Self-Isolation Read - Chain of Gold

• Title And Author: Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
• Publisher: Walker Books
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Physical & eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 617 Pages

I’m not sure how to start this write-up about Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare as I have a bit of a weird relationship with the world of Shadowhunters.

I came into this world when City of Glass was about to come out and the Mortal Instruments was a planned trilogy, and I fell quickly and hard into this world. After devouring the trilogy, I jumped into the Infernal Devices trilogy and loved that (I, like most readers, think the Infernal Devices is one of Cassandra Clare’s best). I planned to read the latter Mortal Instruments books but always lose my nerve plus I liked how City of Glass ended and didn’t want to ruin it. And, after a bit of oohing and ahhinh, I read the first two books in the Dark Artifices trilogy, Lady Midnight and Lord of Shadows and while I did like them and I did go out and buy the third and final book in trilogy, Queen of Air and Darkness, but I never felt a need to read them. There was no real pull to finish that trilogy.

So, Chain of Gold is a bit of a weird animal for me. It’s the first book in  a sequel trilogy to Infernal Devices, that follows the children of the main characters from Infernal Devices. So, the children are in the forefront, and yet, the characters in Infernal Devices are there and older, but a little more in the background.

And then I have the drama of getting the damn thing. So, after ooh-ing and ahh-ing, I preordered a physical copy via one well-known online bookseller, which promised to get my copy sent to me on the day of release. Wasn’t in a rush to read it at the time, but ok. Was cool with that. So, on day of release, got an email at ten o’clock in morning that book won’t be dispatched today and my physical copy wouldn’t get to me between end of March or late May. Now, seeing as I know people got their copy from other online and physical retailers ok, I knew this wasn’t the publisher’s fault so I made a complaint. A long complaint. After an hour raising questions and pointing out one or two things, I was told they were going to look into why physical copies are being delayed and will try and push my order up. In the meanwhile, was given the eBook version for free. Several days later, was contacted back and said my physical copy would be with me by end of the day.

Cordelia Carstairs and her brother are Shadowhunters, training to battle demons. When their family comes to 1903 London, Cordelia is throw into glittering ballrooms and supernatural salon and encounter childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and their friends, who call themselves the Merry Thieves. When demons attack Shadowhunters in the middle of day, Cordelia and her new friends and family find themselves trapped in London, trying to figure out what is happening and, all the while, keeping their hearts protected as love can cut deeper than any blade…

Book Review - Lord of Shadows

Oh, Cassandra Clare. Every time I think I am through with you and the Shadowhunter world, I somehow get sucked back in. Now, I read the eNovella, Son of the Dawn, while I was on holiday in Cyprus (write-up for that is here), but I did wonder whether I was done with the world or not. Lord of Shadows was sent to me by the publisher, Simon and Schuster, so I knew I was going to read this. I just wasn't sure when or if I wanted to. It's a beast of a book and anything longer than 500 pages makes me nervous.

But after my holiday in Cyprus, I wasn't sure what to read. I felt a bit in a weird reading funk and I want to keep my fun reading groove going. So, I grabbed a bunch of books off my TBR shelves and went to my Other Half, saying "Pick one". After skimming a few blurbs, he chose Lord of Shadows because it sounded my kind of weird.

After the events of Lady Midnight, Emma, her parabatai Julian and the other Blackthorns feel the betrayal of their once close friend. But that's not all they're worried about. Emma discovered a horrible truth about why parabatai should never fall in love with each other: they will be cursed. To protect Julian, she starts "dating" Julian's brother, Mark...

But even that might not be enough when it becomes clear that enemies are on all sides. The Unseelie King - the Lord of Shadows - want the Black Volume of the Dead. With this, he plans to break the Cold Peace and rule over both the Unseelie and Seelie Courts.

And with rising tensions between Shadowhunters and Downworlders, comes a extremist brand of Shadowhunters called the Cohort, who want to register all Downworlders and "unsuitable" Nephilim, now is a dark time. But the Blackthorns are desperate and when Julian decides to depend on a unpredictable enemy, the repercussions are beyond anything they can imagine...

I am going to say this right off the bat: I am still in two minds about this trilogy. It doesn't grab me the same way the first Mortal Instruments books and Infernal Devices trilogy did. There is something that doesn't click with me. Maybe if I read the latter Mortal Instruments books, I would be sucked in but I don't feel that need to read City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls or City of Heavenly Fire.

I've said this before and I will say this again, Cassandra Clare is awesome with diversity. Like I said in my Lady Midnight write-up, she has diversity left and right and it feels nature. It doesn't feel shoehorned in. And it grows with this book. We have a character who is on the autism spectrum, a character who is suffering mental health issue, a underage carer, Mexican characters, characters who cover the LGBT spectrum and it's glorious! It's wonderful to read this and it not feel like the author is ticking each of the diversity and representation boxes. This is one of this trilogy's strongest qualities.

This book does grow in character development and exploring the Shadowhunter world and that pushes this story arc forward nicely. I'm intrigued to see where this trilogy goes in this respect, hopefully it will show us the Shadowhunter world outside of the US and the UK. I wanna know what Shadowhunters in China or Australia are like...

I do have a few nitpicks with why I wasn't as blown away compared to other readers. Like I said before, I'm still not sure how I feel about this trilogy as a whole. I'm not sure why I'm holding back from being invested in this trilogy compared to other Shadowhunter books I've read. This is a me thing, not a book thing. Plus, the appearances of characters from other Shadowhunter books - Yes, this is going to be a hugely unpopular opinion - but I am done with these characters. To me, these characters's stories are done within their respected series, so while nice to see them pop up, it's kinda distracting me from liking the main characters from this trilogy...

But one of my biggest issues with this book is this book's length. It's under 700 pages long, and there was a good 100-150 pages in the middle where I really struggled with. I was dragging my feet through these pages and, though I really enjoy reading some of the characters, I did wonder if it was worth me continuing this book if I was struggling this badly. This just felt too long and with the final book in the trilogy, Queen of Air and Darkness, rumoured to be even longer (720-ish pages according to Amazon.co.uk), I am worried that I am going to hugely struggle to read and finish this trilogy. Hell, I'm wondering if I should read the next book if it's going to be that long and if it's going to be real slog to read...

I am in two minds about this. There are chapters and characters that I do like (the ending pulled the rug from under me) and I am intrigued to see how Cassandra Clare wraps everything up, I am worried about the book's length and whether my enjoyment will carry all the way through. We will have to wait and see...

eBook Review - Son Of The Dawn

A mini-review of sorts from when I was on holiday in Cyprus (yes, am still on that! I don't want to overwhelm you with write-ups this month. Next month might be a different thing but am easing you in!). This came as a surprise from the lovely John from Walker. A few months back at the #WalkerYA Blogger Event (write-up here if you missed it), Walker announced that they will be publishing the Ghosts of The Shadow Market, an anthology set in Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters world. I remember going "Oooh" over this and didn't think anything much from it till just before my Cyprus holiday when John emailed, asking if I wanted to read this. I went yes and, when I was on holiday, I got a iBook code for this and, once I got myself on wifi, I download this and read this as quickly as I could.

Quick background dump. This will be published in the same way as The Bane Chronicles and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. A novella will be published in ebook form, once a month. All the novellas, plus two unpublished novellas will be published in one collection, sometime in 2019. And, like before, Cassandra Clare is co-writing this with a mix of authors: Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Robin Wasserman and Kelly Link. And with connections to all of Shadowhunter series - Mortal Instruments, Infernal Devices, Dark Artifices and Last Hours, though the series follows Brother Zachariah throughout the years as he visits the Shadow Markets round the world, trying to find a mystery item...

The first novella in this collection is Son of the Dawn. Set several years prior to the events of The Mortal Instruments, the Lightwoods of the New York Institute is expecting a new member to join their family: Jace Wayland. But when Silent Brother, Brother Zachariah, is in the Shadow Market, he meets vampire Raphael, he hears something that throws ghosts from the past into the danger of the present...

I like the Shadowhunter world. I'm not as up to date with the world compared to other Shadowhunter fans (I haven't read the latter three Mortal Instruments books [out of fear/me thinking those characters's stories are done for me] nor have I read Lord of Shadows. Not yet but hopefully will read before Queen of Air and Darkness is published at the end of the year), and this was a nice story to read. I read it in two sittings (the first before I went to bed and the second when I woke up the following morning). It felt like returning to an old friend. Fans for Jem, Jace, Alec and Isabelle will enjoy this nugget of what their lives was like the years before City of Bones.

The little jem that I enjoyed hugely was the bonus material, Not for Humans, written by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black. It's only a few page longs and set a few days prior to City of Bones but I devoured this and just wanted more. If this is what Holly and Cassandra writing together is like, I need to get my rear in gear and read their co-author series, Magisterium.

But I had a niggle with this. Maybe it's me, but as I was reading this, I couldn't get away from the feeling that this didn't feel like Cassandra Clare writing, but this was Sarah Rees Brennan. I understand this is a co-authored story, but it feels a bit like Cursed Child in a sense where these are the characters created by the main author, yet someone else is using them and it feels off. I think I have this problem in the past when Sarah Rees Brennan co-writing a Shadowhunter novella. I think it's her writing and I don't click with it. It's not her problem, it's mine.

For fans of the Shadowhunter world, you will enjoy this. And I hope to read the next novella in the series, Cast Long Shadows, when that comes out next month...

Book Review - Lady Midnight

Oh, Cassandra Clare. I thought I was done with you and your Shadowhunter world. Apparently, I was wrong.

Ok, let me go back and explain this first sentence. When I first discovered The Mortal Instruments trilogy (as it was back then), City of Glass was about to be published. So I binge read all three books back-to-back (it's very VERY rare I do this) and loved them. So, when it was announced there was going to be another trilogy - The Infernal Devices - and three more books added to The Mortal Instruments trilogy, turning it into a series/cycle: I was excited. I read The Infernal Devices and probably loved it more than The Mortal Instruments trilogy. And while I have City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls on my kindle, I believe that I am done with Clary, Jace and the other characters. To me, their stories are done.

So when I heard news that Cassandra Clare was doing a few more trilogies, I was hesitant. I believed I was done with this world and I wasn't sure if I wanted to return.

So when I got Lady Midnight last year from Simon and Schuster, I was hugely grateful but uncertain if I wanted to go back. It was only in the past few weeks that I thought "Maybe I should try. What have I got to lost?". And when I received a copy of Lord of Shadows from Simon and Schuster and I saw Lady Midnight was free on Audible, I went "Ok, I have to go back. These are signs and I feel ready to risk it."

Taken place several years after the events of City of Heavenly Fire, we follow Emma Carstairs in Los Angeles with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn with his brothers and sisters, who stumble into something that they are, by Shadowhunter Law, not get involved in. Bodies of humans and fairies are being dumped round the city and when the fairies ask for Emma and the Shadowhunters of the Los Angeles Institute to investigate, an uneasy alliance is formed. For Emma, this is a chance to find the truth about her parents murders and get revenge. For Julian, this is a chance to get his brother, Mark, who was taken by the Wild Hunt for being half fairy.

But as they investigate, feelings come to the surface between Emma and Julian. And if the Shadowhunters have one rule they hold dear, it's this: you don't follow in love with your parabatai...

Am going to say this right off the bat, I'm glad I had the audiobook because if I didn't, I don't know when I could have found the time to read Lady Midnight. But, also, due to the audiobook [mainly, its narrator], I didn't like this book as much as I believe I could have. If I had read this, I think I would have liked it a lot more than I did.

I'm not 100% certain about the story. It'll be interesting to see where Cassandra Clare does take it as I feel there is room to make this a gripping read. And I have seen people who love this book and do call it a gripping read, and while I did enjoy it, it weirdly fell short for me. I can't put my finger on why. It might be the length, it might that this book is setting up for the rest of the trilogy, or it being be that even though this is a new trilogy, we still got characters from The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices popping up doing little cameos and pushing the story forward (but why, though? Your story is done. Can't you let the new characters have a moment to shine?). I'm not sure but there was something lacking for me.

One thing that isn't lacking which I loved is representation. In all her Shadowhunter series, Cassandra Clare goes full out on representation and diversity and Lady Midnight is no expectation. We have Cristina and, later, Diego who are Mexican and speak Spanish [and with everything that is happen in the USA at the moment, this was wonderful and refreshing. Plus, I can't think of any books I've read/am aware of that have Mexican lead characters!]. We have Ty who is somewhere on the Autism spectrum. We have another character who is suffering from mental health, possibly even brain damage. And, because of this, we have a underage carer, not only looking after them, but also a young family as well. We have a character who is bisexual and, according to some readers, is polyamorous (a term I have never really heard of so had to Google) and a few other character who are on the LGBTQIA+. Even though I question this series and wonder if Cassandra Clare is just milking that cash cow, I can not fault her for writing representation and writing it well.

I do worry about the Shadowhunter world as there seems to be a lot of trilogies and spinoffs. We have The Last Hours trilogy - the first book, Chain of Gold, coming out in 2018 - which follows the children of the characters from the Infernal Devices trilogy. We have an adult Shadowhunter trilogy which she is co-authoring with Wesley Chu, The Eldest Curses - the first book rumoured to be coming out in 2018. We have The Wicked Powers trilogy which is rumoured to be Cassandra Clare's last trilogy in the Shadowhunter world. And there is rumoured to be be other projects either very similar to The Bane Chronicles and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy or entering new styles such as graphic novel. Now, while I am OK with authors expanding their worlds (JK Rowling and Philip Pullman are doing it with their Fantastic Beasts movies and The Book of Dust trilogy), what I am concerned over is that readers will be looking at Cassandra Clare and will be wondering how many stories she can tell within this world or whether she is doing this is exploit her readers from their cash. She and her publishers need to be careful not to oversaturate the market and fans.

While this might not be one of my favourite books I've read set in the Shadowhunter world, I do think this trilogy does has potential and I will be reading Lord of Shadows sometime in the next 12 months.

Book Review - An Illustrated History of Notable Shadowhunters & Denizens of Downworld

I am a bit behind on my Shadowhunters reading. I have, on my current TBR; City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy and Lady Midnight (though, when I do get my rear in gear to read these, I won't be reading these in order. I sense I might read Shadowhunter Academy and Lady Midnight before I read City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls. And let's not get me start of the upcoming Last Hours trilogy coming soon...).

So, imagine my surprise when, out of nowhere, Simon and Schuster sent me a copy of (brace yourselves for long title to say in one breath) An Illustrated History of Notable Shadowhunters and Denizens of Downworld. And with my weird reading slump, I decide to blitz this tiny gift. 

In this anthology, we see characters from all of Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter world - The Infernal Devices, The Mortal Instruments, Tales from the Shadowhunters Academy, The Dark Artifices and the upcoming The Last Hours - with never before known titbits of information on each character and with illustrations from Cassandra Jean - creator of the Shadowhunter Tarot that we've seen on Clare's website. 

I am a bit torn over this book. On one hand, I think true fans of this series will love this christmas stocking filler. Cassandra Jean's art is beautiful and is the real selling point for this book, in my opinion (and I love reading art books and spent quite a bit of time looking at illustrations in the books I read). 

Like I said, true fans of the series - all of the Shadowhunters series - will love this. But for someone who isn't up to speed (aka myself), the information given is a bit of a problem. While new information (and fans will be reading these and going "oh, that makes sense with so-and-so"), it doesn't feel entirely important to the world. For example, why is it important to tell us that, when younger, this one character had a brief spell at stamp collecting? 

There were times that I looked at this and thought "Is this a cash cow moment?". 

This is a die-hard fan book. But if you are a casual fan, I would say get a copy from your library. But go enjoy the art.