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A review by eesh25
Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare
2.0
2.5 Stars
This is the lowest rating I've ever given to a Cassandra Clare novel. And this review will most likely be a disorganized mess. And a long one, at that. So, I'm gonna apologize in advance.
I've wondered for years if there would come a time when I wouldn't enjoy Cassie's books anymore. And yeah, my dislike for this book may be a one-time thing. But maybe not? The reason I've always wondered if I'd get fed-up with Cassie's books is that she uses so many tropes/elements that I hate. For example:
Take the lying and secrets, for instance. All of these main characters are supposed to be family and close friends. Lucy and Cordelia are supposed to become parabatai. Yet, this entire time, Lucy didn't tell Cordelia about Jesse, about her powers, about working with Grace, or about the fucking necromancy! How do you expect me to believe that they're the best of friends if they never talk to each other?
I really disliked Lucy in this book. Her storyline held no interest for me. I hated that she was working with Grace and that it was still boring somehow. Hers and Jesse's relationship was so rushed that I just didn't buy it. Their feelings for each other read like those of two children who fancy themselves in love because they don't know better.
The Anna and Ariadne romance was also disappointing. I'd been so looking forward to it, and it feels like nothing happened with them at all. The Alistair and Thomas story was slightly better, but I still would've liked to see more.
And finally, we get to James and Cordelia. As characters, I loved Cordelia in the first book. By the end of this one, I didn't. She made so many dumb decisions that it's hard to believe that it was the same smart and rational person we were introduced to in Chain of Gold. Though, her relationship with James is one I did enjoy reading about. Their married life was sweet and didn't hinge on angst. I also loved that they remained friends and got to know each other better. That, and a lot of the humour in the book, gave me some my favourite parts. Also, Will stole most of the scenes he was in.
But of the main characters, James is the only one who came out better than in the previous book. Possibly because he was the only one willing to fucking communicate! With everyone else, it was one needless secret after another. James is the only one who tried being open. Well, him and Christopher. But he had such a small role that it doesn't count.
And speaking of people who had small roles, there's Matthew. You know, I could've sworn Matthew was introduced as one of the main characters. Yet, he had nothing to do in the book besides drink and being in love with Cordelia. And latter serves no purpose (and makes no sense) beyond creating a fucking love-triangle that no one asked for. Don't we already have one of those with Grace? Who, by the way, also had little to do. I mean, she did stuff, but it had no effect on the events of the book.
Finally, we come to the "main" plot about the murderer running around offing shadowhunters. And you might wonder why I'm mentioning it as almost as an afterthought. Well, it's because that's how the book treated it. This was one arc that I was really interested in. And it was one of the few positives. But the book was all secrets, followed by unnecessary side-plots, accompanied by bajillions of POV changes, and then someone would die, and the book would remember that, oh yeah, there's a killer on the loose.
Also—this is the last thing, I swear—I just remember that a character named Filomena di Angelo was introduced as well. Cassie dedicated the book to Rick Riordan for the surname. And after that, the way she decided to treat the character just felt disrespectful. The di Angelo name deserves better.
I'm honestly so disappointed in this book. And fucking pissed of because of the ending. I actually skimmed the last 100 pages because I was frustrated and impatient. And I hated what happened so much that I could bring myself to go through those pages properly like I'd planned to. I might do that at some point, but for now, I just wanna forget this book ever happened.
This is the lowest rating I've ever given to a Cassandra Clare novel. And this review will most likely be a disorganized mess. And a long one, at that. So, I'm gonna apologize in advance.
I've wondered for years if there would come a time when I wouldn't enjoy Cassie's books anymore. And yeah, my dislike for this book may be a one-time thing. But maybe not? The reason I've always wondered if I'd get fed-up with Cassie's books is that she uses so many tropes/elements that I hate. For example:
1. Fucking love trianglesIf one were to take out all of these things from Cassie's novels, they'd be a third of the length that they are. And yet, I've been able to deal with all of them in her books. That's changed now, partially because of how pointless the use of them was. And they actually did a disservice to what the author wants us to believe.
2. Miscommunication as the cause of conflicts
3. An abundance of descriptions
4. Keeping secrets and lying for no good reason
Take the lying and secrets, for instance. All of these main characters are supposed to be family and close friends. Lucy and Cordelia are supposed to become parabatai. Yet, this entire time, Lucy didn't tell Cordelia about Jesse, about her powers, about working with Grace, or about the fucking necromancy! How do you expect me to believe that they're the best of friends if they never talk to each other?
I really disliked Lucy in this book. Her storyline held no interest for me. I hated that she was working with Grace and that it was still boring somehow. Hers and Jesse's relationship was so rushed that I just didn't buy it. Their feelings for each other read like those of two children who fancy themselves in love because they don't know better.
The Anna and Ariadne romance was also disappointing. I'd been so looking forward to it, and it feels like nothing happened with them at all. The Alistair and Thomas story was slightly better, but I still would've liked to see more.
And finally, we get to James and Cordelia. As characters, I loved Cordelia in the first book. By the end of this one, I didn't. She made so many dumb decisions that it's hard to believe that it was the same smart and rational person we were introduced to in Chain of Gold. Though, her relationship with James is one I did enjoy reading about. Their married life was sweet and didn't hinge on angst. I also loved that they remained friends and got to know each other better. That, and a lot of the humour in the book, gave me some my favourite parts. Also, Will stole most of the scenes he was in.
But of the main characters, James is the only one who came out better than in the previous book. Possibly because he was the only one willing to fucking communicate! With everyone else, it was one needless secret after another. James is the only one who tried being open. Well, him and Christopher. But he had such a small role that it doesn't count.
And speaking of people who had small roles, there's Matthew. You know, I could've sworn Matthew was introduced as one of the main characters. Yet, he had nothing to do in the book besides drink and being in love with Cordelia. And latter serves no purpose (and makes no sense) beyond creating a fucking love-triangle that no one asked for. Don't we already have one of those with Grace? Who, by the way, also had little to do. I mean, she did stuff, but it had no effect on the events of the book.
Finally, we come to the "main" plot about the murderer running around offing shadowhunters. And you might wonder why I'm mentioning it as almost as an afterthought. Well, it's because that's how the book treated it. This was one arc that I was really interested in. And it was one of the few positives. But the book was all secrets, followed by unnecessary side-plots, accompanied by bajillions of POV changes, and then someone would die, and the book would remember that, oh yeah, there's a killer on the loose.
Also—this is the last thing, I swear—I just remember that a character named Filomena di Angelo was introduced as well. Cassie dedicated the book to Rick Riordan for the surname. And after that, the way she decided to treat the character just felt disrespectful. The di Angelo name deserves better.
I'm honestly so disappointed in this book. And fucking pissed of because of the ending. I actually skimmed the last 100 pages because I was frustrated and impatient. And I hated what happened so much that I could bring myself to go through those pages properly like I'd planned to. I might do that at some point, but for now, I just wanna forget this book ever happened.