The Laughing Listener
March 2020
Format: Paperback
Overall Rating: 4 Stars

Damn, I forgot how much I love these books. There are so many friggin books in this universe, it’s sometimes hard to keep them all straight and I read this trilogy so long ago that I wanted to do a reread before I hit up the newly released [b:Chain of Gold|17699853|Chain of Gold (The Last Hours, #1)|Cassandra Clare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571379245l/17699853._SY75_.jpg|19212510]. I’m glad I did too! I forgot so much and there were a lot of little Easter eggs that I appreciated this second time.

I started reading Cassandra Clare books when [b:City of Bones|256683|City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)|Cassandra Clare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1432730315l/256683._SY75_.jpg|2267189] first came out in 2007. Most of the time it feels like me and the Shadowhunters universe have grown up together, so I haven’t really noticed Cassie’s growth as an author before. But now that I’m rereading these books as an older adult, it seems so obvious. To this day I love The Mortal Instrument books, but it’s mostly out of a deep nostalgia. The characters and world building are great, but the story is very soap-opera-dramatic and over the top. I know this and love it anyway because it was the first fandom I was ever really a part of.



Now this series feels light years ahead of The Mortal Instruments. There’s a very stilted feeling in The Mortal Instrument books after [b:City of Glass|3777732|City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3)|Cassandra Clare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1369452339l/3777732._SY75_.jpg|3443248] where the series was supposed to end before awkwardly being drawn out over three more books. But The Infernal Devices feels so much more intentional. A lot of planning must have gone into this story and it’s so fun watching it all play out.

And the characters! Cassie has always been the queen of giving us awesome characters, but I especially love this group. Tessa, Sophie, and Charlotte are some of my favorite women in this universe (so far anyway) and the brotherly/bff vibes between Jem and Will can’t be beat.

I’ve seen several people over the years recommend starting with this series as an introduction to the Shadowhunter universe, which always made me nervous. Even though they’re first in the chronological timeline, I worried that the explanations and world building would be too brief to understand since they weren’t written first. Now that I’ve reread this book though, I’m realizing that was silly. These are a great introduction to this world if you’re looking to break into the shadowhunter universe! Personally, I think this series is far superior over The Mortal Instruments, so I think reading this first will give you the strength to get through that not-as-great series later on.

FINAL WORD

*Chef’s kiss*

#1 ↦ [b:Clockwork Angel|7171637|Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1)|Cassandra Clare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1454962884l/7171637._SY75_.jpg|6674837] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
#2 ↦ [b:Clockwork Prince|10025305|Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, #2)|Cassandra Clare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460477747l/10025305._SY75_.jpg|6674845] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
#3 ↦ [b:Clockwork Princess|18335634|Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3)|Cassandra Clare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436788488l/18335634._SY75_.jpg|6309710] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧