A review by claudiamacpherson
Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It’s been about a year since I read  Chain of Gold , so I’ll be honest: I did have some trouble remembering who some of the characters were. This series and Clare’s The Dark Artifices trilogy have too many characters to keep track of, and sometimes I’d get halfway through a scene (or all the way through) and realize that it was about a different person than I’d originally thought. Other than that, though, I really do love most of the characters in this book, and they are definitely the reason I'm still reading the series, because it’s certainly not for the plot.

I love the Merry Thieves (even though—or actually probably because—they are basically a Marauders/Raven Boys dupe). What I don’t love is the love triangle. In general, it’s not a trope I like (with the rare exception of Tessa, Will, and Jem from Clare’s The Infernal Devices because it actually works out for everyone), and I especially don’t like it when a) it breaks up important friendships and b) will ultimately break the heart of a character I care about. I need James and Cordelia to end up together… but I also need Matthew to find a true love too! If Clare can manage that in the next book (and I’m pretty sure she will), I’ll be okay, but until then…

The other romantic relationships were frustrating as well;
Alistair and Thomas are great, but the back and forth and drama from their history together makes it hard to see a happy ending for them. As much as I liked Lucie and Jesse’s storyline in Chain of Gold, it definitely dropped off in this book, and I’m honestly way more interested in seeing her develop her powers than her relationship at this point.

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):
This very much depends on which characters you like, but I wouldn’t call it happy. Definitely a bit of a cliffhanger, and now I have to wait another year or so for the next book. Ugh.
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