Erica Ridley Books in Order: All 56 Titles
Erica Ridley is an American author who describes herself as a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of adult historical romance and young adult horror thrillers. Her first novel, the Regency gothic romance Too Wicked to Kiss, was published in 2010, and she has written Regency-set historical romance almost exclusively since, most of it self-published through her own imprint. Her best-known series are the Dukes of War (2014-2022), Rogues to Riches (2017-2021), the twelve-book Christmas-village series The 12 Dukes of Christmas (2018-2021) and The Wild Wynchesters (2020-2025), the last of which is published by Forever/Grand Central Publishing and brought her onto the New York Times list. She has also written several collaborative Regency series with Darcy Burke and Grace Burrowes, and since 2025 has published young adult horror thrillers, beginning with The Protegee.
Do you have to read Erica Ridley in order?
Every Erica Ridley series is written so that each book stands alone, and she does not run cliffhangers between them. The Wild Wynchesters is the one worth reading in order, because the siblings appear in each other's books and the family's history builds - start with the free prequel novella The Governess Gambit or go straight to The Duke Heist. The 12 Dukes of Christmas all take place in the same village and share a large recurring cast, so the numbered order reads best even though any of them works alone. The two Heist Club novellas belong inside the Wild Wynchesters at positions 1.5 and 2.5. If you pick up the Wicked Dukes Club or Siren's Retreat series, note that only some of the books are hers.
Genres and eras: Regency-set historical romance is the overwhelming bulk of her work, and it is almost all light in tone - capers, Christmas-village romps and Cinderella stories - apart from the early Gothic Love Stories, which are darker and where book 5, Too Brazen to Bite, has a vampire hero and is effectively paranormal historical. Outside historical romance she has written two short paranormal/fantasy romance series, Magic & Mayhem and Nether-Netherland, and since 2025 a separate young-adult horror-thriller line: The Protegee (2025) and Insatiable (2026). Those young-adult books are not romance and should not be shelved with the Regencies.
Gothic Love Stories in order (2010-2020)
Her earliest series and the darkest thing she writes - Regency-set gothic romance with brooding houses and buried secrets. Books 1 and 2 came out in 2010-2011 and the series was then revived eight years later. Book 5 has a vampire hero and reads as paranormal historical rather than straight Regency.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Too Wicked to Kiss | 2010 |
| 2 | Too Sinful to Deny | 2011 |
| 3 | Too Tempting to Resist | 2019 |
| 4 | Too Wanton to Wed | 2019 |
| 5 | Too Brazen to Bite | 2020 |
The Dukes of War in order (2014-2022)
Officers returning from the Napoleonic wars into Regency society. Book 1 was originally published as The Viscount's Christmas Temptation and was later retitled The Viscount's Tempting Minx; it is one book, not two, although several databases list both titles. Holiday Reunion is a short story that appears in database listings but not on the author's own book list.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Viscount's Tempting Minx novella | 2014 |
| 2 | The Earl's Defiant Wallflower | 2014 |
| 3 | The Captain's Bluestocking Mistress | 2015 |
| 4 | The Major's Faux Fiancee | 2015 |
| 5 | The Brigadier's Runaway Bride | 2015 |
| 6 | The Pirate's Tempting Stowaway | 2015 |
| 7 | The Duke's Accidental Wife | 2016 |
| 7.6 | Holiday Reunion novella | 2019 |
| 8 | A Match, Unmasked | 2022 |
| 9 | All I Want novella | 2016 |
Rogues to Riches in order (2017-2021)
Regency Cinderella stories. The first six came out in eighteen months; the seventh arrived three years later.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lord of Chance | 2017 |
| 2 | Lord of Pleasure | 2017 |
| 3 | Lord of Night | 2017 |
| 4 | Lord of Temptation | 2018 |
| 5 | Lord of Secrets | 2018 |
| 6 | Lord of Vice | 2018 |
| 7 | Lord of the Masquerade | 2021 |
The 12 Dukes of Christmas in order (2018-2021)
Twelve linked Christmas Regency romances set in the fictional snowbound village of Cressmouth, plus a prequel novella. The author's reading order differs from publication order in places - The Duke's Desire is numbered 8 but appeared in December 2019 alongside book 7, and the prequel Making Merry was published last, in December 2021.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | Making Merry novella | 2021 |
| 1 | Once Upon a Duke | 2018 |
| 2 | Kiss of a Duke | 2018 |
| 3 | Wish Upon a Duke | 2018 |
| 4 | Never Say Duke | 2018 |
| 5 | Dukes, Actually | 2019 |
| 6 | The Duke's Bride | 2019 |
| 7 | The Duke's Embrace novella | 2019 |
| 8 | The Duke's Desire | 2019 |
| 9 | Dawn with a Duke | 2020 |
| 10 | One Night with a Duke | 2020 |
| 11 | Ten Days with a Duke | 2020 |
| 12 | Forever Your Duke | 2020 |
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The Wild Wynchesters in order (2020-2025)
Her breakout series and the one published traditionally, by Forever/Grand Central: a family of adopted siblings who run elaborate heists on behalf of clients. The two Heist Club novellas, The Rake Mistake and The Modiste Mishap, sit inside this series at 1.5 and 2.5 and are also numbered as Heist Club 1 and 2.
More on the The Wild Wynchesters series →
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | The Governess Gambit novella | 2021 |
| 1 | The Duke Heist | 2021 |
| 1.5 | The Rake Mistake novella | 2021 |
| 2 | The Perks of Loving a Wallflower | 2021 |
| 2.5 | The Modiste Mishap novella | 2022 |
| 3 | Nobody's Princess | 2022 |
| 4 | My Rogue to Ruin | 2023 |
| 5 | Hot Earl Summer | 2024 |
| 6 | A Waltz on the Wild Side | 2025 |
Heart & Soul in order (2023)
The author's own name for her four contributions to the multi-author Regency series Lords in Love, which also contains books by other writers. Order below follows her own book list; the publication sequence was Taming the Rake (March), Defying the Earl (April), Chasing the Bride (May), Undressing the Duke (June).
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Defying the Earl | 2023 |
| 2 | Taming the Rake | 2023 |
| 3 | Chasing the Bride | 2023 |
| 4 | Undressing the Duke | 2023 |
Regency Fairy Tales in order (2023)
Two standalone Regency fairy-tale retellings.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bianca & the Huntsman | 2023 |
| 2 | Her Princess at Midnight | 2023 |
Wicked Dukes Club (Erica Ridley's books only) in order (2019)
A six-book Regency series alternating between Erica Ridley and Darcy Burke. Only the three listed here are Ridley's; One Night of Surrender, One Night of Scandal and One Night of Temptation were written by Darcy Burke and are not counted as Ridley titles even though her site lists the whole series for reading order.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | One Night for Seduction | 2019 |
| 3 | One Night of Passion | 2019 |
| 5 | One Night to Remember | 2019 |
Siren's Retreat (Erica Ridley's books only) in order (2022)
A four-novella Regency quartet written with Grace Burrowes. Ridley wrote books 2 and 4; A Tryst by the Sea and A Spinster by the Sea are Grace Burrowes's and are not counted here.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | An Affair by the Sea novella | 2022 |
| 4 | Love Letters by the Sea novella | 2022 |
Erica Ridley: books outside the series
These sit outside the numbered series and can be read in any order.
| Title | First published | |
|---|---|---|
| — | Mischief & Mistletoe anthology-contribution | 2021 |
Where to start with Erica Ridley
The Duke Heist
Her breakout book and the start of the Wild Wynchesters, the series most new readers are looking for.
Once Upon a Duke
The opener of The 12 Dukes of Christmas, the easiest low-commitment entry to her lighter Regency voice.
Lord of Chance
The first of Rogues to Riches, a completed seven-book series if you want a full run you can binge.
The Viscount's Tempting Minx
The start of Dukes of War, her longest-running Regency series and the one that built her readership.
Frequently asked questions
What order should I read the Wild Wynchesters books in?
The Governess Gambit (prequel novella), The Duke Heist, The Rake Mistake, The Perks of Loving a Wallflower, The Modiste Mishap, Nobody's Princess, My Rogue to Ruin, Hot Earl Summer and A Waltz on the Wild Side. The Rake Mistake and The Modiste Mishap are also numbered as Heist Club 1 and 2, but they sit inside the Wynchesters series.
Do Erica Ridley's books need to be read in order?
No. Each book resolves its own romance and she avoids cliffhangers. Reading in order helps most with The Wild Wynchesters, where the siblings recur, and with The 12 Dukes of Christmas, where the whole cast lives in one village.
How many 12 Dukes of Christmas books are there?
Thirteen: the twelve numbered books from Once Upon a Duke to Forever Your Duke, published between 2018 and 2020, plus the prequel novella Making Merry, which came out last in December 2021.
Did Erica Ridley write all of the Wicked Dukes Club books?
No. The Wicked Dukes Club is a six-book series she wrote with Darcy Burke, alternating authors. Ridley wrote One Night for Seduction, One Night of Passion and One Night to Remember; Burke wrote the other three. The same applies to the Siren's Retreat quartet, where Ridley wrote An Affair by the Sea and Love Letters by the Sea and Grace Burrowes wrote the other two.
Is The Protegee a romance?
No. The Protegee (2025) and Insatiable (2026) are young adult horror thrillers, a separate line from her Regency romances. Her own website lists them under young adult standalone thrillers and horror.
Are Erica Ridley's books Regency?
Almost all of them. Every one of her romance series is set in Regency-era Britain. The only real departures are the early paranormal series Magic & Mayhem and Nether-Netherland, and Too Brazen to Bite, the fifth Gothic Love Stories book, which is Regency-set but has a vampire hero.
What was Erica Ridley's first book?
Too Wicked to Kiss, a Regency gothic romance published in March 2010 and the first of the Gothic Love Stories series. She wrote two of those, took a break from the series, and returned to it in 2019.
How this list was counted
This guide lists 56 titles — 55 across 9 series and 1 outside them. 56 Regency-era historical romance titles written by Erica Ridley: the Gothic Love Stories (5), Dukes of War (10), Rogues to Riches (7), 12 Dukes of Christmas (13), Wild Wynchesters (9), Heart & Soul (4) and Regency Fairy Tales (2) series, plus the three Wicked Dukes Club books and two Siren's Retreat books that she personally wrote, plus the short story Mischief & Mistletoe. Counts full-length novels, novellas and short stories together, because the boundary between them is blurred in her self-published series. Deliberately excluded: the books in the Wicked Dukes Club, Siren's Retreat and Lords in Love multi-author series written by her co-authors rather than by her; the paranormal Magic & Mayhem and Nether-Netherland series; the young-adult horror thrillers The Protegee (2025) and Insatiable (2026); anthologies and box sets that reprint work already counted; and the Passion & Promises titles Let It Snow (2013) and Romancing the Rogue (2017), whose genre and series status could not be pinned down.
The spine here is Erica Ridley's own printable book list at ericaridley.com, which gives her preferred series numbering, cross-checked for dates against FictionDB, which carries month-level publication dates and matches her numbering exactly. bookseriesinorder.com and inorderbookseries.com - which share the same underlying data - are materially wrong for this author and were not relied on: they credit her with all seven Lords in Love books, all six Wicked Dukes Club books and all four Siren's Retreat books, when she wrote four, three and two of them respectively, and they date the 12 Dukes of Christmas series from 2017 with The Duke's Desire first, when the series began with Once Upon a Duke in October 2018. The Viscount's Christmas Temptation and The Viscount's Tempting Minx are the same book under two titles and are counted once. Dark Surrender (February 2014) appears in her publication list and is filed by some databases as a Gothic Love Stories title, but it is absent from both her own series list and FictionDB's series listing; it is most likely an earlier title of one of the later Gothic books and is not counted. Holiday Reunion (2019) is listed by FictionDB at Dukes of War 7.6 and by bookseriesinorder, but not on the author's own list; it is included with that caveat. The Passion & Promises titles Let It Snow (2013) and Romancing the Rogue (2017), and the early standalone short pieces Never Been Bitten (2012) and Charmed (2012), could not be confidently placed by genre or series and are omitted from the counts. Insatiable was scheduled for September 2026 and may not yet be on sale at the time of publishing this page.