I admit this is the first Cassandra Clare book I've read and I was looking forward to finally diving into one. I thought that, being the first in the series, Chain of Gold would be a good place to start. However, I feel as though I would've gotten much more enjoyment out of it if I knew the stories of all the characters and travelled with them on their journey to this point. The beginning of the book felt like a bit of a slog for me, figuring out who was who and how everything worked. Clare has certainly created a complex world for the Shadowhunters and I appreciate the history there. But it just didn't grab me as I had originally hoped. There wasn't much action until later on in the story. So, you can certainly start here if you're not familiar with Clare's other works, but you might have the same problems I did. If you're already a huge fan of the series, you'll no doubt love this lastest installment.