The Red Scrolls of Magic is a step back in the timeline of the Shadowhunter world, taking place a short while after City of Glass. It reveals the details of the mysterious European vacation Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood took in between City of Glass and City of Fallen Angels. Full of romance, danger, and of course demons, The Red Scrolls shines a new light on Downworlders, the European Shadowhunters, and Magnus and Alec’s relationship.

When I heard about this new series, I was endlessly excited. Magnus Bane is hands down my favorite character in all of the Shadowhunter books, maybe even of all books ever. And Malec was one of my first ever true ships. And now there’s a whole series following him/them? It was my dream come true.

The first installment definitely lived up to my dreams. While I got off to a rocky start, as I had started with the audiobook of the book and ended up not liking how it made me feel about the characters and scenes, I ended up getting quickly hooked once I picked the book up physically. It was a short book, meaning a faster pace, and it was an easy book to get lost in. I very easily could have missed my stop while taking the train, and almost did!

It’s been a while since I’ve read the original series, so I can’t really tell how this novel compares to them in terms of focus (between plot and romance), but I felt this book balanced the plotline well with the romance. There was a lot of focus on Magnus and Alec and their new relationship, but I feel like that’s what a lot of readers of this book want, and it also just made sense in the context of the story. There’s a lot that Magnus and Alec are trying to figure out between them, as well as about themselves. It led to a quite emotional and romantic story, and I loved it.

The plot was also interesting by itself. I was worried it would be kind of a throwaway plot, as it’s being written into the past of this series, but I was worried for no reason. This book cleverly adds new insights into old events while also revealing information that might be impactful later on, all without making it feel like it came out of nowhere. I also loved how much more of the Downworlder experience we saw, as that’s something I’ve been wanting a long time.

I also felt that Clare did the gay relationship of Magnus and Alec justice without over-sexualizing or making it problematic. She mainly focused on their love for each other and how they navigated uncertainties, which is something that is relevant and relatable to a lot of people. She also focused a lot on the immortal vs. mortal issue, or shadowhunter vs. warlock issue, which was a purely fictional one, and therefore one she can draw from her own lore on. When it came to the sexual parts of their relationship, Clare didn’t go into too much detail nor focus on any acts themselves. This meant that Magnus and Alec weren’t sexualized purely for the audience, and the romance and desire felt intimate and meant for them, rather than the reader. It seemed to avoid the pitfalls of many other straight women trying to write gay relationships, though of course I am not the best judge of this and you should not take my word as the final say on the matter.

Overall this book just made me really, really happy, and anyone into Malec, Alec, or Magnus will definitely love this book. There’s just a lot to love about it.

I also wanted to mention the acknowledgments. It’s not something I generally review, but it almost felt like a part of the story. Clare gave some insight into Magnus and Alec and their creation as characters and as a couple, and what that meant for her career and the series. It was wonderfully interesting to read, and it definitely added to my opinion of the situation/characters.