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

Warning: Spoilers if you haven’t read The Mortal Instruments series.

The second book in The Eldest Curses trilogy focuses on Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane. The first book, The Red Scrolls of Magic, took place in between City of Glass and City of Fallen Angels when Alec and Magnus went on vacation following the war with Valentine. 

The Lost Book of the White is set in 2010, after City of Heavenly Fire. Alec and Magnus are settling into their Brooklyn apartment and getting used to being parents to Max, a Warlock toddler. It’s been awhile since they had seen Shinyun Jung, the dangerous warlock who ruined their European vacation by trying to summon a demon. 

The Crimson Hand has been defeated and so has Sebastian. But just when the couple gets comfortable, Shinyun and Ragnor Fell show up in the apartment one night asking for The Book of the White, a powerful spell book. Shinyun ends up stabbing Magnus before leaving with the book. He’s not in any pain, but there’s a glowing wound in his chest.

With the help of his boyfriend Alec and the rest of the gang, Magnus goes to Shanghai, China in hopes of stopping Shinyun once and for all, while saving himself. There is dangerous magic around every corner and the gang learns that the threat is a lot more terrifying than they initially thought. 

With another trip to a demon dimension and the addition of new shadowhunters, Magnus and Alec finally learn Shinyun’s endgame. But time is running out and they have to do whatever it takes before demons take over China. 

We’ve waited over a year for The Lost Book of the White. We loved catching up with fan favorites Clary, Jace, Isabelle and Simon, who didn’t make much of an appearance in the first book. Clary and Jace were our first ship from Clare so we always get excited to read about them. 

We also love that the shadowhunters and Magnus got to explore Shanghai. This was the first YA book that we’ve read set in China. Plus, we got to meet the Ke family, who are distantly related to Jem Carstairs. 

Clare and Chu had a lot of surprises in store for us. We don’t want to spoil too much, but there are some dark forces trying to take over Earth this time and they want revenge. 

Alec’s character development also improved. We were used to him always being the sensible one. It was good to see his impulsive side, especially when protecting his loved ones. Plus, we love Malec…we’ve shipped them from the beginning and like that book focuses on them, considering they were supporting characters in The Mortal Instruments. Magnus was the same old warlock we know and love. His fashion sense is impeccable, he’s witty and has more power than most others. We can’t wait to see him as a dad more.

Unfortunately, the book ended on quite the cliffhanger and there’s no official release date for book 3, The Black Volume of the Dead. We’ll have to wait to catch up with our favorite New Yorkers. This was the perfect read for shadowhunter fans. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️