The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices are two series written by Cassandra Clare that makeup two complete stories of the Shadowhunter Chronicles. The Shadowhunter Chronicles are made up of different book series such as The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, The Dark Artifices, The Last Hours, and many more. These stories pertain to a group of Shadowhunters (Nephilim) and their adventures of fighting demons and interacting with Downworlders (vampires, werewolves, faeries, warlocks). The Infernal Devices is a prequel to The Mortal Instruments taking place at least 130 years before in the Victorian Era.   

Both series have a similar storyline. The antagonist finds out that they are not entirely human and that they are a part of a much bigger world than they know. The two girls both find themselves in love with one of the other main characters and end up in a love triangle between the two boys. Both girls (Clary and Tessa) find out that they have evil family members, in this case, they both have evil brothers, and they team up with their new friends ( the ones that helped them figure out that they are not entirely human). There are some other similarities between books, but one could say that they are mainly references to each other. For instance, the characters Alec and Izzy’s middle name are the same names as their distant relatives. Considering The Infernal Devices is a prequel that stars the ancestors of the main characters of The Mortal Instruments, there are many references to each other and other books featured in the chronicles. Such characters in the Mortal Instruments sharing some qualities with those in The Infernal Devices, but some qualities with certain characters are eerily similar. According to the books, Will Herondale is the ancestor of Jace Herondale, and the two seem to share the same personality traits and heartbreaking backgrounds. Both are very cocky and the best at what they do, because of their past they believe they are cursed in regards to love.

Other than that there are again similarities between the characters in a love triangle in each novel. Starting with the character who doesn’t get the girl. Both boys deal with a type of incurable disease and become immortal, yet at the end of their respective series, they become something other than what they were before. The guys who do end up with the girl are intelligent, sarcastic, and arrogant. They believe themselves to be cursed and tend to push people away. The girls however have something extra about them that makes them special hence why they were experimented on.

Despite the comparisons between the plot and the characters, both series are a great read and I find it quite fun to find all of the references from each book and ancestor to descendent. Even with those similarities, there are many differences between both series. The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices are filled with action-packed and entertaining moments, such as Lord Montgomery and the case of Demon Pox. I would recommend giving both series a read!