An inheritance of shadows. A love in chains. An unconquerable foe.
Chain of Gold is a young adult-urban fantasy-novel by Cassandra Clare. It is the first book in The Last Hours, which is chronologically second in The Shadowhunter Chronicles. The book follows the events that occur in the London area in 1903, focusing on the residents of the London Institute.
The Plot, Characters and Story Progression
I really wanted to be able to fall in love with this book like I did The Mortal Instruments but unfortunately it was not to be on this occasion. Whilst I did thoroughly enjoy being back in the world of the Shadowhunters, this story just didn’t grasp me like I wanted it to. It didn’t have me in a choke-hold dying to get to the end to see what happens.
I really enjoyed The Infernal Devices when I read them but I just didn’t have the same connection with these characters. They felt flat and surface level. I think that it might be because they’re teenagers, maybe? and a lot of the book is made up of teenage squabble as opposed to previous books when there is more of a serious overarching tone from the beginning. Chain of Gold is 90% teenager drama and the last 10% stuff actually happens and by that point it was too little too late.
Perhaps it comes as a disappointment because the stakes of the other Shadowhunters books are usually so astronomically high (you know, the world being in danger of complete annihilation and all that), this one just felt incredibly inconsequential. There was nothing gripping me at the edge of my seat but perhaps we see this more in the second book, Chain of Thorns.
World Building, Atmosphere and Setting
I do love that this series is set in London. It’s so cool imaging the events playing out in places I’ve actually been to and seen with my own eyes. The world building in any Shadowhunters book can never be faulted, it is always impeccably done. Chain of Gold was no different and I look forward to seeing how it builds further in Chain of Thorns and Chain of Iron.
The Verdict
Overall, whilst I enjoyed finally sitting down the read this and being immersed back into the world of the Shadowhunters. I didn’t have the connection with these new characters like I’d hoped. The book was quite flat for me overall and I didn’t feel invested.
Rating: βββ
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