Review: The Red Scrolls of Magic (The Eldest Curses #1) by Cassandra Clare

Goodreads rating: 4.22/5

My rating: 4/5

Synopsis: On a supposedly lavish and fun trip to Europe, Alec and Magnus find out about a cult that is wreaking havoc in the name of a greater demon. The cult is called 'The Crimson Hand' and the founder is rumoured to be Magnus Bane. Magnus remembers creating such a cult with his friend Ragnor Fell many years ago as a joke but that is the only memory he has of it. Every other memory related to it had been erased. Could Magnus be the cause of the death of several downworlders? As Alec and Magnus track down the current cult leader and put a stop to them, their relationship is put to the test as Magnus has a secret that could cost Alec his life if he were to find out about it.

As some of ya'll may know, one of my goals for 2020 is to read all of Cassandra Clare's published books, except the children's books of course. Maybe I should modify my goal to read all Shadowhunter novels instead, that would make more sense. Either way, I did not expect to be able to get my hands on a secondhand copy of this book so soon! There's this secondhand shop that I visit, it's called House of Prose, and after 2 months of cooping up at home because of the pandemic, I decided to visit the book store with my sister. To my surprise, I found this book. I literally did a double-take because they don't always have new books available. I was so happy I decided to go out that day, of all days. I've yet to find Chain of Gold, hopefully soon!

Anyhow, about this book! I was initially confused about where this story fell in the timeline. Thankfully, Cassandra Clare clarified this at the end of the book. Apparently, this story falls in between 'City of Fallen Angels', when Magnus and Alec are said to have gone on a vacation to Europe.

For those who miss a particular character that died at the hands of Sebastian Morgenstern, you'll be pleased by their appearance in this story. I was particularly happy about who the "old friend" mentioned in the book's official synopsis turned out to be. "She" is one of my favourite characters and I'm always happy to read about her. Some other shadowhunters make an appearance in the story as well and there's one that piqued my curiosity. There's a character named Leon Verlac and I kept wondering why that name was ringing some bells in my head. Turns out, Leon is Sebastian Verlac's cousin. I wonder if there's any significance to his introduction.

The story line was pretty simple and as some may say, a little underwhelming. It had a plot, one plot twist and a happy ending. I admit, I did not predict who the antagonist they were after would be but I think that's mostly because I did not actively make any guesses. There was honestly nothing complicated about the plot. I feel like the twists could have been wound tighter and the clues could have been made a little more difficult to find. Regardless, I'm a huge shadowhunter fan so I still enjoyed this book. I'm sorry, I'm biased.

As for the main characters, Magnus is another one of my favourite characters of the Shadowhunter world. I'm not particularly fond of Alec, probably because he's been overshadowed by Jace and his sister, Isabelle; so I'm glad that I get to know a little more about him in this story, particularly his romantic side. Alec had always been afraid to defy his father so I'm proud of how he's grown as a person, how he's learnt to embrace and love the person that he is. Thumbs up on the character development, C.C.! I'm particularly proud of how Alec's stood up for his love. Their cute relationship is thankfully not puke inducing. It, infact, makes me smile.

I can't wait for book two, I'm hoping it will be more exciting, plot wise. Would I recommend this? I would recommend any of Cassandra Clare's books! Like I said, I'm biased. #sorrynotsorry