Can I read this without reading The Mortal Instruments?

[Chelsea]

Will this book make sense if I haven't read the Mortal Instruments series? I know it's a prequel but it will probably talk about things I won't understand, right? For example, I know that this book has something to do with shadowhunters, and I don't know what those are. Will that be explained or should I just read The Mortal Instruments first? Be honest, I don't want to read The Mortal Instruments but I will if I have to and I'll probably end up enjoying it.

[Susan]

You don't have to read The Mortal Instruments first. It explains what Shadowhunters are in Clockwork Angel. I have not run across anything in The Infernal Devices that is not explained in that series, so you'll be okay if you don't read The Mortal Instruments.

[AbigailDenyse01]

yes you can. it actually helps to read the infernal devices before you read the mortal instruments.

[James]

You can actually read this book without reading The Mortal Instruments and they explained all of the world building of Shadowhunters in the book, so it really doesn't matter if you read this series first or The Mortal Instruments.

[Chelsea]

Ok thanks everyone.

[[deleted user]]

Yes, i read this trilogy first and it was amazing and perfect *-* Actually it's even better because TID events takes place before TMI. And there is Will Herondale ^^
... so you can read it first.

[Aliza]

absolutely. you can read one series without the other though they definitely are better together because they really complement each other

[J.C.]

Yes, but when you get to the end you will be missing a lot. It won't make any sense without reading the Mortal Instruments. Besides the most fun thing about these series is that they mix with each other really well and it makes really cool to read.

[Amber]

I think the best way to read them is Mortal Instruments 1-3 -> Infernal Devices 1-3 -> Mortal Instruments 4-6. Mainly because that's the way they were written and you won't see any references to Infernal Devices until you get to books 4-6 in the MI series. However, you can read them before or after the MI series and should still be able to follow along just fine.

[Helen]

I did and really enjoyed all three of the Infernal Devices novels. I did not read the Mortal Instruments until after.

[Katrina]

Yes, I picked this book up not knowing that it was part of a much bigger series.

[Shannon]

you should probably read the Mortal Instruments first it will probably make more sense I could get my head out of either series I was so addicted

[Logan]

You don't really have to read TMI first because TID takes place before TMI, though it may help you with your opinion on family's and with the was Clare sets up her story line and characters. I would heavily recommend still reading TMI though even if you read this first just because it is amazing.

[Tammie]

i've never read the mortal instruments books but i've read the infernal devices and it was completely fine :-)

[Tammy]

I liked the infernal devices better than the mortal instruments which to me is never friggin ending. Every book has NO closure. You will enjoy the Infernal Devices series!!!

[Lyndl]

epic wrote: "Yes, i read this trilogy first and it was amazing and perfect *-* Actually it's even better because TID events takes place before TMI. And there is Will Herondale ^^
... so you can read it first."

Yes, there is always Will Herondale *sighs*

[Leigh]

It's totally fine to read this without reading TMI. If anything TMI will spoil this for you and be quite confusing with out it

[Priya]

Yes, you can! That's what I did 'cause I thought it was the first series, except it's the prequel, but it doesn't really matter.

[Inês]

of couse you can! XDDD after all this is a prequell to mortal instruments, it helps reading this first then the MI

although i'd like mortal instruments better

[Lauren]

Oh totally! This series is amazing! I think its even better to start with these books. You get more depth in the story. ITS AWESOME :)

[Rachel]

you can definitely read this before -it's a prequel to Mortal Instruments!!! Plus the series finale is a wowza moment. I still love Mortal Instruments more because of Jace, but that series dragged out by having 6 books and I really enjoyed only having 3 for this one:)

[Aletheia]

Yes you can! I suggest you read TID first before you proceed with TMI if you decide to read it also.

[Catherine]

Probably yes. You could read TMI after The Infernal Devices too I suppose. I almost recommend it. Actually, I do. City of Heavenly Fire (the last book in TMI) ties in with The Infernal Devices and you get overwhelmed by feels it's amazing

[Abigail]

I think you should read CITY OF BONES first, i think its better than this series..

[Courtney]

It would probably be easier to read Clockwork Angel before the Mortal Instruments as it is set before The Mortal Instruments.

[Evelyn]

Well you should read the Infernal Devices first, get the glimpse of the shadowhunters' ancestors but I do think you should read The Mortal Instruments to find out what would happen after Clockwork Princess.

[Julia]

I read TMI (up to COLS) before TID, and I think I wish I'd read TID first. It's probably a better idea to read TID first, since there are spoilers for Clockwork Princess in City of Heavenly Fire. However, polandbananasBOOKS on YouTube has a reading order that she recommends (I think it's the same as the publication order) if you want to do it that way. I don't know, whatever floats your boat, they're both great series! :)

[Shannon]

they are both an awesome series I do not think it matters because they are such good series

[Sophia]

I agree with Julia i also read TMI up to COLS and i so wish i read TID first though i have not read COHF i still recommend both series. They are both amazing series and i promise that you will not regret reading them.

[Alondra]

If you read these books you dont need to read the mortal instruments because it explains everything :)

[Shannon]

but they are such a good series I would read

[Roshae]

You can read this without reading Mortal Instruments.It was fun though to pick up on things from mortal instruments. I think you can do the same in reverse too.

[bubblegumpopper]

Skip this series entirely and just read TMI. They are WAY better.

[benita]

I didn't read TMI, I just read TID. I prefer reading TID, because the writing seems more real and the time it is in is fun to read about. But I like both series though :D - But to answer your question, you don't have to read TMI to understand TID :)

[Shannon]

I'm on the third and final book of TID and I wish I had read these before TMI, honestly.

[Anum]

KAYLA wrote: "Yeah absolutely. The Infernal Devices is better than The Mortal Instruments, I thought."

I agree TID is way better ...

[Abigail]

Hmmmm, i read Mortal Instruments first, so maybe thats why, but i like the Mortal... series better. Idk, im almost done with the infernal device series, but i dont like how shes gonna end up with both of them!!

[Anja]

I recommend reading TID first because if you read TMI first you would get confused on some of the things they will talk about.

[Storm]

I don't recommend doing the "mix up" people recommend, of reading by publication date. It can really mess up perspective since your jumping from Clary and Jace to Tessa, Will and Jem... Read The Infernal Devices THEN Mortal Instruments.

[Jayne]

My opinion is to read first three TMI, then TID, then the last three TMI to catch all the cros-overs betwen the two series. Idealy, you would read the books in order of publication date but like Storm said, it gets very messy and confusing doing that and I wouldn't recommend it.

[[deleted user]]

I did and I didn't feel confused at all. The only problem is that the first TMI book wasn't as good as I expected after reading TID. But that's just my opinion...
:)

[Storm]

Jayne wrote: "My opinion is to read first three TMI, then TID, then the last three TMI to catch all the cros-overs betwen the two series. Idealy, you would read the books in order of publication date but like St..."

Plus from what I've heard later books in TMI spoil things for the Infernal Devices so you want that trilogy done as soon as possible

[[deleted user]]

I read TID first, and I'm glad I did, otherwise I think I would have been pretty bored with City of Bones.

[Eliza]

Yes! I did :P