By: Cait Marie
Blurb
Cordelia Carstairs has lost everything that matters to her. In only a few short weeks, she has seen her father murdered, her plans to become parabatai with her best friend, Lucie, destroyed, and her marriage to James Herondale crumble before her eyes. Even worse, she is now bound to an ancient demon, Lilith, stripping her of her power as a Shadowhunter.
After fleeing to Paris with Matthew Fairchild, Cordelia hopes to forget her sorrows in the city’s glittering nightlife. But reality intrudes when shocking news comes from home: Tatiana Blackthorn has escaped the Adamant Citadel, and London is under new threat by the Prince of Hell, Belial.
Cordelia returns to a London riven by chaos and dissent. The long-kept secret that Belial is James and Lucie’s grandfather has been revealed by an unexpected enemy, and the Herondales find themselves under suspicion of dealings with demons. Cordelia longs to protect James but is torn between a love for James she has long believed hopeless, and the possibility of a new life with Matthew. Nor can her friends help—ripped apart by their own secrets, they seem destined to face what is coming alone.
For time is short, and Belial’s plan is about to crash into the Shadowhunters of London like a deadly wave, one that will separate Cordelia, Lucie, and the Merry Thieves from help of any kind. Left alone in a shadowy London, they must face Belial’s deadly army. If Cordelia and her friends are going to save their city—and their families—they will have to muster their courage, swallow their pride, and trust one another again. For if they fail, they may lose everything—even their souls.
Review
I’ll be honest, I don’t really know how to write this review, so bear with me…
This is the third book in The Last Hours series, which I’ve absolutely loved. It’s no secret that I live and breathe Shadowhunter books, and it was especially exciting getting to jump back into the world almost directly following one of the other series. This trilogy is set about twenty years after The Infernal Devices and focuses on the next generation, but we still get to see quite a bit of our old favorite characters, which was really fun.
Chain of Thorns was a great finale to this amazing trilogy. I’ve grown super attached to these characters and their story. It was full of adventure, friendship, and romance. I don’t want to say too much since it is the last book in the series, but it did a really good job of tying everything up for the most part.
That being said, something felt off with the ending. I’m not entirely sure what it was or what it needed though, so it’s hard to explain. It’s not even because two of my ships sank, though that was upsetting. As an author, I understood Clare’s choices with those situations. So, it wasn’t that. It was more like it felt as if it just kind of ended. We got closure, and the storyline ended as it should, but I feel like it needed something… more.
It also left things open for a couple characters, and I don’t know if that was on purpose because she’s going to revisit them later or what, but I’m one of those readers who wants all my favorite characters to have a happy or happy-ish ending. I don’t like uncertainties. These two in particular went through too much to just not get any sort of solid ending.
None of this took away from the book itself. I enjoyed reading Chain of Thorns, and the rest of the series, so much! It’s a wonderful trilogy that I’ll be rereading in the future. And next time, I will read the physical copy to see if that makes a difference. I listened to the audiobook this time because my anxiety has been so bad and it’s easier at night, especially after editing or writing all day.
Functionally Fictional 
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