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A review by isabelthearcher
Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
5.0
This book was one of the best Shadowhunter novels I have read. It has such a special place in my heart, especially because the Infernal Devices and Jem/Tessa/Will are my favourites ever. I think Clare was really brave in making the cast of characters so large, but it definitely worked. I do think though that there is so much room for more content or novellas of the side characters like Thomas, Christopher and Anna for example. Another strong point was the flashback chapters, or the ‘Days Past’. They added much more dimension to these side and main characters that wouldn’t have meshed with the timeline of Chain of Gold.
The most iconic character was Anna. I loved, loved her in the Ghosts of the Shadow Market novellas and I ate up the content in this book. She’s so self assured and confident yet also having so much compassion and fierce courage for the feminist movement. In the scene
“Official academic gatherings in Paris have always been controlled by men, but salons are a world ruled by women. One famous noble lady seated her artistic guests in her ruelle - the space between her bed, any lady’s bed, really, and the wall. A scandalous spot. Informally, an artistic gathering presided over by a woman came to be known as a ‘ruelle’.”
Anna understands the highly prejudiced and judgmental nature of Victorian/Edwardian England, yet through being a Shadowhunter with privilege and also with her own confidence she doesn't have to live within the confines of these etiquette rules.
Can we talk about her style too?! AHHH. Anna got her own annotating tab, honestly for the descriptions of her clothes more than anything.
“Anna had her long legs carelessly crossed before her. She was dressed in elegant black menswear, her shirtfront starched and white. There was an amethyst pin, the colour of her brother’s eyes, winking in her cravat, and her coat fit sleekly along her narrow shoulders. She seemed entirely composed. Cordelia envied her confidence.”
I love the scene
“I could do it. But it goes entirely against my code. It is against my strict policy to seduce anybody twice.”
Then she takes out this notebook where she has in her words “a memorandum book… about my conquests.” And then she reads them out and says “Virginia - a very promising writer, you should look out for her work, James” HELP the way that Anna slept with Virginia Woolf. Yep I love it here.
In that same scene,
“Anna shrugged, a brief lilt of her shoulders. ‘Wearing them myself was like having my soul in a prison of petticoats, but I deeply appreciate a beautiful woman in a gown that matches her.’” Look, if you don’t like Anna Lightwood go away, you don’t deserve this book.
Another part of this book that brought tears to my eyes was grown up Tessa, Will and Jem content. It was so cool to see them mature as young adults in the Infernal Devices, but to see them now with children is extraordinary. I also love how the main couples are Sophie and Gideon, Cecily and Gabriel, Will and Tessa and Henry and Charlotte. The fact that all of their children are somehow cousins and have such close relationships means so much to me. There’s such an exploration into what it means to have Tessa and Will as parents, the fact that a warlock has never had a child before and what that means for James and Lucie. There is also a highlighted fact on Benedict Lightwood and the harm that he causes to the Blackthorns, Lightwoods and Herondales even decades after his death.
However, on the other hand of this I feel as though Shadowhunter parents as soon as they turn 30, turn a blind eye to all the shenanigans that the kids get up to. The Tessa, Sophie and Will that were in Clockwork Princess would have never let someone else do the work without them. There was no real excuse given as to why they didn’t tell their parents and at the end of the book James told them all anyways. It seemed like a cheap Shadowhunter trope that doesn’t work with mature Tessa and Will due to their characteristics.
There are a few instances I tabbed of mature adult Tessa and Will content that I want to share because they made me cry like a baby:
At the start of the book, in one of the first Days Past chapters,
“Will’s back had been against Tessa’s legs as he stared unseeing into the fire. They had all heard the front doors open; Will had looked up when Jem came in, and Jem, in his Silent Brother robes, went over to Will and sat down beside him. He drew Will’s head against his shoulder, and Will held the front of Jem’s robes in his fists and cried. Tessa bowed her head over both of them, and the three were united in adult grief,”
There is something so touching, yet heart wrenching about this scene. Tessa never knew her parents and Jem lost her too young. But here we see a grown man, Will Herondale, in a pain he has never felt before. But despite everything he has Tessa and his parabatai and it gave me so much pain and joy.
Tessa is also such a sweet mother figure:
“‘People are only invincible in books,’ said Cordelia.
‘I think that you will find most of the time, not even then,’ said Tessa. ‘But at least we can always pick up a book and read it anew. Stories offer a thousand fresh starts.”
I love how even with the responsibility of being head of the London institute and having kids, that Tessa is still so true to herself in this story. She gives great advice, probably because of all that she has gone through and her references to novels make my heart happy.
The next scene that made me cry tbh was when Will was saying goodnight to Lucie:
“Will sighed. ‘Get some sleep, fy nghariad bach.’” The fact that for so long in the Infernal Devices he denounced his welsh culture and family and now he is embracing it and using it as a sign of endearment makes me want to sob with character development tears.
Another piece of Tessa advice that brought me right back to Clockwork Princess was:
“‘We were all very brave then,’ said Tessa. ‘I wonder sometimes if it is easier to be brave when one is young, before one truly knows how much there is to lose.’” A lesson that she learnt in Clockwork Princess and damn it hurts my soul to think of how much pain Tessa has been through.
Cordelia was a great character as probably the main-ish protagonist in Chain of Gold. I loved the family dynamics between her, Sona and Alastair and obviously her father. I understand that her issue is, however there seems nothing else that she has a problem with. There’s the whole situation, but there is no high stakes for Cordelia - something in which Clare has done really well with other female protagonists. Cordelia seemed just too pure and loving, which is refreshing but on the other hand quite boring. After just reading TDA it was really cool to see more of Cortana’s powers, that sword can just about break through anything!
Matthew Fairchild also has to be mentioned, he had such a cool storyline in the Ghosts of the Shadow Market and I hope that plot point is explored more in depth in the upcoming novels. He is the humorous relief in this book along with Anna, but also a point of discussion for his alcoholism. Furthermore, as James’ parabatai he’s brave and loving to his best friend. My only thing is please in a sequel series it would be so annoying for both parabatais to fall in love with the same girl again. I would love to see Matthew with Lucie or someone who could help him. The comedic relief between him and Anna was to die for. They are definitely one of my favourite duos.
“Matthew sighed as he set the bottle on the mantel. ‘You know what they say, drink and you will sleep; sleep, and you will not sin; do not sin, and you will be saved; therefore, drink and be saved.’”
As a final point to this awfully long review, I loved the continuous theme of sexuality, feminism and hope throughout this novel. There were dark and scary moments, but Clare manages to weave in such an oppressive time period with such joy and love. Everyone is a lil gay and it’s a pleasure to read. Charlotte Fairchild is Consul, a fact which is told a lot as she is the first woman to have that position. There are discussions of the etiquette of dancing and how the gentleman has all the power like in a marriage. The themes that are put into historical fiction come into fantasy and it makes such an interesting effect to see not only how our society has changed but also the politics of the Shadowhunter world with it.
The most iconic character was Anna. I loved, loved her in the Ghosts of the Shadow Market novellas and I ate up the content in this book. She’s so self assured and confident yet also having so much compassion and fierce courage for the feminist movement. In the scene
Spoiler
where Matthew, Cordelia and Anna go to the Hell Ruelle, Cordelia asks what Hell Ruelle means and Anna says:“Official academic gatherings in Paris have always been controlled by men, but salons are a world ruled by women. One famous noble lady seated her artistic guests in her ruelle - the space between her bed, any lady’s bed, really, and the wall. A scandalous spot. Informally, an artistic gathering presided over by a woman came to be known as a ‘ruelle’.”
Anna understands the highly prejudiced and judgmental nature of Victorian/Edwardian England, yet through being a Shadowhunter with privilege and also with her own confidence she doesn't have to live within the confines of these etiquette rules.
Can we talk about her style too?! AHHH. Anna got her own annotating tab, honestly for the descriptions of her clothes more than anything.
“Anna had her long legs carelessly crossed before her. She was dressed in elegant black menswear, her shirtfront starched and white. There was an amethyst pin, the colour of her brother’s eyes, winking in her cravat, and her coat fit sleekly along her narrow shoulders. She seemed entirely composed. Cordelia envied her confidence.”
I love the scene
Spoiler
where the Merry Thieves, Lucie and Cordelia go over to Anna’s apartment to get her to seduce Hypatia. When she’s asks she says:“I could do it. But it goes entirely against my code. It is against my strict policy to seduce anybody twice.”
Then she takes out this notebook where she has in her words “a memorandum book… about my conquests.” And then she reads them out and says “Virginia - a very promising writer, you should look out for her work, James” HELP the way that Anna slept with Virginia Woolf. Yep I love it here.
In that same scene,
Spoiler
Anna takes Cordelia into her room to show her dresses that Anna has made for Cordelia (shut up so cute i know) and there’s this great question that Cordelia asks Anna saying but you don’t like dresses. And I think Anna’s reply just once again demonstrates how much I love her character with all my heart.“Anna shrugged, a brief lilt of her shoulders. ‘Wearing them myself was like having my soul in a prison of petticoats, but I deeply appreciate a beautiful woman in a gown that matches her.’”
Another part of this book that brought tears to my eyes was grown up Tessa, Will and Jem content. It was so cool to see them mature as young adults in the Infernal Devices, but to see them now with children is extraordinary. I also love how the main couples are Sophie and Gideon, Cecily and Gabriel, Will and Tessa and Henry and Charlotte. The fact that all of their children are somehow cousins and have such close relationships means so much to me. There’s such an exploration into what it means to have Tessa and Will as parents, the fact that a warlock has never had a child before and what that means for James and Lucie. There is also a highlighted fact on Benedict Lightwood and the harm that he causes to the Blackthorns, Lightwoods and Herondales even decades after his death.
However, on the other hand of this I feel as though Shadowhunter parents as soon as they turn 30, turn a blind eye to all the shenanigans that the kids get up to. The Tessa, Sophie and Will that were in Clockwork Princess would have never let someone else do the work without them. There was no real excuse given as to why they didn’t tell their parents and at the end of the book James told them all anyways. It seemed like a cheap Shadowhunter trope that doesn’t work with mature Tessa and Will due to their characteristics.
There are a few instances I tabbed of mature adult Tessa and Will content that I want to share because they made me cry like a baby:
At the start of the book, in one of the first Days Past chapters,
Spoiler
Will finds out that his parents have died of influenza. Will is sitting on the floor of the drawing room until…“Will’s back had been against Tessa’s legs as he stared unseeing into the fire. They had all heard the front doors open; Will had looked up when Jem came in, and Jem, in his Silent Brother robes, went over to Will and sat down beside him. He drew Will’s head against his shoulder, and Will held the front of Jem’s robes in his fists and cried. Tessa bowed her head over both of them, and the three were united in adult grief,”
There is something so touching, yet heart wrenching about this scene. Tessa never knew her parents and Jem lost her too young. But here we see a grown man, Will Herondale, in a pain he has never felt before. But despite everything he has Tessa and his parabatai and it gave me so much pain and joy.
Tessa is also such a sweet mother figure:
“‘People are only invincible in books,’ said Cordelia.
‘I think that you will find most of the time, not even then,’ said Tessa. ‘But at least we can always pick up a book and read it anew. Stories offer a thousand fresh starts.”
I love how even with the responsibility of being head of the London institute and having kids, that Tessa is still so true to herself in this story. She gives great advice, probably because of all that she has gone through and her references to novels make my heart happy.
The next scene that made me cry tbh was when Will was saying goodnight to Lucie:
“Will sighed. ‘Get some sleep, fy nghariad bach.’” The fact that for so long in the Infernal Devices he denounced his welsh culture and family and now he is embracing it and using it as a sign of endearment makes me want to sob with character development tears.
Another piece of Tessa advice that brought me right back to Clockwork Princess was:
“‘We were all very brave then,’ said Tessa. ‘I wonder sometimes if it is easier to be brave when one is young, before one truly knows how much there is to lose.’” A lesson that she learnt in Clockwork Princess and damn it hurts my soul to think of how much pain Tessa has been through.
Cordelia was a great character as probably the main-ish protagonist in Chain of Gold. I loved the family dynamics between her, Sona and Alastair and obviously her father. I understand that her issue is
Spoiler
her father’s trialSpoiler
JamesMatthew Fairchild also has to be mentioned, he had such a cool storyline in the Ghosts of the Shadow Market and I hope that plot point is explored more in depth in the upcoming novels. He is the humorous relief in this book along with Anna, but also a point of discussion for his alcoholism. Furthermore, as James’ parabatai he’s brave and loving to his best friend. My only thing is please in a sequel series it would be so annoying for both parabatais to fall in love with the same girl again. I would love to see Matthew with Lucie or someone who could help him. The comedic relief between him and Anna was to die for. They are definitely one of my favourite duos.
“Matthew sighed as he set the bottle on the mantel. ‘You know what they say, drink and you will sleep; sleep, and you will not sin; do not sin, and you will be saved; therefore, drink and be saved.’”
As a final point to this awfully long review, I loved the continuous theme of sexuality, feminism and hope throughout this novel. There were dark and scary moments, but Clare manages to weave in such an oppressive time period with such joy and love. Everyone is a lil gay and it’s a pleasure to read. Charlotte Fairchild is Consul, a fact which is told a lot as she is the first woman to have that position. There are discussions of the etiquette of dancing and how the gentleman has all the power like in a marriage. The themes that are put into historical fiction come into fantasy and it makes such an interesting effect to see not only how our society has changed but also the politics of the Shadowhunter world with it.