This will be a short review. I can’t say much without spoilers and if I were to write down how I felt about Chain of Iron, it would almost be an identical review to the one I posted for Book 1 of The Last Hours Trilogy, Chain of Gold, which you can read here.
The few additional comments I have (that I can dare share), are below:
I loved that we got a few new POVs in this one, yay. And dammit, the special art within is gorgeous!
I wish there were more than a few paragraphs from Matthew’s POV—because I absolutely love this character! But I understand why his POV was limited; still, being a Matthew stan, I couldn’t help hoping for his POV section to be longer.
I said I wanted to give Chain of Gold 500-stars because I loved it 500 times more than Lord of Shadows, which I rated 5-stars, making it my favourite Shadowhunter book ever (until Chain of Gold). While reading Chain of Iron, I loved it and enjoyed it as much as Book 1, so I was ready to dole out another 500 stars.
But then I read the final chapter.
“No,” I said. “I don’t think I can give Chain of Iron 500 stars.” This chapter. My gosh. I. Absolutely. Freakin’. Loved. It. Enjoyed it so so much. “Yes!” I kept saying while I read. “Yes, yes, yes.” It felt a bit like how the Epilogue of Clockwork Princess elevated that book for me from a 2.5-star rating to a 3-star—but on a much more colossal scale. So, yeah, what I’m saying is I want to give Chain of Iron 600 freakin’ stars.
The only downside is that I have to wait a year till the next—and final—book in the series comes out. Suddenly, reading this book as soon as it came out, and so quickly, isn’t looking like a great decision LOL. A decision I can’t regret, of course.
I said this book would probably kill me and it might just be a slow and painful year-long death for me as I wait for Chain of Thorns. If you’ve received your copy: What are you waiting for? Go read it. Now.
And here’s a bonus review:
Nothing but Shadows (novella by Cassandra Clare & Sarah Rees Brennan)
I admit, I had no intention of reading Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. After reading Chain of Gold, however, I was very eager to read Nothing but Shadows. I really wanted to see how my now-beloved Merry Thieves bonded at the Academy. And for more of Matthew. And of course, more James. And whatever Easter eggs the authors may have hidden in it for The Last Hours Trilogy. I think Matthew and James might be my favourite fictional Best Friends? Definitely my favourite parabatai.
No surprises here: I had so much fun reading this! I laughed out loud at some of the interactions between the key characters and I couldn’t wait to follow them into Chain of Iron! Loved it.
