Chain of Gold spoils The Infernal Devices. Lady Midnight spoils both The Mortal Instruments and The Dark Artifices. If you want to avoid spoilers, start with either City of Bones or Clockwork Angel. They don’t tell the full story – if anything, they’ll probably make you want to read the other series – but they do contain spoilers.

With that said, yes, some Shadowhunter series build off of the events of other Shadowhunter series, meaning that they have to explain major plot twists from previous books. #3: Yes, some series do spoil other series Some books, of course, will be more thorough than others in their world building, but in general, you should be able to follow the plot. The book will explain everything you need to know in order to understand what’s happening. You can start with City of Bones, Clockwork Angel, Lady Midnight or Chain of Gold, and you will not be lost. You do not need prior knowledge of past series in order to understand what is happening. The Last Hours #2: It’s not all one seriesĮach series follows its own arc, and its own cast of characters. Some of them are well worth reading, but none of them are mandatory. They mostly follow the same characters, but they have a different arc and slightly different themes.Īlso, yes, there are companion books and novella bind-ups. Yes, The Mortal Instruments is a six book series, but you can think of it more as two trilogies.

If you’re worried about reading these books in the right order, there are a few things you should understand. Don’t worry, I’m here to help! Or maybe make things worse. If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re interested in hopping on this bandwagon, but you aren’t entirely sure where to start. Everyone has very strong opinions about it, too. If you’ve ever been in any way involved with the online book community, you’ve definitely heard of these books before, and you’re about to hear a whole lot more about them.īut the thing about The Shadowhunter Chronicles is that there are so many books out already, spanning so much time, that trying to figure out how to read the books feels like trying to figure out how to watch the MCU. The Shadowhunter Chronicles is one of the biggest series in Young Adult literature right now, and with the latest installment coming out in just under a month, the hype is building yet again.

Mortal instruments books in order