Jolie Vines Books in Order (Updated July 19, 2026)

Jolie Vines is an English romance author whose books range from Scottish small-town romance and romantic suspense to interconnected dark romance and murder mysteries.

Her bibliography is divided between two major reading experiences.

The McRae books follow one extended Scottish family across several generations and related professions. Individual romances usually conclude within one volume, but marriages, children, family relationships, and previous couples continue in the background.

The Deadwater books are darker and more tightly plotted. Dark Island Scots supplies earlier family history, Body Count begins the main Deadwater murder mystery, and Skeleton Crew continues the city’s story with another investigation.

Those two sides of the catalogue should not be merged into one universal timeline. They share occasional connections and character history, but each has its own safest starting point.

Start Here According to Mood

1. Choose Storm the Castle for Scottish family romance, marriage tropes, and the beginning of the McRae dynasty.
2. Choose Obsessed for Scottish mountain-rescue romantic suspense without committing immediately to the earliest generation.
3. Choose Touch Her and Die for bodyguard romance with familiar McRae cameos.
4. Choose Ruin for a dark island mystery involving kidnapped young men.
5. Choose Arran’s Obsession for masked gangs, an adult club, dangerous games, and a murder investigation in Deadwater.
6. Choose Convict’s Game only after finishing Body Count. Skeleton Crew is a direct continuation, not a replacement starting point.

The Two Main Jolie Vines Reading Routes

The McRae Family Route

1. Marry the Scot
2. Wild Scots
3. Wild Mountain Scots
4. McRae Bodyguards

This order moves from the original McRae brothers to their children, cousins, mountain-rescue colleagues, and estate-based bodyguards.

Every main book focuses on a different romance. Reading from the beginning is still valuable because the family grows across generations.

The Dark Romance Route

The most spoiler-safe order is:

1. Wild Mountain Scots through Betrayed for the earliest McRae connection
2. Dark Island Scots
3. Body Count
4. The Game novellas
5. Skeleton Crew

Dark Island Scots occurs roughly ten years before Body Count and features the brothers of a character who later becomes important in Deadwater.

Readers interested only in the dark books can begin with Ruin. The Wild Mountain Scots connection adds context but is not required to understand the island mystery.

Marry the Scot Books in Order

Marry the Scot introduces the McRae family, their Highland estate, and the couples whose children later lead Wild Scots.

The novels use marriage-related premises but change central couples. They are designed as connected standalones, with family appearances linking the full sequence.

Optional Prequel

1. The Rival (2019): Marianne plans to marry a man she dislikes to save her family’s farm, only to become involved with Lachlan McRae, her intended husband’s relative and rival.The novella is numbered 0.5 but can be read at any point. Beginning with it follows chronology; starting with Storm the Castle gives a stronger introduction to the main McRae household.

Main Novels

1. Storm the Castle (2019): Callum McRae meets Mathilda while pursuing a debt connected to his ancestral castle, opening the family saga with competing proposals, financial pressure, and a sudden Highland attraction.
2. Love Most, Say Least (2019): Beth becomes involved with quiet heir James, who must marry before turning twenty-one or lose his inheritance, bringing foster-care history and aristocratic obligation into the McRae circle.
3. Hero (2019): Military helicopter pilot Gordain rescues his best friend’s younger sister Ella, then faces a marriage arrangement complicated by their age gap and genuine attachment.
4. Picture This (2019): Photographer Wasp reconnects with Taylor while political pressure and an expected marriage threaten the future she wants.
5. Oh Baby (2019): Ally McRae’s growing relationship with Scarlet is interrupted when he learns that a newborn child needs him, closing the brothers’ sequence with sudden fatherhood.

Connected Novella

Come the Fall (2020): Autumn flees with her baby nephew and finds refuge with guarded bar owner Bull in a snowy American town.

Autumn first appears in Hero, so the novella fits best after that book. Its central romance can still be understood independently.

Recommended Marry the Scot Order

1. The Rival – optional
2. Storm the Castle
3. Love Most, Say Least
4. Hero
5. Come the Fall – optional
6. Picture This
7. Oh Baby

Marry the Scot Box Set

Marry the Scot Books 1-3 Box Set: This collection includes Storm the Castle, Love Most, Say Least, Hero, and the prequel novella The Rival.

It replaces those editions rather than adding a separate installment.

Wild Scots Books in Order

Wild Scots shifts to the children of the Marry the Scot couples.

Because the series confirms which original characters married and had children, it should be read after Marry the Scot when avoiding family spoilers matters.

1. Hard Nox (2019): Lennox McRae returns from the military determined to reclaim Isobel Fitzroy, the speed racer and best friend’s sister connected to a kiss they shared years earlier.
2. Perfect Storm (2020): Skye discovers that her one-night encounter has resulted in a pregnancy and returns to tell the man whose responsibilities made their original arrangement seem temporary.
3. Lion Heart (2020): Sebastian leaves prison and encounters Rose, the woman connected to the sacrifice that cost him his freedom, while a missing child draws them into a rescue.
4. Fallen Snow (2020): Injured snowboarder Viola reunites with rock star Leo, whose career depends on finding inspiration despite the risk of exploiting her pain.
5. Stubborn Spark (2020): Casey becomes involved with both Blayne and Brodie during a Highland holiday, closing the series with an MFM romance rather than the MF pairings used in most McRae books.

Is Wild Scots a Standalone Series?

The individual romances conclude within their books.

However, the heroes and heroines are children of the original McRae and Fitzroy couples. Beginning here reveals family outcomes from Marry the Scot.

Wild Mountain Scots Books in Order

Wild Mountain Scots continues the second-generation McRae world and adds the Highland mountain-rescue service.

The suspense becomes more prominent in this sequence. Stalkers, blackmail, abduction, missing people, and violent threats develop alongside each central romance.

1. Obsessed (2021): Mountain-rescue leader and single father Lochie becomes protective of Cait McRae when evidence suggests that someone is stalking her.
2. Hunted (2021): Actress Elise hides in Scotland after an incident on a film set, where scarred rescue volunteer Cameron helps her confront a blackmailer.
3. Stolen (2021): Mountain-rescue pilot Rory becomes involved in a dangerous mission that turns an expected flight into an abduction-linked rescue.
4. Betrayed (2021): Max’s search for Struan connects the McRae suspense world to the events that later form the Dark Island Scots series.
5. Tormented (2022): The fifth mountain-rescue romance brings another McRae-connected couple into danger while closing the principal Wild Mountain Scots sequence.

Why Betrayed Matters to Dark Island Scots

Struan, one of the central Dark Island Scots characters, is the man Max is searching for in Betrayed.

Readers can begin Dark Island Scots without this background, but reading through Betrayed first creates the smoothest crossover.

Wild Mountain Scots Box Set

Wild Mountain Scots Books 1-3: This collection contains Obsessed, Hunted, and Stolen.

It does not include Betrayed or Tormented.

McRae Bodyguards Books in Order

McRae Bodyguards returns to the Scottish estate through a protection company established around the family.

Each book contains a complete bodyguard romance, but earlier McRaes appear throughout the series. New readers can begin with Touch Her and Die, while established readers receive more from the cameos.

1. Touch Her and Die (2023): Bodyguard Ben rescues Daisy from controlling relatives and takes her from the American West Coast to a snowbound Scottish cabin while enemies pursue them.
2. Save Her from Me (2023): Jackson is assigned to protect his best friend’s younger sister Ariel, whose attraction and private wish list complicate his attempt to keep professional distance.
3. Take Her from You (2024): Another McRae bodyguard becomes responsible for a threatened woman whose current situation makes protection inseparable from removing her from someone else’s control.
4. Keep Her from Them (2025): The fourth bodyguard romance places its heroine against multiple pursuers and closes the currently published security-team sequence.

Can McRae Bodyguards Be Read First?

Yes.

The cases and romances begin within their own books. Starting here will not preserve every family introduction, but it is a practical entry point for readers primarily interested in romantic suspense.

Dark Island Scots Books in Order

Dark Island Scots follows four young men kidnapped and imprisoned on a remote Scottish island.

Each book changes the central couple, but the captivity mystery continues across all four volumes. These are not interchangeable standalones and should be read in order.

The series occurs about ten years before Body Count and introduces Cassie’s brothers.

1. Ruin (2022): Thea notices an injured and handcuffed Struan on a ferry, then discovers that he has been kidnapped and imprisoned on the island she knows.
2. Sin (2022): Sinclair and Lottie’s romance continues the escape story as she must choose between helping him and protecting family members trapped in a violent home.
3. Scar (2022): Camden rescues Breeze while she searches for her missing sister, only for her to discover that he is the son of the man who purchased her.
4. Burn (2023): The fourth romance brings the island mystery, the kidnapped men’s history, and their attempt to uncover the full conspiracy to a conclusion.

Dark Island Scots Bonus Story

Sin & Lottie (2024): This bonus material revisits Sinclair and Lottie after their main romance.

It belongs after all four novels because it assumes the survival and relationship outcomes established by the completed series.

Does Dark Island Scots End on Cliffhangers?

Individual couples receive significant romantic development, but the overarching mystery carries between books.

Read all four before moving to Body Count.

Body Count Books in Order

Body Count is a dark-romance murder-mystery trilogy set in Deadwater.

A different MF couple leads each volume, but one killer and one investigation connect all three. The author identifies the books as an interconnected trilogy that must be read in order.

1. Arran’s Obsession (2024): A woman infiltrates a skeleton-masked gang’s adult club while investigating her friend’s death and her father’s disappearance, only to become the focus of gang leader Arran.
2. Connor’s Claim (2024): The skeleton crew’s enforcer kidnaps the mayor’s daughter after a threat to her life, while her hidden information becomes increasingly important to the rising Deadwater body count.
3. Riordan’s Revenge (2024): A woman obsessed with identifying Deadwater’s murderer joins forces with new skeleton-crew recruit Riordan, bringing the central investigation and revenge plot to their conclusion.

Is Each Body Count Romance Complete?

Each book centers on a separate couple, but the murder mystery does not reset.

Reading book three first would reveal developments from both earlier romances and undermine the investigation.

The Game Novellas in Order

The Game stories are companion novellas built around the pursuit game operated in the skeleton crew’s basement.

They are optional for the Deadwater murder mysteries but should be read after Body Count introduces the club, its rules, and its supporting characters.

1. The Game: The Surgeon and the MMA Fighter (2025): Surgeon Emmeline enters a chase in which the women become prey, hoping that MMA fighter Malachi will be the man who catches and claims her.
2. The Game: The Billionaire and the Spiked Heel (2026): The second companion story gives another pair their own basement-game romance within the established Deadwater world.

The exact publication year of the second novella varies across catalogue listings. Its position after the first Game story is more stable than its edition date.

Skeleton Crew Books in Order

Skeleton Crew is a sequel trilogy to Body Count.

It remains in Deadwater, introduces three new central couples, brings back established characters, and follows another murder mystery. Read all three Body Count novels first.

1. Convict’s Game (2025): A corporate heiress investigating her grandfather’s company makes a deal with an amnesiac gangster in a skeleton mask and uncovers a deadly connection to Deadwater’s underworld.
2. Kane’s Prey (2026): A woman searching for her missing friend joins forces with silent former mercenary Kane as another body raises the stakes of the new investigation.
3. Tyler’s Rule (2026): Tyler’s romance supplies the final couple and closes the second Deadwater murder mystery after the clues established in the first two books.

Is Skeleton Crew Complete?

Yes. Tyler’s Rule, published in May 2026, is the third book in the announced trilogy.

The romances change between volumes, but the investigation requires publication order.

Complete Deadwater and Dark-Island Reading Order

Readers who want the entire dark-romance continuity should use this sequence:

1. Betrayed (2021): Max searches for Struan, creating the earliest direct bridge toward the kidnapped island men.
2. Ruin (2022): Struan and Thea open the island captivity mystery.
3. Sin (2022): Sinclair and Lottie continue the escape and family conflict.
4. Scar (2022): Camden and Breeze expose another branch of the island conspiracy.
5. Burn (2023): The kidnapped men’s mystery reaches its conclusion.
6. Sin & Lottie (2024): Optional post-series material revisits the second couple.
7. Arran’s Obsession (2024): The Deadwater murder investigation begins.
8. Connor’s Claim (2024): The killer remains active while the second couple takes focus.
9. Riordan’s Revenge (2024): The first Deadwater mystery concludes.
10. The Game: The Surgeon and the MMA Fighter (2025): An optional club-based companion romance.
11. The Game: The Billionaire and the Spiked Heel (2026): A second optional chase-game story.
12. Convict’s Game (2025): A new Deadwater investigation begins after Body Count.
13. Kane’s Prey (2026): A disappearance and another body widen the mystery.
14. Tyler’s Rule (2026): The Skeleton Crew trilogy reaches its ending.

Strict Publication or Story Continuity?

Strict publication order places Convict’s Game before the second Game novella.

For narrative clarity, either placement is workable because the Game stories are companions rather than necessary mystery installments. The essential rule is to complete Body Count before starting Skeleton Crew.

Jolie Vines Standalone Books

These books have self-contained central romances and do not require completion of one of the author’s principal series.

Race You

Race You (2019): Workplace rivals are pushed into an enemies-to-lovers romance built around professional competition and escalating attraction.

The novel contains a Marry the Scot Easter egg but is not a numbered McRae installment.

Fight for Us

Fight for Us (2019): A military romantic-suspense story places its couple against an external threat while keeping the full relationship inside one novel.

It is separate from Wild Mountain Scots and McRae Bodyguards despite sharing military and protection themes.

Cocky Kilt

Cocky Kilt (2020): This Cocky Hero Club novel delivers a self-contained Scottish romance with a small Wild Scots Easter egg.

It belongs to the multi-author Hero Club project rather than the numbered McRae family sequence.

Jolie Vines Books in Publication Order

Publication order moves between the McRae family, standalones, the island mystery, bodyguards, and Deadwater.

It is useful for collectors but less clear than following one continuity at a time.

2019

1. The Rival (2019): Lachlan and Marianne’s prequel romance introduces an earlier McRae generation.
2. Storm the Castle (2019): Callum and Mathilda begin the main McRae family sequence.
3. Love Most, Say Least (2019): James must marry to protect his inheritance.
4. Hero (2019): Gordain rescues Ella before their relationship becomes a marriage problem.
5. Picture This (2019): Wasp and Taylor reconnect under political pressure.
6. Oh Baby (2019): Ally faces sudden fatherhood while falling for Scarlet.
7. Hard Nox (2019): The next generation begins with Lennox and Isobel.
8. Race You (2019): Office competition develops into a standalone romance.
9. Fight for Us (2019): Military danger drives a separate romantic-suspense story.

2020

10. Come the Fall (2020): Autumn hides with her nephew and becomes involved with Bull.
11. Perfect Storm (2020): A one-night stand leads to an unexpected pregnancy.
12. Lion Heart (2020): Sebastian confronts the woman connected to his prison sentence.
13. Fallen Snow (2020): An injured athlete reunites with a grieving rock star.
14. Stubborn Spark (2020): Casey, Blayne, and Brodie form the series’ MFM relationship.
15. Cocky Kilt (2020): A standalone Scottish romance joins the Cocky Hero Club world.

2021

16. Obsessed (2021): A mountain-rescue leader protects Cait from a stalker.
17. Hunted (2021): Cameron helps actress Elise confront blackmail.
18. Stolen (2021): A mountain-rescue flight becomes part of a dangerous mission.
19. Betrayed (2021): Max’s search for Struan creates the Dark Island Scots bridge.

2022

20. Tormented (2022): The Wild Mountain Scots sequence reaches its final romance.
21. Ruin (2022): The remote-island captivity mystery begins.
22. Sin (2022): Sinclair and Lottie continue the escape story.
23. Scar (2022): Camden and Breeze expose another part of the island’s danger.

2023

24. Burn (2023): Dark Island Scots reaches its conclusion.
25. Touch Her and Die (2023): Ben protects Daisy and opens McRae Bodyguards.
26. Save Her from Me (2023): Jackson guards his best friend’s younger sister.

2024

27. Take Her from You (2024): The third McRae bodyguard becomes involved in another rescue.
28. Arran’s Obsession (2024): The first Deadwater murder mystery begins.
29. Connor’s Claim (2024): The skeleton crew’s enforcer takes the second central romance.
30. Riordan’s Revenge (2024): Body Count concludes its investigation.
31. Sin & Lottie (2024): The Dark Island Scots couple returns in bonus material.

2025

32. Keep Her from Them (2025): The fourth McRae Bodyguards romance closes the published sequence.
33. The Game: The Surgeon and the MMA Fighter (2025): Emmeline and Malachi enter the skeleton crew’s chase game.
34. Convict’s Game (2025): Skeleton Crew begins a second Deadwater investigation.

2026

35. Kane’s Prey (2026): Kane helps search for a missing woman while another body appears.
36. Tyler’s Rule (2026): The final Skeleton Crew couple resolves the new mystery.
37. The Game: The Billionaire and the Spiked Heel (2026): Another Deadwater pair receives a companion novella.

Chronological Order of the McRae Family

The broad McRae family chronology is straightforward:

1. The Rival
2. Marry the Scot novels
3. Come the Fall after Hero
4. Wild Scots
5. Wild Mountain Scots
6. McRae Bodyguards

This arrangement begins with the original adults and then follows their children and extended family.

Why Not Start With Wild Scots?

Wild Scots explains its new couples, but their parentage is part of the premise.

Starting there confirms the marriages and children created by Marry the Scot. That is harmless for readers who do not mind spoilers but less satisfying for a complete family read.

Chronological Order of the Dark Books

The exact story chronology and recommended first-read order are not identical.

Dark Island Scots takes place around a decade before Body Count, so it belongs first in the fictional timeline. The Betrayed crossover gives Struan a slightly earlier introduction.

The clearest chronology is:

1. Betrayed
2. Dark Island Scots
3. Body Count
4. The Game novellas
5. Skeleton Crew

This is also the recommended order for readers who intend to complete every connected dark book.

Box Sets, Special Editions, and Bonus Epilogues

Jolie Vines has released collected and special editions of several series.

A new cover, sprayed-edge edition, omnibus, or audiobook does not create another position in the reading order.

Marry the Scot Books 1-3: Contains the first three novels and The Rival.

Wild Mountain Scots Books 1-3: Contains Obsessed, Hunted, and Stolen.

Wild Scots collections: Some editions package multiple second-generation books together.

Bonus epilogues: Additional epilogues exist for selected Marry the Scot, Wild Scots, Wild Mountain Scots, McRae Bodyguards, Body Count, and Skeleton Crew couples.

Bonus epilogues should always be read after the corresponding novel. They may confirm pregnancies, marriages, family changes, or later events.

Latest Jolie Vines Book

As of July 19, 2026, the latest confirmed full-length Jolie Vines release is Tyler’s Rule, published in May 2026.

It is the third and final Skeleton Crew novel. Readers should complete Convict’s Game and Kane’s Prey first because the trilogy follows one murder mystery across three couples.

The companion novella The Game: The Billionaire and the Spiked Heel is also listed in the author’s current catalogue. Its exact release and edition information is less consistently recorded than the main novels, but it belongs after the first Game novella within the wider Deadwater continuity.

No additional full-length series title had been reliably confirmed for publication after Tyler’s Rule as of this update.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Jolie Vines Book Should I Read First?

Start with Storm the Castle for Scottish small-town romance.

Start with Ruin for the complete dark-island and Deadwater route, or Arran’s Obsession when you want to enter directly at the main Deadwater trilogy.

Are All Jolie Vines Books Connected?

No.

The McRae series form one extended family continuity. Dark Island Scots, Body Count, and Skeleton Crew form another closely linked dark-romance sequence, with a connection through characters and earlier McRae books.

The standalones contain occasional Easter eggs but do not require the main series.

Are Marry the Scot and Wild Scots Connected?

Yes.

Wild Scots follows the children of the Marry the Scot couples. Read Marry the Scot first to preserve the original romances and family reveals.

Does Wild Mountain Scots Continue Wild Scots?

Yes.

It follows more McRae relatives and shifts the focus toward mountain rescue and romantic suspense.

Can McRae Bodyguards Be Read Alone?

Yes.

Each protection case and romance is self-contained. Readers familiar with the wider McRae family will recognize more characters and updates.

Is Dark Island Scots Connected to the McRaes?

Yes, but it has a much darker tone.

Struan is connected to Max’s search in Betrayed, and McRae characters may appear. The island series nevertheless follows its own central captivity mystery.

Should Dark Island Scots Be Read Before Body Count?

Yes.

Dark Island Scots takes place earlier and features Cassie’s brothers. Reading it first supplies family history that later Deadwater events assume or reveal.

Can I Start With Arran’s Obsession?

Yes.

It introduces the Body Count mystery and its immediate cast. You will miss earlier background involving Cassie’s family, but the main Deadwater investigation starts there.

Must Body Count Be Read in Order?

Yes.

Each book has a different couple, but the same murder mystery continues through all three.

Is Skeleton Crew a Separate Series?

It has a new trilogy title and new couples, but it is a sequel to Body Count.

Begin with Convict’s Game only after Riordan’s Revenge.

Are The Game Novellas Required?

No.

They expand the basement chase-game concept and give side couples their own stories. They are optional for both murder mysteries.

Does The Rival Need to Be Read First?

No.

It is chronologically earlier than Storm the Castle, but it can be read at any time.

Where Does Come the Fall Belong?

Place it after Hero.

Autumn appears in that novel, although her novella’s central romance remains self-contained.

Is Stubborn Spark Different From the Other McRae Books?

Yes.

Most of the Scottish small-town books are MF romances. Stubborn Spark follows an MFM relationship involving Casey, Blayne, and Brodie.

What Is Jolie Vines’s Darkest Series?

Dark Island Scots, Body Count, and Skeleton Crew contain her strongest concentration of captivity, masked gangs, murder investigations, coercive situations, violent criminal activity, and intense sexual themes.

Readers should check the current content warnings for each title.

Do the Books Have Happy Endings?

The principal romances are written toward happy endings, but an individual book may leave the wider mystery unresolved.

That distinction matters most in Dark Island Scots, Body Count, and Skeleton Crew.

Final Reading Recommendation

For the complete Scottish family experience, begin with The Rival or Storm the Castle, finish Marry the Scot, and then continue through Wild Scots, Wild Mountain Scots, and McRae Bodyguards.

For the dark-romance experience, begin with Ruin, complete all four Dark Island Scots novels, and then read Body Count before Skeleton Crew. Add the Game novellas after Body Count when you want more of the Deadwater club.

The most important continuity rule is not to treat the dark trilogies as loose standalone collections. Their couples change, but their mysteries continue. Publication order preserves the clues, identities, family revelations, and final solutions.