The Last Hours Book 2: Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

The Last Hours Book 2

The Shadowhunters must catch a killer in Edwardian London in this dangerous and romantic sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Chain of Gold, from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Cassandra Clare. Chain of Iron is a Shadowhunters novel.

Cordelia Carstairs seems to have everything she ever wanted. She’s engaged to marry James Herondale, the boy she has loved since childhood. She has a new life in London with her best friend Lucie Herondale and James’s charming companions, the Merry Thieves. She is about to be reunited with her beloved father. And she bears the sword Cortana, a legendary hero’s blade.

But the truth is far grimmer. James and Cordelia’s marriage is a lie, arranged to save Cordelia’s reputation. James is in love with the mysterious Grace Blackthorn whose brother, Jesse, died years ago in a terrible accident. Cortana burns Cordelia’s hand when she touches it, while her father has grown bitter and angry. And a serial murderer is targeting the Shadowhunters of London, killing under cover of darkness, then vanishing without a trace.

Together with the Merry Thieves, Cordelia, James, and Lucie must follow the trail of the knife-wielding killer through the city’s most dangerous streets. All the while, each is keeping a shocking secret: Lucie, that she plans to raise Jesse from the dead; Cordelia, that she has sworn a dangerous oath of loyalty to a mysterious power; and James, that he is being drawn further each night into the dark web of his grandfather, the arch-demon Belial. And that he himself may be the killer they seek.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17699855-chain-of-iron

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My Review: 5/5 Stars 

Cassandra Clare knows just how to hurt you emotionally. Every book you can't help take on the pain she puts on her characters. Her characters have to go through every single trial and emotional to get their happy ending. And because this is only the second book in the Last Hours series, we have one more to go until our favorite characters get their happy ending. Despite all the heartache and pain this book caused, it was still an excellent book in this series and in this Shadowhunter world. 

Chain of Iron picks up a few months after the last book. James and Cordelia are getting ready for their wedding and their fake marriage, though we all know Cordelia truly loves James and that James loves Cordelia, but because of the stupid magical bracelet that is still on his wrist, he cannot remember. Or every time he does the magic tries to force him to push the feelings down. The good news for this book is that James is fighting harder and harder against the bracelet. It is like he knows something is wrong and every moment with his Daisy is another step closer to freeing himself. Meanwhile, Lucie is still working on finding a way to bring Jesse back to life. And the other Merry Thieves have their own trials. And while that is all happening, there is a killer on the loose. Someone is killing Shadowhunters. But who could it be? And why? The streets are dangerous and no one should be left alone. 

One of the things I loved about this book was that we got to see different point of views. Because as much as I love James and Cordelia's story, and Lucie and Jesse's story, I want to catch up with the others as well. Like Ariadne trying to win back Anna. Christopher and his inventions. And my favorite, Thomas and Alastair. With how things left off last time between them, I wanted to know if Alastair would be given a chance to apologize and if Thomas could finally forgive him. Basically I needed them to realize they have feelings and do something about them. But with all of Cassandra's books, our favorite characters and couples get their few moments of happiness before something comes crashing down on them. So basically what I am saying is I need the next book so everyone can be happy again. But this the mystery of this story was a good one and one you don't see coming until the very end. There are so many twists and turns in these books and I love each one of them despite them each trying to break him. You can't help loving all of these characters and getting attached. No matter who they are. Great, great book. And I cannot wait for the next one!