Book Review: Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare

Book Three of The Last Hours Trilogy

Chain of Thorns is the third and final book in the Last Hours Trilogy in which we’ve accompanied James, Cordelia, and The Merry Thieves throughout late 19th and early 20th century London. The London Enclave has been desperately tracking a potential serial killer, hell-bent on killing Shadowhunters and when they discover the truth, it is nigh unfathomable, despite all the legends being true.

Chain of Thorns picks up after an excruciating cliffhanger at the end of Chain of Iron, so I feel grateful that I didn’t start this series until I had all three books. I love a great cliffhanger but that love has a short fuse and if I can’t immediately (or very close to it) resolve that cliffhanger, I inevitably end up surfing for spoilers. It’s my fatal flaw (ask my husband, it drives him crazy 😜)

I found book three focused a lot on the individual growth of each character. Perhaps even the most out of all three books. Those personal journeys eventually culminate in a universal dark night of the soul with The Merry Thieves facing a heartbreaking loss.

However, as all good finales should, Chain of Thorns takes everything the characters have been through, and everything they’ve learned, and forces them into what appears to be a true “all is lost” moment. Help doesn’t seem to be coming, or even possible. The main antagonist appears to have succeeded and the odds of a good outcome are slim.

But like each Shadowhunter tale, the bonds we form with others, the love and friendship, and the trust therein, never fail.

Chain of Thorns gives the Last Hours Trilogy a tidy and satisfying end to the emotional rollercoaster ride that the Merry Thieves, their families, and even the poor mundanes of London, have endured throughout this series.

For the reader this series illustrates, as Cassandra Clare is wont to do, that often what appears to be a curse may actually be a source of great strength and that family isn’t only determined by blood but by the bonds we create with others.

If you love rich world-building, characters who jump off the page and embed themselves into your heart, complicated and messy relationships, all set in a magical world that is often on the brink of annihilation, then this series, The Last Hours, is a must-read.