“It was strange and novel to have a human body again.”
First line in Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare
Hi, guys. I hope you’re all doing well. WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words, and it’s meant to give you all a little insight into my reading this week. I’ll answer the 3 questions:
- What are you currently reading?
- What did you recently finish?
- What do you think you’ll read next
What did you recently finish?
Just before writing this, I finished Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare, and I gave it 3.5 stars. I was a bit disappointed to be fair because I don’t think it was as good as the first book. A lot of it, though, comes down to the fact that I, as usual, like Clare’s side characters more than her main characters. And the side characters really took a backseat in this one, especially in the first half, and I think I’m right to complain about this because we spent so much of the first book with the side characters, building them up, hinting at arcs. I think I’m allowed to be frustrated with the lack of development on that front. On top of that, I hated the ending!
What are you currently reading?
My reading has been a bit of a mess since I’ve been reading three books at once, but I had my reasons! I’ve been reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, which I’m 63% into. I’ll say that I’m enjoying it but not over the moon about it. It’s going off on tangents a lot, which is the point of the book, but I find myself not always caring about the stories we explore. I definitely prefer the present day storyline that we’re following, and I’m really curious where it’s going. It’s also such a quotable book, and I love that. However, I’ve decided to take my time with it, so I had to pick up another book when I needed a break.
So I started Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb, the final book in the Farseer Trilogy. I’m only 12% in, but that was such a strong start! During the first two chapters, I was feeling all of the feelings. It was so good! The development after that has me worried though, but I’m still very excited to see where the story goes.
What do you think you’ll read next?
I doubt I’ll be starting anything new anytime soon as Assassin’s Quest will be my sole focus after The Shadow of the Wind. It’s a big one, so it’ll probably take me a week or two to get through.
First Line Reader 
I’m so glad to hear I’m not alone in hating the Chain of Gold ending, although I’m also sorry you didn’t like it 😂 Seriously, Cassandra Clare had better not develop that particular plot thread further! I didn’t really mind that the side characters didn’t get as much focus, though – I just love Cordelia, so getting tons of her was very satisfying 😊 But I wouldn’t have minded more Alistair and Anna, either – they’re pretty awesome!
Also, I’m a few chapters into Assassin’s Quest now, too, and very mad at my thesis for keeping me away from reading more. However, since I have a meeting with my professor about my progress on Monday, I’m kind of panicking and trying to squeeze in as much work as possible before then 😅 So Wolfy Fitz will have to wait 😂
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I was so annoyed with that ending even though your review had prepared me for it! And breaking a couple up by using the miscommunication trope… that was so stupid! And yes that plot thread needs to be terminated immediately.
And I do like Cordelia, but I felt like the POV was just switching back and forth between her and James. Where was everyone else? Why have such a big cast of characters if she’s not going to use them? I finally learned everyone’s names! 😂
What an annoying thesis you have. So rude of it to require that much work 😉 However, you read so fast, you’ll probably still finish Assassin’s Quest before I do. Oh and Wolfy Fitz is definitely a nickname I’m going to be using 😂
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True – I’m not even sure why I learnt Christopher and Thomas’s names, to be honest 🙈 But the few scenes of them that we did get at least give me hope that they’ll be in the next book a bit more! And I’ll be very upset if we don’t get some great development for Ariadne, Anna and Alistair, either! Matthew, however, can stay away, for all I care – he’s just a dumb plot device to introduce yet another love triangle, if you ask me 🙄 But since Cordelia and James are my favorites, I didn’t mind getting a lot of them in this book 🥰
And yes, I agree my thesis is quite rude! Though I wouldn’t be so sure about me finishing Assassin’s Quest first. After all, I have to split my spare time between that and The Betrayals audiobook, and university also starts again next week…
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Oh, but I really wanted more of Matthew actually 😅 He was such an interesting character before he was revealed to have a part in the love triangle. That was why I was so mad about that. There is so much potential in his character besides that!
I see you’re busy then. Hope you get to sneak a few chapters in here and there 😊
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I guess that’s true… I probably would have liked him as well if there hadn’t been something about him mournfully gazing after Cordelia every time we got to see him 🙄 His purpose in the love triangle just seemed overshadow everything else about him 😅
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Enjoy your reading! I hoep you end up loving Assassin’s Quest!
I’m about to start Children of Time!
(www.evelynreads.com)
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