s apartment. You know, I was curious to go to Matthew’s place because it just seemed random that he would move. But I guess, hey, he was old enough to do so.

Over the course of the book, we saw Cordelia and Matthew’s relationship grow. I enjoyed how they bonded over a shared heartache of pinning love and devastation. I liked when Matthew asked her to dance at this other Shadowhunter couple’s wedding and how Cordelia hyped Matthew up. She saw the best in Matthew when not a lot did. I mean, everyone saw the best in Matthew, but I felt like Matthew felt seen and appreciated with Cordelia. I thought it was cute Matthew crawled through her window to offer her condolences. This boy really said I need to see her and I need to see her now. Kind of that weird he used the window, but I respected it as a romantic gesture. He cared for Cordelia SO MUCH and he knew she loved James and he didn’t force any emotions on her.

“‘I know what it’s like to hide what you feel,’ he said. “I know what it’s like to be in pain and not be able to explain why. I know why you’re not with James tonight. Because when we are in pain, we are flayed open, and when we are flayed open, we cannot hide our true selves. And you cannot bear for him to know that you love him.'”

(pg. 296)

OF COURSE MATTHEW WOULD KNOW 🥺😫💔.

Gosh, and he was like, “I have known unrequited love myself, in the past.” Yea and present! Gosh!!!! I want to hug Matthew.

But what I appreciated most about this scene was how Matthew finally, finally, opened up about his past with someone! I wondered why it was Cordelia and not James he opened up to first. But I realized it was because he really loved Cordelia and trusted her; he knew she wouldn’t judge him for it. I also felt that he opened up because Cordelia knew great loss, pain, and unrequited love, and he thought opening up to her would connect them. It did. It made her understand Matthew’s sorrow and pain, and I loved that for Matthew because he now had at least one person in his life who knew him. When they had to go to the Shadowhunter Market, I was like, “Oh, no!” That had to be triggering for Matthew, and it was. I liked how Cordelia would steal glances with Matthew and make sure he was okay. He needed someone by his side that day, and I was glad it was her.

I also felt Cordelia and Matthew related in the ways of alcoholism. Elias struggled with his alcohol addiction and Matthew was trekking up that same path. There was this horrid scene where Elias visited their house, and Elias spoke to James. Elias asked James for money to pay off his debt for the house, but we all knew that he was probably lying about why he needed money. It was a very sketchy scene, but I loved how we could feel the awkward tension and how James felt uncomfortable being in such a position. I felt it was a very honest moment, but a sad one because James couldn’t give that kind of money to Cordelia’s dad even if he had it. I also didn’t like how threatening and demeaning Elias was to James—saying James had everything, this is how you repay me trash. I also didn’t like how he called his kids brats or his newborn kid a brat. He wasn’t going to be a good father, whatsoever. I was proud that James held his ground and told the dad no and get out of their house. Yes, you James!! You da man of the house!!! 👏🏼 This scene was also hard to read in terms of understanding what Alastair probably had to go through as a child—trying to hide the dad’s harshness and anger from Cordelia. Elias really didn’t deserve to be thought of as honorable or praised by Cordelia when he wasn’t an honorable man. I think it was more so that society places men on a pedestal of being strong people we look up to in our life. Especially as a daughter, sometimes we look up to our father’s as strong, steady figures when life is challenging. So I think Alastair wanted to preserve that.

But going back to Matthew, he had a drinking problem in the last book. That drinking problem only amplified itself in this book. I think more so, too with how people noticed how much he drank.

“‘There is an old saying.’ Charlotte’s voice had gone very quiet. ‘First a man takes a drink, then the drink takes the man.'”

(pg. 182)

And if that wasn’t a punch in the gut, I don’t know what was!

That hit home for me in terms of thinking of Elias and Matthew. I don’t want Matthew to become Elias. Cordelia didn’t want Matthew to become Elias, and I think as she picked up how much Matthew drank, she was more encouraged to be an active part in Matthew’s healing. She didn’t want to be demanding of him, but sensitive and cautious with his addiction. I appreciated that. After their epic final battle, there was this scene with Matthew, Cordelia, and Alastair. Towards the end of the scene, Matthew pulled. out his dented flask and his hands shook wildly. My heart 🥺. Matthew was so much better than the bottle! So much.

He just harbored so much guilt, sorrow, unrequited love, sadness, hopelessness, and insecurity that drinking made him forget or it made things more beatable.

“She remembered her mother saying of Elias, he was so beautiful. But drinking ate away at beautiful things.”

(pg. 578)

I think we can all say this together: I just want Matthew Fairchild to be HAPPY 🥺.

Like truly, at the end of the day, at the end of the series, I just want Matthew to be happy. Genuinely at peace and happy. I want Matthew to tell James, the Merry Thieves, and Anna his secret. I want him to talk to Charlotte and Henry about it because I know doing so would finally bring Matthew peace. I want Matthew to fight off his addiction to alcohol and create a healthier relationship with drinking. I want Matthew to feel love within himself and to be happy. I want him and James to parabatai bro it up. I just want the world for Matthew. He has SUCH a beautifully kind, precious heart that he hides behind his shame and guilt that he needs to heal. And I want that for him so much. I know he’s not going to get the girl of his dreams, so if Cassandra Clare can do us all a favor and just make sure Matthew ends up happy, I will be happy 💙.

Continuing with Cordelia and Matthew’s relationship, I appreciated their scene with Wayland the Smith. When we saw that faerie in the beginning, I was like, we are going to see Wayland the Smith 😆. I thought doing so would be interesting because Cortana was acting up, and Wayland would fix it; Cortana had started to burn or not work when Cordelia used it. I thought it had something to do with how she stabbed Belial, but I was like, Cortana wouldn’t react badly to Cordelia, right? Also, we all know Wayland the Smith but never met him, so I was down to meet him. I liked how Matthew was down to taking Cordelia to meet Wayland because she needed someone she trusted to do this task with her. I also liked the freeing feeling they both had in the motorcar. It was the most teenage thing I felt they did in their life 😂. The entire scene with Wayland the Smith was epic. His appearance sounded epicly cool. He gave me Thor: Ragnarok vibes. The only thing that got me was how easy Wayland fixed Cortana. Like dude just glided his fingers over the sword and ta-da it was fixed?! I’m sorry 🤔. It seems too easy for such a powerful blade. At the time, I thought it was cool that she became Wayland’s paladin. I got some D&D vibes from that 😂. But at the time, I was also curious why he needed a paladin or why she needed to swear an oath to him to protect people when Cordelia would already protect people on her own. It seemed strange and weird that was made a paladin. It didn’t seem wrong because Cordelia wanted to be the hero—she was honorable and loyal in that way.

I also wondered where Matthew was during this whole scene because he wasn’t there. Honestly, I feel like whenever there’s an epic scene, Matthew is written out of it 😂. First, the paladin moment and then the epic battle. Poor Matthew, not getting any action.

But let’s go back to when Cordelia ran away and was in Matthew’s apartment. I loved how clean and homely Matthew was. I also loved an ode to art—there was a drawn picture of the Merry Thieves in his entryway. It was fun to see a glimpse at Matthew’s artistic side because you know . . . the Farichilds are artists 😉. It was also nice to see Matthew do something so mundane and beautiful as art because we either saw him drinking, fighting demons, making jokes, or gallivanting from one place to another. It was a subtle, but nice touch 👌🏼. I loved how intimate and vulnerable we see Matthew in his own home. My heart ripped out of my chest when he told Cordelia he was leaving for Paris because it hurt for him to see Cordelia and James together because he loved and respected both of them. However, Matthew hoped that Cordelia and James’s arrangement would end in a year and she would find her way to Matthew—-Matthew who loved her. But with the whole epic end scene fight, Matthew noticed how much James cared for Cordelia—how he went out of his way to notice her—and Matthew lost hope that Cordelia and him would ever end up together. That hurt my FREAKING heart 🥺. He straight up professed his love for her in such a profound and non-forceful way. It was so beautiful and sweet and endearing. I jut love Matthew 💙. I love how gentle and sweet his heart is and how he notices things. How much he cares for other people’s happiness because he knows what it’s like to feel great pain.

“‘But love is not always a lightning bolt, is it? Sometimes it is a creeping vine. It grows slowly until suddenly it is all that there is in the world.'”

(pg. 639)

HE LOVED HER!!!! 💔

And she would never love him back in the way he wanted. Honestly, that made me sadder than the thought that she would like him and then James and Matthew would be angry at each other because they liked the same woman.

Honestly, Cassandra Clare does not give her male characters a break 🤪. I mean, she gave Will a “cure,” then we had the whole thing with yin fen and Jem becoming a Silent Brother, incest with Jace and Clary, friendship love that would never happen with Simon, Julian’s hormonal broodiness as a parabatai, Matthew’s deep dark secrets and unrequited love, and Jame’s mind control Gracelet. I mean, what the freak gives!!!!!! I just want them to be happy. I mean, I love an angsty plot, but GOSH when I think about all her male characters have been through, boy, do I feel for them. Her female characters also go through the grinder, but gosh, Cassandra Clare knows how to twist my heart. I appreciate it 😂.

I have to say I really appreciate and enjoy reading about the unrequited love aspect—it’s kind of a new trope Cassandra Clare explored.

We all know that Cordelia and Matthew were just running away from their problems. Cordelia was running away from the revelations of Cortana and her fate. Matthew was running away from his issues with his parabatai, his brother, and his unrequited emotions. I also felt like they both wanted to be free from expectations, the drama, and hardships they faced. I mean, they were seventeen and they been through the grinder and back, I think they are overdue for a vacation. I didn’t blame them. However, I did feel like they were being hasty in their decision. They just had a heavy battle less than 24 hours ago and they were off to Paris. I guess, good for them. I liked how Matthew didn’t make Cordelia feel any romantic expectations with the trip, and I appreciated how she told Matthew she would go with him to Paris if he didn’t excessively drink. I liked how she was using her knowledge of her dad to help Matthew be better than he ever was.

After James and Grace hashed it out—when he told her he couldn’t look at her or trust her—James went to find Cordelia in the house. He found out she ran away and he went to look for her. James tracked her to Matthew’s house where he was given Matthew’s letter from Oscar (the dog) about how Matthew and Cordelia left for Paris. The letter also conflicted my heart. I thought for a second James was going to step back because he now knew Matthew loved Cordelia. I thought James was going to let Matthew be happy and in love because he knew how sad Matthew had been. But that letter only motivated James to get to the train station even more to clear up all the miscommunication. I loved Cordelia and James, but gosh, Matthew’s happiness also meant a lot to me.

When James got to the train station, I was like, let’s go confrontation! But then Will had to interrupt James on his way to Cordelia and Matthew, saying they needed to find Lucie and reason with her. I could feel James’ visceral heart tug at wanting to win back the love of his life, but also knowing he had to save his sister—put family first. I REALLY wanted him to go to Cordelia before it was too late!!! Because she would continue thinking James never loved her and she would grow to maybe like Matthew and then it would be too late. But also I knew true love had a way of working out and James and Cordelia would be endgame. But gosh, James was in a tough situation.

“We suffer for love because love is worth it, his father had told him once: James had thought that meant that to love was to endure anguish. He had not realized his father meant there should be joy to balance the pain.”

(pg. 624)

He ultimately chose to save Lucie, but his heart was with Cordelia. Gosh, that was rough. I mean, he just got his heart and mind back and had a glimpse of a life with Cordelia, and then he lost her in more ways than one. And she didn’t even know the truth. In the next book, I except a tell all, truth conversation between the three of them because it is about darn time.

I love Lucie 😉, but Lucie was up to some reallllly sketchy things.

I am all for raising Jesse because gosh knows Jesse was Lucie’s true love, but you know, he was a ghost soooooooo. . . we needed to raise him up!

Honestly, necromancy is in the Blackthorn blood because one of their predecessors was literally a ghost who was brought back to life 😂.

The only part about Lucie’s storyline that I didn’t quite like was how secretive she was to everyone in her life. She hid Jesse from everyone, and kept her alliance with Grace a secret. I felt terrible for Cordelia because Lucie and her would be parabatai, but they barely knew what was going on in each other’s lives anymore. I missed having more Cordelia and Lucie friendship moments, or just Lucie with the main characters more. She seemed like she isolated herself a lot from people, and we mostly saw her with Grace, Malcom Fade, and Jesse. There’s this saying that people who hide things from their loved ones, probably know they are doing something wrong and don’t want to be judged for it. I mean, necromancy is no joke, but did I blame Lucie for doing so? Abso-freaking-not. She needed to raise her TRUE LOVE 😂!

However, it made me sad at the end when Cordelia pieced together what Lucie’s secrets were. I could feel Cordelia’s hurt because she just wanted to be part of Lucie’s life, and the fact that her best friend didn’t even tell her about a guy she liked . . . well that hurt? Cordelia couldn’t be there for Lucie if Lucie didn’t give her ground for Cordelia to stand on—-to understand. I liked how understanding and gentle Cordelia was with Lucie, though; I liked how Cordelia wasn’t demanding or mean to Lucie about not letting her in, but she just told Lucie she would be there when Lucie was ready to talk. Lucie also felt guilty and wrong for not confiding in Cordelia or anyone, really. I felt she walked a dark path alone and she needed to tell someone.

There was this conversation she had with Matthew in a carriage ride after being attacked by Hauras demons. Matthew and Lucie were talking about being worthy and deserving.

“What it is like,” Matthew said slowly, ‘to be entirely undeserving of the person you love most in the world.'”

(pg. 450)

Matthew could have meant Cordelia or James, I’m pretty sure a mixture of both. Nevertheless, Matthew and Lucie had a bond over the secrets they kept from those they loved. Lucie started to question if she deserved to be Cordelia’s parabatai when she wasn’t being honest with Cordelia. I liked this conversation because we got to see Matthew and Lucie connect and ponder meaningful things.

Lucie and Grace’s partnership was unexpected to me, but understandable. I mean, who else would help Lucie raise Jesse better than Grace? Lucie and Grace go to Malcolm Fade (if you know, you definitely know) to ask about how to raise Jesse. Malcom Fade, the powerful warlock, would have answers for them on how to raise Jesse and what magic would be involved. Their first deal with Malcom was to tell him where Annabel was in the Adamant Citadel and he would tell them how to raise his body. During their first meeting with Malcom, Grace tried to use her powers to convince Malcom to tell them what they needed, but her powers didn’t work on him. I wanted Lucie to know Grace’s powers so she could tell Cordelia and they could help James be free of her spells. I felt like Lucie was onto Grace, though. I’m pretty sure everyones going to find out what kind of power Grace has in the near future. The second meeting with Malcolm, Grace laid it on quite thick with how Annabel was killed. I agree that Grace being honest with Malcom was the right thing to do, the hard thing, but the right thing. She definitely could have been more sensitive to his emotions because Annabel was the love of his life. I LOVED and laughed when Lucie was like:

“‘I shall never understand my brother,’ Lucie said, without thinking. ‘Why on earth does he love you?'”

(pg. 343)

HAHAHAhAHAHAHHA. You and me both!

When at the Shadowhunter Market, Malcom agreed to help Lucie and Grace raise Jesse because they held up their end of the bargain. It was darkly eerie how Lucie made another deal with Malcom that she would help find where they buried Annabel. It felt totally un-Lucie like. When I think of Lucie, I think of sweet, caring, passionate, determined, and a slow-burn fierce woman, not someone who makes deals with the Rumpelstiltskin of the Shadowhunter world.

In between seeing Malcolm and working with Grace, Lucie tried other things to raise Jesse.

But before I talk about that, I wanted to mention all the sweet moments between Lucie and Jesse. After Chain of Gold I wasn’t sure if we were going to see Jesse again because he gave up his last breath to save James. But I was glad he showed up within the first few chapters because we needed Jesse! The only thing was Jesse was fading because he no longer had his last breath, so that was why it was imperative that Lucie and Grace worked quickly to raise him or bring him life.

I liked how Jesse wanted to read Lucie’s writing. However, when reading her writing, Jesse got angry at first because he discovered how much Lucie loved him. He didn’t want her to love him back because it was safer for her heart to not love a ghost because it would never happen between them, so he got angry at the situation. But I thought it was sweet how much he loved her. I mean, it was clear (pun not intended) to see how much he cared for her.

“‘it’s almost a joke . . . a ghost falling in love with a living girl and pinning away in a dusty attic while she lives her life. But I could not survive that, Lucie. It would just be a tragedy for me.'”

(pg. 201)

Jesse pin away!

But honestly, I feel like Cassandra Clare takes romances and she says, “How can I make this the most inconvenient?” 🤪

She was really out here making a living girl and a ghost fall in love and throwing some necromancy on top! Darn, great content I kid you not 👌🏼.

I also liked the scene where he visited her at the Shadowhunter Market where they kissed on the street. It was a beautifully written moment, but I CACKLED because was Lucie kissing air? I mean, to other people she must have been kissing nothing 😂. Despite the fact that she must have looked weird to other people, I loved the conversation Jesse and her had.

“‘If I must fade,’ he said, ‘I would like to fade remembering this as my last waking dream.’

‘Don’t go,’ she whispered. ‘Hold on, for me. We are so close.’

He touched her cheek. ‘Only promise me one thing,’ he said. ‘If I do go, give us a happy ending, will you? In your book’

‘I don’t believe in endings,’ she said, but he only smiled at her, and faded slowly from view.”

(pg. 424)

This was not the end of them.

Going back to trying to raise Jesse, Lucie tried to command him to live. That obviously didn’t work because she couldn’t just mess with life and death magic like that. Lucie fell into this sort of shadow-darkness world, and I was so scared for her! But I was happy she was okay. The thing was, how was she able to raise him the second time?

So, I guess I should talk about the London Jack the Ripper to give context. I enjoyed the whole mystery of who’s face/body the Ripper was. I liked the vivid and graphic descriptions Cassie wrote for each scene. I also loved the sense of horror, creepiness, and shock. It was soooo well done. I also appreciated how these scenes were written as separate chapters in between the chapters because they provided a clear break.

We all knew the killer was Belial who was possessing someone, but we never knew who. Who did you think the killer’s body was? Now, now, hear me out, my first thought was Matthew 🙈. I thought Matthew because 1) he just moved out of his house without preamble and no one would know what he was doing at night 2) he seemed kind of distant from everyone and 3) he had the parabatai bond with James, so maybe James saw those murder dreams because of the bond.

Not a bad theory, if I do say so myself 🧐.

I never thought it was James because it just didn’t strike me that he would kill all those people. I mean, someone must have heard him in the middle of the night to do all those killings. And he had some real horror when waking from those dreams, so he must have slept through the night and not done them. But part of me began to doubt that because he could have killed those people and had like a trauma dream of that. However, it felt like James would be the obvious choice because if Belial could possess James’s body unwillingly like that, why wouldn’t he just take James’s body already? I found it freaking funny when he roped himself to his bed and Effie or Risa walked in 😂. They probably were like, this waaaaay below my pay grade. I wonder what they thought he was up to 😏. I thought it was smart of James, though, to test if he was the killer by preventing himself from doing so. The next morning, James woke up with his window open and a mark outside his door, the mark being Belial’s sigil, so it was a sort of message to James. I still didn’t think he was the killer. At that point, James told the Merry Thieves his suspicions of himself and they were all so supportive of James; they didn’t think he was the killer. Even if James was, they didn’t judge him for it. I liked how they all set up shop in their house to support James. I loved how Cordelia watched over James and then everyone stayed in the Study, listening to Lucie read her stories 😂 . Can we take a moment to appreciate his humor! Loved it! He was the light of the book, for sure.

Because Matthew stayed with everyone during the night, I was like, “okay, he’s not the killer.” But then there’s that moment when Thomas snuck out of the house, and I was like, “what are you up to?” So my suspicions turned to Thomas because maybe he snuck out to be the host body???? No, Thomas was just being the loyal Thomas we know him as—my Big Friendly Thomas (BFT) 💙. I just want to backtrack to one of the first conversation meetings they had and Thomas literally asked for permission to shout!!! 🥺😂. That was such a Thomas thing to do. So cute.

“Thomas opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. ‘May I have your permission to shout, keeping in mind I am not shouting at you?’ he said to Cordelia.

‘Oh, quite,’ she said. ‘I like a good shouting in general.'”

(pg. 171)

And then he shouted because he was waiting for his moment to shout 😂. SO CUTE.

“‘WHAT?’ said Thomas, so loudly they all jumped. ‘Sorry,’ he said. “I was all prepared to shout and I hadn’t got a chance.'”

(pg. 171)

It was his moment to shine 😆.

I love Thomas. He has such a tenderheart, he is loyal, gentle, and moral. He does what he feels is right and he does everything he can to protect the ones he loves. I love that about him. So, he went out that night, trying to find the killer, ready to take them on. Before this night, he saw someone follow him and tried to chase him—thinking it was the killer–but could not catch them. But on this night—the night of James tying himself up again with the Merry Thieves there as guard—he found Lilian Highsmith’s body with a stele. She said something about how the killer was a he and how the wife wept. At that point, I was like, okay, so it’s not Matthew or James. But who the freak would he be and why would the wife cry? 🤔 Then I was like, Rupert Blackthorn. He was a he and Tatiana gosh did cry about it. So, that made sense. I mean, I wouldn’t put it past Tatiana to also have preserved her husband’s body, but then I was like didn’t he get eaten by a worm? So . . his body was gone 🙈. I don’t know!

What I did know was was Thomas needed to get out of there! Hewas being framed, and it’s not hard to think he would kill Lilian when the patrol was out looking for a rabid killer. Things did not look good for Thomas! I mean, Thomas was NOT THE KILLER. I was so mad for him 😫. My BFT!

But you know what I loved? When they took Thomas to the Institute and the Shadowhunters paparazzi equivalent was there, the Merry Thieves were all quick to make Thomas feel better by saying how they would all be secret killers—that they were all murders. That’s love 😂.

“‘I, on the other hand, am the most likely to be a secret killer,’ said Matthew . . . I wear peculiar clothes. I come and go as I please and do mysterious, illicit things in the night. None of the rest of you are like that at all. Well, Christopher might kill someone, but he wouldn’t mean to. It would be an accident resulting from an experiment gone horribly wrong.'”

(pg. 395)

I also loved how Eugenia was there guarding the library doors. I quite liked having Eugenia more in this book and getting to know more about her. That’s something I wanted in the last book. I still want to know more about Eugenia and see her dynamic with everyone. I also loved loved loved how Alastair stepped up and did the honorable thing in saying he knew Thomas was innocent. Alastair had been following Thomas the whole time to protect him because Thomas would patrol alone. I think Alastair did it to earn Thomas’s forgiveness, to protect someone Cordelia cared about, and because Alastair liked him.

Let’s talk about Alastair and Thomas. My lovely enemies to lovers, if you will.

I loved how sweet Thomas was when he went to the Chiswick house after Elias passed away and offered his condolences to Alastair. It was sooo cute how simple and short his condolences were before he walked away. I could imagine Thomas so nervous and giddy and embarrassed. But the gesture was sweet—that he even thought of Alastair and their family.

But I also LOVED that they were locked in a room together!! Nothing says let’s get this romance going than being locked in a room together! I loved how Cordelia was like, Alastair will probably sit in a corner and read. And he did just that. I liked their special scene and how sweet and honest it was. You know, Alastair reminds me of a less scheme-y and more broodish version of Kaz Brekker. It could just be because I just finished Crooked Kingdom a while back, but they have the same caring air and facade. They are also observant people. Alastair knew the true reason Thomas went on patrol by himself—he wanted to save people because he couldn’t save his sister, Barbara. I never thought of that. I just thought Thomas was being his caring self. I also liked how Alastair opened up about why he became the bully—why he was so mean. I thought it was needed because finally someone could understand why Alastair acted the way he did.

I have to say, Thomas was really bold in this conversation and I was here for it. I liked how he professed he liked Alastair without really saying it. They also came out to each other without really coming out to each other. But can we take a moment to appreciate their kiss scene! That was the content I needed 👏🏼. Arrest them any day!

I loved how after the library scenes, they looked out for each other. I LOVED how they battled side-by-side; a shift in their dynamic. It broke my heart when Alastair walked away from Thomas because Alastair knew he couldn’t be disillusioned with the idea that anyone would accept him and Thomas together. I WANTED TO SCREAM!!! Alastair, just choose freaking Thomas and who cares what the Merry Thieves say! Honestly, I think once Matthew forgives himself and moves on, they might accept Alastair. They might not forgive or like him, but they shouldn’t stop true love from happening between Thomas and Alastair.

I don’t think Alastair and Charles endgame that’s for sure. At the end of the book, Charles nearly died—which was a hard no from me—and he called out for Alastair. We need to hear what they talked about or what Charles wants from Alastair. That’s a conversation I want in Chain of Thorns. I also want to say how freaking funny Charles was 😆. I’m sorry, dude was stabbed and nearly died and he wanted to be diplomatic?! Gotta love his hutzpah.

I couldn’t stop laughing and smiling when Will did the Mortal Sword trial with Thomas and Alastair. I can’t believe they just gave Will the honors to do the trial—who gave him the sword 😂. I laughed when he said it was heavy. Oh, I was in fits when he asked about Gideon owing him twenty pounds. Of course, Will would 😆. I love Will 💙.

Part of those who were murdered was the new character Filomena Di Angelo. Gotta love how Cassie dedicated the book to Rick Riodan because of the DI Angelo part. I’m looking at you Nico Di Angelo 😉. I thought she would have a waaaayyy different arc than what she got. I mean, we met her and then next thing we know she was killed off. We saw her ghost when trying to figure out who the killer was, but still, I would have thought she played a different role. Another person who was murdered was Elias. This one kind of made me sad because Cordelia and Alastair just got their dad back and now they lost him again. I liked how Cassie explored grief with someone you had a complex relationship with.

“‘My father,’ James said, and hesitated. ‘My father used to tell me that sometimes you cannot reconcile with someone else. Sometimes you have to find that reconciliation on your own. Someone who broke your heart is often not the person who can mend it.'”

(pg. 276)

Well said, Will, well said. I loved Will’s fatherly advice. Didn’t I say he would be an excellent father? 😊

Because sometimes you won’t be able to make amends with someone who hurt you. And that’s okay. The healing starts with us in moving on and finding peace. Sometimes we do not find forgiveness, and that’s okay, but moving on is the best way to continue because if we stay stuck in our sorrow, we only make ourselves miserable or angry, and that’s no way to live. I mean, look at Tatiana 🤪. I’m joking (not really).

I appreciated how everyone was there for Cordelia and Alastair, but I broke for them too. Elias was still their dad.

Towards the end, Lucie pieced everything together and went to Jesse’s body where she saw the runes transferred on him. Jesse’s body was the killer, and people recognized him because they thought he was Rupert. So I was kind of close. But Jesse’s body made sense because he was not living and the whole ghost rules. Lucie was going to kill Jesse to stop the murders from connoting, but Grace pulled a Rapunzel and whacked her upside the head from behind. I thought it was Belial at first who did so. I’m happy it was Grace, though. I liked how connected and understanding both women were at the end—they shared a common love for Jesse and wanted to still help him. We saw a more vulnerable and humane part of Grace when she begged Lucie to not kill him, but save his body. Grace knew love through Jesse and she didn’t want to lose him after all this time, which I understood.

At the end, was the epic battle/revelations scene, which was written with so much action and shock and trepidation. It was chef’s kisses 😘👌🏼. We had the battle between Belial, Cordelia, and James—because gosh knows Matthew wasn’t in it. At the institute, Anna, Ariadne, Thomas, Alastair, Christopher, Henry, Charlotte,, and all the TID were fighting off the undersea villains because they were sent by Belial’s brother, Leviathan. They really said let’s attack full throttle. I loved seeing Will be the leader and I loved seeing the dynamic of everyone fighting. But back with James and Cordelia, James had another dream about a killing, so they got to the place in time to find Charles. My heart started to rip in tinier pieces when they found Charles’s body. I mean, what happened to our shared agreement of making sure Matthew was happy?!! 😅While Matthew tended to his brother, Jesse/Belial showed up.

Very dramatic entrance, I enjoyed it. I loved the whole villain monologue. I was literally screaming at the idea that James would willingly be Belial’s host body just to save everyone!!! If he did that, I was like SHOOTZ, he just got out of one prison with that Gracelet, don’t let him lend his body! I was happy James had good sense to say no because Belial would just wreck harm no matter what. What got me was the whole fake Magnus revelation! I MEAN WHAT?!

Lilith had been playing with them all this whole time because she was mad Belial took her realm. So, she faked herself as that faerie who told Cordelia about Wayland the Smith. She also faked being Wayland and made Cordelia her paladin, so that whenever Cordelia wielded Cortana, she had to follow Lilith’s rule. That boggled me. Boggled. Cortana was now linked to Lilith, and Cordelia didn’t have a choice anymore. I felt for Cordelia because she had such a brave, courageous, and powerful heart. She just wanted to help people and do what was right. She had the natural heroic instincts that later carried to Emma. But gosh, Cordelia blamed herself for being tricked when that was not her fault. She didn’t know better. I didn’t think she was being fair to herself by saying she rushed into wanting to be a hero. Her morals were used against her, so that was not her fault. It broke my heart to see how despondent she was after the battle—how she still felt unworthy of Cortana because now she was bonded to Lilith. Didn’t I say that fixing Cortana seemed too easy? Sigh. It was sad to see how lifeless she was and how she put on a face for everyone. I hope she breaks free from Cortana’s binding from Lilith and that she regains control and power over her sword. I bet in the next book it will be about reclaiming her power and realizing she was deserving of the sword. I also know that she has to deliver the third and final stab wound to Belial to fully harm him. She did the second stab wound with a mix of Jame’s shadow power, which was so cool! Team work makes the dream work! Even James worked with Belial to take down Lilith—James used the gun Christopher made to shoot her. I mean, a common enemy makes people work together. I hope they don’t work together much in the future. Also, was that the first time James called him Grandfather. They had a shared understanding in that eye-lock moment. James’s weapon really is a revolver.

I kind of CACKLED when Lucie commanded Jesse to be himself 🤪. The platitude of all ages comes back as a command 😂. Be yourself! But I understood what she was doing, and her whole pleading with the real Jesse was a powerful moment. It reminds me of scenes I would see in movies or shows where they’re like, “I know you’re in there.” I loved how Jesse fought through because love conquered all. Belial left Jesse’s body, and it seemed he was truly dead this time. I didn’t believe it for a second. Jesse was going to be raised if he had to die twice over to do it. Touching more on Jesse’s body, he now had runes . . . so was he going to become a full fledged Shadowhunter in the next book. Wouldn’t it be SUPER EPIC if Jesse was the one who confronted his mom in the end—like the end battle be between him and Tatiana and he tells her to let go of her hurt and all of that. Maybe it’s like he doesn’t want to fight her, but he wants her to see how what she’s doing is wrong. That would be cool 🤔.

What had me on the edge of my seat with the battle was how Cordelia was. resisting killing Lucie. She was tasked by Lilith to kill Jesse, but she tried to resist. Then Lucie came to guard her body and it put Cordelia in an even tougher situation. Gosh, the sweat and tears in the moment was so achingly beautiful. So beautifully written. Gosh, Cordelia.

When they bring Jesse’s body back to the Institute, I know Lucie had other plans than a funeral. She, Grace, and Malcom were off to raise him. But before they could Grace commanded Jesse to live. I wonder if she could command him to live this time because he no longer had the anchor in him? ?Either way, Jesse was alive and well and I was like what the HECK? Was he going to stay alive? Was he really alive? How did commanding him to live work? Did he have breath or was it like a zombie Jesse that was commanded to live? I’m curious, not mad at it, just wondering. Also, why did Malcom and Lucie need to leave still if Jesse was now alive? Did they need to hide him? Would he be charged with murderer? Is that why Malcom becomes more heck bent on necromancy—because Lucie could command the dead to live, but he would need a different way to raise Annabel? Anyway, we need to see what happened with them and Jesse.

Also, it was interesting to see how Malcom Fade was born—you know, the darker side of Fade 😉.

When they were summing up the events, I found it funny how Tessa just summed everything up in a few sentences. A woman of words indeed.

“‘Tragedy begets tragedy. . . .”

(pg. 573)

Now, let’s talk about three characters I haven’t mentioned:

First, let’s divulge Anna and Ariadne. They have a very friends-with-benefits, mostly benefits relationship. They mostly kiss and do things behind closed doors—in the Whispering room—no less. I just want Anna to let love in and stop harboring the hurt she felt when Ariadne didn’t choose her. I understand that Anna doesn’t want to hurt the way she hurt when Ariadne didn’t choose her, but Ariadne is making an effort here and Anna needs to stop denying that she loves Ariadne when she does. We all know it and see it. Even the Merry Thieves were catching on. I liked Ariadne’s resilience—when she said she was going to win Anna over, she said I don’t stop 👏🏼! I thought she was bold to ask Anna to dance at every social event, even if Anna would turn her down.

Their kiss in the pantry? That was just waiting to happen!!!! What is it with Shadowhunters and kissing in confined spaces 😆?

The last scene we had with Anna and Ariadne left me riveted and unsettled. I thought it was kind of weird and stalkerish that Ariadne waited outside the Curzon Street house, watching them on the inside. She waited for Anna to come out—I wonder how long she waited outside 😆. I have to say, Ariadne was gutsy to stand up to Anna and speak the truth of their relationship. That’s Anna’s type of woman if you ask me.

“‘But I am angry with myself. I cannot forgive myself. I had you–I had love–and I turned from it out of fear. And perhaps it was foolish of me to think I could pick it up again, that it would be waiting for me, but you–‘ Her voice shook. ‘I fear it is because of me that you have become what you are. Hard and bright as a diamond. Untouchable.'”

(pg. 589-9)

My heart continues to break 💔. Thank you Cassandra Clare.

And the fact that Anna sat down, head in hands, sobbing? My heart! I just want to hug Anna because I know that love is scary, especially when you were rejected once, but when the heart knows who it loves, it will love that person. It’s not easy to look past that hurt, but I hope Anna and Ariadne have a conversation where they talk things out and make up. I also want to see more Anna scenes where she’s fighting or being the bad beach she is because I feel like we missed Anna in this book. I missed Anna. She’s one of my favorite characters 💙.

“‘Love is complicated. . . that it lies beside anger and hatred, because only those we truly love can truly disappoint us.'”

(pg. 288)

Or hurt us.

But you know who got the least amount of love in this book?

My poor Christopher!!!! I missed having Christopher POVs or seeing more of his interactions and involvements. He’s such a joy to be around, but he doesn’t get enough credit. I mean, he’s so cool in creating a runed gun. And the only other main scene we got with Christoper was when he was with Grace. Honestly, Christopher is too good for Grace 🙈. He deserved someone kind and gentle like him. But I will say I loved how Grace never made him feel like a burden for talking about what he loved. Everyone else shut him down or got disinterested when he talked about science, but I liked how Grace listened. So, if they are endgame, that’s okay because at least he will have someone he respects his natural curiosity. Christopher was also so unsuspecting of Grace when he found her, and he was so welcoming to her, too. Such a kind boy. I also liked how we got a moment where Grace wasn’t terrible 😆. She was nice to help Christopher with the pithos—the thing that could transfer runes. I wondered afterwards that if Grace could bear runes, how come she didn’t get her first rune too? Or could she be a Shadowhunter in the future? Don’t know. But I would like to see more Christopher in the next book and maybe interactions with Grace. I think he and Grace get along because Grace had never been out in the world long enough to understand things, so she’s naturally curious and so was Christopher. I think maybe they would be cute.

The last scene we had was with Tatiana and Belial. You know, I have a lot to say about her, but they’re probably the same things I will always say. She’s manipulative, selfish, hurt, broken, bitter, resentful, angry, and PSYCHO. She needed help, and sticking her in a place of weaponry—heck the finest weaponry in the world—wasn’t a smart idea. It creeped me the heck out how Belial called her his black swan? Gosh, she better not go making more babies. You know what would solve all their problems? If she and Belial had a baby and that new baby would be the host body 🤪. Not that I condone the destruction that would ensure if that happened, but hey . . . But the last part about having the key to Iron Tombs was bonkers! I mean, what were they going to do? Raise an army? How did she get the key anyway? How did she break out of the Adamant Citadel in the first place? Gosh. I just don’t see any of this ending well for her. She’s going down and she’s going to drag everyone with her because she would rather work with dark beings than just MOVE ON.

At this point, I have no patience for Tatiana. She lost it ever since she started scheming in her grief.

I wonder what Grace and Tatiana’s relationship will become in the next book, and what kind of confrontations we’ll see with them.

Going into Chain of Thorns, in no particular order, here are some of the things that I want/hop to see.

1. James tells Cordelia he was under a Gracelet spell but actually loves her. This get this ship sailing!!
2. Matthew and James have a bro heart-to-heart about Matthew’s secrets and their feelings.
3. Lucie and Cordelia have a girl heart-to-heart about their secrets and feelings.
4. Possibly—hopefully—Lucie and Cordelia’s parabatai ceremony.
5. Seeing how Anna and Ariadne make up to be in a relationship.
6. Seeing how Charles and Alastair find their way back to each other to also be in a relationship.
7. Maybe a forgiving, heartfelt scene between Matthew and Alastair.
8. Matthew telling the Merry Thieves (or at least James) his secrets/why he’s so sad. Matthew telling Charlotte and Henry, so Matthew can find peace and move on.
9. Matthew being genuinely happy —this one is a high priority!
10. Finding out why Charles wanted to talk to Alastair in the first place.
11. Grace telling all about her powers and then turning into a good person.
12. Grace and Christopher scenes?????
13. More Christopher scenes please?!!!?
14. Finding out where Lucie, Jesse, and Malcom went.
15. Lucie and Jesse and what their future holds, especially now that Jesse is alive. How will people react to that?
16. We need to take Tatiana Blackthorn and her vengeance DOWN.
17. Cordelia needs to break free from her paladin status and regain power over Cortana to deliver the final wound needed to defeat James’s grandfather.
18. Will Grace or Jesse stand up to Tatiana to take her down? Or maybe will Will, Tessa, Gabriel, Gideon, Cicely, and the TID gang be the ones who need to reconcile with Tatiana to bring her down. Or will we save her and turn her into a better person?
19. Also, I think it would be pretty darn cool if we explored the Adamant Citadel and learned more about the Iron Sisters because we hear about them all the time, but they are these enigmatic beings who are super cool! Oh, and maybe this time we can meet the actual Wayland the Smith.
20. I feel like towards the end of Chain of Thorns, Cordelia and James will give each other the last marriage rune to cement that their marriage is real. Their going to keep the house and maybe get a cat while they’re at it 😄.

One question I had was how the FREAK was Sona pregnant🤪 ? I’m sorry did I miss something at the end of Chain of Gold?! Did she get pregnant then. . . because last I read, Elias was just getting out of prison and then he went to the Basilis. So . . . did he make a quick pit stop to his wife and they got pregnant and then afterwards he went to the Basilis? Because it wouldn’t make sense if Sona got pregnant with another man because she still loved/was loyal to her husband? Ummm, so, I don’t know HOW they found the time to make a baby since we last saw them and Elias got out of prison. And according to everyone, they hadn’t really seen him since he got out. SO????????? Another mystery we need to solve 😅. I also wondered what Elias’s last thoughts were and if he had any scruples? Did he ever think to reconcile with his family or was he only interested in alcohol? I don’t know.

So many questions and so many ways these series can end . . . but I am HYPED and ready for the next book! I’m thinking Grace might be on the cover if we’re sticking to women being on the covers. And she is a Blackthorn, so Chain of Thorns would match her. We’ll see. What do you want or need to see in the next book? What questions do you still have?

Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? If you could be friend with any TLH character, who would it be? Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕

I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.

And as always, with love,

Rating

4.87 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: You just love them the more you read about them . . . well maybe not Tatiana, and kind of not Grace. I mean, Grace isn’t that bad and that’s saying a lot from someone who disliked her stinking guts one book ago 😂/

Plot: I wonder how it feels like to be Cassandra Clare and have so much power to rip out millions of hearts around the world with her books 🤪

Writing: In all honestly, I have so much admiration and respect for the way Cassandra Clare not only writes with one, but dozens of perspectives, plots, and storylines and how she does it so seamlessly and beautifully. She builds upon each piece of the puzzle with more than 🤪enough angst, heart, passion, care, and love. It shows in all her work and that is why I am and always will be a fan 💙.

Romance: I just want them to be happy!!!!