The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare

There are too many books in the series for me to give you a proper summary, but a summary is almost not necessary at this point. Anytime Cassie releases a new book, half the time I don't even read the synopsis, I just buy it, read it, and love it. I've never been disappointed. The greatest thing about Cassandra Clare's books is that she doesn't just give you a new, totally awesome, bad ass storyline, she gives you a new world... and more. She puts all other fantasy series to shame, and that's just the cold hearted truth (yeah, I'm talking to you, Potterheads). She is the only author that I've read where she writes separate series, that still belong in the same world. It just gives you more of a way to totally immerse yourself into the shadow world. 

Now, if you're anything like me, who looked like a complete dumbass at Barnes and Noble, sprawled out on the floor, mug of tea on the ground, books open everywhere, on my phone trying to look up "what order do I read Cassandra Clare books???" while checking publication dates... I am here to help you with the confusion! The reason it is so confusing is because she broke up her series once to write another one. Thus, why I am recommending you to go by publication date, not series order. The way I read the books the first time around was the entirety of The Mortal Instruments, which includes: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, and City of Heavenly Fire.  Which ended up being totally fine and I wasn't confused or anything, so if you really want to do it that way, you can! But, my advice is to read the first three, and then read The Infernal Devices trilogy before going back to TMI and reading the second half. TID trilogy includes: Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess and Clockwork Angel. The only reason why I say to do it this way, is because you'll catch more names and they will be more significant to you that way. After you finish TMI and TDA, it's pretty much smooth sailing from there. Her last major series is The Dark Artifice trilogy which includes: Lady Midnight, Lord of Shadows, and Queen of Air and Darkness, which, might I add, is my favorite series of the three. 

I couldn't tell you what makes Cassie's books so great, there isn't one singular event or character or even her writing style that makes her books so memorable... it's everything. She creates these amazing characters that you can't help falling in love with- and I know a lot of book blogs and reviews who say that, but I literally mean that I love them. I'll see something happen and I'll catch myself thinking, "oh, I really wish Will could have been here to see that" and do a dramatic sigh or something. I wish I was kidding, but this is a serious problem for me. Another thing, yeah plot. Cassie has this gift to tie her series together in the smallest of ways, but it impacts your heart in the biggest ways. You could read a paragraph from City of Ashes and never think of it again until you get to Clockwork Angel and suddenly it's a major turning point in the story. This blog post is not giving Cassie the credit that she deserves, honestly there's nothing better. Maybe I should put it at my No.1 spot... 

The last and final thing that I am going to say about The Shadowhunter Chronicles, that deserves it's own paragraph, is Cassie's use of representation throughout her series. On a more serious note, this is not something that you see a lot of, unless you go out of your way into the cheesy LGBTQ+ section of the bookstore and buy one of those RomComs. And if you're like me, who doesn't like novels or cheesy books about love, you're don't see any LGBTQ+ reps! Never fear! Cassandra Clare is here to save the day! She's written about an asexual vampire, a 300 year old bisexual warlock who loves glitter and is married to one of my favorite character's, Alec Lightwood- who identifies as gay; a kick ass, fierce, all around amazing black transgender woman who is open about who she is, and has landed a relationship with an equally amazing faerie knight. She writes about a straight woman in a poly relationship with two of the most incredible faerie/king/knight/shadowhunter combo (lol) and it's ridiculously cute! One of her main characters is an autistic boy, who is totally capable at being a shadowhunter and is so unbelievably intelligent; and as a plus we get a little romance of another boy who is just coming to terms with his sexuality and he is crushing hard for him. No spoilers here, but they are my favorite couple (kinda) to read about. And so, so much more. 

In this world, we may not get to be shadowhunters or werewolves, warlocks, faeries or vampires. But somehow Cassie makes all her characters relatable. Even if you're not a member of the LGBTQ+ these books are a great read that I recommend on the highest account. And if you're a homosexual bigot, it's not like thats all her books are about, in fact, it's a very small portion. Still worth reading. And as always, if you're a fan of the series, please feel free to get in touch with me! I am always down to fangirl over the series.