cuz it says to make it sexy: I am also a huuuuge Grace Blackthorn defender (so huge I like her better than James). I was confused when people didn't like her???? like??????? You wanted a problematic girlie then you hate on her? why bro, all she did was gaslight gatekeep girlboss (and manipulate under manipulation) for the only affection she had ever known in her life. sorry yall cant handle a powerful morally grey queen who takes her life into her own hands and does whats best for her and the toxic people she is manipulated to love.
might just be me but I was not a fan of how the series ended. 3rd book kinda disappointed me and (if I may be so bold) I felt like though James was supposed to be the good guy, I felt more comfortable with Grace's actions and emotions than his (is this weird? am I insane? anyway)
also MATTHEW FAIRCHILD, MY PROBLEMATIC BICON. WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE HIM UNRESOLVED AND STUCK IN A LOVE TRIANGLE BROOOOO. Honestly one of the worst decisions ever made for such a fabulous character. I feel like cassie should've carried out the whole "idolizing lucie due to childhood infatuation and because he thought that the herondales were perfect and he was their protector" etc etc and created a sort of one sided love for lucie that everyone helps him thru so he can fall in love with some other hot person!!!! why cordeliaaaaa (i have nothing against her, i just wanted them to be best friends, not fall in love and shit)
anyway
can i just say - i looooveee talking to another grace stan, and i agree with a lot of what you said, especially the thing about matthew! i am not a fan of love triangles but if there must be one in tlh it should have been between lucie, matthew and jesse!
(can you imagine the angst, the tension, choosing your known & safe but rebellious childhood crush vs the mysterious dead guy you’d literally have to bring back from the dead?? my god)
however our opinions do differ in some aspects: to me, this is not a Grace vs James situation AT ALL it is a Grace & James vs Tatiana situation. pitting the two against each other is such an unproductive and wrong conversation, they are two sides of the same coin.
also i don’t normally use the term morally grey, simply because i feel like there are many differing opinions and definitions of what a morally grey character is, simply because everyone’s idea of moral differs so much. i think to me Grace is a good person who is forced to do bad things, which arguably is “morally grey” but tbh there are a few people on tumblr who lack critical literary thinking skills and don’t even agree that Grace is not evil can you believe it? i also don’t love this girlboss yassification of grace like she had any control over the situation rather than calling it what it was: she was a victim trying to escape a situation without letting any harm befall jesse
Matthew: I'd rather trust rumors and strangers than my own loving family. I give to my mother a potion without knowing what it is for sure. The person giving it to me, that I never met before and have no reason to trust, tells it's gonna to show me the truth, so I guess it's a kind of truth spell. I nearly kill her and I kill her soon-to-be child. It turned out that she was pregnant I guess I have to hide it and drown my sorrows in alcohol now. Poor of me :(
Everyone: Poor Matthew. What you went through is so horrible. You're so brave!
Grace: I'm alone with a psychotic vengeful hateful adult, in a ruined house. She's my parental figure, (actually, she bought me). Everyone knows about her. Everyone knows about the situation. No one helps me, no one reaches out to me. I'm doing everything she asks me to not make my situation worse, to save the only person who ever loved me (or so I thought… since my brother is back, he chose other people, he started seeing me as a monster). But I also know she's wrong, and I finally try to break free. Instead of running away, I decide to atone for being her victim and report everything I know she did.
Everyone: You had a choice. Don't start whining on us now.
I’ve really been enjoying writing about TSC characters like Céline and Jocelyn and today I was like “my next one should be about Grace!” But than I remembered I don’t remember a single thing about the last hour series 😫
why do you say James and Cordelia are based on lust? Did you read all their founding domestic scenes in chain of iron and how in chain of thorns they were always worried about one another? A couple having sex is normal, if that is all your explanation
I have to say I’m very surprised of getting two asks for just have shared an opinion about some couples of a fictional world.
My answer is under the cut
I say that because is the truth, the bracelet broke due to sexual desire James felt for Cordelia, not for any conversation or romantic declaration. Their conversations at their house are like the ones I would have with a random person in an elevator, even the chess ones are superficial.
My problem is not that they have sex scenes, is that the pacing and what leads to them lacks a romantic founding. Dedicating almost a whole chapter to describe many intercourses meanwhile others are in danger, and partly because of their choices is a lack of respect, more when the author found time to write thi and not a single line about how the abused girl dealed with her abuser’s death, or a single line of the grief for one of the main characters that died.
Even during this long sequence of lust, the characters are unable to talk properly or really share their thoughts. Their conversations lack founding, and they seem like the conversation one may had with someone this person went to bed and who had just met that night.
And yes having sex is normal, but it isn’t thinking on banging someone when someone just died for you, or in the case of the other problematic couple, Thomas and Alastair doing it on a enviorement were people are grieving and sacrificing their lives.
Back to your question, their so called “domestic scenes” are so repetitive and soulless that I could just read the first and last line and skip the pages of useless elevator conversation, if me an outsider finds their relation a total bore I can’t imagine how they will cope with the routine in some months once their horniness calms down.
They could have been interesting if all the effort to show their sexual drive was divided to a part of actual relationship building.
Talking about books: The last hours by Cassandra Clare
It’s been aprox a year since Chain of Thorns came out, a book hated by many, loved by less. A polemic work indeed.
Here I talk about my opinion of some aspects of this books.
It isn’t needed to say this post has spoilers.
Next week I'll post one more of this style of either another book/saga or movie, so if you want to read honest reviews where I don't hold back my thoughts you are welcome.
What truly surprises me is that after a year people keep praising especially the two main couples who are full of flaws. I'll list them below.
Because I could talk lenghts about how the plot doesn't have a structure, about how a abused girl is blamed consistently meanwhile actually bullys and bad people are praised, or how little care is shown to serious topics like alcoholism or death.
But well I guess this is what happens when an author focuses on entertaining their loud part of the fandom, and prioritizes characters over plot and sense.
Let's move to the relationships, as I find problematic in a book targeted to young people to glorify certain attitudes.
James and Cordelia
The protagonists James and Cordelia have a relationship based in lust and miscommunication for the first two books. In the third book they still have it for way too long.
Let’s give context: Cordelia knew James was in love with another girl, decides to marry him to cover him up for something. She sees James hanging out with the girl he loved. Cordelia gets mad and leaves
Oh and also slut shaming the other girl. They are in 1900s and Cordelia asks James if Grace (the other woman) did anything sexual to him.
Of course, Grace who was pimped to old men multiple tiems and forced to have a relationship with James (because it was that or more abuse) should be villianized.
plot twist Grace who is an abuse victim is treated worse than a guy who tried to murder another of the protagonist.
And Cordelia who is always claiming to be empathic or merciful never tries to understand she was forced to flirt with James, it's easy to slut shame I guess.
But well let’s not get carried away.
James decides to seek Cordelia forgiveness by telling her he’ll be fine if she hits him or burns all his beloved possesions.
How romantic right?
He also proves his love to her by breaking a curse by how horny he was for her.
A romantic prince right?
They waste half a book not talking and then after a third person makes Cordelia (an absolute Mary Sue) see the truth she decides to listen to her lover.
A relationship based in misscomunication is not a healthy one.
I FORGOT!
Cordelia claims to be so in love with James, but almost has sex with James best friend twice. And James isn't offended by it.
And how do this amazing couple solve their differences?
Having sex, again not a solution.
Oh also Christopher dies protecting Cordelia who gives zero care to it and has The audacity to play victim when James supposedly close friend died, because she killed one of the villains.
Also she mourned more two living men rather than the one who lost his life for her.
Correction: she didn’t even mourn him.
You may think James would be offended by this, but who cares is not like Mary Sue could do anything wrong right?
But let’s move on to the worst relationship this trilogy has, Thomas and Alastair.
Thomas is a person with no personality who is condescending and infantilizes Christopher his “best friend”.
Thomas was also a sick baby born from a well-positioned politician who was never home, rumours went around he was cheating his wife with his superior and had a bastard, Matthew.
Of course he had to end up with one of the boys who made this rumours.
Alastair Carstairs.
Who also bullied just because he wanted to be part of the big group at school Thomas and all his friends.
One thing is enemies to lovers, another is bully victim to bully.
People in the fandom have even the audacity to defend Alastair because he was a boy (he was 16). These people of course were never bullied, and don’t know how much harm and trauma bully makes in a person. Being a minor doesn’t excuse it.
Well they end up together to no one’s surprise, a relationship who is once again turned into a horny train during the last book, filled with pitiness for the bully and condescending treatment.
And yes this one is the most popular.
Also Alastair struggles to fit with Thomas friends after having bullied them, and Thomas answer is "I don't see why there would be a problem".
The thing is that this relationship could have been good, but the third book where they end up together is basically both simping and crying over how beautiful their bodies are...
Yes, they cry before having sex, saying how beautiful they are... this is simply cringe
Give me growth, give me conflict, give me actual consequences and not a boy not caring another accused his father of being a cheater and not beating an eye except for one scene, not this.
Again sexual desire doesn't solve all the problems.
Also, they almost have sex while Thomas's cousin dies, and then they actually do it in the middle of a battle meanwhile others could hear them (I don't know you but if a relative I loved died and I heard others fucking two days after I wouldn't like that very much).
But don't worry there are other couples
Like Lucie and Jesse, a necromancy relationship where a 24-year-old ghost falls in love with a naive 16-year-old girl, who he visits at night and has known since she was 12, meanwhile he was 8 years older. I don’t need to say more.
But apparently the author found necesary to describe how this guy gets boners looking at her and also how in 1903 her parents don't care she ran away with a man, and also allow her to be together in the same room.
But well in this series gay people can adopt children, when in 2007 they couldn't because it was a homophobic society, I guess continuity wasn't there when she wrote this plot, like common sense.
There is also another couple but they are given so little development or page time that I won’t even comment my thoughts.
Wait, I will say something to them. For context, they are a lesbian couple in 1903 who are totally written under a male gaze. Unnecessary descriptions of how good at sex is one of them (she is 19) who is also super sexualized during the whole trilogy (the author remarks many times her best, and only, attribute is being good at sex).
The worst treated characters are some that appeared in a previous trilogy who were totally murdered in this one, and Grace and Christopher, who the author clearly despises, talking about this masacre would need another whole post.
I will just say Grace and Kit deserved to have been written by an author with more empathy and common sense.
But hey! Who cares of treating a character well when you can insert cringe sex scenes and tons of micommunication
I started this trilogy very interested by some of the characters. And also because as a teen I loved some characters of the infernal devices (which were totally murdered in this one).
Yes, this review may hurt your feelings if you love any of the characters I don’t like.
I won’t engage into silly arguments but I can keep a conversation of course, I have enough media literacy and I have free will to choose what offends me as a reader and what doesn’t insult my intellect, like saying a family tree is wrong because a girl couldn't realise the death body she carried was actually dead. Also very convenient all the couples of that said family tree are true except the one with a character not liked by the majority of the loud fandom part, very convenient right?
Series rated : 1/5 for Grace and Christopher and descriptions of London
Books tags: 3/5 Chain of Gold , 2/5 Chain of Iron, 1/5 Chain of Thorns
I can't believe how Grace was treated. It wouldn't be that bad (even if it would still be terrible) if it wasn't for the way other characters who did wrong are treated in comparison.
Alert: Last Hours Spoilers
(the following list is not to blame those characters but what happens to Grace)
James: lies to his loving family and friends about things that can have consequences for them
-> there is no problem
Lucie: does the same, plus runs away to raise someone from the dead
-> everyone understands, it isn't necromancy anyway
Matthew: kills his soon-to-be baby sister and nearly kills his mother because he'd rather trust rumors and strangers than his own loving family then hides it for years to everyone
-> forgiven by everyone, including his parents, in a couple of sentences
Alastair: former school bully, used to mock Jamie and Matthew (and their families)
-> needs the three books (and to be someone's boyfriend and someone's else brother) to be forgiven
Tatiana: is saying (shouting really) she's going to make the Herondales, Lightwoods, Fairchilds pay for years
-> several people keep reaching out to her, until she kidnaps little Lightwood and they get how serious her threats are, the group spare two thoughts about her when she's a threat that can't be ignored and kill her reluctantly
Meanwhile, Grace:
abused (and brainwashed) for years, with several people noticing from afar something wrong about Tatiana Blackthorn (she wasn't very subtle about it, though) but refusing to touch the situation with a tenfoot pole
-realizes her wrongs, gives herself up to the Silent Brother, confesses everything she and her "mother" did, atones for what she did
-> her brother (her only family) rejects her, they all comment about her being a monster
-warns the Brotherhood about Tatiana's dangerosity and begs them to take her away from Tatiana (trusts them to)
-> she isn't believed, Tatiana gets free and hurts her (and carries on with her plans)
-runs to help the group instead of running away
-> sees Christopher, the only person who gave her kindness freely, die right before her eyes
-finds the solution to create Fire Message (allowing them to win) and fights alongside them
-> her brother forces himself to forgive her, is tolerated because they don't want to be like Tatiana (written in black and white)
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