In the novel, Cassandra Clare includes references to the works of Holly Black, who is a friend of Clare's.
- At the beginning of the book, Clary is drawing and listening to a band called Stepping Razor. Stepping Razor is the name of Ellen Fierch's band in Holly Black's book, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale.
- In the scene in Chapter 10 where Clary and Jace are riding in the carriage, Clary looks out the window and sees a few homeless teenagers. One of them is a girl with a shaved head, the other a boy with dreadlocks and facial piercings who appears to be blind in one eye. These teenagers are the characters Valerie and Luis from Black's book Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie.
She also includes references to the works of Philip Reeve, whose Mortal Engines Quartet she drew inspiration from. Her inclusion of the antagonist Valentine, who is later revealed to be the father of Clary, is a nod to Philip Reeve's antagonist Thaddeus Valentine in Mortal Engines (2003, first in the Quartet), who is also discovered to be the father of one of the main characters.[10]
