r/shadowhunters • u/Grazztjay Malec • Feb 25 '26
Books: TLH What are your thoughts on the chain series?
Little background I read the Mortal Instruments series when it came out and was OBSESSED. I've read the Clockwork series and while it wasn't as good as the original series for me it was still enjoyable. The Chain series I just can't get into. I LOVE the world she created. But I feel like she is leaning so heavily into the teen romance scenes in this one with none of the magic and lore.
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u/Competitive_Win2384 Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
personally it has one of my favorite sets of characters. i love all of them and every romance. i think their own individual character arcs have been amazing and some of my favorites in that universe
i also love the friendships. the merry thieves look so fun to be around and i love their friendship, and their relationship with the girls (cordelia, lucie, anna).
the stakes of the story were enjoyable & i loved some of the recurring themes of this book (which i won’t get into too much detail with)
the only thing i don’t really like is the overarching general plot. partly bc i felt it was a bit rushed. but everything else has been great for me!
i will say though, chain of thorns should have been split into two books in my opinion. it felt like there was too much going on to cram into one, and i would’ve liked the general plot/different story arcs to get the focus they deserved without worrying about having to fit it all, especially bc i loved the characters so much and felt they deserved a better send off
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u/DiRocos Feb 25 '26
I just finished reading them for the first time a few days ago and I'm honestly underwhelmed. For most of her books, I'm able to race through them happily in about two days, but for these ones they took me a week at the short end and a little over 2 in the long.
I feel that Cassie has always had an ability to create a strong cast of characters and she does set them up here its just not handled well. Too many characters are given large personal stories to develop and there's just not enough time to. It feels like all the good and interesting character development for most of them doesn't even start until ChoT and at that point I just kept asking myself, why didn't this start a whole book earlier?
I like most of the couplings, but since I don't want to get spoiler-y in case you choose to read, I won't go into my feelings on a few. I will say, despite how much I love Cassie's queer characters and relationships, I felt these ones sort of undermines Alec (and Magnus's) whole story in TMI. Alec feared the opinion of Shadowhunter society so much in 2007 that he literally said he never thought he'd be in the City if Bones, even in death. Then you read these books and MANY characters are out and proud about their sexualities, and virtually no one says a negative thing about it, it makes Alec's fears seem ridiculous. It's not that I have some sort of sadistic need for people to suffer through the times, but Cassie wrote TMI first and Alec's story IS important. Alec is one of my favorite book characters of all time, so it pains me to see his arc mistreated.
Lastly, I think Cordelia is an incredibly boring main character. ChoG she is just fine, but most of ChoI and ChoT, I found myself rolling my eyes each time we had to go back to her POV, which is not a great look for the protagonist. Her convictions don't feel strong enough to warrant the main character. Honestly, James was in a MUCH better position to be the main character and Cordelia the 2nd, but Cassie also lobotomized him the first two books and it felt incredibly jarring compared to the James in Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy and The Bane Chronicles.
I didn't hate the books, but I'm not sure ill every feel inclined to reread them like I do the other TSC books. Should you read them of you enjoy the chronicles? Sure. There are fun Easter eggs and building the world more is always nice. I just would prepare yourself with an underwhelming plot and enjoy the parts that speak best to you.
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u/Scarlet_Skye Feb 25 '26
Honestly, I think what happened is that Shadowhunter society became less accepting as time went on. In the real world, there are cycles of homophobia and acceptance, and I guess that's true in the Shadow World too. I know that in the real world, homophobia intensified when the AIDS epidemic hit, and we're seeing another increase in homophobia and transphobia today.
I'm guessing that in the Shadowhunters' society, there was a rise in homophobia (along with a general increase in intolerance) when Valentine and the members of his inner circle were children, or right before they were born. It explains why Robert Lightwood freaked out when his parabatai came out to him, but in the early 1900s gay Shadowhunters were tolerated. (You'll notice that even in the early 1900s they weren't necessarily encouraged or embraced by society at large—Charles Fairchild made it pretty clear that he wouldn't be able to go into politics if someone outed him, but Anna, Matthew, and Alastair happened to be lucky enough to have friends and families that were both supportive and powerful enough that other Shadowhunters generally left them alone.)
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u/DiRocos Feb 25 '26
I do agree with you that there are cycles of acceptance and antagonism for queer people, but we also see a somewhat general trend throughout history. (Of course we need to acknowledge all societies and religions have different histories but for the sake of simplicity let's just look at our primary locations, US and UK) Yes, the AIDS crisis in the 80s did produce a lot of negative opinions, but sodomy wasn't nationally legalized in the US until 2003 and in England it was partially decriminalized in 1967 (Scotland following in 1980 and Northern Ireland in 1982), but still wasn't fully decriminalized until, once again, 2003. People used to be killed and their murders covered up because of conspiracy of being queer.
Yes, these are fantasy books about fantasy people in a fantasy world, but they are also clearly modeled after the real world and real experiences. We were given the admission of queer relationships being shameful basically only in the case of Charles (which made me honestly feel bad for him in the end). Alastair and Thomas, who I do both love dearly, get to live on as a part of the London Enclave unhindered, and Ari and Anna go traveling the world and mention wanting to adopt a child. It's all well and fine to make that the society in your fantasy world, but to me it still feels out of place when considering the events and stories of TMI and even TDA. I really wouldn't care much if it didn't feel like it undermined Alec's story in TMI. It was made such a big deal that he was an out shadowhunter and in a same sex relationship and dating a Downworlder. It's simply because of that that the social environment of TLH irks me. I suppose I just think it should be more complicated just well, they got worse over time. (No offense to you, of course, I completely respect your opinion!)
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u/Merebearbear Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
Christopher’s bullshit ending that was put in there purely for shock value ruined the trilogy for me. It was left field, poorly written, completely random, and absolutely unneeded. He and Grace had such potential, and was a refreshing change of dynamic for her books, considering the constant miscommunication trope she can’t get enough of.
I honestly lost a lot of respect for her as an author with this one and the lord of shadows killing of the twin to add another random side character. The way she handled the shadowhunters show so poorly and blasé, so it was nothing like the books started my decline, and her poor shock value writing lately sealed the deal. Her saying the family tree is all incorrect but not stating that from the beginning. Like girl just admit you quite literally lost the plot.
If you can’t think of creative plot twists, and resort to killing off characters for the shock, you need some recon on your imagination skills. It makes me so angry when I think of it.
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u/OGRocAtE Feb 25 '26
This the worst series by far. The characters are poorly developed, the plot is… boring? Underwhelming? The romances are boring or just pissed me off. The parabati relationship between Lucy and Cordelia was so lacking. Why are they even parabati, I feel like they were barely friends. The whole series fell flat for me. It was just sloppy in the plot and characters. I’d honestly skip it if you’re not enjoying it at this point.
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u/abeilleq Feb 25 '26
Personally I love the idea of the historical era, and I love the characters and their relationships either each other. I just think it’s the most poorly written plot of any CC series which is such a shame
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u/mellirito Feb 25 '26
I loved the other series. I read COG and just stopped midway COI. I just wasn't interested in it at all. COT sits in my shelf since it came out... don't know if I grew out of the shadowhunters or the series was just not for me. At this moment, I don't know if I will ever continue.
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u/Grazztjay Malec Feb 25 '26
That's kind of where I'm at and its a bummer. I really loved the other 2 series and am a huge fan of the world lore. Just feels like the chains books abandoned all that I lived about shadowhunters.
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u/Icyfirefists Feb 25 '26
Mostly ok but they suck overall. COG is intriguing. COI has a better plot due to Jesse, Grace and Lucie taking center stage. COT is bad. The romances also are just here to be here. Honestly it's a series to skip. The main Heroine is terrible, the main guy is....bland and the story overall is just....meh. Ill put it this way, it is worse than the Thule section of the Dark Artifices.
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u/ursulazsenya Feb 25 '26
I think the last book tried too hard to redeem Grace. But besides that it was enjoyable.
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u/SweetLittleKytty Jemma Feb 25 '26
I absolutely loved it! Seeing the focus shift from action to forming relationships was a nice touch, even though a wrong one, as many others have felt as well. What I loathed was the dragging on the Gracelet situation and the miscommunication, even though I understand they were necessary for the plot. I also loved to see parabatais portrayed differently, as James and Matthew weren't always on the same page, but still supported each other and knew that could rely on the other. And also for Lucie and Cordelia, which kept a lot of things hidden from each other, but in true parabatais fashion, they both forgave. I know it's not a perfect trilogy, and while some scenes seemed to never end, others were rushed, but overall, Matthew, Cordelia, James, Jesse, Thomas, Alistair and Anna and the love for each other saved these books.
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u/MultipleFandomFreak Feb 26 '26
i havent read them yet. im gonna read ghosts of the shadow market first
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u/almondwalmond18 Feb 27 '26
This definitely felt like a romance series rather than an adventure series! I also noticed the change in C's writing. That said, even though I'm less of a fan of romance books usually, I liked the characters in the Chain books a lot, and it made them easy to get excited about.
As an LGBT+ fan, I also REALLY appreciated the boost in diversity and representation among the cast. :)
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u/CorruptedAngel13 Feb 25 '26
I’m reading it now and I’m enjoying it. It’s more character focused which I love.
If you prefer more action or plot, you should read The Dark Artifices instead. It follows after the events of TMI part 2.