The Red Scrolls of Magic (The Eldest Curses #1)

**Minor spoilers for The Mortal Instruments and The Dark Artifices ahead.** Well kids, its finally happened. After a decade of wanting Alec and Magnus in the spotlight, our prayers have FINALLY BEEN ANSWERED. Malec has been my OTP from the moment I read City of Bones a decade ago (sorry Jace and Clary, I love you but) and now theyre FINALLY getting their moment. This was the first LGBTQ+ relationship I ever read about as a teen and I cant tell you how amazing it was to see it highlighted so spectacularly in this novel. Im not gonna lie, it took me a hot minute to get into this book. It was SUPER weird to shift my mindset back in the shadowhunter timeline to the middle of The Mortal Instruments. Both Magnus and Alec were so unsure and hesitant with each other and it was just so odd! Im so used to the current Malec being confident and strong in their relationship. I mean, they have two kids and just got married for god sakes. For the first several chapters, I had to remind myself of the events in City of Glass and remember they had literally JUST gotten together when this took place. HOWEVER. Once it gets going it was was easy to work out the kinks and get into the story. It was kind of like reading a little treasure hunt, picking out the things or people that eventually play a bigger part in this universe down the road. I absolutely LOVED all of the cameos and I think Raphael was my favorite. He is literally me at any and all social gatherings. Seriously, that boy is a #MOOD. And we get to see how Aline and Helen meet!!! Aline became one of my favorite lady shadowhunters during Queen of Air and Darkness and it was great seeing their relationship up close and personal. And Malec guys. Oh my god. MALEC. I cant tell you how completely and utterly delightful it was to read about them. Soooooooooo many adorable moments. The arcs their characters AND relationship go through is awesome and I loved watching the transformation as they learned to trust one another. Its also really interesting because this book adds a layer of complexity to their relationship that wasnt there in the last three books of The Mortal Instruments. It all happened so quick during those novels and as devastated as I was over their break up in City of Lost Souls, they had only been dating a few months. It didnt seem like THAT big a deal in the grand scheme of things. But after reading this, its obvious that they were a lot closer and more in love than I realized. Alec seemed so confident and sure of their relationship by the end of this book that its difficult to match it with who he becomes later on. Im super curious to see how the next two books play out in this series. FINAL WORD This book is FREAKING ADORABLE AND YOULL LOVE IT!! Malec is the best and I didnt think it was possible to love them any more, but HERE WE ARE. WOW.

I love Alec and Magnus, especially from the books. I have waited over a year to read this book…and the story just wasnt very good. As Ive never been a fan of CCs writing style but a huge fan of her storylines and characters, I had reasonable expectations. Let me say that many of the *key* early release excerpts from the book are highly altered or not there at all, and the promised their first time is exceedingly disappointing on many levels. If you love these characters…go watch the TV series, those writers know how to tell a love story. Thank you CC for giving us these amazing character, but I have to sadly say, fan fiction has delivered better, more satisfying stories about Alec and Magnus. Ill read the next book, but I wont anticipate it with the fire I did this one. Oh well.

It was a surprisingly good story. I have read one of CC\’s books prior to this one and it was an anthology of Magnus, which counts doesn\’t it? LOL And that was compiled with other writers. I felt familiar enough. I was apprehensive. I like the TV Series and having done the comparisons between book and show, felt and still feel the show is better. This book is about my two favorites (Magnus and Alec) and I decided I would roll with it and hope for the best. They are written well for a mystery sort of romp. At least their love for each other is showcased and that was a sweet thing. The general story was good. I liked the mystery and the solving of the problem. It was able incorporate the characters backgrounds from previous books. I could tell it was \”in the past\” but that was not a detraction, it was a more lets fill in some things. The slow start hurt all of the introspection for far too many chapters. It\’s boring from both characters point of view. I understand the uncertainty of new romances but it was tedious. Once the story moved beyond that and the characters were actually were doing things it picked up and was mildly entertaining. This is the first time malec (their ship name) book. There had to have been a far better fade to black type scene than the one described in this book. What a waste. It was handled poorly all around. It was probably one of the most unromantic things I\’ve read in a long time. You can lead to ideology, give it spirit and yet still fade to black. All that was needed was detail subtly. Its doable. I don\’t need graphic detail but give the mind a place to roam. It reminds me of the TV show when they cheated the fans and had to do a flashback to make it right. The TV show made it right. I won\’t wait for the next installment excitedly and its not because of the characters. It\’s because the writers lost me. While I\’m glad there is no cliff hanger, and will read the next installment, I\’m not going to care about release dates.

I know warlocks and Shadowhunters are very different, and there is a divide between your worlds that can be hard to cross. But as someone once said to me, the right man will not care. You can build a bridge over the divide and find each other. Once again, Ive really struggled with another of Cassandra Clares co-authored books. The plot dragged and didnt really go anywhere, the narrative often felt childish and flat and ultimately the book just didnt add anything to the wider series. The Red Scrolls of Magic is the first book in a new spin off series featuring Magnus and Alec. I thought this would be great – I love both characters – and this would be their first adventure on a holiday together. Magnuss humour and adoration for Alec, combined with Alecs nervous first step into a relationship, should have made for a really fun read, but even the usual humour was lacking. The holiday goes from bad to worse as Magnus and Alec notice the downworlder footprint is much larger in Paris and Venice than it really should be. Something is clearly going on. They quickly learn, after their third inconvenient demon attack, that The Crimson Hand, a fake cult set up by Magnus years ago as a joke, is now a serious cult amassing human sacrifices for a Greater Demon, all in the name of their leader. People are dead because of Magnuss joke and the pair are determined to stop the murders and clear Magnuss name. The concept to me felt boring, one dimensional and often childish, although admittedly something stupid Magnus might do! I liked that the plot featured a couple of cameos significant to Magnuss life, such as Raphael, Ragnor and Catarina (or Juliette, the werewolf girl featured in the Ghosts of the Shadow Market Anthology) but none of these actually FELT significant, rather they were just names dropped for effect. I did however appreciate the various nods to Tessa who helps Magnus bridge the shadowhunter-warlock divide, and to Helen and Alines initial meeting; its genuinely interesting to see more of how their romance developed. The writing is really disappointing in this book. The dialogue is dry and not compelling at all, in stark contrast to her usual work. It feels entirely underdeveloped and rushed. The plot drags along at a mediocre pace, with various sub-plots I just didnt care about because it was so one dimensional, and the characters have even lost some of what makes them interesting. Maybe Alec and Magnus are just better when theyre amongst their friends, or maybe its a co-authoring problem, but this book really did absolutely nothing for me or for the series as far as I can tell.

Many would say that this book is aimed at a young teen audience, but I genuinely believe any adult will enjoy this. If you are a fan of Malec, THIS BOOK WILL MAKE YOU THIRST FOR MORE! I could not get enough of it. The way the passion between the two was written, was just stunning. The story overall was amazing, thrilling and kept me at the edge of my seat numerous times. Totally hoping that there will be a second book! I need more Malec like this! If you are having second thoughts about buying this, don\’t. Just buy it! it will not disapoint!

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