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Cassandra Clare Books in Order: The Complete Shadowhunters Reading Guide

Cassandra Clare Books

Cassandra Clare Books in Order

Demon hunters with glowing runes. Secret worlds hidden inside New York and London. Love stories that span centuries. Cassandra Clare built all of it, and she has been adding to it since 2007. If you want to read the Cassandra Clare books in order, you are stepping into one of the biggest young adult fantasy worlds ever written.

The Shadowhunter Chronicles now include five main series, several companion books, and a brand new trilogy that just launched. On top of that, Clare writes adult fantasy and co-wrote a middle grade series. This guide puts every piece in place and helps you choose the path that suits you best.

What Are the Shadowhunters?

Shadowhunters, also called Nephilim, are humans with angel blood. They protect the world from demons, using runes drawn on their skin to gain strength, speed, and other powers. They share the world with Downworlders, such as vampires, werewolves, warlocks, and faeries. You will sometimes see the name written as “shadow hunters,” but the books always spell it as one word.

Each Shadowhunters series follows a different group of characters in a different time and place. Some families, like the Herondales, Lightwoods, and Blackthorns, show up again and again across generations. That is part of what makes the reading order so important.

Cassandra Clare Books in Order of Publication

Here is the full Shadowhunter Chronicles in release order. This is the order most fans recommend for first-time readers.

The Mortal Instruments

  1. City of Bones (2007)
  2. City of Ashes (2008)
  3. City of Glass (2009)
  4. City of Fallen Angels (2011)
  5. City of Lost Souls (2012)
  6. City of Heavenly Fire (2014)

The Infernal Devices

  1. Clockwork Angel (2010)
  2. Clockwork Prince (2011)
  3. Clockwork Princess (2013)

The Dark Artifices

  1. Lady Midnight (2016)
  2. Lord of Shadows (2017)
  3. Queen of Air and Darkness (2018)

The Last Hours

  1. Chain of Gold (2020)
  2. Chain of Iron (2021)
  3. Chain of Thorns (2023)

The Wicked Powers

  1. The Last King of Faerie (November 3, 2026)

The Last King of Faerie is the newest Shadowhunters book. It opens the Wicked Powers, which Clare calls the concluding trilogy of the whole saga. Dru Blackthorn, now in her fourth year at Shadowhunter Academy, is kidnapped and held in Faerie by Ash Morgenstern. Meanwhile, Kit Herondale and Ty Blackthorn set aside their differences to deal with a shocking disappearance.

The Best Reading Order for New Readers

Publication order mixes series, but it works because of how the stories reveal secrets. Here is the order many fans use:

  1. City of Bones
  2. City of Ashes
  3. City of Glass
  4. Clockwork Angel
  5. City of Fallen Angels
  6. Clockwork Prince
  7. City of Lost Souls
  8. Clockwork Princess
  9. City of Heavenly Fire
  10. Lady Midnight
  11. Lord of Shadows
  12. Queen of Air and Darkness
  13. Chain of Gold
  14. Chain of Iron
  15. Chain of Thorns
  16. The Last King of Faerie

Reading The Infernal Devices alongside the second half of The Mortal Instruments matters. Clockwork Princess reveals things that make the end of City of Heavenly Fire hit harder, and the other way around.

Chronological Order of the Shadowhunters Story

If you want the events in timeline order, here is how the series line up:

Series Setting Time Period
The Infernal Devices London 1878
The Last Hours London 1903
The Mortal Instruments New York 2007
The Dark Artifices Los Angeles 2012
The Wicked Powers Various After The Dark Artifices

This order is fun on a reread, but it can spoil twists for new readers. Clare wrote the later series assuming you had read the earlier ones.

Shadowhunters Companion Books

These books add depth to the world. Most are short stories or guides, and many were co-written with other authors.

  • The Shadowhunter’s Codex (2013): An in-world guidebook full of notes and doodles from the characters.
  • The Bane Chronicles (2014): Short stories about the warlock Magnus Bane.
  • Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy (2016): Stories following Simon Lewis at the Academy.
  • Ghosts of the Shadow Market (2019): Linked stories that span the whole timeline.

The best time to read these is after City of Heavenly Fire, since they reference events from both The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. Ghosts of the Shadow Market works best right before Chain of Gold.

The Eldest Curses

This spin-off follows Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood on adventures around the world. Clare co-writes it with Wesley Chu.

  1. The Red Scrolls of Magic (2019)
  2. The Lost Book of the White (2020)

A third book has long been planned. Read these after The Mortal Instruments.

Cassandra Clare Books Outside the Shadowhunters World

Not all Cassandra Clare books are about demon hunters. Two other series are worth knowing.

Magisterium (with Holly Black)

A five-book middle grade series about a young boy at a school for magic.

  1. The Iron Trial (2014)
  2. The Copper Gauntlet (2015)
  3. The Bronze Key (2016)
  4. The Silver Mask (2017)
  5. The Golden Tower (2018)

The Chronicles of Castellane

This is Clare’s first adult fantasy series. It is set in a new world, unrelated to the Shadowhunters.

  1. Sword Catcher (2023)
  2. The Ragpicker King

Sword Catcher follows a young man trained to act as a royal body double, and a physician from a closed-off community within the city. It is darker and more political than her young adult books.

Shadowhunters on Screen

The world has been adapted twice:

  • The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013): A feature film starring Lily Collins as Clary Fray.
  • Shadowhunters (2016 to 2019): A TV series on Freeform that ran for three seasons. It covers The Mortal Instruments storyline with plenty of changes.

The show built a big fan base of its own, and many viewers moved on to the books afterward.

Do You Need to Read the Cassandra Clare Books in Order?

Yes. This world depends on cross-series connections. Characters from older books turn up as adults or ancestors in newer ones. Secrets in one series often pay off in another. Reading out of order will spoil major twists.

The companion books are more flexible, but they still assume you know the main stories.

Common Questions About Cassandra Clare Books in Order

Where should I start? Start with City of Bones. It is the first book Clare published and the clearest entry point.

Can I start with The Infernal Devices? Yes, and some fans prefer it. Just know that reading it first will spoil a few surprises in The Mortal Instruments.

How many Shadowhunters books are there? There are 16 main novels so far, plus companion books, with two more Wicked Powers books still to come.

What age are the books for? The main series are young adult, best for readers about 14 and up. The Castellane books are written for adults.

A Simple Reading Plan for the Cassandra Clare Books in Order

Sixteen main novels plus companions can feel like a lot. Here is a plan that breaks the Cassandra Clare books in order into manageable stages:

  1. Stage one: City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass. This first arc has a full ending, so you can take a break after it.
  2. Stage two: The Infernal Devices mixed with the last three Mortal Instruments books, using the order listed earlier in this guide.
  3. Stage three: The Bane Chronicles and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, which bridge the gap to the next generation.
  4. Stage four: The Dark Artifices, followed by The Eldest Curses.
  5. Stage five: Ghosts of the Shadow Market, then The Last Hours.
  6. Stage six: The Last King of Faerie, which ties threads from almost every earlier series together.

Taking breaks between stages helps prevent burnout. It also gives you time to talk about the twists with friends or fans online, which is half the fun of reading the Shadowhunters books.

If you already know the TV show, you can still follow the Cassandra Clare books in order without worry. The books differ in many ways, so the big reveals will still surprise you. Many fans say the books feel richer, with more inner thoughts, more side characters, and more of the world’s history.

Final Thoughts

The Cassandra Clare books in order span nearly 20 years, five Shadowhunters series, and a new trilogy that begins with The Last King of Faerie in November 2026. Start with City of Bones, read The Infernal Devices alongside the later Mortal Instruments books, and keep going in publication order. Bookmark this list of Cassandra Clare books in order so you are ready for the rest of the Wicked Powers.

Key Takeaways

  • The Shadowhunter Chronicles include The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, The Dark Artifices, The Last Hours, and The Wicked Powers.
  • The Last King of Faerie (November 3, 2026) launches The Wicked Powers, the concluding Shadowhunters trilogy.
  • Publication order works best for new readers, with The Infernal Devices read alongside the second half of The Mortal Instruments.
  • Chronologically, the story starts in 1878 London with The Infernal Devices.
  • Companion books include The Bane Chronicles, Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, and Ghosts of the Shadow Market.
  • The Eldest Curses, co-written with Wesley Chu, follows Magnus and Alec.
  • Outside Shadowhunters, Clare co-wrote Magisterium with Holly Black and writes the adult Chronicles of Castellane series.
  • Shadowhunters became a 2013 film and a three-season Freeform TV series.

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