Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1) by Cassandra Clare - Restarting June 3rd 2024

[Fernanda]

Finished - I love this book so much!... (view spoiler)[ When Cordelia covered up for James by compromising herself, I was dying! And then he proposed to her! I can't believe how much I enjoyed this book, the only part that left me a little sad was finding out that Matthew loves Cordelia as well. It's going to make for an interesting love triangle in the next book. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Katie]

Fernanda wrote: "Finished - I love this book so much!... [spoilers removed]"

So glad you enjoyed it! Looks like there is a buddy read for the 2nd book starting soon!!

[Jenn]

Chapter 11: (view spoiler)[ i feel so bad for Thomas. He's such a sensitive soul and to lose his sister to this poison. Still want to throttle grace and her uselessness. Love how Cordelia handled the downworlders. She's definitely my fave girl in the shadowhunters world (hide spoiler)]

[Jenn]

Chapter 18: (view spoiler)[ my heart breaks for Matthew. He's obviously in pain over something he did and yet he can't share it with anyone. And now Christopher is wounded and James has been infected. This is all leading somewhere very dark (hide spoiler)]

[Jenn]

Finished: (view spoiler)[ ugh freaking hate grace. And I just don't understand how no one can make the connection between the bracelet and James weird attitude. I just want someone to figure it out! I know there are a lot of grace shippers out there, and how I should feel sorry for her but no. She obviously knows exactly what she's doing. She's a cold person. Like her mother. Poor Cordelia. (hide spoiler)]

[Jenn]

Fernanda wrote: "Finished - I love this book so much!... [spoilers removed]"

Omg when Cordelia stood up.an announced james was with her all night, I died lol

[Aaron]

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Date changed. Restarting September 14th 2021. Happy Reading ☺

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[Aaron]

Starting this tonight. Hoping to get through 5 chapters per day

[Aaron]

Chapter 5-
(view spoiler)[ It’s taking me a minute to get used to all the new characters and how they slot in with the characters we already know. I had to look at a family tree to get my bearings. It seems like every shadowhunter must be related in some way with how linked all the families are.
I’m not as big of a fan as books set in the past as they generally take me a while to get into. This seems like the case for this one as well. I’m not a huge fan of this so far but I’m sure I’ll start enjoying the series more as I carry on.
I like that Tessa, Will and Jem are back but their characters don’t really seem like themselves yet. I think I need to hear more from them. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Chapter 10-
(view spoiler)[ This is looking like it’s gonna be a 3 stars for me. I’m not that interested in what happens to the characters. I do like Anna and Alastair but none of the others seem too unique yet. This has been a common theme with these series though. I haven’t liked the first books much but I’ve really enjoyed the last ones. This does have quite an interesting concept with the illness. Also, why can’t James talk to Tessa about this Prince of Hell thing. It’s her father. Surely they could deal with this knowledge together. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Chapter 17-
(view spoiler)[ Lucie’s power makes sense. That’s quite useful. I do like her relationship with Jesse. The book has grown on me a bit now. I like that we got to hear a bit more from Jessamine. She seemed the most like herself than any of the other returning characters. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Done
(view spoiler)[ I was enjoying this and it got to a point where the book should’ve ended and then it just kept going and going. I lost interest by the end. It could’ve been a great ending if the book was like 60 pages shorter. This book didn’t meet my expectations after all I’ve heard about it. I’m hoping the next one is really good. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

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Date changed. Restarting November 11th 2021. Happy Reading ☺

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[Courtney]

Hoping to start this soon. This pregnancy was a little rough for me this week.

[Dr. Andy]

Courtney wrote: "Hoping to start this soon. This pregnancy was a little rough for me this week."

oh no, I hope things are okay! I finished on the 11th and have just been trying to make comments since then lol

[Courtney]

Andy wrote: "Courtney wrote: "Hoping to start this soon. This pregnancy was a little rough for me this week."

oh no, I hope things are okay! I finished on the 11th and have just been trying to make comments si..."

Everything is okay. I just dont have energy to do anything lol. I am hoping now that its my weekend I can just lay down and catch up on everything.

[Dr. Andy]

Courtney wrote: "Andy wrote: "Courtney wrote: "Hoping to start this soon. This pregnancy was a little rough for me this week."

oh no, I hope things are okay! I finished on the 11th and have just been trying to mak..."

I hope you have a restful weekend!!

[Dr. Andy]

25% (view spoiler)[ I know everyone hates Grace but so far I just feel sorry for the girl. Her backstory is pretty tragic and living with Tatiana Blackthorn, oof that's gotta be rough. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

Chapter 10 (view spoiler)[Hold up!? Grace is like we gotta leave the shadowhunter world now!! girl what!? I get why she's asking this, but to jump from marry me now to we must get our marks striped and leave!? Wtf heck no. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

ch 17 (view spoiler)[ oooo I love seeing Lucie and Jame's use their extra demony powers. Especially Lucie's I wanna see more with her. I'm really curious to see what will happen with her and Jesse. I want James and Cordelia to be a thing too :((((( (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

finished (view spoiler)[ I really enjoyed this! Not as much as Lady Midnight. I feel like the overall plot was kind of vague as to where things were going. So while I loved all the characters, I was confused as to were the plot was going at times. Definitely interested in the sequel. (hide spoiler)]

[Courtney]

Hoping to start this here in the next couple days. I fell very much behind. Opps.

[Mich Jane]

Is anyone here just starting this book? I’ll be starting to read this book today. I hope to continue to book two in preparation for the 3rd book coming out in Nov. 😊

[Akshita]

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Date changed. Restarting August 5th 2022. Happy Reading ☺

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[Akshita]

I'm starting now!

[Aaron]

Cool. I’m starting now.

[Akshita]

Haven't finished a single chapter yet. I've forgotten so much detail about this world. And it's proving very hard to read rn with all these new characters none of whom seem interesting so far.

[Aaron]

These chapters are really long. I’ve finished the first one. I’m still trying to remember who these characters are in relation to the others we’ve read about. I’m hoping it gets a little easier as we start to get to know these characters

[Akshita]

Chapter 3
(view spoiler)[ i don't think i have much to say right now. I had forgotten how romance-centric these books are as compared to the fantasy parts.
There are too many people. I wish we get some interesting personalities in there because so far most of the new characters on the forefront seem like the same recycled caricatures from the other series in this world. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Chapter 5
(view spoiler)[ I am also noticing a lot of characters that are really comparable to others we’ve seen. I’m glad this last chapter focused only on the main characters because I’m confused about all the others and how they fit together. I can’t grasp how old anyones meant to be either from the way they talk. The story is getting a little more interesting. I’m gonna give this book the benefit of the doubt despite the fact it’s probably gonna drag because I haven’t been a big fan of any of the 1st books. The characters have always grown on me as we’ve carried on through the series. I’m hoping these will do the same. (hide spoiler)]

[Akshita]

I've been out travelling with family for the past few days, hence, reading has been slow. Hopefully will catch up by tomorrow.

[Aaron]

Akshita wrote: "I've been out travelling with family for the past few days, hence, reading has been slow. Hopefully will catch up by tomorrow."

That’s alright. No rush.

[Akshita]

Aaron wrote: "Chapter 5
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I'm not entirely sure either but I'm guessing they are around 17-18 since that's the age all other protagonists have been in the other series.
And it's weird with the old characters too. They are just there because it takes place right after another series so the author can't really take them out of the picture. They have to keep showing up and be present but then you can't really tell them apart so they are starting to feel like a crowd. I can't imagine being around so many friends and family all the time.

It has gotten more interesting with that last chapter tho. I want to know what's up with Grace. All my friends who've read the book violently hate her for some reason (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Akshita wrote: "Aaron wrote: "Chapter 5
[spoilers removed]"

I'm not entirely sure either but I'm guessing they are around 17-18 since that's the age all other protagonists have been in the other series.
And it's ..."

(view spoiler)[ That’s interesting. I thought Grace would end up being nice and fitting in with the others. I wonder where this goes then. I think it’s a common theme so far that older versions of characters become pretty dull. (hide spoiler)]

[Akshita]

Chapter 8
(view spoiler)[
Cordelia makes any scene she's present in 10 times interesting. I want to keep hanging out with her only.
I would hate Tatiana blackthorn's revenge mindset to be one of the main plots. It is not interesting and i couldn't care less for whatever ruin she's bringing to the table. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Akshita wrote: "Chapter 8

Cordelia makes any scene she's present in 10 times interesting. I want to keep hanging out with her only.
I would hate Tatiana blackthorn's revenge mindset to be one of the main plots. I..."

(view spoiler)[ I am starting to like some of the characters more. Mainly Cordelia and James. I’m still getting quite a few of the characters confused. I’ve opened up a big family tree to try and keep up with everyone. I agree that the Tatiana plot isn’t very interesting (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Chapter 13
(view spoiler)[ I don’t understand Grace. I don’t like her very much either. Not much has happened with Jesse yet. He needs a proper storyline soon or there isn’t much point him being in the book. I am finding the plot more interesting but it’s been slow to say I’m over 400 pages in now. (hide spoiler)]

[Akshita]

Aaron wrote: "Akshita wrote: "Chapter 8

Cordelia makes any scene she's present in 10 times interesting. I want to keep hanging out with her only.
I would hate Tatiana blackthorn's revenge mindset to be one of t..."

I'm scared to look up a family tree because a lot of them mention which characters are dead and who ends up with who and i don't want to know any of that.

I've instead resigned to keep reading even when i don't fully get who is supposed to be who.
It's mainly the Lightwood siblings that are a bit confusing. I'm doing fine with the others i think.

[Akshita]

Aaron wrote: "Chapter 13
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I didn't realise we were more than halfway through. It still feels like the book just started.
From what i noticed, the one thing that's making it so slow and boring at times is the dry, monotonous dialogue. None of these people are funny. And a lot of their conversations feel like they are just listing out important things to the reader rather than talking to each other. Will is still the one with the best lines.
I agree about Grace. She isn't even the evil character who I'm supposed to hate yet. She's just annoying. And so are Lucie and James. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Akshita wrote: "Aaron wrote: "Chapter 13
[spoilers removed]"

I didn't realise we were more than halfway through. It still feels like the book just started.
From what i noticed, the one thing that's making it so ..."

(view spoiler)[ you’re right about the dialogue. The only other person who has relatively interesting lines is Anna. I feel like the author was too busy trying to make sure everything fit in with the already established timeline and characters to give them all proper personalities. I think this book probably would’ve been better if it didn’t try and include every family mentioned in the other books. (hide spoiler)]

[Akshita]

Aaron wrote: "Akshita wrote: "Aaron wrote: "Chapter 13
[spoilers removed]"

I didn't realise we were more than halfway through. It still feels like the book just started.
From what i noticed, the one thing that..."

YES exactly this.

[Akshita]

Chapter 14
(view spoiler)[ there have been several mentions of James feeling lighter than before, as if some great burden went away.
I wonder if it has something to do with the bracelet Grace took back or the drink Matthew gave him on the bridge.
Or it could be just Grace herself, since we know now she definitely has some enchantment thing going on with her kissing Matthew and all. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Chapter 17
(view spoiler)[ It seems more and more likely that Grace was holding James under some kind of enchantment. I hope Cordelia will tell James how she feels so they can hurry up and get together.
I wonder what Matthew has done as well. I am getting more and more interested in this story now. (hide spoiler)]

[Akshita]

Aaron wrote: "Chapter 17
It seems more and more likely that Grace was holding James under some kind of enchantment. I hope Cordelia will tell James how she feels so they can hurry up and get together.
I wonder..."

(view spoiler)[ Cordelia and James' romance isn't exciting. It feels old and pretentious. i doubt they'll get together soon since Matthew definitely likes Cordelia too so it's probably going to be a love triangle situation.

Lucie's ability with the dead is very interesting. And so is Jesse as we come to know more about him. I think i like the blackthorn family plotline much better than the disease and James' demon realm plotline now. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Akshita wrote: "Aaron wrote: "Chapter 17
It seems more and more likely that Grace was holding James under some kind of enchantment. I hope Cordelia will tell James how she feels so they can hurry up and get toget..."

(view spoiler)[ love triangles tend to just annoy me because they always drag on so long. The sooner 2 of the characters get together, the less time we have to read about them liking each other.
I think I’m finding the disease plot line the most interesting so far with the Hell Ruelle and the warlocks coming into the story. (hide spoiler)]

[Akshita]

Aaron wrote: "Akshita wrote: "Aaron wrote: "Chapter 17
It seems more and more likely that Grace was holding James under some kind of enchantment. I hope Cordelia will tell James how she feels so they can hurry ..."

Hell Ruelle part was definitely interesting.
I think I'm preferring the blackthorn plot because it's more personal than political, unlike the disease one.

[Akshita]

Chapter 19
(view spoiler)[ the way they just absolutely ruined two entire plotlines in one single scene. was that whole convo with Belial supposed to be the big plot twist??
Because that was so anti-climactic. There's no wide-eyed what the fck moment when the pieces finally starting falling into place and you can't believe you missed all those clues. No. Instead there's this barely logical explanation to literally everything interesting in the book by the one person who matters the least and wasn't even present in a scene until now. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Akshita wrote: "Chapter 19
the way they just absolutely ruined two entire plotlines in one single scene. was that whole convo with Belial supposed to be the big plot twist??
Because that was so anti-climactic. T..."

(view spoiler)[ I agree. It doesn’t work as a plot twist because we have no idea who he is. And now the plot line has switched to trying to save James. The stakes have suddenly been lowered to one person now we know the antidote is on its way. And there’s still over 100 pages left. All that needs to happen is James needs to come back and the antidote needs distributing. Dunno how the rest of this is being filled. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron]

Done
(view spoiler)[ I was right that the last few chapters would be unnecessary but a few of the characters have grown on me. I enjoyed those last couple of chapters more than I have most of the book. I hope James and Cordelia confess their feelings to each other early in the next one. I don’t want another book of listening to them being in love but not telling each other. James needs to destroy that bracelet now. It looks like the Tatiana and Belial are the next big villains. I reckon both will be dead/ gone for the next century by the end of the next book. I’m glad Magnus is sticking around. I hope the next book isn’t as long as this one. (hide spoiler)]

[Akshita]

Done. took me way too long.
(view spoiler)[
This was the weakest book plotwise out of all the others we've read, in my opinion. Made worse by merging the Tatiana and Belial plot at the end. It seemed like even the author didn't know how to outline and pace it. It definitely didn't seem to follow the traditional curve of a story. The plot points came in small consistent waves.
The stakes never felt high enough and everything worked out for them too conveniently without trying much. I'm not looking forward to Belial returning as the villain again.

I wasn't expecting to grow fond of certain characters either until the end. I think I like Matthew the best. Also grace! i went into the book thinking i was supposed to dislike her by the end, but she really seemed alright to me. she did everything she could do right so far. it seems the only reason to hate her would be if one cared about james, who compared to her has lived an incredibly privileged life surrounded by supportive family and friends.

I am most excited about the fake marriage development. it's new, i think it'll be interesting. (hide spoiler)]