After reading Chain of Iron earlier this summer and really enjoying it, I was wondering whether I should pick up the sequel and therefore the final installment in the “The Last Hours” series soon or whether I should wait a little longer. Well, I ended up picking it up quite soon. Did I enjoy it as much as its predecessor?

• Title: Chain of Thorns
• Author: Cassandra Clare
• Series: The Last Hours #3
• Publish date: January 31, 2023
• Publisher: Walker Books
• ISBN: 9781406358117
• Number of pages: 688
• Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

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. 

The story picks up right after where Chain of Iron left off. That was on a huge cliffhanger, so I was really curious what this book would bring. Well, let me tell you, character development, chaos and unexpected turns.

When looking into the character development, we see a shift in focus. At first, the character development focuesed mostly on James and Cordelia, but now we see it shifting to the rest of The Merry Thieves and Ariadne. These characters get more depth into this story and their development is needed for the others to grow as well. What I didn’t expect is that literally 3 books were needed for the group of Shadowhunters to recognize that someone in their midst had a serious problem. Well, it finally happened and it got the attention it needed.

The writing hasn’t changed much. It’s okay, not flawless. However, it still has the ability to suck me in from the start. I’m really curious whether Clare’s writing will mature in her upcoming adult novel though.

Potwise, this is a series finale you’d expect. It picks up right where Chain of Iron left off. Fortunately, this book doesn’t know a really slow start compared to its predecessors. There’s a lot at stake and it shows. The Shadowhunter world is in chaos which was to be expected after certain revelations in the previous book. Battles have to be fought, problems have to be solve, questions have to be answered. This book contains all of it, together with some unexpected turns.

I enjoyed listening to Chain of Thorns. It’s a chonker of a book, the audiobook length is more than 29 hours. Finty Williams again did a great job on the narration. Together with the interesting yet complex and rich story, it was a pleassant reading experience. I got intrigued right from the start and this makes me curious for Cassandra Clare’s upcoming adult novel.