Cassandra Clare Books in Order: The Full Shadowhunter Reading Guide

If you have ever stood in a bookshop holding Chain of Gold wondering whether you were about to spoil six other books for yourself, you are not alone. The Shadowhunter Chronicles is one of the most tangled shelves in fantasy, and the order genuinely matters.

Here is the way I recommend it to everyone who asks me.

The simple publication order

This is the order I read them in, and the one I still recommend for a first read.

1. The Mortal Instruments — City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, City of Heavenly Fire
2. The Infernal Devices — Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess
3. The Dark Artifices — Lady Midnight, Lord of Shadows, Queen of Air and Darkness
4. The Last Hours — Chain of Gold, Chain of Iron, Chain of Thorns
5. The Eldest Curses — The Red Scrolls of Magic, The Lost Book of the White

Publication order protects the reveals. Cassandra Clare writes later books assuming you already know who survived the earlier ones, so reading chronologically can hand you spoilers you cannot un-read.

The chronological order (second read only)

If you have finished everything once and want the history to unfold in time order, read The Infernal Devices first (Victorian London), then The Last Hours, then The Mortal Instruments, then The Eldest Curses, then The Dark Artifices. It is a lovely second pass. It is a rough first one.

Where the extras fit

• The Bane Chronicles and Ghosts of the Shadow Market are short story collections. Save them until after The Mortal Instruments — they are richer when you already love Magnus.
• Sword Catcher and The Ragpicker King are a completely separate adult fantasy world. No Shadowhunter knowledge needed. Start there if runes are not your thing but courtly scheming is.

If you only read three

Short on time? City of Bones to see if the world grabs you, then the whole of The Infernal Devices, which is the tightest, most heartbreaking arc she has written.

You can see every title I have read and reviewed, with covers and star ratings, on the bookshelf, and I keep author-by-author orders on the reading order pages. Any book on that shelf can be posted out pre-loved or brand new if you would rather start tonight than wait for a shop trip.