Books to read next
Every book here was chosen because it captures what made The Mortal Instruments special — not just the genre, but the feeling.
The Infernal Devices
Victorian London. A girl arrives at the London Institute and falls into a triangle between the two most important people in her world.
Most Shadowhunter fans consider The Infernal Devices better than the original Mortal Instruments trilogy. Will and Jem are extraordinary.
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The Dark Artifices
Five years after the Dark War, Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn are dealing with a forbidden parabatai bond and a new threat.
The closest continuation of the main series. Emma and Julian's parabatai storyline is the most emotionally devastating thing Clare has written.
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Shadow and Bone
A mapmaker discovers she has a rare power — and the kingdom's most dangerous man wants to use it.
The closest equivalent in YA fantasy: morally grey magic system, forbidden-attraction energy, and a world where the magic has real costs.
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An Ember in the Ashes
A slave and a soldier are thrown together in a brutal empire — and neither is who they were supposed to be.
Same forbidden-romance structure, same stakes, same world that keeps proving itself dangerous. Tahir writes at Clare's level but darker.
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City of Bones
The first book in The Mortal Instruments — if you haven't started, here's where Clary Fray discovers the Shadow World.
If you're new to the series, start here. City of Glass (book 3) and City of Heavenly Fire (book 6) are the best individual entries.
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The Cruel Prince
A mortal girl raised by the faeries decides to seize power by playing the most dangerous fae prince in the court.
Holly Black and Cassandra Clare are close friends and frequent collaborators — The Cruel Prince has the same dark fae world with more political edge.
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The Wicked Powers
The newest Shadowhunter Chronicles series — begins after The Last Hours and brings back the world fans know.
Keep it in-universe. The Last Hours trilogy (Chain of Gold) directly precedes The Wicked Powers — read both if you haven't.
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