Review: The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, & Maureen Johnson

Title: The Bane Chronicles

Stories in this collection: What Really Happened in Peru (#1) | The Runaway Queen (#2) | Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale (#3) | The Midnight Heir (#4) | The Rise of the Hotel Dumort (#5) | Saving Raphael Santiago (#6) | The Fall of the Hotel Dumort (#7) | What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (#8) | The Last Stand of the New York Institute (#9) | The Course of True Love [and First Dates] (#10) | The Voicemail of Magnus Bane (#11)

Authors: Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, & Maureen Johnson

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: November 2014

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis: Fans of The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices can get to know warlock Magnus Bane like never before in this collection of New York Times bestselling tales, in print for the first time with an exclusive new story and illustrated material.

This collection of eleven short stories illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality, flamboyant style, and sharp wit populate the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices.

Originally released one-by-one as e-only short stories by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Rees Brennan, this compilation presents all ten together in print for the first time and includes a never-before-seen eleventh tale, as well as new illustrated material.

My rating: ★★★★★

This book is all about Magnus Bane, which, yes, please! I adore my Jace and my Will and my sweet Jem, but out of all characters in this world, my absolute favorite has got to be Magnus freaking Bane. So I was extremely happy that he got his own book! Which was awesome! It spans a couple of hundred years, starting from about the 1700s to the present day. Magnus had a lot of fun adventures, but these were my top three favorite short stories in the book:

Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale

This short story takes place in the 1850s and it is about Will Herondale’s dad and how he met Will’s mother and why he stripped his marks. It was so sad, but also very interesting.

I’m sorry, but how are all Herondales so freaking attractive?! 😍 I don’t understand! Lol. Edmund was just so cute! I loved him! The interaction when he first met his future wife I also loved! What I didn’t love was that the relationship was very instalove-y, and we all know how much I don’t like that 😬 But they were cute and they ended up having a great life together! (See the rest of my review HERE.)

The Midnight Heir

This short story takes place before Chain of Gold, and it is about James Herondale, Will and Tessa’s son! I really enjoyed The Midnight Heir! It was really funny, what with Magnus being our POV, but it was also heartbreaking because of whatever it is that James is going through. Reading this brought back so many memories from The Infernal Devices and I was trying so hard not to cry. I just love these characters and that series, okay? Lol. I’m excited to continue this story in Chain of Gold, though! (See the rest of my review HERE.)

The Course of True Love [and First Dates]

Out of all the stories in The Bane Chronicles, this is without a doubt my favorite! Magnus and Alec go on their first date but then everything goes wrong and it’s somehow still super cute! Lol. I loved it! I honestly could not stop grinning like an idiot. They were so freaking cute! I just can’t 😍 The whole date was awkward from the start, and it was just incredibly adorable! I laughed so hard, especially at the Butt Song 🤣 And then the muggers... 😂 The whole thing was a mess and I loved every second of it! (See the rest of my review HERE.)

But the entire book was awesome! I highly recommend it if you love this world as much as I do. There are a lot of characters from across all the series, including The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Last Hours! It also had a bunch of fun illustrations at the beginning of each story, which was really cool! But yeah, I loved this!

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊