The Lost Book of the White is a delightful dive back into the Shadowhunter universe. Filled with all the banter and friendship goals Shadowhunter fans have come to know and love, yet devoid of the melodrama that sometimes bogged down past Shadowhunter novels, The Lost Book of the White is a fantastic and fun read.
Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood just want some quiet time to relax with each other and their son, but being a warlock and shadowhunter, there is always an apocalypse or demon uprising on the horizon. When two past associates of Magnus break into his and Alec’s apartment to steal the Book of the White, things get out of hand quickly and soon Magnus and Alec find themselves heading to Shanghai, with Clary, Jace, Isabelle, and Simon in tow. But with Magnus’ magic acting up after being stabbed by a mysterious weapon during the break in, the team find themselves in a much more complicated situation than anticipated.
We’ve had novels in the Shadowhunter universe for over a decade at this point and while going into this read, I was a little worried I’d feel burnout, but I was pleasantly surprised to feel a flare of nostalgia and enjoyment with being back with these characters. Clare and Chu brought a sense of maturity to our group and lessened some of the melodrama that is prevalent in the core Shadowhunter books.
While The Lost Book of the White falls onto the Shadowhunter universe timeline in between large events that happen in other books, Clare and Chu were able to craft a story that balanced the knowledge lifelong Shadowhunter readers would already know, while keeping the story open for new readers. The fact that they were somehow able to get decades worth of history and inside jokes into this novel without clunky info dumps or confusion, is a feat that few authors can manage. New readers won’t feel left out and longtime readers will get the fun of catching up with past characters.
What really makes The Eldest Curses trilogy stand out is the focus on Magnus and Alec. In The Lost Book of the White, their relationship is firmly established, so instead of focusing on angst and melodrama, we can see these two fan favourites flourishing. Each moment of Magnus and Alec interacting is like a little hit of serotonin in these dark times of 2020. Their relationship is not always perfect, but if you ignore the whole warlock and heavenly blessed demon hunter thing, they are a deeply realistic couple.
Having the rest of the core Shadowhunter crew from The Mortal Instruments series worried me at first, but I was wrong to think they would overwhelm Magnus and Alec’s story. Clare and Chu kept Magnus and Alec in the forefront, but Clary, Jace, Isabelle, and Simon brought their signature snark and friendship to round out the story. And I’ll say it again, but since relationships are already established, we get the fun and silly side of everyone without getting bogged down in angst. That’s not to say there isn’t drama in this story, it just isn’t so overloaded that it becomes the driving force of the plot.
Where The Lost Book of the White falters is its middle book syndrome. This story is fun and action-packed, and made me smile a lot…but it still kinda felt like a transition into the end game of this trilogy. Everything that happened in this book felt like set up to bigger and badder plots for the next book. All the set up was great fun, but it was set up nonetheless.
In looking at every Shadowhunter story I’ve ever read, I think this is the one that was the most fun to read. And while that is strictly a personal opinion, I think a lot of other readers may feel the same about this Magnus and Alec focused trilogy and specifically about this book. If you are looking for a book that has action, fantastic atmosphere, and a cast of characters that will quickly feel like the best friends you ever could have asked for, then I highly recommend The Lost Book of the White. 2020 being what it is, we could all use a book that makes us smile.
The Lost Book of the White is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like you local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
From #1 New York Times bestselling authors Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu comes the second book in the Eldest Curses series and a thrilling new adventure for High Warlock Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood, for whom a death-defying mission into the heart of evil is not just a job, it’s also a romantic getaway. The Lost Book of the White is a Shadowhunters novel.
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?
