The Red Scrolls of Magic By Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu Book Review
“Love changes the world. You cannot lose that love, no matter how long you live, I think. Trust love. Trust him.”
(pg 334)
About
Authors: Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Series: Elders Curses Book 1
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Other books by Cassandra Clare
Synopsis
All Magnus Bane wanted was a vacation—a lavish trip across Europe with Alec Lightwood, the Shadowhunter who against all odds is finally his boyfriend. But as soon as the pair settles in Paris, an old friend arrives with news about a demon-worshipping cult called the Crimson Hand that is bent on causing chaos around the world. A cult that was apparently founded by Magnus himself. Years ago. As a joke.
Now Magnus and Alec must race across Europe to track down the Crimson Hand and its elusive new leader before the cult can cause any more damage. As if it wasn’t bad enough that their romantic getaway has been sidetracked, demons are now dogging their every step, and it is becoming harder to tell friend from foe. As their quest for answers becomes increasingly dire, Magnus and Alec will have to trust each other more than ever—even if it means revealing the secrets they’ve both been keeping.
Review
Spoilers Contained Below
(Contains some spoilers from Queen of Air and Darkness)
Dear Malec lovers,
Such an interesting and fun read if you absolutely love Malec or if you don’t, but if you don’t, you might want to see a doctor for that because how could you not love Malec? I’m just joking, you can ship whomever you want with whomever. Just know Malec is FOREVER! So sorry 😅
All jokes aside, I really enjoyed this book in how it gives you insight as to how Alec and Magnus actually fell in love. This series takes place after City of Glass when they defeated Valentine, so Magnus and Alec decided to take a much needed vacation in Europe to relax and get to know each other. I found it really cute how their vacation doesn’t become a vacation when old secrets come to life. But can we take a moment to appreciate how hard they tried to enjoy their vacation. I loved how Magnus took them to Paris, the City of Love because where else would you go when you’re trying to woo a lover? I loved how he planned this whole hot air balloon date and how much effort and magic Magnus put in to make sure that Alec had a good time.
Something I just really appreciated all throughout this book was the vulnerability and care that Magnus and Alec had for each other. I truly think you cannot have a better couple (Clace gives them a run for their money for sure) than Malec. Magnus is very raw in this book in the tenderness he shows for Alec. It’s just the sweetest because he’s an eternal warlock who’s done, seen, and felt it all, but with Alec, it felt like everything for the first time and it was truly magical in the way they connected and knew each other. I loved how Alec brought out Magnus’s caring and vulnerable side as Magnus brings out Alec’s softer and more open self. I also really liked how Magnus doesn’t want to push Alec into anything he wasn’t ready for. I loved how he took it nice and slow and was very cautious about everything. He also omitted from telling Alec who his dad was because he wanted to protect him, which I get, but Alec surely will find out later.
They are also very protective over each other, which I LOVE. I mean get you a mans who protects you and who will never let go 😉 (if you know you know). They had this whole demon fight thing that interrupted their romantic hot air balloon ride and their train ride. On the train Magnus got taken by some octopus demon and was dangling off the train, but Alec, oh so strong Alec, was able to save Magnus.
So their vacation was no longer relaxing to say the least. Tessa showed up when things were getting hot and heavy with Magnus and Alec because karma sucks and I just found it completely funny how she was like, “Well, reminds me of the time you walked in on me,” or something like that. She tells Magnus all about this Crimson Cult that apparently he started as a joke a long time ago. He doesn’t have any recollection of starting a cult, but he faintly thinks he did or that someone stole his memories of it. To be honest, I think the whole memory wiping thing with the cult still is a bit unclear as who wiped it? Was it his dad or the new Cult leader? I don’t know. For being a powerful warlock, you think he would remember.
But main lesson from this book: don’t start a joke cult by any means necessary.
Magnus and Alec’s plans change to revolve around finding the cult leader and taking them down as they’ve been trying to raise greater demons by killing a lot of Downworlders. Along the way, they meet mysterious Shinyun. I honestly thought nothing of Shinyun. I just thought she was a reserved, shattered fierce warlock because it seemed fitting for the characteristics of a warlock and how Magnus found himself relating to her on a personal level. Shinyun has been through a lot and has even been in the Crimson hand, but they took away her family and her husband to be, so she wants to take them down as much as Magnus and Alec. So she checked out fine with me.
So when it was revealed that she was the new Crimson Hand leader!!!!!!
I WAS FLIPPED like a house!!!!!
HOW COULD SHE!?
I actually thought for one second it was Barnabas Hale because of how shady he was and is from the Dark Artifices books. One moment I thought it was Malcom Fade too. Which brings me to how I absolutely loved seeing all the characters we have met in this book and kind of seeing what they were doing before everything. We saw Johnny Rook in Paris I think at the Shadowhunter market and he gave Magnus some insight as to the Crimson Hand leader in exchange for some ointment. Then we see him later with who we all know and hate: Malcom Fade who just became the High Warlock of LA at the time. It’s so weird to read how he was before everything considering all that he’s done. I loved how there were the little tidbits about Malcolm Fade with how he said “He would never love again,” or how he would sing this sad ocean song during one part. We all know who he was talking about 😅
But I also liked how Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu put that Johnny Rook and Malcolm Fade relationship thing in there because it kind of clues in as to how their working relationship started. Malcom also seemed very grandeur and a little bit shady towards Barnabas Hale because he stole his mansion for the “We Helped Take Down Valentine Party.” In the Dark Artifices we really see Barnabas Hale as a grumpy Shadowmarket top mane person, so to kind of understand the backstory of how he lost the High Warlock position to Malcom Fade also showed that feud there. We also had Hypatia Vex who was in the Dark Artifices as well.
But my favorite people that we got to see were Aline and Helen. Aline saw Alec one day at a Cafe before going to the institute and meeting Helen. Helen was at the Rome Institute because she was on her travel year. Shadowhutner travel years seem so fun. I would love to read about Julian and Emma’s travel year or maybe Jace, Izzy, or Alec’s too. Besides that, I loved how Aline gives Helen th once over and falls in love instantly with her. Helen seemed so strong and dedicated to the Shadowhunter world from this part in her life. In the Dark Artifices we see her as softer and kind of scared in the way she wanted to reconnect with her siblings and how she didn’t know much about the Shadowhunter world after being on an island for so many months. So it was refreshing to see Helen in action. And Aline in action too—-with her flirting.
Aline’s every bit as blunt as she was in the Dark Artifices and Aline knows what she wants. You know who also was a big flirt? That Leon guy who made a pass at Magnus and Alec because he flirts with everyone. Can’t blame a guy for trying, but if he tried flirting with Izzy, she’d slap him upside the head.
Speaking of Izzy, I also loved the calls between her and Alec. I loved how she would ask him about his love life and how Alec would try to evade her questions. Then Jace and Izzy fought over the phone and Alec asked Jace for some advice about how to give the signal and everything and it was just hilarious 😂 If Shadowhutning doesn’t work out for Jace, he can become a dating expert for sure (not really). After Jace’s not-so-sound advice, he decided to ask Izzy for help and I just loved how trusting and loving he is with his sister. I loved the part where he was like when he was coming out, it was hard, but he knew that his sister would love him regardless and how he trusted her more than anyone. I love a brother sister relationship and none is as strong as theirs. Compared to Clary and Johnathan, we can say pretty much yup!
I found it funny when Izzy found the Red Scrolls of Magic files and sent it over to them after they found the Red Scrolls book in the cultish chamber. I forgot to mention someone else we saw again during this book: Raphael Santiago!! My Vampire!! You know there was just something very reserved and more snarky than usual about Raphael in this book. I always remembered him as being snarky and a little bit fierce, but there was something just off about him more so than usual. I don’t know if it’s because he lost his best friend, Ragnor Fell, or I remembered incorrectly, but I don’t know. What broke my heart a bit was how Alec passed by him in the hall and how Raphael was texting a person named RF who never responded. He kept sending all these messages knowing he wasn’t going to hear back because he missed his friend 😢. Poor Raphael.
I mean, POOOR RAPHAEL!!!
But I just loved seeing him again because truly his character will always live on in good memories.
They find more clues as to the Crimson Hands whereabouts so they travel to Italy where they try to get closer to discovering the truth. Then comes the part where Shinyun split Alec and Magnus up. Magnus was supposed to stay at the hotel while Alec got insider information at the Rome Institute. That gave Shinyun some time to take Magus to a spa for some “insider information” she had, and what do you know? She poisoned him to weaken his powers all the while setting up Alec to meet at this location where he would get ambushed.
And to think for one second I felt sorry for this girl. There was this moment when they went “camping” after driving a lot though Italy and Magnus and Alec were talking about some pretty vulnerable things from his past and it was very cute. Shinyun happened to overhear what they were talking about and opened up to Magnus about her dark past and how the Crimson Hand saved her and gave her something to believe and trust in: Magnus. It was kind of a touching moment because you could just feel how hurt and pained Shinyun was and how pained Magnus felt for her. He understood too well the hardships that came from being a warlock child and knew that he started that cult to give people like Shinyun something they could belong to and feel loved.
As much as the cult was a joke, I also think it connected people, you know? Like when you join a club of people who have similar interests in you, you do it because you want to connect with people like you. So in a way a cult is like a worse club.
When Magnus woke up, Shinyun spoke her great plan and ideals to him as all villains do because all villains want to be understood and heard. And once in a pentagram thing, Magnus gets this old vision of how he started his cult with Ragnor Fell and what happened and how he started the club as the “Great Poison” to bond people. He used his father, Asmodeus, as the picture image of who they worshipped.
Magnus’s relationship with his father and his family and general was very interesting to read about. You never really know much about Magnus’s past from any of the Mortal Instruments, the Dark Artifices, or the Infernal Devices series, but you really get a good glimpse of how hard Magnus had it. He had a stepfather who he detested and who he killed once he tried to drown him. Magnus loved his mother, but she hung herself in this barn on this island that he grew up on and tried so hard to forget. I don’t think Magnus was a bad kid for killing his father who tried to drown him because he was only saving himself, but in that moment, Asmodeus gave Magnus power to hurt his stepfather and save himself. In that moment, Asmodeus told Magnus to go live and make himself worthy because he would come back one day and claim him. Asmodeus and all the other greater demons all had kids—-some glorious and some not. But Magnus was one of the most glorious of them all. All these greater demon kids were called the Eldest Curses because they came from the greatest curses and most powerful dark sources of magic, which makes a lot of sense as to why they’re called the elder curses.
Asmodeus is there in the pentagram with Shinyun and Magnus as his way of returning and claiming Magnus as he promised all those years ago. He said that he saved Magnus and by Magnus using his powers, he chose him. Asmodeus tells Magnus to sacrifice Shinyun, but Magnus has changed and he doesn’t want to be like his father and to succumb to the darkness—-he doesn’t want to be an “Eldest Curse.”
The whole many Magnus’s and Shinyun thing that Alec saw when he rushed with Aline and Helen to save Magnus was beyond crazy. I felt stressed for him! I didn’t know how Alec was going to find the right Magnus. Magnus was about to be stabbed by Shinyun, which can i mention I really appreciated the writing style in how you get one side of the story from what’s happening to Alec and what’s happening to Magnus, it really just helped move the story along. Anyway, I held my breath because they couldn’t kill MAGNUS!
And like Cupid’s arrow, Alec let his arrow fly and hit Shinuyn in her stabbing arm and Magnus was able to save himself. Later when they talked about how Alec knew that that was the real Magnus, OOOOH MY HEART just swelled!!!
“‘Before we were together,’ he said, “I was angry a lot, and I hurt people because I was in pain. Being kind when you’re in pain—–it’s hard. Most people struggle to do it at the best of times. The demon who cast that spell couldn’t’ imagine it. But among all those identical figures, there was one person who hesitated to hurt somebody, even at the moment of utmost horror. That had to be you.”
(pg 340)
Alec knew that that was the right Magnus because there were so many versions all battling and the real Magnus was the only version that didn’t weird a weapon but dropped it as Shinyun hovered over him ready to hurt him. The real Magnus is kind, caring, and helpful and wouldn’t purposefully do harm to someone. And I’m just all gushy because they’re whole relationship in one word is: empowering. They empower each other to be their best versions. I remembered reading City of Bones and liking Alec, but thinking he was very reserved and taut like a bow string. But then I kind of attributed his persona to having a crush on Jace and not liking Clary, but it was just hard for Alec growing up as gay in a world that never truly accepted it. And it made him hurt and angry because he was in pain. And that anger and hurt was reflected to everyone in his life—-why he was so reserved and taut—–because he was scared of what others would think of him and he didn’t want to give them a reason to think less. And then for Magnus he had this horrible childhood, but yet he’s such a good person with a big heart. I think I just forget how much Magnus does sometimes. He’s a High Warlock and has so much power and he could use it for bad or to laze around all day, but when he gets called upon to help anyone or heal people, he does it with good natured snark, but he does it anyway because he cares. And combining both of them together and having them find that love is just beautiful because they were both pained and angered for so long by different experiences. But together they found light and love and learned to complement each other in the best way. They chose kindness instead of hurt and it’s just such a beautiful thing when love is that empowering.
I just LOVE LOVE LOVE Magnus’s caring heart and coupled with Alec’s tender, soft heart equals recipe for perfection 💙
There was also this part where Magnus was dangling, yet again over an abyss and Alec was told to let go and let Magnus fall and I was like, NO NO NO you do not let him fall. Good for Alec for holding on and that Aline and Helen came along to help Alec pull Magnus away from the abyss. Then when Magnus was safe, he turned to Alec and was like:
“‘Alexander,’ Magnus whispered. “I told you not to hold on.”
(pg 313)
And then Alec was like:
“I would never let you go.”
(pg 314)
Is your heart melting or is mine? 😆
Definitely mines 💙
Get you a man who will hold onto you and save you from falling off a train and into an abyss.
After the battle, they needed to pin the scene as the Crimson Hand leader, so they pinned that one guy Bernard who was a bit overly dramatic with everything, but hey he made everyone’s jobs easier. The end scene with Aline and Helen was beyond cute. I loved how you could see more of the makings of their relationship and how they both flirted and changed their plans to stay with each other and get to know one another. It’s nice to know that those changes in plans were not wasted. They make a good couple. I also liked how they talked about the law and how they wanted to be the ones to change it someday. Going with everything that happened in Queen of Air and Darkness——the Cold Peace and the Dearborn’s registration/reign—– it kind of showed how Alec and everyone thought about how wrong the rules of the Clave were before anything happened. It gave you a little insight as to how Alec and everyone knew that they’re needed to be changed and that they wanted to be the change. So when Alec becomes Counsel in Queen of Air and Darkness it just seemed fitting after everything they’ve fought for and talked about with how the law isn’t always right. I also liked how Helen and Aline agreed with Alec on that too. I also liked how they were like, “please forget we met,” and things like that so they could meet formally at a different period in time. It’s funny because now I want to go back to the Dark Artifices and read when Alec saw Aline and Helen and to see his reaction because he knew them way back when.
I think Alec has a closer relationship to them than most people know.
Then Alec made one of the DUMBEST things I think Alec could ever do. I also kind of think it wasn’t dumb because he had such a compassionate heart, something he learned from Magnus. But did he really, did he reallllly have to let a murderer cult crazy person go?!!!??? Shinyun was literally tied up to a pole waiting to be taken into custody and then you had to go and set her free “accidentally.” I tsked tsked the whole time. That decision would come to bite him in the butt one day.
Besides that, the whole ending was sweet when they went back to the New York Institute and created their own little vacation in the comfort of Magnus’s home. I liked how they took all these funny exotic pictures against a backdrop so they could send to Isabelle and the others back “home.” When doing their impromptu photo shoot, I also liked how they danced and played music with each other. Their conversation at the end was also very fun because they talked about their dark past and how that doesn’t stop them from liking each other. I loved the part when Alec said:
“I’ve never loved anybody like this before.”
(pg 342)
I kid you not, my love for Malec continues to grow each day . . . or at least each time Cassandra Clare writes about them 🙈
Then they did some fun things and laid together. The last part of their section was beyond sweet too. Magnus had a wandering heart going to so many different places and how he was home now with Alec and felt so happy and at rest. Home was a place and was a person. I loved that.
Then you know, it wouldn’t be a Cassandra Clare book without a cliffhanger.
Alec’s decision decided to bite him in the butt much sooner. Shinyun ported to Korea or her homeland to this cellar thing and there’s this cage. In said cage is a free-skinned warlock who taunts her with pride because he knew Magnus was going to beat her.
You know who that warlock was?
Ragnor FREAKING Fell.
Everybody thought he was dead.
But he was alive!!!
Of course, I knew that, you knew that, but I always wondered where was Ragnor in that time he was hiding. Did he fake his death? To be honest, I truly forgot how his whole “death” happened? Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve read the Mortal Instruments but how did he end up in the clutches of Shinyun?
But it kind of explains where he was during this whole time people did think he wasn’t alive.
I’m excited to see more of Aline and Helen’s relationship as well as Magnus and Alec’s. I’m excited to see what Shinyun has in store and how Ragnor Fell came back to the Shadowhunter world and “rose from the dead.” I’m curious if Barnabas Hale, Johnny Rook, or Malcom Fade will make another reappearance in this series. I think Ragnor and Magnus are going to reunite and it’s going to be sweet because they did start this joke cult together. Hopefully, Raphael and Ragnor reunited before you know, Raphael . . .
If you read this book, what was your favorite or least favorite part? Were you surprised by Shinyun’s double demeanor? What are you looking forward to with the rest of this series? Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕
I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this! 😊
And as always, with love,
Rating
4.46 Full Bloom Flower
Characters: Loved getting to know more about old characters, seeing new characters in the past, but not really a fan of the new characters (I’m pointing to you Shinyun).
Plot: Twists, turns, travel, and romance. What more could you want?
Writing: I loved the different viewpoints you get from Alec and Magnus because it really helped move the story along in the best way. Also enjoyed how Cassandra Clare’s writing style blended nicely with Wesley Chu’s.
Romance: If you didn’t like Malec already, you will fall in love with them with this book
Action: The fighting sequences were just the right amount not to be overpowering