May Gordon writes sweet, sexy, safe instalove romance with guaranteed happy endings. Her books often include protective heroes, fast emotional commitment, romantic suspense, found family, and low outside relationship drama.
Her series are best read in small groups. Crime Kings is the largest and darkest-leaning line. CIG is the clearest military/security route. Saxon Family is the fighter-family route. The shared-world novellas can be saved for later.
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The best starting point is Dark Souls if you want her main romantic-suspense style. Start with Cannon if you prefer military rescue romance, or Slade’s Sanctuary if you want a fighter hero and family-centered romance.
Reader’s Card
May Gordon’s books do not require one strict universal order.
Read each series in publication order, but do not worry about jumping between series. Most books center on one couple and are written to deliver a complete HEA.
The main reason to read in order is tone and context, not spoiler protection.
Crime Kings Books in Order
This is May Gordon’s largest series and the best route for readers who want criminal-world romance, possessive heroes, and romantic suspense.
- Dark Souls (2018): Lawson, a Washington crime king, rescues Cleo after an enemy claims she belongs to him, beginning the series with danger, possession, and a new queen beside the king.
- Fighting Irish (2018): Molly, the granddaughter of an Irish mob boss, is sent to the States for protection and ends up in a marriage bargain with Quinn O’Sullivan.
- Red Willow (2018): California crime king Novak Norwood meets free-spirited Willow, only for his painful past to return and threaten the future they are building.
- Deep Devotion (2018): Foster Warren, Oregon’s crime king, is driven by revenge until Annabelle gives him something more important to protect.
- Sheltered Spirits (2019): The series continues with another crime-king romance built around protection, danger, and emotional shelter.
- Forced Vows (2019): A marriage or vow-based setup pushes the criminal-world romance into commitment before safety is fully secured.
- Cherished Love (2019): The series softens around a heroine who becomes treasured inside a dangerous world.
- Guarded Truths (2020): Secrets and protection drive this installment, where truth matters as much as loyalty.
- Love Stolen (2020): A stolen-love premise gives the series another high-risk romance shaped by danger and claim.
- A Killer’s Heart (2020): Smith, an assassin feared in the underworld, becomes the center of a romance that tests whether a killer can still have something worth saving.
- Revived Love (2021): The series closes its currently listed run with a second-life, revived-heart kind of romance inside the Crime Kings world.
Second Chances Books in Order
This series is best for readers who want redemption, healing, and emotionally direct romance.
- Prisoners of Love (2018): The series begins with a trapped-or-bound emotional setup where love becomes the way out.
- Road To Redemption (2018): A redemption romance about moving forward from past mistakes and choosing a safer future.
- Set Free (2019): The third book leans into release, recovery, and finding love after emotional confinement.
- Missing Piece (2019): A final-piece romance where the couple fills a gap that neither could close alone.
Bosses In Love Books in Order
This is May Gordon’s workplace or power-dynamic romance series.
- Their Salvation (2018): A boss-centered romance where love becomes rescue, healing, and emotional salvation.
- Love and Lies (2019): A workplace romance complicated by secrets, hidden motives, or the cost of dishonesty.
- Perfectly Suited (2019): A boss-romance setup that closes the series with a couple who fit together better than expected.
Lost Memories Books in Order
These books are grouped by memory loss or memory-related emotional conflict. Goodreads notes that at least Linked Hearts is standalone, so read order is helpful but not essential.
- Mended Hearts (2018): The series opens with emotional repair, healing, and a romance built around putting broken pieces back together.
- Linked Hearts (2019): A standalone memory-loss romance where the connection matters more than what has been forgotten.
- Scarred Hearts (2019): A scarred-heart romance about damage, recovery, and the person who sees past the wounds.
CIG Books in Order
CIG stands for Cannon Intelligence Group. Read this series in order if you want military, rescue, and security-team romance.
- Cannon (2019): Dean Cannon, a founding member of Cannon Intelligence Group, rescues the general’s kidnapped daughter and realizes this mission is personal.
- Phoenix (2019): Mark Phoenix hides his darker past behind humor while CIG missions and unexpected love force him to want more than duty.
- Stone (2019): Dante Stone’s story continues the security-team pattern with a hardened hero and another high-protection romance.
- Hawk (2020): Rose Mills’s quiet small-town life intersects with Hawk, bringing CIG protection into a more personal romantic setup.
Haunted Books in Order
This series appears to lean into darker atmosphere, emotional haunting, and romance touched by past pain.
- Haunted Desire (2018): The series begins with desire shaped by something unresolved from the past.
- Haunted Passion (2019): Passion takes the lead in the second book, with emotional ghosts still affecting the couple.
- Haunted Souls (2020): A soul-deep romance where the “haunted” theme moves beyond attraction into lasting emotional scars.
- Haunted Hearts (2021): The listed series closes with a heart-focused romance about healing what still lingers.
Realm of Ovettra Book
This is a separate fantasy-romance branch and does not need to be read with May Gordon’s contemporary series.
- Queen Of Fara (2020): A fantasy romance centered on royalty, power, and a queen’s place inside the Realm of Ovettra.
Saxon Family Books in Order
This is the fighter-family route. Fantastic Fiction lists three books, while Goodreads currently shows the series less completely, so the three-book order below is the safest fuller order.
- Slade’s Sanctuary (2020): Retired champion Slade Saxon runs the family gym after leaving the fighting world, but Annie gives him a new kind of sanctuary.
- Sol’s Savior (2021): The second Saxon Family book gives Sol his own protective, healing-centered romance.
- Silas’ Solace (2022): The third book continues the Saxon family pattern with Silas finding comfort, belonging, and love.
Standalone Novels
These can be read whenever the premise appeals to you.
- Captured by His Love (2018): A standalone romance about being caught, claimed, or emotionally captured by love.
- Love’s Valley Duet (2019): Co-written with Haven Rose, this standalone/duet-format title centers on Love’s Valley and the romantic legend surrounding one of its founding families.
- Racing Hearts (2022): Conrad Stone is trying to save his family stable, while Penelope Davies breaks in to prove her brother’s innocence and ends up colliding with Conrad’s future.
Novella and Short Story
- Shared Secret (2021): A short romance built around a secret that becomes the couple’s private turning point.
Shared-World and Contributed Books
These are May Gordon entries in larger multi-author worlds. They are optional unless you are collecting every title.
- July’s Love (2019): A Forever Safe contribution with May Gordon’s usual safe-romance rules and a quick HEA.
- Thanks to You (2020): A Forever Safe contribution about gratitude, timing, and fast emotional commitment.
- Holiday Trap (2019): A Forever Safe Christmas entry with a holiday setup and trapped-together romance energy.
- Finding Justice (2020): A Law Trilogy: Beyond the Law contribution centered on justice, protection, and romance.
- Seaside Summer (2020): A Forever Safe Summer II entry with a beach or coastal romance frame.
- Cold Snap (2020): A Forever Safe Christmas II contribution using winter cold and romantic warmth as its seasonal hook.
- Always Mine (2021): A Yours Everlasting contribution focused on lasting claim and commitment.
- I Do (2021): A Yours Everlasting wedding or marriage-themed romance.
- Merry Matrimony (2021): A Yours Everlasting holiday marriage romance.
- Spring Cleaning (2022): A Yours Everlasting contribution with a fresh-start, clearing-the-past romance setup.
- Legally Loved (2021): A Law Trilogy: Breaking the Law contribution with legal or law-adjacent romance stakes.
- Charged With Forever (2021): A Law Trilogy: After the Law contribution where forever is the real sentence.
- Saving Mr. Scrooge (2021): A Forever Safe: The Twelve Days of Christmas entry with a holiday grump or Scrooge-style hero.
- Hot For Lifeguard (2022): A Sizzle Beach Summer contribution with a lifeguard hero and beach-romance setup.
- Until Love (2021): A Happily Ever Alpha World novella connected to Aurora Rose Reynolds’s larger shared world; this is one of Gordon’s most visible shared-world titles.
Anthology and Collection Appearances
- Our First Christmas (2022): A multi-author anthology that includes a May Gordon story continuing Penelope and Conrad from Racing Hearts as they share their first Christmas as a married couple.
Alternate Editions and Translations
- Until Us: Rose: A German-language edition connected to Until Love, not a separate new English-language novel.
Recommended May Gordon Reading Order
Use this order if you want a smooth introduction without trying to mix every shared-world novella into the middle.
- Dark Souls
- Fighting Irish
- Red Willow
- Deep Devotion
- Sheltered Spirits
- Forced Vows
- Cherished Love
- Guarded Truths
- Love Stolen
- A Killer’s Heart
- Revived Love
- Cannon
- Phoenix
- Stone
- Hawk
- Slade’s Sanctuary
- Sol’s Savior
- Silas’ Solace
- Mended Hearts
- Linked Hearts
- Scarred Hearts
- Prisoners of Love
- Road To Redemption
- Set Free
- Missing Piece
- Their Salvation
- Love and Lies
- Perfectly Suited
- Haunted Desire
- Haunted Passion
- Haunted Souls
- Haunted Hearts
- Queen Of Fara
- Captured by His Love
- Love’s Valley Duet
- Racing Hearts
- Shared Secret
- Shared-world and anthology entries
This order starts with the largest May Gordon series, then moves into security, family, emotional-healing, workplace, paranormal-leaning, fantasy, and standalone material.
Do May Gordon Books Need to Be Read in Order?
Usually, no.
Most May Gordon books are short or compact romance stories with one main couple and a clear happy ending. Series order keeps the theme tidy, but the books are not built like one long cliffhanger saga.
Read Crime Kings in order if you want the best series flow. Read CIG in order if you like the security-team setup. Shared-world books can be read whenever you are reading those larger multi-author projects.
Latest May Gordon Book
The latest confirmed individual May Gordon novel found during this update is Racing Hearts, published in 2022.
The latest confirmed May Gordon story appearance found during this update is in Our First Christmas, a 2022 anthology that continues Penelope and Conrad from Racing Hearts.
No later May Gordon release with a reliable publication date was confirmed during this update.
FAQs
What May Gordon book should I read first?
Start with Dark Souls if you want her romantic-suspense and crime-king style. Start with Cannon if you prefer military rescue romance.
Are May Gordon books safe romance?
Yes. May Gordon’s author bio and site describe her books as sweet, sexy, safe reads with HEAs, no cheating-style outside relationship drama after the main couple meets, and little to no other man or woman drama.
Are the Crime Kings books connected?
They are grouped as one series and should be read in order for the cleanest experience. Each book focuses on a different central romance inside the criminal-world theme.
Is CIG connected to Crime Kings?
No strong required continuity was confirmed. Treat CIG as its own security-team series.
Is Until Love part of May Gordon’s main series?
No. Until Love is a shared-world novella in the Happily Ever Alpha World. Read it when you are reading that world or when you want a standalone May Gordon novella.
Is Until Us: Rose a separate book?
No for English-reading-order purposes. It is best treated as a German-language edition connected to Until Love.
What should I read after Racing Hearts?
Read the May Gordon story in Our First Christmas if you want more Penelope and Conrad.
Conclusion
May Gordon is easiest to read by series, not by one strict timeline.
Begin with Dark Souls for the strongest full-series entry, Cannon for the military/security route, or Slade’s Sanctuary for the fighter-family branch.
After that, keep each small series together and save the shared-world novellas for when you want bonus May Gordon stories outside her main catalog.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.