How to read Cassandra Clare’s books

 

Hello! My name is Maria. I’m a 21 years old English student who is slightly obsessed with Literature and art in general, specially whereas storytelling of any kind is concerned. My friend Dany granted me the opportunity of writing a few posts for get blog, hence you, readers, can expect to be reading more from me.

 

 As a big fan of Cassandra Clare and the world created by her in The Shadowhunters’ Chronicles, I’ve read and re-read her books a few times.      I know sometimes the timeline of her books  can be a bit confusing, and this post is here to save the day. I have read the books in different orders, and the way I liked the best was the one suggested by Cassandra Clare herself,

• firstly, because it was approved by the Queen herself, and
• secondly because I feel that way I can first discover the world created by her,

then get a little more insight of it to understand it all better and finally keep diving and discovering more of the awesome world she created (I’ll be including only the books
that have already been published):

 

1 – City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, book 1)

2 – City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, book 2)

3 – City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, book 3)

 The first half of The Mortal Instruments series follows Clary Fray’s journey into the shadow world. She used to have a normal mundane life, along with her best friend Simon Lewis, until Clary’s mother is kidnapped and her life is turned upside down. She must build a new life for herself, while fighting the despicable Valentim, with the help of her new Shadowhunter friends, Jace Wayland and Alec and Isabelle Lightwood; and of the warlock Magnus Bane.

4 – Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, book 1)

5 – Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, book 2)

6 – Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, book 3)

SHORT SUMMARY (might contain spoilers)

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  The Infernal Devices accompanies the
struggles of Tessa Grey, an american orphan who just moved to London. She needs to discover her true identity (and that of her brother) and perform a fundamental role in the fight against the evil Mortmain, who has a connection to her in ways she doesn’t even imagine. Thankfully, she has the help of her beloved new acquaintances , Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs. If only they didn’t have their own issues to deal with…

7 – The Red Scrolls of Magic (The Eldest Curses, book 1)

Short Summary (might contain spoilers for TMI)

The book follows the adventures of the newly formed couple Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood, on their trip to Europe immediately after the war against Valentim had apparently ended. 

8 – City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, book 4)

9 – City of Lost Souls ((The Mortal Instruments, book 5)

10 – City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, book 6)

Short Summary

The second half of The Mortal Instruments series develops what happens to the characters of the first trilogy. Valentim is defeated, but that does not mean a new threat can’t arise, corrupting even the best warriors “Team Good” has to offer.

11 – The Bane Chronicles   
Short stories regarding Magnus Bane and his most iconic moments. Maybe you’ll even discover why he was forbidden to ever set foot in Peru again! Or maybe not. Who knows?

12 – Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy

CONTENT SUMMARY

Short stories focusing on Simon Lewis’ training and learning how to be a Shadowhunter.

13 – Ghosts of the Shadow market    
Short stories involving multiple characters of the Shadow World in different periods of time.

14 – Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, book 1)

15 – Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices, book 2)

16 – Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices, book 3)    

CONTENT SUMMARY

The Dark Artifices series is centered on the Parabatai Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn. They must fight to keep their family together and against their feelings for each other, while facing multiple challenges from the Faerie world.

Chronological order   

 Another way to read them is in chronological order, based on the events of each book, and since the 3 books with extra stories cover a very big period of time, scattered among the series:

1 – Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, book 1)

2 – Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, book 2)

3 – Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, book 3)

4 – City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, book 1)

5 – City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, book 2)

6 – City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, book 3)

7 – The Red Scrolls of Magic (The Eldest Curses, book 1)

8 – City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, book 4)

9 – City of Lost Souls ((The Mortal Instruments, book 5)

10 – City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, book 6)

11 – Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, book 1)

12 – Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices, book 2)

13 – Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices, book 3)

14 – The Bane Chronicles

15 – Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy

16 – Ghosts of the Shadow market   


And the books can also be read in publishing order:

1 – City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, book 1)
2 – City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, book 2)
3 – City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, book 3)
4 – Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, book 1)
5 – City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, book 4)
6 – Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, book 2)
7 – City of Lost Souls ((The Mortal Instruments, book 5)
8- Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, book 3)
9 – The Bane Chronicles
10 – City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, book 6)
11 – Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy
12 – Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, book 1)
13 – Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices, book 2)
14 – Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices, book 3)
15 – The Red Scrolls of Magic (The Eldest Curses, book 1)
16 – Ghosts of the Shadow Market   

Cassandra Clare’s next book is scheduled to be released in March 2020. The book, entitled The Gold Chain, will be the first volume of The Darkest Hours trilogy. Clare also co-wrote the Magisterium series with Holly Black.

That’s it for today, dear reader.


I hope you enjoyed my first post!

Let us know in the comments whether you are a Cassandra Clare fan or not, and if so, how do you like reading her books? If your preferred order isn’t in this post, let us know that too!