Romance, fantasy book series in reading order

by H. Rider Haggard

by Nora Roberts

by Sarah J. Maas

Gena Showalter is an American novelist, born in Oklahoma in 1975, who writes contemporary romance, paranormal romance and young adult fiction. Showalter sold a first book at age 27 and has reached the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. The catalogue lists 116 books from The Stone Prince (2004) to The Kraken Bride (2026). Lords of the Underworld, Alien Huntress, Angels of the Dark and the White Rabbit Chronicles are among the linked series, and vampires and demonology recur in the subject headings.

Maggie Shayne, born 1965, is an American novelist with more than 70 novels to that name, and the subject tags centre on paranormal romance, vampires and romantic suspense. Awards include the RITA Award, Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice and Career Achievement Awards, and the P.E.A.R.L. Award. The catalogue holds 121 books from Reckless (1993) to Lone Wolf (2026). Wings in the Night, Texas Brands, Immortal Witches, Shattered Sisters, Brown & de Luca and Secrets of Shadow Falls are among the series.

Robin D. Owens writes romance crossed with fantasy and science fiction. Heart Mate (2001) opens Celta's Heartmates, set on another planet and running through Heart Thief, Heart Duel, Heart Choice and Heart Dance; the Summoning, Ghost Seer and Mystic Circle series follow. Magic, psychic ability and wizards recur across 35 catalogued books, which end at Song of Marwey (2022).

Sherrilyn Kenyon

117 books• 29 series

Sherrilyn Kenyon, born December 11, 1965, is an American writer of urban fantasy and paranormal romance, best known for the Dark-Hunter series. Under the pseudonym Kinley MacGregor, Kenyon writes historical fiction with paranormal elements. The books have sold over 70 million copies in more than 100 countries. The catalogue lists 117 titles from The Wager (1992) to Hell's Half Acre (2026), among them series such as League: Nemesis Rising, Dream-Hunter, B.A.D. Agency and Chronicles of Nick. Two early non-fiction titles are writer's guides from 1994 and 1995.

P.C. Cast, born Phyllis Christine Cast on April 30, 1960, is an American romance and fantasy author. Cast writes the House of Night series, which is edited by Cast's daughter Kristin Cast, as well as the Goddess Summoning and Partholon series. The catalogue lists 59 books from Divine by Mistake (2001) to Queen of Shadow (2026), including Goddess of the Sea (2003) and Betrayed (2007). Subjects include vampires, goddesses, magic, time travel and Oklahoma. Other listings include Tales Of A New World, Sisters Of Salem and Moonstruck, and Cast is still publishing.

Time travel and magic run through Lynn Kurland's romance. The de Piaget family novels and the Nine Kingdoms fantasy sequence are the two series, with the MacLeods among the recurring names. A Dance Through Time (1996) is the earliest of 44 catalogued titles, and As Time Goes By is the newest. Median length is 376 pages, and the 2010s were the busiest decade.

Karen Marie Moning

23 books• 4 series

Scotland and time travel drive the first half of Karen Marie Moning's work, in the Highlander romances that begin with Beyond the Highland Mist (1999) and run through Kiss of the Highlander, The Dark Highlander and The Immortal Highlander. MacKayla Lane carries the Fever series, urban fantasy about fae loose in the modern world. Watch Hill follows. Twenty-seven titles make up the catalogue, at a median of 464 pages.

Mercedes Lackey

230 books• 52 series

Valdemar, a country in the world of Velgarth, is the setting for many of Mercedes Lackey's interlinked fantasy novels and trilogies. Lackey, an American writer born on June 24, 1950, brings human and non-human protagonists from many cultures together in the Valdemar books. A second Lackey setting resembles Earth but hides populations of elves, mages, vampires and other mythical beings. Bedlam's Bard follows a young man who works magic through music, SERRAted Edge features elves who race cars, and the Diana Tregarde thrillers star a Wiccan fighting evil. Arrows of the Queen (1987), Arrow's Flight (1987) and Arrow's Fall (1988) are among the listed titles, and Elemental Masters and Five Hundred Kingdoms are further series.

Paranormal romance is the field of Donna Grant, and the recorded subjects take in dragons, druids, shapeshifting, magic, vampires, man-woman relationships and Scotland. The listing holds 162 books and reaches Dragon Sieged in 2026, with the 2010s the heaviest decade. Series credited to Grant include Dark Kings, Reapers, Dark Warriors, Dark Sword, Druids Glen, Skye Druids, Elven Kingdoms, Sisters of Magic, Chiasson and LaRue. A Dark Guardian, A Kind of Magic, Highland Dawn, Highland Mist and Highland Nights all carry a 2006 date. Grant is still publishing.

Alexis Morgan writes paranormal and fantasy romance about vampires, immortality, magic and the conflict of good and evil. The catalogue holds 50 books, from Dark Protector and Dark Defender (both 2006) to To Trust a Rancher (2026). Series include Paladins of Darkness, Talions, Warriors of the Mist, Heroes of Dunbar Mountain, Snowberry Creek, Sergeant Joe's Boys, Paladin Strike Team and Abbey McCree Mystery. In Darkness Reborn (2007) and Dark Warrior Unleashed (2008) are among the early titles.

Amanda Ashley is an American novelist working in paranormal romance. Vampires are the recurring subject, set against historical backdrops and man-woman relationships. The catalogue holds 51 books published between 1996 and 2022, opening with Deeper Than the Night (1996) and closing with Secrets in the Night (2022). Ashley's series include Embrace, the Vampire Trilogy, Morgan Creek, Brynn Tor, Enchant and Children of the Night, with standalone novels, short stories and novellas filling out the run. No title is listed after 2022.

Jennifer Ashley, whose full name is Jennifer Ashley Gardner, sold a first novel in 2002 and made a second sale to Berkley with a series of historical mysteries. The catalogue counts 157 books from Perils of the Heart (2002) to Murder on the Rhône (2026). Series include Shifters Unbound, Captain Lacey Mysteries, Highland Pleasures, Kat Holloway Mysteries, Stormwalker, Riding Hard, Leonidas the Gladiator Mystery, Nvengaria and the McLaughlin Brothers. Subjects span paranormal romance, shapeshifting, historical romance and historical fiction. Ashley holds a master's degree in English literature and placed a first short story in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine.

Shana Abé is an American romance novelist who has received the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and several Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Awards. The catalogue records 18 books from A Rose in Winter (1998) to A Crown of Stars (2026). Drakon and Sweetest Dark are the series, and The Smoke Thief (2005), The Dream Thief (2006) and Queen of Dragons (2007) are listed titles. Subjects include dragons, metamorphosis, historical and fantasy romance, England and Scotland.

Romance is the genre Michelle M. Pillow is chiefly known for, though the novels cross several genres, and the catalogue subjects add fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction and erotica. Pillow is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller with more than one million copies sold, holds recognition from the Romance Writers of America for passing 100 books, and belongs to the Authors Guild. The catalogue counts 119 books from 2004 to 2025. Warlocks MacGregor, Lords Of The Var, Qurilixen Lords, Tribes Of The Vampire and Space Lords are among the series.

Nora Roberts

279 books• 37 series

Nora Roberts, born Eleanor Marie Robertson on October 10, 1950, is an American writer of romance under that name. As J. D. Robb, Roberts writes police procedurals with science-fiction elements, and has also published as Jill March and, in the UK, as Sarah Hardesty. This listing carries 280 Roberts books, opening with Irish Thoroughbred (1981); The Missing is scheduled for 2027. Series on the page include the In Death Universe, the MacGregors, Night Tales, the Calhoun Women, the Chesapeake Bay Saga, Irish Hearts and the O'Hurleys.

Jayne Ann Krentz, born Jayne Castle on 28 March 1948 in Cobb, California, is an American romance novelist with New York Times bestsellers under seven pseudonyms. Three names remain in use: Krentz for contemporary romantic suspense, Amanda Quick for historical romantic suspense and Jayne Ann Castle for futuristic and paranormal romantic suspense. More than 35 million copies are in print. The catalogue lists 205 books, from Vintage of Surrender (1979, as Jayne Castle) to Enter the Nightmare (2026), with The Book Hunter due in 2027. Early titles also appeared as Jayne Bentley, Jayne Taylor and Stephanie James. Series include Burning Cove, Eclipse Bay and the Dreamlight Trilogy.

Lora Leigh, born March 6, 1965, is an American author of erotic romance with New York Times bestseller status. Leigh began publishing in 2003 with the electronic publisher Ellora's Cave. The Breeds is the longest-running series, and Elite Ops, Nauti Boys, Bound Hearts, Wizard Twins and Men of Summer are among the others. The catalogue holds 115 books from 2003 to Play Hard (2025). Leigh won the 2009 RT Award for erotica and was born in Ohio and raised in Martin County, Kentucky.

Lois McMaster Bujold

54 books• 8 series

Lois McMaster Bujold, born November 2, 1949, is an American writer of speculative fiction who has won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, equalling Robert A. Heinlein's record. The Vorkosigan Saga is her best-known work: science fiction novels set about 1000 years in the future and featuring Miles Vorkosigan of the planet Barrayar, a physically impaired man who serves as interstellar spy and mercenary admiral. The catalogue lists 54 books from 1986 to Darksight Dare (2026), including Shards of Honor, The Warrior's Apprentice, Falling Free, Brothers in Arms and The Vor Game. Other series listings include Penric and Desdemona, Sharing Knife and Curse Of Chalion. SFWA named Bujold its 36th Grand Master in 2019.

Kerrelyn Sparks is an American author of paranormal romance published by Avon Books. Love at Stake, the series Sparks is known for, has 17 novels, all USA Today bestsellers, and its fourth book, The Undead Next Door (2008), reached the New York Times Best Seller list. The catalogue counts 25 books from For Love or Country (2002) to When a Dragon Falls (2023). Embraced By Magic is another series, and subjects include vampires, shapeshifting, magic and Boston.

Katie MacAlister, born in 1964, writes historical, contemporary and paranormal romance from the Seattle area. Vampires, dragons, demons and magic fill the paranormal series: Dark Ones, Aisling Grey: Guardian, Light Dragons, Silver Dragons, Dragon Falls and Dragon Hunter. MacAlister has 87 catalogued books, from Noble Intentions (2002) to The Dragon With A Girl Tattoo (2025). Young adult titles appear under the pen name Katie Maxwell, and mysteries under Kate Marsh.

MaryJanice Davidson is an American author who writes mainly paranormal romance, along with young adult fiction and non-fiction, and who created the Undead series. Davidson is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller and won a Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award in 2004, with a further nomination in 2005. Davidson grew up moving between military bases as the child of a United States Air Force airman and lives in Minnesota. The catalogue lists 87 books from 1998 to 2025, including Undead and Unwed (2002), Thief of Hearts (2001) and The Royal Treatment (2002), with The Reluctant Reaper (2025) the newest. Series include Queen Betsy, Wyndham Werewolf, Jennifer Scales, Fred The Mermaid, Cadence Jones and Alaskan Royal Family.

Maria V. Snyder writes fantasy and science fiction. The Study series is Snyder's best known work, opening with Poison Study (2005) and continuing through Magic Study (2006), Fire Study (2008) and Power Study (2008); the Glass books follow with Storm Glass and Sea Glass (2009) and Spy Glass (2010). The catalogue also holds the Chronicles of Ixia, Avry of Kazan, Sentinels of the Galaxy, the Archives of the Invisible Sword and Valek's Adventures. Magic, healers, magicians and teenage girls are recurring subjects. Snyder's 29 books reach The Study of Storms and Magic (2025).

Jacquelyn Frank writes paranormal romance. Rapture, catalogued at 2009, reached number 8 on The New York Times paperback fiction chart. Vampires, spirits, the supernatural and blessing and cursing appear among the recorded subjects. The listing holds 43 books between 2006 and 2020, opening with Jacob (2006) and closing on Seduce Me in Shadows (2020), and the run is marked likely complete. Nightwalkers and Immortal Brothers are the recorded character groupings, with World of Nightwalkers, Shadowdwellers, Energy Vampires and Gatherers among the series.

Evangeline Anderson is a registered MRI technologist and Florida resident who turned privately written erotic fiction into a career in paranormal and science fiction erotica. The catalogue lists 205 Anderson books from Changing Worlds (2004) to Desired by the Beast (2026). Series include Brides of the Kindred, Kindred Tales, Alien Mate Index, Forbidden Omegaverse, Hidden Hollow, Born to Darkness, Nocturne Academy and Monstrum Kindred. Subjects include erotic and fantasy romance, vampires, gay fiction and science fiction.