Kerrelyn Sparks Books in Order (Updated April 22, 2026)

Kerrelyn Sparks is best known for Love at Stake, and that is still the safest starting point for most readers. It is her signature paranormal-romance series, it runs the longest, and it gives the clearest sense of her voice: comedy, vampires, shifters, and a shared cast that keeps returning.

But it is not the only reading lane. Her official bibliography separates the catalog into:

• Love at Stake
• The Embraced, continued as Embraced by Magic
• Historical Romance

That means the best reading order is not one giant master list. It is series by series.

Start here

• If you want the classic Kerrelyn Sparks experience, start with How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire.
• If you want fantasy romance instead of vampire rom-com, start with How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days.
• If you only want the historical books, start with The Forbidden Lady.

The best Kerrelyn Sparks reading order

For most readers, this is the best path:

1. Read Love at Stake in publication order.
2. Treat A Very Vampy Christmas and Vampires Gone Wild as in-sequence extras, not random side reads.
3. Read The Embraced and Embraced by Magic as one continuous fantasy-romance line.
4. Keep the two historical romances separate.

Love at Stake books in order

This is the main series and the clearest first stop for most readers.

1. How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire (2005): The opening novel introduces the comic vampire world, the MacKay-linked cast, and the light, fast paranormal-romance tone that defines the series.
2. Vamps and the City (2006): The second book expands the shared vampire community and confirms that this is a connected world, not just a set of unrelated couples.
3. A Very Vampy Christmas (2006): A holiday novella that fits early in the series and works best once the basic vampire world is already familiar.
4. Be Still My Vampire Heart (2007): The third full novel keeps the ensemble growing while bringing in a more danger-driven romance arc.
5. The Undead Next Door (2008): A neighbor-and-secret-identity setup deepens the ongoing cast connections and keeps the series’ comedy intact.
6. All I Want for Christmas Is a Vampire (2008): This holiday-themed entry continues the same shared vampire network rather than breaking off into a separate subseries.
7. Secret Life of a Vampire (2009): A hidden-identity romance that helps widen the series beyond its earliest inner circle.
8. Forbidden Nights with a Vampire (2009): This installment leans into vampire-and-human tensions while continuing the larger continuity.
9. The Vampire and the Virgin (2010): The ninth slot keeps the connected-world structure going with another couple whose story still matters to the broader cast.
10. Eat Prey Love (2010): The series keeps adding supernatural movement here, with shifter and vampire elements working side by side.
11. Vampire Mine (2011): This book continues the same shared cast structure and is best read after the earlier novels because of ongoing character ties.
12. Sexiest Vampire Alive (2011): A later-series entry that keeps the humor high while still depending on the existing vampire-world setup.
13. Wanted: Undead or Alive (2012): The series becomes a little more pursuit-driven here, but the core rom-com paranormal style stays in place.
14. Wild About You (2012): A shifter-heavy romance that still belongs inside the same larger vampire-and-allies continuity.
15. Vampires Gone Wild (2013): An anthology appearance containing the Love at Stake novella “V Is for VampWoman,” best treated as a 13.5-style in-between read.
16. The Vampire with the Dragon Tattoo (2013): A later-series novel focused on Dougal Kincaid, rewarding readers who have stayed with the long-running ensemble.
17. How to Seduce a Vampire (Without Really Trying) (2014): This entry continues the same world and is not a good jump-in point for brand-new readers.
18. Crouching Tiger, Forbidden Vampire (2015): The sixteenth full novel and current endpoint of the series, bringing the long vampire run to its latest published stop.

The Embraced books in order

This is Sparks’s fantasy-romance lane. It starts as The Embraced and then continues as Embraced by Magic, but it is one continuous reading path.

1. How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days (2017): The series opener introduces Aerthlan, the Embraced children, and the magical-fantasy tone that separates this line from Love at Stake.
2. So I Married a Sorcerer (2017): The second book continues the same world and courtly-fantasy setup rather than resetting with a detached premise.
3. Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon (2018): The third book completes the original publisher run while keeping the same magical family network in motion.
4. How to Love Your Elf (2020): The continuation under the Embraced by Magic banner picks up the same world rather than starting a new series from scratch.
5. The Siren and the Deep Blue Sea (2020): This expands the fantasy setting while keeping the continuity rooted in Aerthlan and its royal families.
6. When a Princess Proposes (2022): A later entry that continues the same magical dynasty and works best after the earlier books.
7. When a Dragon Falls (2023): The current endpoint of the Embraced line and the latest novel listed on Sparks’s official site.

Historical romance books in order

These are separate from both of the paranormal/fantasy lines.

1. The Forbidden Lady / For Love or Country (2002; later reissue 2012): Sparks’s historical-romance opener, listed under two titles in bibliography sources, and best treated as the first of her historical books.
2. Less Than a Gentleman (2013): The second historical romance and the other main non-paranormal title in her catalog.

Recommended order for new readers

If you want the smoothest first experience, use this route:

1. How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire
2. Continue all of Love at Stake in order
3. Move to How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days
4. Continue through The Embraced and Embraced by Magic
5. Read the two historical romances separately when you want a non-paranormal change of pace

Publication order across all main books

If you prefer a single broad publication path, the main books run like this:

• Love at Stake begins in 2005 and runs through 2015
• The Embraced begins in 2017
• Embraced by Magic continues that fantasy line from 2020 to 2023
• the historical books sit outside those continuities, with the first originally published in 2002 and the second in 2013

That publication view is useful, but for actual reading, series order is better than total publication order.

What counts as optional?

Included in sequence:

• A Very Vampy Christmas
• Vampires Gone Wild for the Love at Stake novella it contains

Separate continuity:

• The Embraced / Embraced by Magic
• Historical Romance

Latest release status

The latest Kerrelyn Sparks novel currently listed on her official site is When a Dragon Falls (2023). Her site also says she is currently taking a break from writing, so there is no newer announced release line visible on the official pages I checked.

FAQ

What is the first Kerrelyn Sparks book to read?
How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire.

Is Embraced connected to Love at Stake?
No. Read it as a separate fantasy-romance line.

Do I need to read A Very Vampy Christmas?
It is not the main starting point, but it fits neatly into the early Love at Stake order and works best there.

Is Embraced by Magic a new series or a continuation?
A continuation. The printable official booklist explicitly calls it “the continuation of the Embraced Series.”

What is Kerrelyn Sparks’s newest book?
When a Dragon Falls (2023) is the latest currently listed novel.

Final recommendation

Start with How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire and read Love at Stake in order. That is the clearest way into Kerrelyn Sparks’s catalog. After that, switch to How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days if you want her fantasy-romance side, and leave the historical novels for a separate mood.