The Lost Book of the White by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu

“We’re not here to interfere with the way you do your Shadowhunting,” Alec clarified, by way of reassurance.

Tian’s brow furrowed. “Do you say that in English? ‘Shadowhunting’?”

“Well, maybe we should start,” returned Alec. Isabelle stuck out her tongue at him.”

“No,” said Isabelle. “No one says that.”

(pg. 101)

About

Authors: Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Series: Elder’s Curses book 2

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Elder’s Curses Book Review

The Red Scrolls of Magic

Synopsis

Life is good for Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood. They’re living together in a fabulous loft, their warlock son, Max, has started learning to walk, and the streets of New York are peaceful and quiet—as peaceful and quiet as they ever are, anyway.

Until the night that two old acquaintances break into Magnus’s apartment and steal the powerful Book of the White. Now Magnus and Alec will have to drop everything to get it back. They need to follow the thieves to Shanghai, they need to call some backup to accompany them, and they need a babysitter.

Also, someone has stabbed Magnus with a strange magical weapon and the wound is glowing, so they have that to worry about too.

Fortunately, their backup consists of Clary, Jace, Isabelle, and newly minted Shadowhunter Simon. In Shanghai, they learn that a much darker threat awaits them. Magnus’s magic is growing unstable, and if they can’t stop the demons flooding into the city, they might have to follow them all the way back to the source—to the very realm of the dead. Can they stop the threat to the world? Will they make it back home before their kid completely wears out Alec’s mom?

Review

❗️This review also contains City of Heavenly Fire, The Shadowhunter Academy, and Queen of Air and Darkness spoilers ❗️

Spoilers Contained Below

Dear Malec fans,

Gosh, I love me some Shadowhunters 😩♥️ . . . and warlocks, vampires, werewolves, the whole shebang. It’s been a while since I read a Cassandra Clare book, and by a white, I probably mean six months, which is forever in my opinion. 

Reading a Cassandra Clare book is like coming home for me.

I genuinely mean that. I read City of Bones eight years ago when I was fourteen, and to literally grow up with this world and characters who helped me find hope, joy, laughter, and love during tough times, means the world. I can’t thank Cassandra Clare or other authors enough for how much their words and their worlds have brought me peace and healing and comfort . . . gosh, I’m not going on a tangent about how much I love Cassandra Clare and authors. But I really do mean it, and I appreciate authors for their work because it’s worlds like the Shadowhunter world that I feel oddly the safest and most seen. 

Anyway, this book was everything I could have ever wanted and more from a Cassandra Clare (and Wesley Chu) book. It had action, it had drama, it had adventure, it had Malec, it had Clace, it had Sizzy, it had smut, it had HUMOR, it had a travel, it had tears, it had angst, it had crazy, and it had an epic epilogue. What more could you want? I don’t know why people aren’t raving about The Lost Book of the White as much as they should be 💜?! Underrated, for sure

The Lost Book of the White takes place after City of Heavenly Fire and three years after The Red Scrolls of Magic. The Red Scrolls of Magic ended with Alec letting Shinyun, Magnus’s fake-turned-real-ex-cult leader go because they thought she would change. Shinyun had Ragnor Fell in a cage in the epilogue, and it was this whole mystery to me why she had Rangor Fell in a cage and how she got him in the first place. It was even more of a surprise because Ragnor had apparently “died,” but here he was alive in a cage. So, there was that.

The second Alec let Shinyun go, I was like, “This isn’t going to be good.” She’s going to come back and do something, and the fact that she had a powerful warlock in a cage? Yea, it was not looking too hot. And this book brought the fire 🔥, if you know what I mean. You know the saying of how a snake never shed their skin? Well, this bi*** was a spider who did not quit. She was a menace and a pest. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

In the prologue, we see how and why Ragnor wanted to fake his death. He was messing up his apartment to look like he put up a good fight before going down, but he was actually hiding from Sammael who was one of the big bads and who was in love with Lilith before being spectated. Sammael is one of the demons who could open up realms to let the other demons in; he is the reason that demons entered this Shadowhunter world and why there is a need for Shadowhunters. It was interesting to learn this history because I never really thought about how the demons got into this world, I knew it was from a portal or a different dimension, but never about how it started. Apparently, Michael the Shadowhunter struck down Sammael, and this caused Sammael to disappear for thousands and thousands of years. Even though Sammael was struck down by Michael the Shadowhunter, the Greater demons never disappeared, but they went somewhere else to regenerate, build their strength, or bid their time until they found a portal or a way back to the human world. That was what Sammael had been doing all these years, and wanted to claim a portal to enter the human world—he wanted to wreak havoc. Rumor had it, Sammael was looking for Ragnor because Ragnor was one of the eldest warlocks out there who’s an expert in portals. Knowing this, Ragnor wanted to go into hiding before Sammael found him and made him do his bidding—do something he would regret. Ragnor promised that he would reach out to Magnus in the time he faked his death, but he never did. Magnus thought that Ragnor had really passed away in the three years because he never heard from him, but in that time Ragnor probably found his way around, but he also got captured by Shinyn.

It was fascinating to learn more about Magnus’s upbringing and how he met Ragnor. Ragnor took Magnus under his wing after the Silent Brothers asked a warlock for help because they didn’t know how to take care of a young warlock. At first, Ragnor had this very flippant air like he didn’t care for Magnus. It was interesting to see their dynamic and how Ragnor was so quick to teach Magnus that being a warlock meant being alone and judged. That just made me sad because Ragnor probably felt that way from all the years that he was alone and had to fend from himself. He never had someone like Magnus in his life who was constant or understood what he was going through.

But we are warlocks. We live forever, and that means sooner or later, we are alone. When others call us the spam of demons, try to use our power for our own ends, envy us, fear us, or simply die and leave us, we must decide what we shall be.”

(pg. 194)

The more time Ragnor and Magnus spent together, they weren’t alone; They had someone around. It brought a smile to my face to learn that Magnus got his fashion sense and good taste from Ragnor early on 😊. Ragnor also said something about how warlocks choose their name, so it made me wonder what Magnus’s name was before he was Magnus and how he chose the name Magnus Bane? I’m not sure if I missed why he chose his name, but I would like to know. I could tell through the back stories that the more time Magnus and Ragnor spent together, Ragnor probably did think of Magnus as more than just another Warlock to mentor—they became friends, a family.

Catarina was also added to their family. I loved hearing about how Magnus met/saved Catarina. Magnus was in Leonberg, Paris when he was at a bar and saw a group of people chasing a woman, claiming she was a witch. He tried to rescue her, but didn’t really know what to do. I freaking laughed when Catarina was like, “Good gosh, I’ve been rescued by an idiot!” (pg. 289) 😂. For someone who was getting rescued and barely knew her rescuer, she was pretty comfortable claiming that he was an idiot. I mean she wasn’t completely wrong. I liked how they had a nice conversation together and fell into easy banter. Ragnor also fell into easy banter with Catarina. They all became fast friends, which I loved. They saved each other and supported one another because they believed they were all each other had in this lonely world. There’s something sad and comforting about that—that they had such easy camaraderie and love because they understood what it’s like to love and lose and live forever.

Magnus had his found family with Ragnor and Catarina, but he also had his real family with Alec and Max. I kept laughing with how everyone would compare Max to a blueberry. I mean, Max is so cute 🥺💜. My favorite was when Maryse compared Max to someone having spilled ink all over him—-clever. I just loved how Max was a wild baby but in all the fun and adorable ways—climbing up the walls, giggling, and making trouble. I loved seeing Magnus and Alec be father’s because it brought out this softer, but different protective side of them. For Alec, he learned to open his heart more to his kids and to not fret over the little things. Magnus he was also more protective of Max, which isn’t something we saw as much. I mean. we all know Mangus is protective of the people he loved, but it was a whole other layer of protectiveness with his son. It was just beautiful to see them as a team and how if one person was tired, the other would take care of Max or the other person was putting Max down, the other would clean up the mess.

One of the things I loved most throughout the whole book was the obvious shift of Magnus and Alec’s priority. They were fathers and they had to think of Max—-his well-being, who would watch him, what would happen to him, Max’s happiness. It could no longer be him jumping head first into a battle or adventure without thinking about the repercussions and how that affected their son. Reading from Magnus’s and Alec’s point of view, gave me the distinct sense that they were on the same page in their caution in worrying about Max’s future and their family. It was beautiful to see because I think that’s how all parents’ thinking shifts—-their world centers around their kid. I’m not a parent yet, but I imagined that if I loved someone that much and they were my world, I would do anything to protect that person and ensure they were happy. It’s hard when your job is as wild and dangerous as a warlock and Shadowhutner because danger is part of the job. But it was just so interesting to see the shift in both of them because it’s so different from their mindset in The Mortal Instruments and The Red Scrolls of Magic when they didn’t even have Max yet. I think becoming a family is a dynamic that you figure out and navigate as you go, and I think Malec was doing a wonderful job because they always thought of their son’s well-being.

I also freaking loved that the last person Alec wanted to call to watch his son was his mom 😅. Bro, I would think that’d be the first person he would call. But I loved that Grammy (gosh that sounds weird) Maryse got to watch Max, and this other dude Kadir watched Max with her. Was I sleeping during TMI or was Kadir always around 😂? He was the Institute’s second-in-command, which I mean, he had to have been trust-worthy or important to gain such a role . . . so he had to have been around the Institute right? I don’t know where he’s been because he did not ring any bells for me. I loved his willingness and openness to babysit Max as well. What a cool dude. You know, Kadir gained my utmost respect when he busted out a sarcastic quip.

I have learned, after all these years, where the wild wings are. They are in this Institute.”

(pg. 134)

You wouldn’t be a true Shadowhunter if you weren’t busting banging out jokes.

Poor Kadir and Maryse had no idea what they got into, not really knowing that Max would really go balls to the walls. I loved that freaking Kadir ran around with a pillow under the area Max would be on with the roof. We love the dedication.

Magnus and Alec needed someone to watch Max because they needed to go on an impromptu trip to Shanghai to retrieve, none other than the Lost Book of the White.

Ragnor rose back up from the “dead,” or should I say his cage with Shinyun and made a visit to Magnus, Alec, and Max. Shinyun and Ragnor demanded the Lost Book of the White for some unknown reason at the time, and they easily found it hidden among Max’s children’s books. I have to say that’s not really a bad tactic—camouflaged in plain sight—but considering this was a significant book in the Shadowhunter history, Magnus probably shouldn’t have hid it with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are. Magnus and Alec needed to get the Book of the White back and save Ragnor from the obvious spell he was under.

There was also the whole thing with this Svefnthorn and being stabbed by Shinyun.

This woman gives me the heebie jeebies and the creeps. She’s MESSED UP.

I don’t say that to be mean, but accurate. She needed some therapy or something because if you’re visiting someone’s house, you don’t just stab them and call it a gift. And you also don’t lock people up in cages. But back to the stabbing. I mean, what was that? You don’t just stab people with a big horn thing. It’s not like Magnus asked to be stabbed. What a loser. The thorn stabbing created a black hole and a red slash in the middle of Magnus’s chest, which did not sound healthy or okay. I could understand why Alec was so worried about Magnus because he had this hole in his chest and marking, and heck, he just got stabbed, but Magnus was like, “I’m fine.” Yea, I don’t think you’re fine. A psycho stabbed you with a random object and now you’re having all these crazy dreams.

OOOOOH, the dreams.

At first the dreams gave me The Wicked Power foreshadowing vibes because of all the wild dreams Clary had in The Dark Artifices and shared with Emma. I don’t want to spoil these dreams or say too much, so you have to read the TDA series to understand. But Magnus’s fire and monster-ish dreams creeped me out because it gave me the same bad vibes as Clary’s dreams. The fact that Magnus even shared this first fever dream of him in chains, sitting on a throne with an evil smile on his face, gave me strong foreshadowing vibes. He also had two scratches over his chest that formed an X. Clary was worried for Magnus because she could also sense the danger of the dreams. I did not want Magnus to become this evil villain by the end of this book, and then carried over to TDA. But that wouldn’t make the most sense if he turned out evil at the end of this book because in TDA he wasn’t evil, unless it was a ploy—-like he was hiding his evil. I’m not sure, but the dreams felt ominous of what was to come with this thorn that Shinyun felt so compelled to stab Magnus with 🙄. Also, with the first stabbing, I liked how we could tell it was affecting Magnus’s mental and physical well-being. Magnus’s magic was acting up, which was off for Magnus, our perfect king. But he was also a bit unhinged in being more easily frustrated, which wasn’t like Magnus at all. It was weird and off-putting so Magnus was not as put together as we usually see him.

And yes, Magnus got stabbed not once, not twice, but three times.

Because you know, being stabbed by the three times is the charm 🤪.

The second time he got stabbed, Magnus was taking a nice walk around Shanghai (I’ll get to that). He was at some pagoda at the hotel they were staying at. She explained part of the thorn’s effects and powers. In Norse mythology, the Svefnthorn would put people to sleep, but for Shadowhunters, being stabbed by the thorn meant that you are connected to the thorn and the realm it’s from—the thorn draws on the power of the realm (pg. 169). Being stabbed twice, centers a person because they are already assimilated to the thorn’s powers, so this was why Magnus’s power slowly became stronger and his flame red. Magnus’s flame being red was unnerving because there’s something sinister and evil about red. Or that’s how I felt; It just wasn’t Magnus. Also, Magnus’s arms started to form these chain markings just like in Clary’s dream. So, this was not looking good for Magnus because their dream was coming true. The chains represent the tie to the realm and the power. The thorn acts almost like an addiction where the person stabbed would gain more power, but they would need to be stabbed a third time to tether themselves to that power or they would die because too much power would be too great. So it was either Magnus got stabbed a third time and became under Sammael’s rule (because Shinyun worked for him and that’s the portal realm where Sammael was in) or he would pass away. And must I say, the freaking frickety frack did she stab him in the first place and put our precious Magnus in this darn awful situation????? I wanted to rage on her. She was BONKERS. Why did she even want to stab him in the first place????

Magnus wasn’t going to be stabbed a third time, but he also wasn’t going to die, right???? I couldn’t see Cassandra Clare killing off one of her favorite characters. I just couldn’t. If you read my Wicked Powers Crackpot Theories, I wrote one theory I had, but I really don’t want to stand by it. And if you know, you know. I just don’t want it to be this whole thing where Magnus becomes evil or not and he sacrifices himself in the end end-—the series end. I don’t even want to think about it. But Cassandra Clare couldn’t do it. Also, I knew she wasn’t going to kill Magnus off because he was in TDA. At least, I had that assurance, I just didn’t know how he was going to get out of this whole stabbing fiasco Shinyun put him in. If only the noble Alec had not let her go *sigh* 😭

I went off on a stabbing tangent, but back to how Alec and Magnus needed to solve all these issues.

“Also, why is your bed covered in maps?”

“It’s a perfectly nice robe,” said Magnus. “And we were planning a stabbing vacation.”

(pg. 30)

I WAS SOOOOO EXCITED THAT THE ENTIRE GANG was going to Shanghai!!!

Honestly, what fun it was to go to Shanghai with the entire crew! I loved every second. I freaking missed Clary, Jace, Izzy, Alec, Magnus, and Simon. SIMON 💜🥺! I love this dude with my whole heart.

By golly, when you think about how much Simon had been through in TMI and The Shadowhunter Academy, I really have so much admiration, love, and respect for Simon.

“He’d been a mundane, been a vampire, been in Shadowhunter prison, become invulnerable, killed the Mother of Demons, met the Angel Raziel, lost his memories, gotten them back, and graduated from Shadowhunter Academy, and they’d all expected that would be it—a happily ever after for Simon. . . .But it hadn’t turned out that way. Four months ago . . . Simon’s closest friend at the Academy, George Lovelace, had died during the ritual.”

(pg. 36)

I mean, GOSH!! When I read that, I hysterically laughed and cried because this guy’s been through the meat grinder and he still finds light, joy, positivity, and most importantly humor. That’s not easy. I just want to give Simon a hug or be his best friend because he deserves the world—so much more. To be quite honest, Jace, Clary, Izzy, Alec, and Magnus, they are all strong, but to be a human, turned Shadowhunter and to go through all of that without ever even knowing about this whole world? I think Simon is the strongest out of all of them because he didn’t expect this to be his life and yet he took it in stride and he endured. If I had gone through all that in a year, I would have gone through depression or I would have felt something remotely lost and sad, but Simon was the epitome of resilience and balance. He wasn’t always that strong. I know most people joked about Simon being weak, but gosh was he strong. 

I thought it was very dad-like for Magnus to worry about Simon going to Shanghai with them because he knew how much Simon had been through the last year or so. There was this moment that Simon did have a breakdown when in Diyu, and it made me think about Magnus’s initial worry—his dad-tuition, if you will. He knew that Simon was carrying on as best as Simon does—through humor. I love that about Simon though, his undeniable charisma and humor because it’s easier for him to process things by laughing about them or making a joke. It lightens the mood. It’s the language of all Shadowhutners, and he fit right in. But there also comes a point where every person isn’t strong or smiling all the time, and that’s perfectly okay. Simon was still human. He got all serious and tense after Izzy finally returned from willingly going as one of the tests and the gang battled a fierce fight, but it made Simon sad because he knew deep down how much things could have been worse. Simon had already lost so much, and to lose everything all over again, would probably break our smiley boy 😢. I also felt like Simon was tired of losing himself and feeling helpless and mad at their situation because he wanted to do something. He had a heart of gold. I just loved seeing Simon throughout the book because he still is who he was the first time we met him, but so much stronger mentally and physically, but strong also in the sense of knowing his emotions and navigating them.

I loved loved loved the our beloved characters, but it was also fun to live it up in Shanghai and see new and familiar faces.

“Ke Yi Tian, is it? I’m Magnus Bane. High Warlock of Brooklyn.”

“You’ve already been higher today than any other warlock I know,” Tian said.

(pg. 108-9)

THE HUMOR 👌🏼???? I CACKLED. He was a Shadowhunter alright.

I quite liked Tian, he seemed like a good dude. He was related to Jim, so you know, of course, I already liked him. Honestly, anyone related to Jem sounds good to me 😂. I liked how open he was about how he felt about the Clave. This was the time of the much hated Cold Peace, to which the whole gang wasn’t a fan of either because it really wasn’t fair to punish or shame a whole group of people based on the actions of a few. This can be said about the social groups and cultures in the real world. But all faeries shouldn’t have to be treated like slim or disgraced because some sided with Sebastian during the Dark War. Tian’s girlfriend was a Faerie Jinfeng. I kid you not, when Tian kissed Jinfeng at the Market when she flew down and he was like, this is my girlfriend, I said, “Oooooh, Tians’ got a girlfriend.” And then I read the next line and Jace was like, “Oooooh.” I did not read that line before I said it out loud, but Jace and I were on the same childish wavelength and I was here for it. I learned from the best 😂.

Tian’s family approved of Jinfeng, but they didn’t like him being out in public with her because she was a faerie and it was bad for show.—-the Ke family (the most respected and eldest family in Shanghai) to be seen with faeries. I could understand that as an Asian because status tends to be everything. But it made it difficult for Tian to be with Jinfeng without having to hide it. No one should have to hide their love because of some dumb law.

“And yes, I know the Law is hard. It’s too hard. It’s become so hard and brittle that it has begun to break.”

(pg. 236)

If a law is too harsh and feels wrong, is it wrong to not follow it? These are the questions. Now, I’m not saying, don’t follow the law in the real world, but it was prejudice that there were laws that discriminated against faeries and made them feel like they weren’t part of this world when they were. It wasn’t right. And I have to agree that the Law was too hard and that people were breaking it or going against it without the Clave noticing because if people don’t like the law/agree with it, of course they are going to break it or find ways around it. Even the gang didn’t follow the Law because they knew how outrageous it was.

“Maybe we should get T-shirts made,” Simon agreed. “We Tried to Prevent the Cold Peace.”

(pg. 152)

Someone should make this t-shirt and sell it on Etsy. Gosh knows, maybe I’ll buy one and support the cause 😂.

“I don’t know. Not yet. The Shadowhunters wouldn’t acknowledge it, but we’re hoping that will change.”

(pg. 313)

They were going to be the change. They don’t even know what’s coming for them in TDA and TWP.

Casey McQuiston would be proud 😉.

I also liked how Shinyun helped the gang and finding Ragnor and Shinyun. He helped them track Ragnor to this apartment that wasn’t really an apartment. I’m still curious who this falling winged creature thing was. That was weird. Also, Shinyun was getting on my last nerves based on how she kept showing face I also liked how Tian helped the gang and with finding Ragnor and Shinyun. He helped them track Ragnor to this apartment that wasn’t really an apartment. I’m still curious who this falling winged creature thing was. That was weird. Also, Shinyun was getting on my last nerves based on how she kept showing face and no one wanted to see it. I freaking cackled when she was giving some sort of evil monologue backstory of how she came to work for Sammael and Magnus was like, “I don’t care” (pg. 93). We love to hear it 😅👏🏼!

It was also cute to meet Tian’s Grandma, Mother Yun. Mother Yun is the second-oldest living Ke (Jem being the first) and is Jem’s mother’s sister, Yinwen’s, youngest granddaughter. It’s odd to think about her being an older woman, but how Jem was older than her but he hadn’t aged because he was a silent brother all these years.

Jem was in this book too! What a treat 💜!! I loved to see it. I love Jem—my whole heart. And he was in Shanghai, his home. It was just so endearing to see Jem in Shanghai because that’s where he’s from. Also, the Shanghai Institute always sounded cool, and the way Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu described the Ke house and the Institute was stunning. I would love to also pay a visit to the Shanghai Institute, or all the Institute’s really. They all seem really cool.

At the dinner table they relieved Jem’s trauma with yin fen and his parents passing and battling to save Jem. I felt kind of oddly funny that they wanted Jem to regale his trauma at the dinner table, but I guess if we were in Shanghai, might as well. Diyu was Yanluo’s realm, and it was the only passage from the demon dimensions to the human world. Yanluo would travel between these portals, but when he died, the Portal closed and all the demons who lived there were trapped in Diyu (pg. 119). Because these flying Baigujing were from Diyu, it was safe to assume that the portal to DIyu opened again. And because Ragnor is the master of portal magic, of course, my brain instantly knew that the Diyu portal had to have opened and that was the realm that he found for Sammael. How else could all the portals be malfunctioning and the Baigujing demons coming into the world now?

“So here’s the list of things we need to look into, if I have this correct,” said Alec, ticking them off on his fingers. “Sihinyun, Ragnor, DIyu, Yanluo, Sammael, the Portal to Diyu, the Svefnthorn, the Book of the White and some other magic books maybe.”

(pg. 127)

This whole book was a cluster truck of too many things to do at once, and I felt terrible for them.

Gosh, I don’t know how they do it.

I quite forgot about Pen Fang, but he sounded familiar. He was the guy who Magnus and Alec went to for information in The Red Scrolls of Magic, and Pen Fang hit on Magnus. I’m not really a fan of him, but he’s not as awful as some other characters we’ve met. He was just there. He really didn’t have that good information because we all already knew that Ragnor and Shinyun probably were working for Sammael. When Pen Fang was like, “As long as they don’t have the Book of the White or anything, we should all be fine (pg. 161).” WELP 🙃. There went everyone’s assuredness. He wasn’t really that helpful, but I loved a reference to Johnny Rook and you-know-who You know, if Johnny Rook was in The Red Scrolls of Magic and that was three years ago, you-know-who had to have been very young and clueless about the world he was going to enter.

I loved going to the Celestial Palace library to actually do some research. I loved that when Alec and MI loved going to the Celestial Palace library to actually do some research. I loved that when Alec and Magnus walked in, they saw Izzy and Simon doing some scene straight out of Beauty and the Beast where Simon moved the ladder she was on. It laughed when Izzy let out a wheel of excitement, and the goblin at the library was like get out 😂. I FREAKING CACKLED when Magnus unbuttoned his shirt and the goblin was like, now I have to ask you to leave for taking off your clothes 😂! Bro, you haven’t seen nothing yet.

Never bring a Shadowhunter to a library 🤪.

It was also interesting to meet the two faeries weapon smiths, Mo Ye and Gan Jiang, who had the Black and White Impermanence swords. The swords were said to actually be keys that looked like swords. Mo and Gan said that the swords used to guide souls to Diyu and it would help them open and close possible portals in Diyu or something; The swords were significant. The white sword represented mercy and the sentiment of Xie Bi’an: be at peace, all those who atone. The black sword represented judgment and the sentiment of Fan Wujiu: there is no salvation for evildoers. The swords were contradictory because one literally represented mercy and peace and the other harshness. In Chinese culture yin and yang represent things that are connected and contradictory—a lightness and a darkness. It also represented male and female energies. I liked how Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu included the yin and yang representation with the storyline because it connected to the setting of the story and the history. The swords were also said to be Gods. There were two Gods called the Heibai Wuchang—the God of Black and White. They were tired of being bothered by mundanes who asked them to grant their wishes. So, Heibai Wuchang became sword keys, so when wielding the swords, a person is welding the power of Hebai Wuchang—the light and the dark and the wishes.

After receiving the swords and researching some of the things off their list, you know who showed up????

Our favorite person ever: Shinyun 🤪!

She created a portal over the marketplace, demons raining down. Magnus was the only one powerful enough to stop her and the portal. I was right about Ragnor having found a realm for Sammael with Diyu. The only way they felt they could close the portal was from inside the portal. They could also probably save Ragnor and deal with the whole Sammael uprising thing if they went to the realm he was in. But I loved how down they were to all jump into heck with Magnus.

You know, the Shadowhunter gang takes the saying we’ll go through heck and back with you to a whole new level.

“Might as well,” said Simon. “What’s one more [heck] dimension?”

(pg. 186)

If I had a cup of water and was drinking, I would have gagged out my water because that was the FUNNIEST line of the book 😂!!!!!

Freaking Simon just went there. He said, I went to heck and over one time, let’s do it again! At this point, going to heck was the norm for them, and I don’t know why that was morbidly hilarious to me.

They need a raise.

“I don’t have any better ideas,” [Magnus] said.”I’m sorry you’ve all followed me into [Heck] again.”

Clary snorted. “It’s easier the second time.”

“It’s what we do,” said Jace. He went to retrieve his spear from where he’d left it leaning against the wall. “Lead the way.”

(pg. 217)

Ride or dies for sure.

And freaking Simon gets the worst out of all these dimension heck visits *face palms*!!! What is up with that Cassandra Clare? Why do we have to do Simon dirty all the time??????! Let’s give the dude a break.

“Maybe there’s an info booth somewhere. You know, like ‘Welcome to [heck]?'”

(pg. 232)

I could just imagine an old wooden booth with a sign that said Welcome to Heck, and snorted. What the literal heck. Only in a Cassandra Clare book could I and ever would imagine.

“So we need to find the Book of the White, find Ragnor, defeat Ragnor, save Ragnor, find Simon, save Simon, figure out what Sammael’s up to, neutralize Shinyun, and destroy the permanent Portal between Diyu and Shanghai.”

(pg. 197)

Don’t even get me started on how their list kept growing and growing and growing; It sure was a mouth full.

They were really going through and were in he** 😂.

I mean, what’s one more long list going to hurt at this point.

i freaking loved how Diyu was run like a DMV or government building thing. It gave me Rick Riodan vibes with the whole comedic air to a dark place. There was this guy named Elyaas at the front desk to the First Court of Sins. He reminded me of the two geysers from, I’m thinking  TheTrials of Apollo book. If you read the Trials of Apollo, do you remember the twin geysers who ran this sightseeing thing and they asked Lester or something to leave a rating of their experience at the geysers? I’m not sure if it was The Trials of Apollo book, but I’m pretty sure. Anyway, I loved how Magnus saw Elyaas again—-what a fun dude! I loved his hospitality and how he joked with Magnus about if he had any kids or if he was married. I also loved how Elyaas asked Magnus what he got for Alec when they weren’t dating or official at the time. I freaking cackled when Elyaas ROASTED Alec. I was like, Alec got roasted by a slug 😂!

“As Alec passed him, he added, “So you’re the famous Alec. Hmm.”

“What?” Alec snapped.

“Nothing,” said Elyaas. “I just thought you’d be better looking, that’s all.”

Alec blinked at him. Behind him, Jace stifled a laugh.

(pg. 204)

You and me both Jace, you and me both.

I also cackled with how Jace kept asking to kill Elyaas in the background of their rather wholesome conversation. What a very Jace thing to ask.

“Can we just kill him and move on?” Jace called out.

“That’s very rude,” Elyaas said. “Just because you’re Shadowhunters doesn’t mean you’re supposed to kill every demon you see.”

“It does, actually,” Clary said grimacing.

“This puts our relationship in a very different light,” Elyaas told Magnus in tones of disapproval.”

(pg. 203)

I sort of liked Elyaas. He was humanizing as much as he could be.

Can I just stop and say, I absolutely LOVED the banter of the older cast through the entire book. I don’t know what Cassandra and Wesley were on, but the humor in The Lost Book of the White was on some other level 😂 . There was not a page where I didn’t laugh. I was on some crackhead energy over here. Maybe I haven’t been reading funny books, and this is what a funny book feels like, but gosh, everything was hilarious to me and I loved it. I needed a good laugh. If I could quote every line, I would because there was never a line that wasn’t a hit.

“Stone stairs descended from it in a spiral.

“Where do they go?” said Clary.

Magnus gave her a look. “They go down,” he said, and started to descend the steps.”

(pg. 198)

No dip Sherlock 😂.

And we can’t forget the lots of hecks. GOSH, I was almost on the literal floor in laughter.

“Lots of [hecks], huh?” said Magnus.

“Can we hurry this up?” said Alec.

Shinyun gave them a withering look and kept browsing.

“[Heck] of Worms, [Heck] of Maggots, [Heck] of Boiling Sand, [Heck] of Human Oil, [Heck] of Boiling Soup with Human Dumplings . . . [Heck] of Being Pecked to Death by Ducks–“

“What was the last one?” said Jace. Shinyun ignored him.

(pg. 257)

Jace was TRIGGERED 😂.

I just could not with this humor. I was going to become the laughing face emoji by the time I finished this book.

Once they got past the First Court of Sins, they were met by this creepy painting in the Second Court of Sins. They thought they had to go through all these Courts to get to Sammael/find him or save Ragnor or find Simon. They needed money to get through the Second Court and they also needed to sacrifice one member to go through the Court of Sins to face their worst sin. When Izzy stepped up, I was like, “NOOOOO!” Not our strong woman. She’s such a kicka** character and no one convinced me otherwise. Honestly, I was surprised Alec didn’t put up more of a fight to switch places with her because he’s the older brother who looked out for her. He did offer to take her place, but Izzy wouldn’t let him. But then again, he knew how strong his sister was and that he couldn’t fight her battles. There was also the fact that Alec also had to look out for Magnus and Max’s future, which is so different compared to what Alec would usually focus on. When Izzy also started saying how she was going to find Simon and she was coming back, I had no doubt. But it made me sad that we were losing Izzy for part of the journey. I still didn’t understand why we lost her for part of the journey. When she was facing the court that fit her sins, she was in the Heck of Silences, which allowed her to think through her thoughts. She was rescued by Tian on a tiger named Hu Shen. Hu Shen was an old family friend in this upside down version of the world. Diyu was like the Stranger Thing equivalent of the Upside Down.

Don’t even get me started on Tian. It was sketchy how when the portal opened in the Market, that he was there with the gang in the faerie store, but the next second was gone. Then he appeared in the Second Court with a bag full of money he supposedly took out from the Ke ancestors so they could get through the Court. I had 0.000002 seconds where I felt weird about how Tian wasn’t at the Market and suddenly was in heck. I mean, how did he even get there. And I didn’t buy his whole, some demons flew at me and took me to the Diyu because if that were the case, how come those demons only came for him and not everyone else? Why was he the only one dragged by them to Diyu? But then, I was like, well, it was a crazy scene, so maybe he was telling the truth. And then he talked the gang into going through a reverse mountain pit to the center of Diyu to find Sammael. Tian studied Diyu, so he was an expert, but there was also a part of me that was apprehensive of the gang trusting the first sort of decent plan from the first person. The plan of traveling down all those stairs to find Sammael wasn’t terrible, but was it really the only way or the best way. It just seemed weird why no one questioned Tian or came up with a better plan.So I was like, I trust Tian because he seemed like a decent and good guy.

WRONG.

This bro was playing us the whole time.

Honesty, I was DISAPPOINTED. Jem would never. He would be disappointed *shakes my head*.

Not me basing my moral standards on how Jem would feel 😂. What would Jem do?

He freaking worked for Sammael!!!!! I was shook.

Dishonor was RIGHT.

Jem would be ashamed. I FREAKING Laughed when Magnus was also like Jem would be disappointed. YEA, HE WOULD 😆. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one playing the Jem morality card 🤪.

Tian apparently was working for Sammael because he hated the Cold Peace in not being able to freely be or see his girlfriend, so he sided with Sammael because he believed that when the war started that he would be on the “right” side—-that Sammael would protect him and allow him to be and see with his girlfriend. If there was no war and he was deemed a traitor, Tian held out that the Clave would show him mercy. There were too many stupidities in this thinking. First of all, I understand he was in love 🙄 and he would do anything for love, but to side with the Prince of Heck for love???? That’s a bit too far for me. Also, I don’t think his girlfriend would want him to side with the Prince of Heck for love. Jinfeng seemed like a reasonable and smart girl in the 0.5 seconds we met her, but then again, anyone could surprise you. I just didn’t see Jinfeng agreeing to her boyfriend doing something so stupid. I mean, couldn’t they just do the regular thing and hide their love and life happily without siding with the bad side. I mean, just keep it a secret until you change the law or things change, don’t go siding with Sammael. Also, when has the Clave ever showed ANYONE mercy 🤪. Yea, mercy was not in his future ✌🏼. Maybe the sword to execute his a**, but no mercy.

What a loser. And to think we trusted him.

It is disappointing though, when you trust someone so much and they do something to prove you wrong. It feels like a defeat.

GOSH, when Magnus popped off on Tian about loyalty and protection, I felt like a student watching a teacher reprimand a naughty student. I was shook. I didn’t know Magnus had that much anger in him. He was bringing the fire. I don’t know if it was the thorn affecting him, but I have never felt Magnus so angry. Maybe it was because he felt angry for Jem. I’m joking.

“That . . . is bull[shiz], Ke Yi Tian. . . You are not some mundane . . . You are a Shadowhunter. You have a duty. A responsibility. You have a high and holy purpose, do you understand me? . . . You are the protector of our world. Ordained by the Angel. Instilled with his fire. Given the gifts of Heaven!” He grabbed Tian’s arm and glared into his eyes. “I know Shadowhunters, Tian. . . They love, they build, the covet wealth—when there is time. When the duty—the solemn duty, the only duty, the barrier dividing the living creatures of Earth from oblivion at the hands of literal actual pure evil–“

Sammael waved jauntily.

“–allows them to . All love is important. Your love is important. And for some people, their love can be the single most important thing, more important than even the whole world.

“But not for Shadowhunters. Because keeping the whole world safe is not everyone’s reason for being, but it is absolutely yours.”

(pg. 238-9)

Well, heck.

Let’s go Magnus. School his a** 🤪.

Someone write this in the Shadowhunter bible because PREACH.

Amen. Hallelujah.

All jokes aside, Magnus isn’t wrong that just because Tian was in love, didn’t mean he sacrificed everything for evil for that love. I think Magnus was tired of good people making the wrong choices because gosh knows how many things he has seen over the years.

Also, for someone who was a big bad, I expected more built and scary. I wasn’t expecting this lithe little thing in a fedora with a feather in the hat like some Pied Piper college student. I guess little things do come in big packages or is that the other way around. Sammael seemed pretty chill and delusionally nice for a big bad—except for the part where he popped off on Horse and Bull Face like they were Barbie dolls. I think it made it easier for him to take a more palatable form because it tricked people to trust him rather than fear him. He was also really funny. I’m starting to think that Shadowhunters get their humor from demons; everyone’s sarcastic. When it came down to it, though, he was still powerful and now he knew they were in Diyu.

Sammael popped out Sammael popped out of the scene after he told Tian to do his bidding and he let loose demons for the gang to enjoy and died trying to find Simon or Ragnor.

“I’ve made some weird calls in my time,” Jace mussed, “but spending ten minutes in free fall from one unknown place in a [heck] dimension to a different unknown place in a [heck] dimension is pretty reckless even for me.”

(pg. 244)

Ah, Jace and his philosophical wonderings. We love that for him.

The gang finds themself in St. Ignatius because of how Tian said that Diyu was a backwards Shanghai so St. Ignatius could be a safe space from Sammael because he wouldn’t want to go to a church. Shinyun finds them in said church and offers to help them find Simon because Simon was distracting Sammael from their grand plan. You know, from what I heard, everyone thought Simon was a nuance. Also, the big question in every Cassandra Clare book: Why Simon?

Simon was the one who killed Lilith, Sammael’s lover, when Simon bore the Mark of the Cain. When Sammael explained that, it made sense. Clary, Alec, and I were on the same wavelength. For a second I really did think Sammael chose Simon randomly like all those other times. But darn, poor Simon. It wasn’t his fault that he bore the Mark of the Cain. He was just trying to live and now he was getting punished for it. It was unnerving to see Sammael torture Simon because it went against this “friendly” persona he gave off when we first met him. But again, he was this all powerful being who controlled this entire realm and could do whatever he wanted. Also, I have to give credit to Simon because he kept going through it again and again and again with being captured and tortured. My gosh. I felt Clary’s pain like my own.

That’s when freaking Izzy came on a tiger and had her whole Katy Perry Roar moment 😂. She was kicka**—only in heck would we ever witness Izzy on a tiger to save her mans!!! We loved the gender reversal of the moment.

I was highly confused again because after they escaped Sammael and Shinyun, they went. back to St. Ignatius and Tian joined them. He double crossed everyone. He played a traitor, but he wasn’t a traitor because he was working on the inside. Ragnor and Shinyun found Tian at the Sunlit Market and Tian gave them information everyone would know, but then Shinyun and Ragnor used this information against Tian by saying they would bring dishonor on his family by saying he was dating a faerie. . . and given the Cold Peace, it would knock over the Ke name. So Tian had not choice to “work” for Sammael because if not, he put Jinfeng and the Ke name at risk. But he never really worked for Sammael—blackmailed—him. That’s why Tian knew so much or wanted to know more about Diyu because he knew Ragnor and Shinyun were up to something with him. I could understand why he had to lie and show face to the gang with the whole traitor scene. But gosh, he should go into acting because he had me convinced as the traitor and easy to write him off. I’m glad because I wanted him to redeem himself or something, especially after he got told off by Daddy Magnus. Jem would not be disappointed anymore. I revoke my dishonor on his family and cow 😂. I mean, they all knew now that he definitely wasn’t working for Sammael.

I loved the epicness of Magnus’s power to guide them to safety. That was honestly the coolest magic I had seen from Magnus; he just seemed o kick butt, moving those rocks and making sure they were all safe.

They all needed rest as much as they could after what they had been through.

I loved how we could see the love and tenderness Simon and Izzy had for each other. This was also the part I talked about earlier where Simon was tense and angry because he felt tired of losing people he loved. In context, knowing Izzy could have been hurt and he wasn’t there to support her, must have been a lot for him because he knew he still loved her. It was weird how they sat apart from each other when everyone came back into the church because they could tell something was up. But I like how Clary went to comfort Izzy and the bros, Simon. We love a family moment.

“It would be great if you didn’t have to constantly work to preserve the things and the people you love, but . . . you do.”

“That’s being a Shadowhunter,” said Alec.

Simon shook his head. “No, that’s being a person. At least as a Shadowhunter my work involves exotic travel and hand-to-hand combat.”

Isabelle kissed him on the cheek. “Never doubt that you are a bada**, sweetie.”

“See?” said Simon. “My life rules. My girlfriend has a flame whip! That’s a true statement I just made.”

(pg. 286-7)

Izzy was like, “You’re doing great sweetie.” But in all seriousness, that must have been tough to feel—like everything you did was life or death and that you had to make tough decisions all the time. They were only young adults and had been through more than any person should ever have to go through. Also, freaking Simon and his jokes. I forgot to mention this earlier, but I found it cute and extremely hilarious when they were trying to share the research they found in the Celestial palace, Simon was like an eager kid with the answer—bouncing up and down, waving his hand. And he was like, “Sorry, I just Ascended this spring” (pg. 108). I love Simon Lovelace with my whole heart 💜.

“Jace was staring. Alec patted him on the shoulder.

“There’s something about a tiny girl with a gigantic sword,” Jace murmured.

(pg. 279)

I also loved the cute Clace flirty moments. I LOVE CLACE 💜!

I wanted more Clace moments and banter. I liked how there was that one moment when Clace went off to bed and Alec watched the intimate way they leaned on each other and how they chose to love one another with their whole heart. It’s sweet to see how Alec saw Clary and Jace now 🥺.

“That inner enormity of love, how the joy of it was so intense it was nearly tinged with pain.”

(pg. 286)

I also loved the Malec moments. There were many action scenes, but I didn’t talk about all the stolen moments between Malec. I loved how they looked out for each other. If Alec or Magnus were tired, they let the other one sleep in. If Magnus didn’t want to tell the others about the chains, Alec kept Magnus’s secret. Alec could read Magnus like no other and vice versa. They were like a mini team within a team, and I think that’s how it is when you are with someone. I also loved how Magnus stayed grounded to Alec despite his growing powers because Magnus had two things he was fighting for—Alec and Max.

One of the other things I loved a lot was how Alec wanted to share the burden and pain with Magnus because they were a team. He didn’t want Magnus to take the third stabbing alone when he could get stabbed because he would be connected to Magnus with the Alliance rune. I forgot about that Rune, but it allows Shadowhunters and Downworlders to share power. I thought it was a smart idea if Alec really did want to take the pain away from Magnus, but it was also risky because there wasn’t a lot known about thorn magic and how it could affect Shadowhunters. I thought Magnus would have put up more of a fight about not putting the Alliance rune on both of them because he didn’t want Alec’s life to be at risk. But Magnus was like why not, which was not really a Magnus thing to say. But who was I to argue because the Alliance rune was probably our way out of this darn stabbing situation Shinyun put us in, sorry them in.

Photo Credit to Disney and Sony’s Spiderman: No Way Home

This but with Shinyun’s face 😂. I can’t with her.

I talked about Magnus’s close relationship with Ragnor and Catarina at the beginning of this blog post. Understanding the history and love shared between Ragnor and Catarine, helped me understand why Magnus was so adamant about saving Ragnor all throughout this book. Ragnor was the person who took him in when he had nothing—-Ragnor saw something in Magnus worth saving when no one else wanted him. Magnus knew there was something worth saving in Ragnor—that he wasn’t too far gone—because there is always good in someone. Also, what a full circle moment that Magnus be the one to save Ragnor now?

Magnus left the cathedral early that morning, letting Alec sleep in. Magnus took both Black and White Impermanence with him to where he felt Ragnor was all this time. I laughed because I knew when Magnus conjured up blankets and pillows in this realm, that they had to be Ragnor’s. I don’t know if I just forgot this, but I thought Warlocks could conjure up anything; It crossed my mind that they drew from the natural world. Of course, naturally, my brain thought about Grisha. But when we saw Ragnor in his little apartment, it was discerning and alarming how Ragnor-like Ragnor was. He didn’t seem to be putting on a show like he always was with Shinyun. He seemed normal. Magnus and Ragnor had a conversation that felt almost normal.

After Ragnor disappeared to hide from Sammael, Shinyun found him and put him in the cage because she was working for Sammael at the time and knew Ragnor would help. Shinyun told Ragnor about how Alec and Magnus let her go during The Red Scrolls of Magic, and she took being let go as a pity and mockery rather than the opportunity to change. After Lilith passed away, Sammael’s presence was more prominent and that’s how Shinyun and him found each other. He told her to find the svefnthorn and then Sammael struck Ragnor with the thorn, each time, Ragnor becoming more powerful and under Sammael’s spell. It made sense now why Shinyun and Sammael wanted the thorn—to make Ragnor’s power stronger to open a portal and find a realm for him. But then Shinyun wanted to be thorned too (pg. 202). So she got thorned. And then she started thorning everyone, and by everyone, I mean Magnus because why not. I agreed with Ragnor and Magnus that it seemed like Shinyun had her own plans because thorning Magnus wasn’t it. Also, getting the Book of the White wasn’t in the plan. So, what was she up to? What was her end game? She’s MESSED UP.

Honestly, let’s blame her.

She was truly the root of all their problems. Again:

Photo Credit to Disney and Sony’s Spiderman: No Way Home

Get her out of here 👏🏼.

Shinyun felt too far from saving, but Ragnor wasn’t. Magnus used both Impermanence swords and the Godly power within them to save Ragnor. Magnus felt that the swords represented Ragnor well because of all the wrong-doing that Ragnor felt like he had to make up for, but also all the mercy he did deserve because he didn’t do any of these things by free-will, but he was controlled. This was different than the whole no-mercy spiel I gave about Tian earlier because he didn’t deserve mercy if he chose to go against his duty and honor. Ragnor had no choice, and it wasn’t his fault as much as he felt it was. But I could understand the guilt Ragnor felt because his actions could have caused a great war. It was actually really humbling and honest that Ragnor took blame and felt guilty because that meant he had good in him to know right from wrong unlike Shinyun. The swords formed one sword that stabbed through Ragnor’s chest and dissipated the thorn magic. I’m still curious how the power of the swords got rid of the thorn magic. Maybe it was because they two Gods were protectors or guard keepers of Diyu and their power was strongest there, or because of pure, genuine magic. But I was happy Ragnor was alive and back to as normal as he could be. But then there was also the part of me that was like well Darn. If Magnus used the swords to save Ragnor, what was going to save him???? When Ragnor called Magnus a terrible a fool, I didn’t’ disagree. An honorable, but terrible fool. What about him😩!?

I loved how they had a nice little chat like old friends catching up now that Ragnor wasn’t under anyone’s control.

Gosh, when Magnus mentioned Raphael the tears came 😭.

There was one dream Magnus had after he used a lot of power and when they first got to the cathedral. But Magnus was back at the Brooklyn apartment with Alec and Max—a very homely scene. But then, I knew this was a dream because Raphael was sitting on the counter and I started tearing up. Raphael was sitting on a counter and I was crying, what a sentence 😢. But I missed Raphael and knowing his sacrifice in COHF and seeing Magnus dream about him, hit me like a Shinyun to the chest. I can’t even express my sorrow at how much I love his character. He still had the humor in him 💜. I also thought this dream was tied to Magnus afraid of being a monster one day—the father that Max would be scared of or didn’t need.

But back to when Magnus told Ragnor about Raphael, I felt really sad because Ragnor did miss a lot in the time he was hiding. He lost a best friend without knowing it 😢.

I also liked the conversation about Magnus starting a family and how he wanted to marry Alec because DUUUUUH!!! Little does he know what I know 😅. I love knowing these things about their life and what’s to come. It was indeed a beautiful and tear-filled wedding 👌🏼. Been there, read that! I cried too.

When Ragnor and Magnus got back to the cathedral, it was up in flames because why wouldn’t it be?

Sammael found where they were staying and he was moving up his plans to open a portal and replace Shanghai with Diyu to make Diyu function and wreak havoc. Yea, Diyu wasn’t the best realm for him because after Yanluo died, everything stopped working, so it wasn’t like Sammael could do much. So he thought of taking Shanghai and replacing it with Diyu. I didn’t even know how that could be possible. But then again we were in heck, so I guess anything was possib

When Tian first mentioned Avicii as the lowest heck, I was curious if we were going to go there because it didn’t seem like we were going to walk there, but naturally they fell there with Sammael as the area for their final battle. Avici was this endless darkness that reminded me of just barren land. It was really morbid when you thought about why the entire place was dark. I could feel that Magnus was getting wonky because he needed to be stabbed by the thorn a third time, but at the same time, I didn’t want him to be stabbed. When Shinyun and Magnus fought in Avicii because Sammael commanded him to get the Book of the White back from her (Ragnor was yet again in another cage), she eventually got to Alec and threatened to kill him. I freaking held my breath because we all knew Magnus would do anything for Alec. BUT THEN FREAKING ALEC STABBED HIMSELF 😩.

Everyone was getting punctured by this darn thorn and I detested. Thank’s a lot Shinyun.

But one of the things I loved about this moment was the absolute absurdity and clarity Alec had. 💜

“By his nature, Alec didn’t like acting on hunches. He liked to study a situation, make a plan, and execute the plan. It got him teased by Jace, by Isabelle, who both believed in jumping off a cliff and somehow sewing a parachute on the way down. They acted on instinct, and usually it turned out alright.

. .For this whole mission they’d been working on hunches, mostly Magnus’s hunches. . . So Alec had acted on an intuition of his own and asked Magnus if they could use the Alliance rune.”

(pg. 332-3)

I loved loved loved that 💜.

I teared up reading this part because I’ve read about Alec for eight years now, and when we met him, he was so reserved, shy, angry, and guarded. Over the course of the books, we saw Alec open up his heart and his eyes too. the world and the love around him. I couldn’t help but think how far Alec had come from that angry, scared teenager into the man and father who was choosing to act on instinct and act on love. It was such a beautiful moment to witness and read, and I just feel like a proud friend or mother. It was funny though how Jace, Izzy, and Clary—the masters of not making plans, made a plan to get out of the situation they were in when Magnus and Alec fell to Avicii. They were in the cathedral on some stairs or rubble, trying not to fall down in the hecks below.

“Alec seemed near tears. “I’m very proud of you,” he said to Jace. “You actually made a plan.”

(pg. 343)

I guess they were both trying new things in heck 😅.

But back to Alec stabbing himself on intuition. That’s a messed up sentence if I ever heard of it. Alec glowed like a cracked glow stick. The thorn power ran through him, but the Shadowhunter angelic power ran stronger, and I think that was what helped Alec beat the thorn power. Also, Alec only took one hit as opposed to Magnus who got stabbed twice, so he probably didn’t hurt as much. I know they shared the burden through the Alliance rune, but I’m still curious as to how the rune took away Magnus’s thorn power. I’m not going to completely question it because why am I going to complain that Magnus was free from the thorn power and Alec was alive? Yea, right. Heck no, was I going to complain. But you know I still wonder.

I don’t know where I heard this, but I think in a Christine Riccio video, she talked about how in TDA, Magnus still had red magic. I don’t know if I’m remembering that right, but if that’s the case, could there be traces of thorn magic in Magnus? Is Clary and his dream going to come true eventually in Thule? I don’t know. I don’t want to think that Magnus could ever turn evil, but if he did, that would be pretty scary and epic. It would definitely be a wicked power for sure this thorn. You know, will this thorn show up in future books? Heck, you know the thorn that Gwen had in the TDA, I don’t exactly remember what the thorn is called, but is this the same thorn we are talking about or did Gwen have a horn and not a thorn. Gosh, someone needs a refresher 🤪.

The thorn’s magic came out of Alec and Magnus in the form of some weird fission fireball thing. I already had a bad feeling that that was the energy Sammael needed to open the portal. Shinyun had to give her big old raging speech about how ungrateful Magnus was for gaining more power with the thorn. Shinyun can go the Heck of No One Gives Two Dangs.

The fact that she yelled at Sammael and that made him shut up, was beyond me. But when she TOOK THIS FIREBALL as her OWN power, I was like SHE is WILDLY MESSED UP. What the living heck was she doing *shakes head*

Freak when she turned into a bug, I was cackling and mortified. She was ugly on the inside and the outside. Yikes, no wonder she was this spindly, gross spider looking thing. I could not. She disgusts me. Ewwww. What a disturbed person.

Photo Credit to Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away

Nothing Against Spirited Away, but I distinctly remember this dude caused me some flashbacks 🙈. This was exactly how I imagined Shinyun but skinnier and more silver and spindly but just as disgusting. I don’t even know what to say about her. She really was on another level of what the heck.

i don’t know.

I don’t know where this pest flew off to after everything. Was her grand plan to become a disgusting spider and fly away like some wicked witch? Every parent’s dream.

But no seriously, we are definitely seeing her spidey butt in the next book. Also, it was disturbing that she was a Greater Demon now because she absorbed all this thorn power. So if other people did the same thing by removing the thorn power from themselves, could they also gain that much power to be a Greater thing? I don’t know. I don’t think Shinyun even knew what she was doing until the opportunity presented itself. She truly had trauma from her past that manifested its ugly head as what she eventually became.

” . .. while he knew the thorn’s power had come from a terrible enemy, the enemy of all humans, he understood why Shinyun had clung to it, had allowed herself to be warmed and comforted by it. It wasn’t love, but if you didn’t know the difference, it might have felt like love.”

(pg. 340)

I understood what Magnus meant though. Shinyun had a rough childhood no one had to go through, and she never knew love. All she knew were these powerful beings that she let the power be her love and comfort when power isn’t love. Being in a relationship where there is a distinct and unhealthy power dynamic is not good. It might feel like power, when really it’s something monstrous and wrong and comforting we mistake as love because we want connection. Power was what Shinyun thought was love. I get it, but she took her power hunger to a whole new level.

I’m not looking forward to seeing her again. She’s nasty.

Sammael’s plans weren’t looking too good, but I don’t understand how he just blipped/popped out of Diyu when Diyu was going to pieces. If he could blip in between realms, why couldn’t he do that sooner? Was the only reason he needed Ragnor and Shinyun was to open the portal? Was the only reason he needed Diyu was so he could rebuild or have a place to start his war from? I’m kind of confused. Also, poor Ragnor who just stayed in the cage the whole time.

With Shinyun and Sammael gone, Magnus, Alec, and Ragnor found Clary, Jace, Izzy, and Alec still trying to not fall into a fiery pit. I was kind of confused at how easily Magnus and Ragnor could open a portal in Diyu. If they could do that the whole time, why didn’t they do it sooner? I understood they had to find Simon, save the Book of the White, stop Sammael, and everything else, but gosh they really had an exit the whole time.

I freaking laughed with how morbid Ragnor was about everything—I say morbid, some would say realistic. I think they should celebrate that they survived heck once again. It made me sad that they were going to leave Shanghai because I agree, we barely spent time in Shanghai and more time in heck 😅. They should go back to Shanghai for an actual vacation. You know, I had my ebbs and waves with Tian, but I was going to miss him because he wasn’t a bad dude, just someone who had to act like it. I hope we see him again or maybe in TWP. I think he would be a great friend and ally to have. I also wished him well and that he and Jinfeng could beat the Cold Peace one day.

But it was also time to go home.

Ragnor didn’t actually go home though, he went back into hiding because he still felt like he needed to atone for the things he did under Sammael’s control. I respected and understood why Ragnor needed time to himself and to make peace, but it made me sad because I didn’t see him as a bad warlock. It makes me wonder if Ragnor hid some of the things he did because he couldn’t have done truly awful things. Ragnor’s alias of Shade also sounded vaguely familiar and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I know he’s not Malcom Shade, but it made me wonder if I subconsciously saw Ragnor around TDA but as Shade.

In the end, Jace agreed to run the Institute if Clary helped him. I loved that because they were a team, and also it circled back to that Alec and Jace conversation earlier on in Shanghai about how Jace was nervous to run the Institute when he wasn’t a rule-follower or a diplomat. I can’t help but think about how I think Alec actually runs the Institute in the future, right? I don’t know, I thought he did. I could be wrong. But I was happy for Clace. I freaking CACKLED when Clary and Jace said they heard Isabelle and Simon being “busy” 😂.

Of course they were! Let’s go SIZZY 🔥👏🏼!

“I guess Simon has realized that rather than dwelling on life’s uncertainties, you should spend quality time with the people you love.”

(pg. 356)

FREAKING JACE 😂.

What are we going to do with him?

You know, now that I think about it, maybe Clary likes Jace because he has the same humor as Simon; they always say to marry your best friend.

I love Clace. I would have loved more Clace moments because we didn’t see it as much, but I missed all the shameless flirting or the jokes and tenderness between them. I also wanted more parabatai moments between Alec and Jace because I missed seeing their camaraderie and partnership.

Magnus and Alec’s focus was on Max. My heart burst when Alec and Magnus returned home to their baby boy. You could tell how much they valued and missed Max’s playfulness and love. I also laughed at how obvious it was that Kadir and Maryse struggled to take care of Max; They said they were fine but had a black eye and a broken arm or something 😂. Yea, they were definitely fine

But there was this one moment when Magnus didn’t want to touch Max or hold him because he was scared that he wasn’t a good person to do so. I think about the story/flashback we saw of Magnus talking to Catarina after she lost her son.

“So for life seems to me to be a matter of choosing love over and over and even knowing that it makes you vulnerable, that it might hurt you later. Or even sooner. You just have no choice. You choose to love or you choose to live in an empty world with no one there but you. And that seems like a truly terrible way to spend eternity.”

(pg. 347)

Catarina and Tessa had probably experienced seeing their children pass because they were immortal. It could imagine the pain and heartache they would feel to continue on without their kids. That has to be one of the toughest things. But also, as I said many times in other blog posts, love comes with pain—but it’s because if we love someone or something, it is natural that it feels painful when something happens. But it is better to choose love rather than to be truly alone because that is sadder than loving and losing than to not have loved at all. I agree with that because love is powerful and love does not need a future to still love someone—you carry that love with you forever.

So when Magnus didn’t want to touch Max, it made me think about how much he also changed because he didn’t want to be like his father. He also didn’t want to think about losing Max one day and being alone and in a dark place (but wasn’t Max also a warlock?). But I understood Magnus’s fear because it meant he loved Max and wanted more for him—the best for him.

“This was painful and beautiful and terrible and perfect.”

(pg. 354)

I think that’s what parenting can feel like sometimes, but Magnus and Alec were doing an amazing job.

“It feels so different now, with Max. My responsibility to him is so huge, so much bigger than any responsibility I’ve ever felt before.”

(pg. 358)

I feel like that’s what most parents also feel like—their child and family became their sole focus and their greatest venture yet. It’s scary, it can be messy, but it’s beautiful and perfect in its own little way. I loved how Magnus and Alec created this home for Max, a loving and magical home.

“Magnus lifted his son up high. Then he tossed Max into the air in a shower of iridescent blue sparks and watched him laugh, perfectly trusting that when he came down, his father would catch him.”

I loved loved loved that.

What a wholesome moment 🥺💜.

The epilogue was freaking bonkers.

Apparently, Sammael was in a random place beyond place and he gathered the big nine—the big nine elders curses. They felt like some cult mob gang playing poker or chess on their table. There’s this metaphor Cassandra Clare has used in multiple books now, but it’s how the nine elder curses play with Shadowhunters like pieces on a chess board.

“One thing to remember about Princes of [heck], and archangels too: they’re always playing nine-dimensional chess with worlds as their toys. Just assume the worst.”

(pg. 214)

I swear this metaphor showed up in TDA and The Ghosts of the Shadow Market. There was big foreboding energy.

You know, out of all the things Sammael learned, I found it comical that he was inspired by the Shadowhunters to work as a team. I mean, smart, scary, but kind of funny. Sammael really said, “Team work, makes the dream work.” It was daunting to see Belial and Leviathan there, knowing what went down in TLH. The Last Hours were centuries ago, so Belial and Leviathan haven’t been around during TMI or TDA, so were they going to make a comeback in TWP because they were planning this great big take over with all the elder curses working together? Were they banding together? If so, WE ARE IN FOR A RIDE in TWP. I don’t even know what to say but oh heck. Oh heck is right.

That’s crazy.

Tessa’s father is Belial and Magnus’s father is As. I don’t see this going well for them because they might Tessa’s father is Belial and Magnus’s father is As. I don’t see this going well for them because they might have to confront their parents or they might turn on some power or something—traces of the thorn power? Was the thorn ever destroyed? I don’t know.

But also, the snark was strong.

I could not.

I don’t know what is going to do down. For Simon’s sake, let’s. not go to heck a third time. Freak, I feel like in TWP, he just might 🤪. Ah poor thing.

My guess for the next book is that Shinyun the Spider is going to show up and wreck unnecessary havoc because that’s what she’s famous for. Maybe we’ll get more of Max and Raphael (baby 2), I don’t know. I want more Clary, Jace, Izzy, and Simon, but I’m thinking maybe we’re going to get TDA characters instead, which I’m fine with because they’re cool too. I’m thinking we’re going to learn more about the Great Nine working together, and maybe the Elder’s Curses working together. Oh, that means we’ll see more Tessa. Heck, I want to see more warlocks band together. I’m also thinking there’s going to be lots of portal travel, humor, and sass. I think Magnus is going to be faced with a big decision that’s going to make him choose something and this will lead nicely into TWP. I also feel like maybe we’ll see some TWP foreboding or something in this next book. I’m curious. I also hope we see Tian. I just hope no one passes away. That’s my only wish. Gosh knows I won’t be happy if someone does.

My far fetchMy far-fetched idea is that they will ask Shinyun for help because she became a Greater thing and they could use her to battle the 9 Greater’s because gosh knows she’ll be petty if they didn’t meet with her. Or hey, she’ll probably be doing her own thing—-her own terrible thing.

I can’t wait for the next book.

Cassandra Clare spoiled us though with not only an epilogue, but antoher end chapter.

I loved the literal Jessa dream wedding 🥺💜.

My heart literally melted at the fact that they got married on Blackfriars Bridge 😩!!! Of course they would.

But what tore me up was when Magnus talked about feeling Will’s presence there 😭. Magnus said how he felt a breeze blowing almost like it was Will because he knew Will had passed on to another life because there was no anger or bitterness in his heart. It was almost like he was sending his approval and love for Jem and Tessa, which I loved.

There is no greater love story than Tessa, Will, and Jem and that’s a fact.

I just loved that everyone was there and how casual it was, but still as meaningful and sweet. I wanted to hear their vows!!! We couldn’t have a proper wedding without their proper vows. I was sad. We didn’t get the whole mushy wedding details and vows, and I would like an actual wedding one day for them, but I liked the dream wedding. 

Some other things I wanted to know more about were the demons from Yanluo’s world, where they were stuck in Diyu still? Are we going to see Diyu in the future? What about Pen Fang? Probably.

Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? 

What did you think of the book? Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕

Where is an Institute or place you would like to see in this Shadowhunter world?

I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.

And as always, with love,

Rating

4.93 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: I loved loved loved how we had our original cast of characters go on another adventure we get to see! I also loved how much I could feel them changed from the people they were when we first me them. For Malec, I appreciated the focus of how being fathers impacted their focus and responsibilities.

Plot: In the great words of Simon Lovelace, “Might as well, what’s one more he** dimension.” What a fun time full of sass, action, love, and angst.

Writing: Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu were some other planet with the humor and the plot and I was living for it 💜

Romance: Sizzy, Clace, Malec, Jessa/Wessa, all in one book is like the grand quartet of romance

Action: Never a dull moment. Heck, we went to he** 😅