Hi friends. Before I get fully into this review, I’m going to answer the question that must come every time we talk about the Shadowhunter universe:
Can I read this book without having read 50 other Shadowhunter books?
No. But also yes.
Hear me out.
I’ve only read The Mortal Instruments and I had no problems following this. It gave me enough information from the books I’d missed that at no point was I confused. HOWEVER. I also got pretty major spoilers for Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. So if you’re not bothered about spoilers, I think TMI and Red Scrolls of Magic is about all the foundation you need for reading this. If you are worried about spoilers, you should definitely have read TMI, The Infernal Devices, The Bane Chronicles, and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy before picking this up, OR reading this review.
The Plot
The Lost Book of the White takes place three or four years after we left Magnus and Alec basking in their new relationship in The Red Scrolls of Magic. They are now living together with their adorable (blue. He’s BLUE) warlock son, Max. But while life may be good, in the Shadow World it is never simple.
One night, two old acquaintances break into their apartment to steal the Book of the White, an ancient spell book containing many wonders, including a spell that will weaken the wards around Earth enough for one of the Princes of Hell to sneak through… In order to get it back – and stop actual hell breaking out in the world – Alec, Magnus, and their friends will have to take an impromptu trip to Shanghai, leaving Max and his… educational… collection of picture books in the capable hands of Alec’s mother, Maryse. They also have to save Magnus from a stab wound caused by a magical Norse thorn, which is not only affecting his magic, but will eventually consume and destroy him, unless he makes a deal with the literal devil. All in a days work for our favourite fantastical duo.
The Writing
Look, the writing in this series is… not exceptional. It’s not bad. It just leaves something to be desired for me. It felt overly simple at times, and it also has quite a conversational tone, which is fine most of the time, but in the more serious moments it felt at odds with the circumstances. Additionally, in places it felt more like a first or second draft than a finished work that’s been through multiple rounds of edits.
The Characters
I’ve never made any secret of the fact that I absolutely adore Alec and Magnus. I love them by themselves. I love them even more together. So I’ve been thrilled by the two whole books I’ve had where the focus has been 95% them! It’s difficult to say the characters developed much, because this book takes place within an established timeline, so we’ve already seen the characters develop beyond where they are now. That being said, I did feel like I got to know Magnus and Alec even better than I already did, because we got to focus in on them and their innermost thoughts and feelings, like I haven’t seen before.
There are a couple of new characters, but honestly, none of them made enough of an impression on me to be mentioned.
Atmosphere and World-Building
I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Shanghai. It was intriguing to see behind the doors of another Institute, specially in a non-Western country where the culture is so different. It was also interesting to see the way the Clave politics we’re used to seeing in New York affects other places. In some ways, things are very different over there. In others, they are so much the same.
So what do we think?
Honestly, this series does feel incredibly fan-servicey. Malec is a beloved ship throughout the fandom, and people have wanted a stronger focus on them for years.
(It’s me. I’m people.)
These books feel like a response to that. While the plot in The Lost Book of the White feels slightly more intentional than that of The Red Scrolls of Magic, the series still doesn’t feel entirely necessary. It feels like a gift for Malec fans. A 400 page fluff-fic with some plot sprinkled in to keep things interesting.
That being said, this book – and its predecessor – brought me incomprehensible amounts of joy. They’re not fantastic. But they made me fantastically happy. And given the year we’ve just had, that’s really all I’m asking for.
4 out of 5 magical arrows to my precious babies and their exciting adventure.
Would not recommend: if you’re a high fantasy fan deciding if they should dip their toe into the Shadowhunter universe.
Would recommend: if you compulsively stay up until 2AM reading domestic Malec fics.
Thank you for reading, friends. Let me know in the comments who your favourite member of the Shadowhunter universe is!
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Buy The Lost Book of the White here. – This is an affiliate link, and if you purchase using it, I will receive a small commission.
Find my other book reviews here.
Big thank you to the lovely folks at Jonathan Ball Publishers for gifting this to me! All opinions are my own.
