Cassandra Clare is best known for the Shadowhunter Chronicles, but her bibliography also includes several books outside the Shadowhunter universe. With multiple interconnected series, short story collections, and collaborations, figuring out where to start can be intimidating for newcomers.

This guide brings Cassandra Clare’s books in order into one place. Below, you’ll find her books organized by series, a complete publication order, upcoming releases, and answers to common questions about her work.

Who Is Cassandra Clare?

Cassandra Clare is an American fantasy author. Born to American parents in Tehran, Iran, she spent much of her childhood traveling and lived in France, England, and Switzerland before eventually settling in the United States. Before becoming a full-time fiction writer, Clare worked as a journalist for entertainment magazines.

Her debut novel, City of Bones, was published in 2007 and became the first book in The Mortal Instruments. It was also a finalist for the 2007 Locus Award for Best First Novel. Clare went on to expand the Shadowhunter universe through several interconnected series and story collections. The franchise was later adapted into both a feature film and the television series Shadowhunters.

Clare co-authored the Magisterium fantasy series with Holly Black and launched her adult fantasy series, The Chronicles of Castellane, with Sword Catcher in 2023. More than 50 million copies of her books are in print worldwide, and they have been translated into over 35 languages.

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How Many Books Has Cassandra Clare Written?

Cassandra Clare has written or co-written around 30 novels, story collections, and companion books, spanning young adult, middle-grade, and adult fantasy.

Her bibliography includes the interconnected Shadowhunter Chronicles, the five-book Magisterium series co-written with Holly Black, and the adult fantasy series The Chronicles of Castellane. She has also published several Shadowhunter short story collections and companion books.

Below, we’ve organized Cassandra Clare’s books by series first, followed by a complete publication-order list.

The Shadowhunter Chronicles

The Shadowhunter Chronicles is Cassandra Clare’s interconnected fantasy universe, made up of several series and short story collections. The stories take place across different periods but share characters, families, and events.

The Mortal Instruments

The Mortal Instruments is the series that launched Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter universe. Set primarily in contemporary New York, it follows Clary Fray as she discovers the hidden world of Shadowhunters and learns about her own connection to it.

	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

Set in Victorian London, The Infernal Devices follows Tessa Gray as her search for her missing brother draws her into the world of the Shadowhunters. The trilogy introduces the ancestors of several characters from The Mortal Instruments and takes place more than a century before Clary’s story.

Although the two series are connected, The Infernal Devices tells its own story and can be read independently.

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

The Dark Artifices

Set five years after City of Heavenly Fire, The Dark Artifices shifts the story to the Los Angeles Institute and follows Shadowhunters Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn. Emma is determined to uncover the truth about her parents’ deaths, while a new supernatural conflict threatens the people closest to her.

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

The Eldest Curses

Co-written with Wesley Chu, The Eldest Curses follows Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood at different points in the Shadowhunter timeline. Two books have been published, while the third, The Black Volume of the Dead, does not yet have a release date.

	1	The Red Scrolls of Magic (2019)
	2	The Lost Book of the White (2020)
	3	The Black Volume of the Dead (forthcoming)

The Last Hours

Set in Edwardian London in 1903, The Last Hours follows Cordelia Carstairs, James and Lucie Herondale, and their friends as a new supernatural threat emerges. The trilogy is a sequel to The Infernal Devices and follows the next generation of several families introduced in that series.

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

The Wicked Powers

The Wicked Powers is the final trilogy in the Shadowhunter Chronicles. It centers on Kit Herondale, Ty Blackthorn, Drusilla Blackthorn, and Ash Morgenstern while bringing back characters from earlier Shadowhunter series for the conclusion of the larger saga.

	1	The Last King of Faerie (November 3, 2026)
2	The Last Prince of Hell (forthcoming)
3	The Last Shadowhunter (forthcoming)

Shadowhunter Collections and Companion Books

Alongside the main series, Clare has published short story collections and companion volumes that expand the Shadowhunter world.

	1	The Shadowhunter’s Codex (2013) A companion book rather than part of one of the main series. Written with Joshua Lewis, it presents the history, laws, creatures, weapons, and traditions of the Shadowhunter world as an in-universe training manual, complete with notes from Clary, Jace, and Simon.
	2	The Bane Chronicles (2014) A collection of eleven stories centered on warlock Magnus Bane. Set at different points in his long life, the stories explore his adventures and relationships across the history of the Shadowhunter world. Written by Cassandra Clare with Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson. Clare recommends reading it after The Mortal Instruments.
	3	Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy (2016) Ten interconnected stories following Simon Lewis as he trains to become a Shadowhunter after the events of City of Heavenly Fire. Characters from The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices also appear, along with characters connected to later series. Originally released as monthly e-novellas, written by Clare with Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, and Robin Wasserman.
	4	Ghosts of the Shadow Market (2019) Ten stories centered largely on Jem Carstairs and the mysterious Shadow Market. They move across different periods of Shadowhunter history and connect characters and events from several of Clare’s series. Because the collection contains connections to earlier books, Clare recommends reading The Infernal Devices first.
	5	Secrets of Blackthorn Hall (serialized online) Follows Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn after The Dark Artifices as they begin restoring the long-abandoned Blackthorn Hall in London. The story was originally published online as a serialized project rather than as a conventional novel.
	6	Better in Black (2025) A collection of ten love stories featuring couples from across the Shadowhunter Chronicles. It also includes a preview of The Wicked Powers.

The Magisterium Series

Co-written with Holly Black, Magisterium is a five-book middle-grade fantasy series that is entirely separate from the Shadowhunter universe. It follows Callum Hunt, a boy who enters a school of magic despite his father’s warnings to stay away from magic altogether.

	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

The Chronicles of Castellane is Clare’s adult high fantasy series and is separate from the Shadowhunter universe. Beginning with Sword Catcher, the series follows Kel, the body double of a royal heir, and Lin, a healer with a connection to forbidden magic, amid the political intrigue of Castellane.

	1	Sword Catcher (2023)
	2	The Ragpicker King (2025)

Cassandra Clare’s Books in Order of Publication

Readers who prefer publication order can follow Clare’s books by their original release dates. This approach is especially useful for the interconnected Shadowhunter Chronicles, where characters, events, and references often carry over between series.

Below are Cassandra Clare’s novels, story collections, and companion books in publication order.

Cassandra Clare Controversies Explained

Cassandra Clare has faced controversy related to her writing career. Before becoming a published novelist, Clare faced criticism over unattributed passages in her Harry Potter fan fiction, which was later removed from FanFiction.Net.

In 2016, author Sherrilyn Kenyon also sued Clare, alleging copyright and trademark infringement involving similarities between her Dark-Hunter series and Clare’s Shadowhunter books. The copyright claims were later dropped, and the remaining trademark dispute was settled in 2018. The case did not result in a court finding that Clare had plagiarized Kenyon’s work.

FAQs About Cassandra Clare

Conclusion

With decades of Shadowhunter stories and several fantasy series beyond them, Cassandra Clare offers plenty to explore. Use the series lists above to choose your starting point, or follow the publication order to read the books as they were released.