Romance, fantasy book series in reading order

by Cheryl Brooks

by Jean Johnson

by Bonnie Vanak

by H. Rider Haggard

by Nora Roberts

by Jeanne C. Stein

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.

Cheryl Brooks writes science fiction romance: aliens, life on other planets, slaves and erotic romance are the recorded subjects. The catalogue holds 34 books from Slave (2008) to Captive (2020), with Warrior (2008), Outcast and Rogue (2009), and Fugitive and Hero (2010) following the opening title. Series recorded for Brooks are the Cat Star Chronicles, the Cat Star Legacy, Unlikely Lovers, Cowboy Heaven, Soul Survivors and the Sextet anthologies. All 34 books are credited to Brooks alone, and the listing is marked likely complete.

Jean Johnson writes fantasy romance and military science fiction. The Sons of Destiny sequence names each book for its brother -- The Sword, The Wolf, The Master, The Cat, The Storm, The Flame, The Song, The Mage -- and prophecy drives the run. Theirs Not to Reason Why and First Salik War move the work into space warfare with women soldiers, while Guardians of Destiny, Shifting Plains and Flame Seas continue the fantasy side. 34 books span 2007 to 2019, at a median of 336 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.

C.E. Murphy

55 books• 16 series

C.E. Murphy is the main byline of Catherine E. Murphy, an American-born fantasy and romance author based in Ireland and born June 1, 1973. Murphy's series include the Walker Papers, The Negotiator Trilogy and the Inheritors' Cycle, and The Strongbox Chronicles appeared under a pseudonym. Murphy has also written the graphic novel Take a Chance. The catalogue lists 55 books from The Cardinal Rule (2005) to Bone & Blood (2026), including Urban Shaman (2005), Thunderbird Falls (2006) and Heart of Stone (2007). Subjects include women shamans, policewomen, Seattle, demoniac possession and paranormal romance.

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.

Michelle Michiko Sagara, born 5 May 1963, is a Canadian fantasy writer who has published as Michelle Sagara, as Michelle West and as Michelle Sagara West. Two John W. Campbell Award nominations sit on the record. Sagara lives in Toronto and works part-time at the Bakka-Phoenix bookshop. The catalogue holds 80 books dated 1990 to 2026, running through Into the Dark Lands (1991), Hunter's Oath (1995) and The Broken Crown (1997) to Cast in Blood (2026). Series headings include the Sun Sword, House War, the Sacred Hunt, the Essalieyan Chronicles, the Queen of the Dead Trilogy, Wolves of Elantra and the Academia Chronicles, and Kaylin Neya appears in the subject tags. Some listed volumes are Valdemar and Buffy the Vampire Slayer anthologies shared with other writers.

Karen Kelley is a US nurse and author who began publishing romance in the early 1990s. The catalogue holds 54 books from Her Angel (1992) to Dark Illusions (2023), with paranormal and fantasy romance, human-alien encounters, shapeshifting and erotica among the recorded subjects. Series under Kelley's name include Planet Nerak, Princes of Symtaria, Warrior Breed, Sisters Bound By Blood, Bachelor and It's a Southern Thing. No further title is scheduled.

Laura Anne Gilman

50 books• 15 series

Laura Anne Gilman is an American fantasy author, born in New Jersey in 1967. Magic, paranormal investigation, vampires and murder recur across a catalogue of 50 books published between 1995 and 2023, from Double or Nothing (1995) to Uncanny Vows (2023). Gilman's series include the Retrievers, the Vineart War, Paranormal Scene Investigations, Sylvan Investigations, the Gin & Tonic Mysteries, the Devil's West, Portals and Huntsmen, with non-fiction strands on unsolved mysteries and on economics. No title is listed after 2023.

Werewolves, vampires, shapeshifting, magic, demonology and paranormal romance are the subjects the catalogue records for Cat Adams. A Tale of the Sazi, Blood Singer and Thrall are the named series, with two further groupings filed under the C.T. Adams byline for novels and for short stories and novellas; Blood Singer also stands as a character entry. The 21 books run from Hunter's Moon (2004) to All Your Wishes (2016), with Moon's Web (2005), Captive Moon (2006), Touch of Evil (2006) and Touch of Madness (2007) early in the sequence. The median book is 358 pages.

Elizabeth Vaughan writes fantasy romance in the Chronicles of the Warlands and Epic of Palins series. Catalogue subjects include healers, women soldiers, mercenary troops, revolutions and imaginary wars and battles. The 10 books were published from 2005 to 2019, starting with Warprize (2005), Warsworn (2006) and Warlord (2007). Dagger-Star / Red Gloves (2008), White Star (2009) and Destiny's Star (2010) followed. Warcry (2011), WarDance (2017), Warsong (2018) and Fate's Star (2019) are the later titles.

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.