The Lost Book of White (my thoughts)

I am writing this just after finishing the book, so if I seem a little out of it them I'm still somewhere in Diyu (well Shanghai is better than Diyu so maybe Shanghai). Excellent is all I can say about this book. The whole group- Jace, Clary, Isabella, Simon, Alec and Magnus reunited made this book hell lot of more fun (pun intended). And I was so not ready for the bonus scene about Jem and Tessa at the end. Okay so let's just get where I tell you what happened and what I liked about it because I think I'm kind of fangirling. 

So, first of all, isn't Max a cutie. It was fun watching how Maryse and Kadir were trying so hard to handle that baby. So back to the real story, no more fangirling, we get to know that Ragnor Fell was never actually dead and he faked his death to get away from Samael, Father of Demons Devourer of Realms and many more titles I'm in no mood to type. So he came back because of Lilith's agony and apparently wanted to unleash hell on Earth like he wished to before he was defeated by Michael archangel ( I'm sorry if I say something wrong about this part because I don't really get it and only know what I've read from the books). I also forgot to mention that he is the Greatest Prince of Hell. 

For me, this book was a fun and quick read. I really liked the part where Tian says to Magnus that his friends are very casual going further into hell and Magnus replies with a "they've been through some stuff". Clary and Jace acted like it was their regular job to end up in hell. Jace talking about how he and Alec make a perfect team with strength and beauty was amusing, especially when Alec asked which one was Jace and he replied with "I think we all know the answer to that" ( I'm still not sure which one is Jace because I mean look at the pair). It was also great to see Elayass back and now having a job as a receptionist in hell.

One person I actually felt terrible was for Simon. Just a few months before these events take place, he suffered the death of George Lovelace, and then he was tortured by Samael for end of Lilith. So I don't blame him when he lost his cool, but I didn't like that outburst it kinda ruined the flow, and I think we also got a glimpse of the City of Bones and City of Ashes Simon ( who I thought was annoying).

I kind of like Samael in this book except the part where he tortured Simon. He was a good villain, it's kind of hard to explain, but Sebastian was a good villain, Valentine was a lousy villain. I love good villains in a story. Shinyun, on the other hand, for me, was just an annoying villain. She wanted power and has an obsession with Magnus; nothing else.

One person I have yet to talk about is Tian. I mean his "betrayal" was kind of expected as Alec was always so careful about him and how sometimes he even doubted him. Tian was a pleasant character. He, alongside his fae girlfriend, Jinfeng, added a lot to the story. What I didn't understand was why was dowwnworlder and shadowhunter marriage such a big deal? Didn't Will and Tessa break that 150 years ago? I mean Tessa is kind of a downworlder. 

While we are on Tessa, The bonus chapter was so good. The fact that we know that Will attended the wedding made it all more special. Tessa wearing her jade pendant and the pearl bracelet that Will gave her on their 30th anniversary. Jem also requesting to etch the word Mizpah outside the golden rings was beautiful. When Magnus started to described Will waiting for Tessa and Jem, to hold their hand and lead them, I was on literally verge of tears. 

One aspect of this book that I didn't like was that there wasn't an ending. What I mean to say is that both Samael and Shinyun managed to escape. I just thought that like Red Scrolls of Magic, it would have a proper ending and could be read as a stand-alone type of book.  I have no opinion on the scene where every Prince of Hell is reuniting with Lucifer because I don't know what's happening there or will happen, but let us see.