Title: Chain of ThornsAuthor: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Last Hours #3
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books on Jan. 31, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 800
Format: Hardcover
Source: Simon & Schuster Canada
Book Rating: 9/10
James and Cordelia must save London—and their marriage—in this conclusion to the Last Hours series from author Cassandra Clare.
Chain of Thorns is a Shadowhunters novel.
Cordelia Carstairs has lost everything that matters to her. In only a few short weeks, she has seen her father murdered, her plans to become parabatai with her best friend, Lucie, destroyed, and her marriage to James Herondale crumble before her eyes. Even worse, she is now bound to an ancient demon, Lilith, stripping her of her power as a Shadowhunter.
After fleeing to Paris with Matthew Fairchild, Cordelia hopes to forget her sorrows in the city’s glittering nightlife. But reality intrudes when shocking news comes from home: Tatiana Blackthorn has escaped the Adamant Citadel, and London is under new threat by the Prince of Hell, Belial.
Cordelia returns to a London riven by chaos and dissent. The long-kept secret that Belial is James and Lucie’s grandfather has been revealed by an unexpected enemy, and the Herondales find themselves under suspicion of dealings with demons. Cordelia longs to protect James but is torn between a love for James she has long believed hopeless, and the possibility of a new life with Matthew. Nor can her friends help—ripped apart by their own secrets, they seem destined to face what is coming alone.
For time is short, and Belial’s plan is about to crash into the Shadowhunters of London like a deadly wave, one that will separate Cordelia, Lucie, and the Merry Thieves from help of any kind. Left alone in a shadowy London, they must face Belial’s deadly army. If Cordelia and her friends are going to save their city—and their families—they will have to muster their courage, swallow their pride, and trust one another again. For if they fail, they may lose everything—even their souls.
Review:
Intense, action-packed, and thrilling!
Chain of Thorns is a suspenseful, gripping tale that takes us back to Edwardian London and into the lives of the most powerful Shadowhunter families in existence as they join forces to use their knowledge, weapons, and special talents to once and for all conquer demonic magic and vanquish Belial, the Prince of Hell, for good.
The prose is brisk and tight. The characters are multilayered, dependable, and fearless. And the plot is a riveting tale full of twists, turns, angst, loyalty, duty, heartbreak, danger, family, friendship, love, sizzling tension, tormented pasts, and supernatural abilities.
Overall, Chain of Thorns is an imaginative, passionate, epic, fantastical novel by Clare that is bursting with soul-searching dilemmas, sizzling romance, dangerous quests, and complex, intriguing characters. And while it’s a little bittersweet to say goodbye to this amazing cast of characters I’ve come to be invested in over these last three novels, it is nevertheless a superb ending to a fabulous series that I highly recommend and will undoubtedly miss.
This novel is available now.
Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
About Cassandra Clare
Cassandra Clare is the author of the #1 New York Times, USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Shadowhunter Chronicles. She is also the coauthor of the bestselling fantasy series Magisterium with Holly Black. The Shadowhunter Chronicles have been adapted as both a major motion picture and a television series. Her books have more than fifty million copies in print worldwide and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. Cassandra lives in western Massachusetts with her husband and three fearsome cats.
Photo by Kelly Campbell.
