Where to Start with Cassandra Clare: A Reading Guide
Where to start with Cassandra Clare — whether to begin with City of Bones, Clockwork Angel, or Lady Midnight. A complete reading guide to the Shadowhunter Chronicles.
Cassandra Clare (born 1973) is the American fantasy novelist who — with City of Bones (2007) — created the Shadowhunter Chronicles, an interconnected universe of young adult urban fantasy series set in a world of demon hunters, warlocks, vampires, and faeries. The Chronicles now spans multiple series, dozens of novels and short story collections, and a devoted global readership that has made Clare one of the most commercially successful YA authors in contemporary publishing. The Mortal Instruments was adapted as a film (2013) and a television series, Shadowhunters (2016–2019). Clare continues to expand the Shadowhunter world with new series.
Where to Start: City of Bones (2007)
The conventional entry point — and the introduction to the Shadowhunter world. Clary Fray, a Brooklyn teenager who can see things other people can’t, witnesses a murder in a club that leaves no body. The killers are Shadowhunters — warriors with angelic blood who hunt demons — and Clary’s ability to see them means she is not mundane (non-magical). When her mother is kidnapped and she herself narrowly survives an attack, she is drawn into the Shadowhunter world and discovers that her ordinary life was never what she thought.
Clare builds a dense urban fantasy world in the tradition of supernatural beings coexisting invisibly with ordinary humanity, and she populates it with a cast of characters whose relationships — Clary and Jace Wayland’s slow-burn romance, Simon’s unrequited feeling for Clary, the sibling dynamics among the Shadowhunter Institute’s residents — drive the series’ emotional engine. The plot becomes progressively more complex across six books; City of Bones is the world’s introduction. The 2013 film adaptation does not do the series justice.
Clockwork Angel (2010)
The first book of The Infernal Devices — and, for many readers, the better series and the better starting point. Victorian London, 1878: Tessa Gray has come from New York following her brother’s summons, and is instead kidnapped by the Pandemonium Club. She is rescued by Shadowhunters and brought to the London Institute, where Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs — parabatai (sworn warrior partners, bonded beyond ordinary friendship) — are investigating the club’s activities.
The love triangle between Will, Jem, and Tessa is the emotional spine of the trilogy — and unlike many YA love triangles, Clare writes it so that both options are genuinely, painfully sympathetic. Will’s defensive cruelty, which conceals extraordinary loyalty; Jem’s gentleness, which conceals extraordinary suffering; and Tessa’s situation, which makes both relationships fully understandable: this is among the best-executed romantic geometry in YA fiction.
Clockwork Prince (2011)
The second Infernal Devices novel — and the escalation of everything the first book established. The romantic triangle deepens; the political situation in the London Institute becomes more dangerous; the secrets that drive Will Herondale’s behaviour are partially revealed. Most readers consider it the best book in the series.
Clockwork Princess (2013)
The conclusion of The Infernal Devices — and, for the series’ devoted readership, one of the most emotionally devastating endings in YA fiction. The love triangle’s resolution is handled with genuine care; the fates of the characters are arranged with both heart and craft. The ending of this trilogy is what Clare’s readership most consistently cites as the emotional peak of the entire Shadowhunter Chronicles.
Reading Cassandra Clare
The Shadowhunter Chronicles is a committed reading project: multiple interconnected series, dozens of novels, and a world that rewards deep familiarity. Begin with City of Bones to understand the world, but plan to read Clockwork Angel — the Victorian prequel — as soon as possible, as it is where Clare’s writing is at its most emotionally accomplished.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should I start with Cassandra Clare?
City of Bones (2007) is the conventional starting point — the first book of The Mortal Instruments, Clare's debut series, introducing Clary Fray and the world of Shadowhunters (half-human, half-angel warriors who hunt demons). However, many experienced Shadowhunter Chronicles readers recommend beginning with Clockwork Angel (2010) — the first book of The Infernal Devices, a prequel set in Victorian London — as it is the better written and more emotionally affecting series, with a love triangle that is consistently cited as one of YA's most agonising. Either order works, as the stories are set in different times.
What is the Shadowhunter Chronicles about?
The Shadowhunter Chronicles is an overarching world in which Shadowhunters — humans with angelic blood — hunt demons alongside warlocks, vampires, werewolves, and faeries. The world is governed by the Clave, the Shadowhunter governing body, and the stories explore the political tensions within that world and the relationships between Shadowhunters and Downworlders (magical beings). The Mortal Instruments begins in contemporary New York; The Infernal Devices is set in Victorian London; The Dark Artifices is set in contemporary Los Angeles. All three series are set in the same world, with recurring and interconnected characters.
What is the reading order for all Shadowhunter Chronicles books?
The most common reading order is: The Mortal Instruments (City of Bones through City of Heavenly Fire, 6 books), then The Infernal Devices (Clockwork Angel through Clockwork Princess, 3 books), then The Dark Artifices (Lady Midnight through Queen of Air and Darkness, 3 books). An alternative is to read The Infernal Devices after City of Ashes (book 2 of Mortal Instruments) as the Victorian series has fewer spoilers that way. The Infernal Devices can technically be read first as a prequel. Each series is set in a different time period and can be read somewhat independently, though the later series reference earlier ones significantly.
Is The Infernal Devices better than The Mortal Instruments?
Most adult readers who have completed both series report preferring The Infernal Devices. The Victorian London setting is more distinctive; the three main characters (Will Herondale, Jem Carstairs, and Tessa Gray) are more fully developed; and the central love triangle — in which neither choice is wrong — is among the most emotionally affecting in YA fiction. The Mortal Instruments is more plot-driven and introduces the world; The Infernal Devices is more character-driven and more beautifully written. Many readers recommend reading Mortal Instruments first to understand the world, then Infernal Devices for what the world can do at its best.
