Things I loved about Chain of Thorns:
the peace each character feels at the end, how secure they are in themselves and their relationships
the Westminster Abbey battle (specifically James stabbing himself w Cortana, the gasp I gusped omg)
Alastair calling Thomas beautiful (multiple times 😌)
ARI 👏🏻 BRIDGESTOCK 👏🏻 MY BELOVED!!
Matthew slowly realizing he is deserving of happiness + his excitement to travel the world and see all its beauty :)
The portrayal of alcohol withdrawal and how tactfully Cassie handled addiction all throughout this series. My dad has been an alcoholic my whole life and I really can’t express enough how grateful I feel towards this series for portraying addiction in all its harsh realities while also making sure that readers understand addiction almost always stems from shame and self hatred. The kindness and gentleness expressed to Matthew and the sorrow, regret, and anger towards Elias are feelings I understand all too well. I’m rambling at this point but basically, thank you Cassie for portraying alcoholics as more than just deadbeats. Thank you for giving them dignity and humanity and thank you thank you thank you for portraying an addict that is not “fixed” by their love interest or their friends and family, but heals because they want too and because they genuinely believe they deserve it. I can’t explain how much that means to me.
Grace. Was pleasantly surprised by her character arc
JAMES HERONDALE MY BELOVED, IF JAMES HERONDALE HAS 1000 FANS I AM ONE OF THEM, IF JAMES HERONDALE HAS 1 FAN, ITS ME, IF JAMES HERONDALE HAS 0 FANS, I AM DEAD
Every scene with Lilith is always so fun but so terrifying
Alastair calling Thomas “my Thomas” no one speak to me
Belial basically being smote down by God at the end???? Is there a god in this universe?? Will we see him in TWP? Final battle between Heaven and Hell??? Omg
so is Cassie implying that Esme Hardcastle’s family tree she’s working on is the one from CP2? And the reason why it’s so fucked is because she was just making stuff up?? Because if so, that’s hysterical
James pointing his pistol at Lilith and going “try me.” Bitch, the way I just about fainted
JAMES HEALING MATTHEW IN EDOM W IRATZES BASICALLY THROUGH FORCE OF WILL AND SUCCEEDING, LIKE WHAT KIND OF BLACKSTAIRS SHIT IS THIS-
Manifesting a short story collection of Matthew on his voyage
Things I really did not like about Chain of Thorns:
How quick Christopher’s death was and how no one seemed to really feel effected by it?? Like we didn’t even see his parents grieving?? At first I boiled it down to, well, they’re in the heat of battle and Prince of Hell BS so they probably don’t really have time to grieve but even after all that ended, we just kinda…glossed over it? The most sentimental moment we got was Grace hearing his ghost and even then, it seemed mostly for plot
Matthew and James not having their own little moment in the epilogue but that may just be me because honestly I could read a whole book of James and Matthew’s little moments and be completely happy
Lack of Magnus. Also the lack of Magnus walking in on a couple making out. What kinda finale is it without Magnus walking in on a couple in a compromising position??
I love series traditions and I was a bit sad we didn’t get a wedding in the epilogue
As much as I love seeing everyone happy and at peace at the end, it felt so out of place compared to the other series’ epilogues. No foreshadowing to other series aside from Malcolm, no hints for TWP, no hints of what’s to come. I suppose the Coda sort of did that but I don’t know if the Belial we see in the Coda is talking about Jem’s interaction w him in GotSM or if it relates to TWP as well?? Idk, I just felt there were things to be desired
The lack of “Lucie? Lucie, is that you?” or “Cordelia? Cordelia, is that you?” (I know they weren’t parabatai until the next year but still)
I truly adore TLH, but one thing that has always felt disjointed to me is how…domestic? it all seems at first? Like, the actual battles and high stakes moments only happen within the last like 200 pages while the rest of it seems mostly roaming around and talking about feelings/being emotionally constipated (don’t get me wrong, I love both those things but I also love the action)
I wish Cassie would take more risks sometimes. Like as heartbreaking Livvy’s death was in LoS, that was one of the first times I remember thinking “wow, I genuinely don’t know if any of these characters are gonna be ok by the end of this” I’m hoping with TWP, I can also have some of that doubt back, because I like feeling like I don’t 100% know if a character is gonna survive this, you know? The fact that only one person died, a character that (to me) always seemed used as mostly a plot device, was a bit disappointing
Overall, I adore this series. I adore this cast and I honestly can’t believe it’s over ;-; I can’t wait for TWP, as much as I know that goodbye will I hurt even worse 😭