Chain of Thorns is the fifteenth Shadowhunters novel by Cassandra Clare and the final novel of The Last Hours series, and I think it is time for me to say farewell to the Shadowhunters while I still have fond memories of them. I have reviewed all the previous Shadowhunters novels here, and my comments on the series from that review still stand. But my biggest complaint about Chain of Thorns is how bloody thick the book is (it is the second longest Shadowhunters novel at 778 pages). It is cumbersome to hold, and cumbersome to read. I cannot believe I am writing this, but there are too many main characters and too many subplots. And the problem with the subplots is that they are all very similar. There is just too much relationship drama in The Last Hours series, and I am too old for this shit now.

WARNING: There be spoilers ahead if you have not read the first two The Last Hours novels.

In Chain of Thorns, the demon Belial is finally making his play for the city of London, but this hardly seems dire as the Belial plot does not take up much of the novel. Instead, most of the focus is on not one, but two will they/won’t they relationships and Cordelia waffling back and forth between James and Matthew. Lucie’s ability to commune with the dead and the broader consequences of her bringing Jesse back to life does not get enough attention in this novel, and this was the more interesting subplot to me.

The thing about Chain of Thorns, and the Shadowhunters novels in general, is that there really is no suspense. Every time it seems like something truly terrible is going to happen, a deus ex machina appears. Nobody dies in these novels except the more throwaway characters. (Mostly) everyone ends up with the person they want to be with, and everyone is happy at the close of their story. Yes, these are fantasy novels and pure escapism, but sometimes I just want something tragic to happen to the characters so that I can still feel something in my cold, dead heart and cry ugly tears.

I definitely still recommend the Shadowhunters novels for teenage readers, though, and adult readers who can still tolerate drama.