The Last Hours trilogy, inspired by Charles Dickens’s “Great Expectations,” depicts the aftermath of Cassandra Clare’s #1 New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy.
Set in 1903 at the rise of the Edwardian era in London, The Last Hours follows the lives of the next generation of The Infernal Devices’ main characters, their children. With the new generation of Shadowhunters comes new battles and threats facing their beloved city, friends, and family. Amid fighting evils, Cordelia, James, and Lucie must deal with complicated feelings of love and hate, all while keeping compelling secrets from each other and themselves.
The series can be read on its own but is set as a sequel to The Infernal Devices trilogy and a prequel to the famous Mortal Instruments series.
Are you ready to discover the world of fantasy in The Last Hours trilogy?
About Cassandra Clare
Judith Lewis, best known by her pen name Cassandra Clare, is the author of the bestselling Shadowhunters Chronicles and co-author of the Magisterium children’s series with Holly Black. Clare’s series sold over 50 million copies and have been translated into more than 35 different languages. Her first novel, City of Bones, was released in 2004 and was later adapted into a major motion picture. This success set the path for her widely known series of six novels, The Mortal Instruments. Now, with four major series in her Shadowhunters collection and a T.V. series, Cassandra Clare has earned awards such as “Best Goodreads author” and Goodreads’ “Best Young Adult” and Science Fiction” award, amongst many others.
Cassandra Clare grew up traveling worldwide until she set her roots in Los Angeles and discovered her love for writing. Clare’s career started with writing for entertainment magazines and even suspected tabloids of celebrities around Los Angeles. After her first novel was published in 2004, Clare turned to write fantasy fiction in 2006 and never looked back. Since then, Clare’s success can be seen in her love for writing young adult, urban fantasy, fantasy fiction, and more genres.
Although there is no specific order to read the novels, Cassandra has a suggested order to begin a series and get the best introduction to the world of Shadowhunters here. Cassandra also includes a timeline for her novels in the order that the stories go, which is as follows:
The Infernal Devices trilogy (set in 1878)
The Last Hours trilogy (set in 1903)
The Mortal Instruments series (set in 2007)
Tales from the Shadowhunters Academy (companion novel)
The Bane Chronicles (companion novel)
The Dark Artifices trilogy (set in 2012)
Ghosts of the Shadow Market (companion novel)
The Eldest curses trilogy (set between 2012-2015)
The Wicked Powers series (set in 2015 as the final fate of the Shadowhunters Chronicles; planned series release)
Chain of Gold
Cordelia is a trained Shadowhunter and has been fighting battles since she was a child. Still, when her father finds himself under harsh accusations, she runs to London with her brother to try to save the family’s reputation. In London, Cordelia reconnects with her childhood friends, Lucie and James, becoming enthralled in the city’s glamorous and secretive world while quickly developing a deep love for James. But soon, the three friends face a bigger threat, unlike anything they have ever seen. Together they must fight to save their city from the disaster of the demon attacks and find a way to defeat the relentless creatures. The three friends are forced to make a difficult choice that will change everything they thought they knew before and reveal the cruel cost of being a hero.
As the first of the three novels in the Last Hours trilogy, Chain of Gold is sure to hook you into the world of Shadowhunters.
Chain of Iron
Cordelia’s new life in London is perfect, she is soon to marry James, her childhood love, she is reuniting with her father, and she bears a legendary hero’s blade, the Cortana. But behind the facade lies harsh truths. Cordelia’s marriage to James is an arrangement to protect her reputation. James has fallen in love with another woman, Grace Blackthorn, a mysterious new face in London. Amongst the lies, a powerful evil is devastating the streets of London, targeting Shadowhunters and murdering them in the darkness. All together, these friends must fight this evil while keeping secrets from each other that could destroy them.
Chain of Thorns
Cordelia has lost everything and everyone she ever cared about. After losing her father, her plan to fight as lifelong partners with Lucie, and her marriage to James, Cordelia flees to Paris to escape her sorrow. Still, a new shocking threat pulls her back to London. There Cordelia finds James and her best friend Lucie in trouble after an unexpected enemy reveals their grandfather is Belial, the Prince of Hell. The Shadowhunter siblings are suspected of dealing with demons. Cordelia finds herself at a crossroads between her troublesome love for James and her longing to protect him. Yet somehow, she can’t stop thinking of the possibility of a fresh start with Matthew in Paris. The friends, now separated by their secrets, must trust each other to survive or lose everything alone.
The final novel in The Last Hours trilogy, Chain of Thorns, will leave you desperate for more fantasy adventures. If you are interested in more magical stories, check out our blog post about fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson here.
Discover Cassandra Clare
Have you read any of Cassandra Clare’s works? You can find her enchanting fantasy novels at Discover Books for as low as $3.85, with free shipping available. You can even pre-order her newest novel, Chain of Thorns, and discover the excitement of Cassandra Clare’s world of fantasies!
