What to Read After City of Bones — 7 Books for Mortal Instruments Fans
Cassandra Clare threw readers into a hidden world of Shadowhunters, demons, and a mythology rich enough to sustain over a dozen connected books. If you've finished City of Bones and you're hunting for that same rush — the chosen heroine who discovers her world was a lie, the forbidden romance with someone dangerous, the found family forged in combat — these seven books deliver it. From Bardugo's Grishaverse to Taylor's lush mythologies, every pick shares City of Bones' DNA: a hidden world, impossible stakes, and a romance you can't look away from.
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City of Ashes
by Cassandra Clare
The direct sequel escalates every element of City of Bones — the forbidden dynamic between Clary and Jace grows more charged, the demon threats more dangerous, and Clare's Shadowhunter mythology deepens with lore that reframes everything you thought you knew. Mandatory if you finished the first book wanting more.
Forbidden RomanceShadowhuntersChosen OneFound Family🌶 Cozy - 2
An Ember in the Ashes
by Sabaa Tahir
A scholar and a soldier navigate opposite sides of a brutal empire in dual POV — with the same chosen-one weight and forbidden romance energy as The Mortal Instruments, anchored in a Roman-inspired world that feels mythological and alive. Tahir writes the enemies-to-lovers arc with meticulous precision.
Dual POVEnemies to LoversEmpire PoliticsChosen One🌶 Cozy - 3
Shadow and Bone
by Leigh Bardugo
A mapmaker discovers a rare power that could reshape her world — and finds herself caught between a consuming mentor and the boy she grew up with. Bardugo's Grishaverse shares Clare's flair for world mythology, morally complex authority figures, and a romance complicated by impossible stakes.
Magic SystemEnemies to LoversChosen OneHidden Power🌶 Cozy - 4
Six of Crows
by Leigh Bardugo
A crew of criminal misfits attempts an impossible heist from the world's most fortified prison. Bardugo's ensemble cast hits the same found-family note Clare perfected with the Shadowhunters, and the morally grey characters will feel immediately familiar to Mortal Instruments readers.
HeistFound FamilyMorally GreyEnsemble Cast🌶 Cozy - 5
The Cruel Prince
by Holly Black
A human girl stolen to the fae world schemes her way into power among ruthless faeries. Holly Black writes supernatural political intrigue with the same dark glamour Clare brings to the Shadowhunter universe, and Jude and Cardan's push-pull dynamic has the same charged energy as Clary and Jace.
Fae CourtsEnemies to LoversPolitical IntrigueMorally Grey Hero🌶 Cozy - 6
Strange the Dreamer
by Laini Taylor
A librarian obsessed with a lost city finds his way inside — a place of gods, monsters, and a girl born of nightmare. Taylor's lyrical prose and layered mythology share City of Bones' sense of wonder at a hidden world just behind the visible one, with a romance that aches from the first page.
Lost CityMythologySlow BurnLyrical Prose🌶 Cozy - 7
Children of Blood and Bone
by Tomi Adeyemi
In a world where magic was erased by a brutal king, a young woman discovers she can restore it — at enormous personal cost. Adeyemi's West African-inspired fantasy delivers the same chosen-one urgency and found-family warmth as The Mortal Instruments, with a heroine whose determination rivals Clary Fray's.
Chosen OneFound FamilyMagic RestorationRebellion🌶 Cozy