i started reading the mortal instruments in middle school, and they have been comfort reads/a comfort world for me ever since. however, i don't think these books are actually great books on any sort of critical merit. to be honest, i don't necessarily have a huge need to continue reading these books, but i am a finisher, and so i will everything cassie clare puts out in the shadowhunters universe. as such, i ended up actually really enjoying chain of gold. despite the deeper and more complex world building getting away from me a bit, i absolutely loved the characters in this one. and while i didn't care very much about the main romance ( i never do with these books) i loved some of the background relationships and i'm deeply excited to see where this story goes. i'm also hoping for a bit more plot development that has to do with demons instead of just interpersonal and social conflict.