Book Review :: Chain of Gold, by Cassandra Clare

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
ISBN: 1406390763
Series: The Last Hours #1, Shadowhunters
Also in this series: Chain of Iron, Ghosts of the Shadow Market
Published by HarperCollins, Walker Books
on 2020-03-03
Genres: Young Adult
Pages: 592
Source: HarperCollins NZ, Walker Books AUS
Find at Harper Collins NZ
Find at Walker Books AUS
Goodreads

Welcome to Edwardian London, a time of electric lights and long shadows, the celebration of artistic beauty and the wild pursuit of pleasure, with demons waiting in the dark. For years there has been peace in the Shadowhunter world. James and Lucie Herondale, children of the famous Will and Tessa, have grown up in an idyll with their loving friends and family, listening to stories of good defeating evil and love conquering all. But everything changes when the Blackthorn and Carstairs families come to London…and so does a remorseless and inescapable plague.

James Herondale longs for a great love, and thinks he has found it in the beautiful, mysterious Grace Blackthorn. Cordelia Carstairs is desperate to become a hero, save her family from ruin, and keep her secret love for James hidden. When disaster strikes the Shadowhunters, James, Cordelia and their friends are plunged into a wild adventure which will reveal dark and incredible powers, and the true cruel price of being a hero…and falling in love.

Last updated on 23 January 2026

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My thoughts on Chain of Gold

After reading Queen of Air and Darkness last year, Cassandra Clare‘s third and final book in The Dark Artifices series, I thought I was finally growing out of the Shadowhunter books. The Dark Artifices series didn’t excite me like Clare’s books once did, and while I really loved the first one, Lady Midnight, I enjoyed them less as the series went on. Queen of Air and Darkness only received 3-stars from me; it was enjoyable, but not as much as some of the others. Perhaps I finally had just run out of steam for this world.

Enter: Chain of Gold.

It’s no secret that I like The Infernal Devices series a lot more than The Mortal Instruments series (which has 6 books!), so when it was announced that Clare was writing a series that would follow the kids of the main characters from Infernal Devices series, I was very excited. And I’m happy to announce, dear friends and readers, that it did not disappoint. I loved Chain of Gold.

“Do not let those who cannot see the truth tell you who you are. You are the flame that cannot be put out. You are the star that cannot be lost. You are who you have always been, and that is enough and more than enough. Anyone who looks at you and sees darkness is blind.”

Characters

We follow Will and Tessa Herondale’s children (from TID), James and Lucie, as they fight demons in London and start to learn more about their demon grandfather and why it is that they have abilities that normal Shadowhunters don’t.

We’re also introduced to Cordelia Carstairs, who has moved to London with her brother Alistair, and mother Sona, in order to be closer to their father, Elias, who is held up in a prison of sorts, awaiting trial for a situation he was involved with. As well as these three main characters, there is Matthew Fairchaild, James’ parabati; Christoper Lightwood and Thomas Lightwood, cousins who, together with Matthew and James, make up The Merry Thieves.

Then there’s Anna Lightwood, an absolute gem of character (“Orange is not the colour of seduction, Christopher, [said Anna]. Orange is the colour of despair, and pumpkins.”), and who is Christopher’s sister. Grace Cartwright, the adoptive daughter of Tatiana Blackthorn, sweeps upon the scene and from her first pages, I didn’t like her. At all. She irked me to no end.

There were, like all Shadowhunter books, appearances from other characters from other series, namely Magnus Bane and other warlocks like Ragnor Fell and Hypatia Vex, and of course, most of the characters from The Infernal Devices trilogy. It’s always fun when characters overlap in worlds like this.

This is a small list in relation to the story as a whole, for there are many more characters who weave in and out of Chain of Gold. That may seem like a lot, but it’s pretty normal for a Clare book. For some reason, the number of characters did my head in for The Dark Artifices series, but not in Chain of Gold. I loved the characters (except Grace … but I can’t figure out if I’m supposed to like her at any point in the story?), and I can’t wait to read more about them in the coming books.

“Sometimes you have to stand back and let people do what they are good at, even if it seems like madness at the time.”

Plot

The storyline of Chain of Gold seemed way less frantic or busy than some of the other stories, but I liked it! There are unexplained demon attacks suddenly occurring in London have years of near-on silence, the new generation of Shadowhunters barely having seen any fighting action in their lives.

As I mentioned before, both James and Lucie are trying to learn more about their abilities inherited from their demon grandfather (Tessa’s father), who is unknown to any of them, which adds another dimension (HA) to the story. Between these two main story threads, the rest of the book (loosely) is character-building, as the series kicks off. Sometimes this can hinder a novel – too much about characters and less plot – but I think it worked wonderfully for this. I’m not saying it was lacking in plot, not at all, but I do feel like I knew the characters really well come the end. I’m looking forward to Chain of Iron which doesn’t come out till 2021 (cry!).

Overall

If it’s not clear already, I loved this book. After my fear of falling out of love with this world after TDA, Chain of Gold has restored my excitement, and I am ready for the next book now please and thank you.

Have you read Chain of Gold yet? Without spoilers, what did you think?

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Thank you to HarperCollins and Walker Books who gifted me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.