Bodice ripper book series in reading order

Sweet Savage Love (1974) opened Rosemary Rogers's career and the historical romance line the subject tags call bodice ripper. Rogers wrote 27 catalogued titles through to SAPPHIRE (2020), among them the Legend of Morgan-Challenger books, the Russian Connection and the Logan-Campbell duology. Dark romance, western settings, nobility and alpha male leads mark the subject tags. No new Rogers title has appeared since 2020.

Virginia Henley

35 books• 4 series

Virginia Henley is a British-Canadian novelist working in historical romance, across medieval, Renaissance and Regency settings. Her 35 catalogued books run from The Irish Gypsy (1982) to Smuggler's Lair (2018), taking in The Raven and the Rose (1987), The Hawk and the Dove (1988) and The Falcon and the Flower (1989). The catalogue groups into the Medieval Plantagenet Trilogy, the Medieval DeWarenne Trilogy, the Peers of the Realm Trilogy and Clan Kennedy. Henley's novels are long, at a median of 408 pages.

Jennifer Blake is one of five names used by Patricia Maxwell, an American writer in the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Love's Wild Desire (1977) was her first romance novel and became a New York Times bestseller, while the gothic mystery-suspense titles appeared as Patricia Maxwell, among them The Secret of Mirror House (1969) and Night of the Candles (1978). Louisiana anchors several series, from Louisiana History and Louisiana Gentleman to Louisiana Plantation and Louisiana Knights, across 69 catalogued books ending at True Gentlemen (2017).

Fern Michaels was the pen name of Mary Ruth Kuczkir, born Mary Ruth Koval on April 9, 1933, who died on November 12, 2025. The American novelist wrote romance and thrillers, including the Texas quartet, the Captive series, Family Blessings, Pretty Woman and Crown Jewel. Michaels's output passed 200 books with an estimated 150 million copies sold. The catalogue lists 190 titles, from Pride and Passion (1975) to A Season of Secrets (2026). Series include the Sisterhood, Godmothers, Men of the Sisterhood, Lost and Found, Vegas, Kentucky and Twin Lights. Female friendship, vigilantes and revenge appear among the subject tags.

Kat Martin is a pen name of Kathleen Kelly Martin, born July 14, 1947, an American writer of romance novels who has also published as Kathy Lawrence and Kasey Marx. The catalogue holds 81 books from Magnificent Passage (1988) to The Unseen (2025), split between historical romance and romantic suspense, with private investigators among the recorded subjects. Series include the Raines of Wind Canyon, Maximum Security, the Brodies of Alaska, the Sinclair Sisters Trilogy and BOSS, Inc. Martin is married to the writer and photographer Larry Jay Martin.

Julie Garwood (1944-2023) was an American novelist who wrote more than twenty-seven romance novels across historical and suspense subgenres. More than 35 million copies of Garwood's books are in print, and at least 24 reached the New York Times bestseller list. A Girl Named Summer is a Garwood novel for young adults. For the Roses became the television feature Rose Hill. The catalogue records 36 books, running from Gentle Warrior (1985) to Grace Under Fire (2022), with series including Buchanan-Renard-MacKenna, Claybornes of Rose Hill, Crown's Spies, Highlands' Lairds and Lairds' Brides.

Karen Robards has written historical romance, contemporary romance and romantic suspense across 56 catalogued books. Island Flame (1981) opens the list, followed by Sea Fire (1982), Forbidden Love (1983), Amanda Rose (1984), Dark Torment (1985) and To Love a Man (1985). Dr. Charlotte Stone, the Banning Sisters and Jessica Ford head series inside a catalogue otherwise made of standalone novels. The Moonlight Runner is the newest title, and Robards remains actively publishing.

Brenda Joyce writes historical romance. The American author, born in New York State around 1963, has 50 catalogued books published between 1988 and 2014, from Innocent Fire (1988) to A Sword Upon The Rose (2014). Family sagas organise much of the work: the deWarenne Dynasty, the Bragg Saga, the Delanzas and the Saint Georges. Francesca Cahill heads a separate sequence, and other series include Masters Of Time, the Spymaster's Men and a Scottish medieval set. Joyce has also signed a novel as B.D. Joyce. No new title has appeared since 2014.

Shirlee Busbee, born August 9, 1941, is an American romance novelist who has published since 1977. More than nine million copies of the books are in print. Busbee has taken the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award, along with Silver and Bronze Pen Awards from Affaire de Coeur. The catalogue holds 24 titles from Gypsy Lady (1977) to Desire Becomes Her (2012), with England, the Regency period, orphans and widows among the recorded subjects. Southern Women, Becomes Her and the Ballinger Family are the series listed.

Patricia Gaffney wrote historical romance and women's fiction. Fortune's Lady (1989) opens 17 catalogued books that end with Mad Dash (2007). The Wyckerley Trilogy is the one series; To Have and To Hold (1995), To Love and to Cherish (1995) and Forever & Ever (1996) sit in the middle of the catalogue. Physicians, friendship and the manners of an older England run through the subjects, alongside the bodice-ripper shelf the early books are filed under.

Iris Johansen writes crime fiction, suspense and romance, and was born on April 7, 1938, in St. Louis, Missouri. The catalogue lists 120 books from Stormy Vows (1983) to Wait and See (2026), with the 1980s as the busiest decade. Eve Duncan, Kendra Michaels and Catherine Ling are the recurring characters, and facial reconstruction and women sculptors appear among the subject headings. Johansen's series also include Sedikhan, Wind Dancer, Clanad and Delaneys.

Two mystery series carry most of Mary Daheim's catalogue: the Bed-and-Breakfast books around Judith McMonigle Flynn, and the Emma Lord novels about a newspaper publisher in Washington state. Eighty-four titles are catalogued between The Royal Mile (1983) and Lady MacDeath in 2020, with historical romances among the early work. The 1990s were the densest decade.

Candace Camp is an American writer of romance, mostly historical, with 70 catalogued books to her name. The run begins with Bonds of Love (1978) under the pen name Lisa Gregory, one of several names Camp has published under alongside Sharon Stephens and Kristin James. The subjects are Regency and Victorian England, nobility, revenge and manners, across series including Mad Morelands, Willowmere, Stonecliffe and Secrets of the Loch. A Scandal at Stonecliffe (2024) is the most recent title.

Roberta Helmer (July 19, 1950 - May 21, 2018) published as Christina Skye, and under that pseudonym wrote more than thirty-two novels across romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and contemporary and historical romance. Titles reached the USA Today, New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists, and the fiction has been translated into ten languages. Helmer's own name went on five non-fiction books about classical Chinese puppet theatre and traditional Chinese folk arts. The catalogue lists 41 titles opening with Defiant Captive (1990), and Draycott Abbey, SEAL and Code Name, Regency Era, Dangerous Heroes and Dangerous Delameres are the series on record.

Connie Mason, who also publishes as Cara Miles, writes historical romance: more than fifty novels and novellas, set in American and overseas locales. Romantic Times named Mason Story Teller of the Year in 1990 and gave a Career Achievement award in the western category in 1994. The catalogue holds 64 books from Tender Fury (1984), the first published work, to Between a Rake and a Hard Place (2014), with series including Delaney, Royal Rakes, Beyond the Horizon and Flame. Mason lives in Tarpon Springs, Florida, and the list is marked likely complete.

Susan Johnson, born 4 December 1939, is an American writer of sexually explicit romance novels that reached the New York Times bestseller list. Johnson stands out among romance writers for adding footnotes to some of the novels. Subjects include historical romance, Regency romance and the nobility. The romance catalogue opens with Seized By Love (1978) and continues through Love Storm, Blaze, Silver Flame, Golden Paradise, Forbidden and Sinful. Johnson's series include Braddock-Black, St. John-Duras, Russian/Kuzan Family, Darley, Carre and Hidden Fantasies.