Another exciting entry into the world of the Shadowhunters

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Well, we've gone back in time again, this time to Edwardian London, to visit the Shadowhunters of yore in the first book in Cassandra Clare's new Shadowhunter trilogy, Chain of Gold. Some of the stars of this one are the children of everyone's favorite couple, Tessa and Will Herondale. James and Lucie are both enterprising young Shadowhunters but, as the grandchildren of a demon, they both also have some...unique abilities you wouldn't see in your average Shadowhunter.

They're joined by a large cast of characters including Cordelia Carstairs, who has just moved to London with her mother and brother, and James's three best friends, Thomas, Christopher, and Matthew, who compose a group called the Merry Thieves. Of course there are others as well, because it's not a Shadowhunter book without so many characters you have trouble keeping them straight!

So London has been fairly demon-free since the events of Will and Tessa's youth, and everyone's sort of gotten complacent about that. And then demons start appearing again...and they come during the day...and they release a poison that can't be healed by iratzes. Something's obviously going on, and as events continue, this all seems like it might be connected to James and his strange ability and his demon heritage.

Everyone's racing to figure out what the demon is, how to fight it, and how to heal the people who have been poisoned, but as things continue, it becomes more and more obvious that there are a LOT of evil coconspirators at work here-and of course nothing is REALLY solved, because it's the first book in a trilogy!

Nonetheless, I did enjoy this book-it was nice to have a book revisiting Will, Tessa, and Jem, but I liked getting to know the new teenage Shadowhunters equally as much-I have a particular soft spot in my heart for Matthew Fairchild! There was plenty of action, and more progressive viewpoints than you might be used to seeing in books set in the early 1900s. All in all, a worthy addition to this world, and I'm excited to read the next one!