#(except tid!!!! phenomentally written one of the best ya series i've ever read!!!!!!!!!)

[darcyolsson]

what is the best order to read the cassandra clare books in. idk what the series is called as a whole sorry

RELEASE ORDER, or at least something release order-adjacent. cassandra clare will try and tell you that they can be read in any order but that is a lie and will give you severe emotional whiplash.

tmi and tid were released simultaneously though, and i get maybe not wanting to read two book series at the same time, in which case i think it's preferable to read tid after the first 3 tmi books (since tmi is split into two triologies) or, if you want to avoid that at all, tid after tmi. you'll miss a few references in the 2nd tmi triology but it's perfectly doable, it's how i read tsc the first time around.

this leaves you with 2 main reading options (below the cut):

release order

novella collections & companion books are in italics, these can be skipped if you want to, or read at any point after the last main series that precedes it (eg the bane chronicles can be read at any point, as long as you read it after tmi and tid)

city of bones (the mortal instruments)

city of ashes

city of glass

clockwork angel (the infernal devices)

city of fallen angels

clockwork prince

city of lost souls

clockwork princess

city of heavenly fire

the bane chronicles

tales from the shadowhunter academy

lady midnight (the dark artifices)

lord of shadows

queen of air and darkness

the red scrolls of magic (the eldest curses)

ghosts of the shadow market

chain of gold (the last hours)

the lost book of the white

chain of iron

chain of thorns

"i don't want to read two book series at the same time" order:

city of bones

city of ashes

city of glass

clockwork angel

clockwork prince

clockwork princess

city of fallen angels

city of lost souls

city of heavenly fire

etc.