Scan barcode
frantically's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
After QoAaD (which was admittedly a good ending but also...weird), I was hesitant to start this, seeing as TLH had the potential to become my favourite TSC series — and it is now!
Yes, it's a very long book and the beginning was very long-winded. Especially the whole love triangle thing, imo, we could've done without.
I enjoyed most of the other plot times a lot, though. We have a visit to Edom again (another good place for CC to be weird) but it isn't weird! Yay. There are a lot of redemption arcs, mainly for Grace and Alastair, and all of those were all believable and well done.
There is one character who dies and it was just such a cheap cop out. I truly don't think last books need to have tragic deaths to become tragic, there was already enough tragedy in this book. It felt like a "gotcha!" moment but a really cheap one.
We got some cute moments for the TID generation but through smart plot lines there were good reasons for them to not be available for most of the drama — this was their kids time to save the world (or...just London).
Overall, I'm still really happy with how this story ended and it was a quite satisfying ending to the TID/TLH story 🤍
Also: Shoutout to our ret-con queen Esme Hardcastle, wtf
Yes, it's a very long book and the beginning was very long-winded. Especially the whole love triangle thing, imo, we could've done without.
I enjoyed most of the other plot times a lot, though. We have a visit to Edom again (another good place for CC to be weird) but it isn't weird! Yay. There are a lot of redemption arcs, mainly for Grace and Alastair, and all of those were all believable and well done.
There is one character who dies and it was just such a cheap cop out. I truly don't think last books need to have tragic deaths to become tragic, there was already enough tragedy in this book. It felt like a "gotcha!" moment but a really cheap one.
We got some cute moments for the TID generation but through smart plot lines there were good reasons for them to not be available for most of the drama — this was their kids time to save the world (or...just London).
Overall, I'm still really happy with how this story ended and it was a quite satisfying ending to the TID/TLH story 🤍
Also: Shoutout to our ret-con queen Esme Hardcastle, wtf
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Addiction, Murder, Alcoholism, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, War, Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Torture
Minor: Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
emsavors's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Alcoholism, Child death, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Outing, Death, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Confinement, Grief, Lesbophobia, Addiction, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Racism, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, and War
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I picked this up because obviously I needed to see how the Shadowhunters world continues.
"Chain of Thorns" is the third and final book in The Last Hours trilogy. This story starts off bleak. Cordelia's life is turned upside down and all her plans are destroyed. Her father is murdered, her best friend can no longer become her parabatai, and she is now bound to a demon. When she returns to London, she is awed to see that everything is changed, and her life is in perlious danger. Now Cordelia and the rest of the Shadowhunters must ban together to stop this evil, and if they fail, they too might lose their souls.
I have been excited to see the conclusion of this trilogy and intrigued to see if this would bump my favorite Shadowhunters' trilogy out of first place (The Infernal Devices). Spoiler alert: it did not. Although I had a fine time reading this series as a whole, and I loved seeing the children of the main characters in The Infernal Devices, this series did not have that addictive magic for me.
I did really enjoy Cordelia as a character, as well as the other Shadowhunters. I love how Cassandra Clare writes her characters and makes them equal parts empowered and strong-willed, with a sprinkling of soft humanity.
I am SO excited for the next book in the series, and I will be counting down the days until it releases!
"Chain of Thorns" is the third and final book in The Last Hours trilogy. This story starts off bleak. Cordelia's life is turned upside down and all her plans are destroyed. Her father is murdered, her best friend can no longer become her parabatai, and she is now bound to a demon. When she returns to London, she is awed to see that everything is changed, and her life is in perlious danger. Now Cordelia and the rest of the Shadowhunters must ban together to stop this evil, and if they fail, they too might lose their souls.
I have been excited to see the conclusion of this trilogy and intrigued to see if this would bump my favorite Shadowhunters' trilogy out of first place (The Infernal Devices). Spoiler alert: it did not. Although I had a fine time reading this series as a whole, and I loved seeing the children of the main characters in The Infernal Devices, this series did not have that addictive magic for me.
I did really enjoy Cordelia as a character, as well as the other Shadowhunters. I love how Cassandra Clare writes her characters and makes them equal parts empowered and strong-willed, with a sprinkling of soft humanity.
I am SO excited for the next book in the series, and I will be counting down the days until it releases!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Torture, Child death, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content
sathyadgs95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
“How much love people have denied themselves through the ages because they believed they didn't deserve it. As if the waste of love is not the greater tragedy.” (P. 195)
Too excited are two words that didn't even come close to how I felt about reading this book. A part of me refused to read it because I didn't want to finish this story. The first few chapters felt a bit slow compared to the previous two books, but as always with Clare I was hooked, so this wasn't a big problem when it came to reading. I loved the rest of the book so much, it's a perfect and beautiful ending to the story, the only thing that would change him is to know more about Matthew's life.
In short, the book felt pretty flat most of the time, or at least the first 400 pages, despite exciting or emotional situations happening, but I didn't feel that need to keep reading that happened to me with the two previous books. After half it became much more interesting, and I couldn't stop reading anymore; I really liked how everything developed, even the tragic parts. I was very happy with the outcome, although I feel that of the three books this was the one that was least up to scratch.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Death, Murder, Torture, and Dementia
leedolee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A perfect conclusion for this series. A whirlwind of emotions as per usual but a great, entertaining read nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Body horror, Death, Medical trauma, Murder, Torture, Addiction, War, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Alcohol, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
novaeverafter's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Addiction, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Miscarriage and Sexual content
sarainfantasyland's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"I don't think I realized... how much I would need someone in my life who would see the truth of me and offer me kindness, even though I did not ask for it. Even when I felt I didn't deserve it. And when I travel the seas... every time I set eyes upon a new land, I will think of you and of that kindness. I will always carry it with me, and the knowledge that it is the gifts we did not have the strength to ask for that matter the most."
It is always difficult to write an unbiased review or gather thoughts the first time reading a book that you have an emotional attachment to. Because, for me at least, it is often never about craft or how good the writing is or how unpredictable the twists were. Its about the kind of journey the book took you on and getting a chance to live with the characters you already adore.
The Last Hours and The Infernal Devices speak to me on a deeper level than of the Shadowhunter books. They are apart of a handful of books where they have become a part of me and my soul. So talking about whose arc was better or if the book had too many tropes, doesn't particularly apply for this kind of read.
I loved the experience of reading this book. I felt all of it, perhaps too much. This doesn't always happen with Cassie's books, particularly her final ones where I find she struggles the most. And I was nervous this would feel like too much, too outrageous like Queen of Air and Darkness, or something about the story would pull me out of that <i>feeling</i> every read knows but cannot actually put into words. But it didn't because these books are so focused on characters.
Yes, a demon prince of hell is trying to take over the world but he's trying to do it by possessing one of your main characters, the love interest, the best friend, the son of your favorite character in this franchise. You don't really care if Belial takes over the world as your first instinct, its bad but livable. You care about him taking over <i>James</i>. It's all about these characters and their emotional ties to you and to the characters around them. And perhaps thats why the London Shadowhunters speak to me because this is more prevalent in these books than any of her others.
I may have guessed every major plot point but I wanted to toss the book across the room on page 127when James was in that Paris hotel room , wanted to scream at James to tell Cordelia the truth, begged Matthew to love himself and the way everyone else did, wept when Christopher died in his sister's arms , and giggled like a little girl when James and Cordelia were finally honest with each other.
<i>That</i> is why I read. Books like this are why I read. Why stories are so much apart of my soul. I am incredibly sad to be leaving these characters behind. I have no idea what to do with myself.
And perhaps with time will come more critique. The ability to think beyond my initial emotional reaction. But right now all I feel is grateful stories like this exist.
Now beyond the emotional, sappy, intelligent stuff... Here are my favorite scenes:
- Will in Cornwall. Any extended time I get to spend with Will Herondale is automatically preferred. Will having emotional, honest talks with James makes me want to die.
- Cordelia sending the Merry Thieves to look after Matthew when he was trying to go sober. First time I cried during the book. Incredibly sweet and heart-wrenching, esp considering what happens later.
- Cordelia and James finally, <i>finally</i> admitting how much love each other and having sex not once but THREE TIMES in the span of one chapter. Jame is the sexiest shadowhunter love interest, idk how to tell you otherwise. Cassandra has been reading romance and it shows. I truly lost my sanity here.
- Both James and Matthew and Lucie and Cordelia is Edom respectively. Matthew finally telling James about what he did to his mother was so incredibly emotional. And see Lucie and Cordelia be honest with one another about the secrets they kept.
- The epilogue. Something to leave behind in Jesse's coffin. Thomas telling his parents about him being gay (Eugenia, what an ally.) Matthew telling his parents his mistake and then finding out he's going to have TWO brothers or sisters. And Cordelia's final talk with Matthew. I wasn't supposed to fall in love with Matthew but clearly, I did.
- Esme Hardcastle's attempt to create a London Shadowhunter history and family tree. I think Cassie is trolling me for believing in that family tree on the back of Clockwork Princess.
- Christopher Lightwood. The sweet, kindest, most insightful boy. You did not deserve what happened to you. She truly said, I'm going to make you adore him and then take him away from you.
It is always difficult to write an unbiased review or gather thoughts the first time reading a book that you have an emotional attachment to. Because, for me at least, it is often never about craft or how good the writing is or how unpredictable the twists were. Its about the kind of journey the book took you on and getting a chance to live with the characters you already adore.
The Last Hours and The Infernal Devices speak to me on a deeper level than of the Shadowhunter books. They are apart of a handful of books where they have become a part of me and my soul. So talking about whose arc was better or if the book had too many tropes, doesn't particularly apply for this kind of read.
I loved the experience of reading this book. I felt all of it, perhaps too much. This doesn't always happen with Cassie's books, particularly her final ones where I find she struggles the most. And I was nervous this would feel like too much, too outrageous like Queen of Air and Darkness, or something about the story would pull me out of that <i>feeling</i> every read knows but cannot actually put into words. But it didn't because these books are so focused on characters.
Yes, a demon prince of hell is trying to take over the world but he's trying to do it by possessing one of your main characters, the love interest, the best friend, the son of your favorite character in this franchise. You don't really care if Belial takes over the world as your first instinct, its bad but livable. You care about him taking over <i>James</i>. It's all about these characters and their emotional ties to you and to the characters around them. And perhaps thats why the London Shadowhunters speak to me because this is more prevalent in these books than any of her others.
I may have guessed every major plot point but I wanted to toss the book across the room on page 127
<i>That</i> is why I read. Books like this are why I read. Why stories are so much apart of my soul. I am incredibly sad to be leaving these characters behind. I have no idea what to do with myself.
And perhaps with time will come more critique. The ability to think beyond my initial emotional reaction. But right now all I feel is grateful stories like this exist.
Now beyond the emotional, sappy, intelligent stuff... Here are my favorite scenes:
- Cordelia sending the Merry Thieves to look after Matthew when he was trying to go sober. First time I cried during the book. Incredibly sweet and heart-wrenching, esp considering what happens later.
- Cordelia and James finally, <i>finally</i> admitting how much love each other and having sex not once but THREE TIMES in the span of one chapter. Jame is the sexiest shadowhunter love interest, idk how to tell you otherwise. Cassandra has been reading romance and it shows. I truly lost my sanity here.
- Both James and Matthew and Lucie and Cordelia is Edom respectively. Matthew finally telling James about what he did to his mother was so incredibly emotional. And see Lucie and Cordelia be honest with one another about the secrets they kept.
- The epilogue. Something to leave behind in Jesse's coffin. Thomas telling his parents about him being gay (Eugenia, what an ally.) Matthew telling his parents his mistake and then finding out he's going to have TWO brothers or sisters. And Cordelia's final talk with Matthew. I wasn't supposed to fall in love with Matthew but clearly, I did.
- Esme Hardcastle's attempt to create a London Shadowhunter history and family tree. I think Cassie is trolling me for believing in that family tree on the back of Clockwork Princess.
- Christopher Lightwood. The sweet, kindest, most insightful boy. You did not deserve what happened to you. She truly said, I'm going to make you adore him and then take him away from you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Torture
More...