The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clark & various authors

     Okay, so... this book had me laughing so hard- I cried (a few times)!  When Magnus was in Lake Titicaca and tried to impress Imasu by learning to play the charango!  OMGoodness!  He told Magnus:

"When you play, all of my mother's flowers lose the will to live and expire on the instant. The quinoa has no flavor now. The llamas are migrating because of your music, and llamas are not a migratory animal. The children now believe there is a sickly monster, half horse and half large mournful chicken, that lives in the lake..."

     The book is funny and totally opposite of what I expected from the great, Magnus Bane, but it's not entirely comical.  When I was first introduced to Magnus, in the Infernal Devices, I saw him as so cool, steeled and  sexy.  As the book series (The Mortal Instruments) flowed, his amazing demeanor sorta warped.  He began primping and talking about fashion and hair gel- it was just... off!  Not because he was bi-sexual- it was the loss of the amazing Warlock I'd envisioned him to be.  The Bane Chronicles gave me a visual of Bane's actual life, from immature adventure seeker, courting monkeys and crashing powdered wig parties to stopping demons from walking through a doorway at Pandemonium!  The book allowed me to view his maturity through the many  years of his existence.  It even showed how he went from only caring about himself to caring for the ignorant but entertaining mundanes.  

     The stories that explained his relationship with every Shadow Hunter name, such as the Herondales, Lightworms- Oops!... Lightwoods, Greymarks and Waylands, as well as how he came to meet particular Downworlders.  Even how he used some of his skills to pull of jobs like a Private Detective!  It was engrossing, humorous and filled in a lot of gaps.  I do not regret purchasing or reading this one.  
Not one bit.  Now on to the next read!