Victoria Denault writes contemporary romance built around professional athletes, close families, second chances, and small communities. Hockey appears most often, but her bibliography also includes Formula One romance, small-town stories, holiday novellas, and male-male romance.
Her books do not all belong to one uninterrupted universe. The strongest generational connection runs from Hometown Players and San Francisco Thunder into Hockey Royalty, which follows the grown children of earlier couples.
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Ocean Pines, Racing Hearts, and the Comets Christmas books form separate reading lanes. Denault has also contributed individual novels to several multi-author shared worlds.
The Three Reading Lanes
Victoria Denault’s bibliography becomes easier to navigate when it is divided into three routes.
The Hockey Family Route
- Hometown Players
- San Francisco Thunder
- Hockey Royalty
This is the best route for readers who want recurring families, returning couples, and next-generation characters.
The Independent Series Route
- Ocean Pines
- Racing Hearts
- Comets Christmas
Each of these series has its own cast and can be started without reading Denault’s earlier hockey books.
The Shared-World Route
- Blindsided
- Dauntless
- Apex
These books belong to multi-author worlds. They are complete romances written by Denault, but the surrounding series also contain books by other authors.
Where Should a New Reader Begin?
- Begin with One More Shot for Denault’s original hockey continuity.
- Begin with Score for the Braddock family and San Francisco Thunder.
- Begin with The Fall We Fell for small-town New England romance.
- Begin with The Chase for Formula One romance.
- Begin with Conner when you mainly want the newer Hockey Royalty generation. The story can stand alone, although earlier family history adds context.
- Begin with If the World Was Ending for a separate male-male Hollywood romance without a larger series commitment.
Hometown Players Books in Order
Hometown Players is Victoria Denault’s first published series. It follows professional hockey players and the Caplan and Garrison families, beginning in the fictional Maine community of Silver Bay.
The books feature different central couples, but siblings, teammates, friends, and earlier protagonists continue to appear. Publication order preserves those introductions.
1. One More Shot
One More Shot (2015): NHL player Jordan Garrison reunites with Jessie Caplan six years after their first relationship ended, determined to discover whether heartbreak has truly erased their connection.
Jordan and Jessie establish the families and friendships that support the rest of the series. This is the safest starting point for Denault’s complete backlist.
2. Making a Play
Making a Play (2015): Hockey star Luc Richard returns to Silver Bay to escape damaging publicity and reconnects with Rose Caplan, who is ready to prove she is no longer the sheltered girl he remembers.
Rose is Jessie’s sister, giving the second romance a direct family connection to One More Shot.
3. The Final Move
The Final Move (2015): Newly separated hockey star Devin Garrison gets another chance with Callie Caplan, the woman who once shared a passionate night with him and then acted as though it never happened.
Devin is Jordan’s brother, while Callie belongs to the Caplan family. The book completes the original Garrison and Caplan relationship circle.
4. Winning It All
Winning It All (2016): Team enforcer Sebastian Deveau meets hockey-resistant Shayne Beckford during an impulsive encounter, then refuses to accept that their one-night stand should remain temporary.
The story moves beyond the original Silver Bay families while remaining inside their professional hockey world.
5. On the Line
On the Line (2016): League golden boy Avery Westwood becomes involved with Stephanie Deveau, but her past threatens the polished public image on which his career depends.
Stephanie is Sebastian’s sister, creating a direct connection to Winning It All. Avery later becomes particularly important to the next-generation Hockey Royalty books.
6. Game On
Game On (2017): Party-loving hockey player Alex Larue volunteers at Brie Bennett’s charity, where mutual distrust slowly gives way to attraction as both conceal painful parts of their lives.
The novel closes the original Hometown Players sequence while keeping the team and its established couples active in the background.
Hometown Players Reading Verdict
Read all six books in publication order.
The first three are especially connected through the Caplan and Garrison families. The later books widen the group to teammates and siblings, but they still reveal previous relationships and assume familiarity with the hockey circle.
San Francisco Thunder Books in Order
San Francisco Thunder follows hockey player Jude Braddock and his sisters Dixie, Sadie, and Winnie. The series is less about one team’s season than about a family whose careers and relationships repeatedly overlap with hockey.
Each book follows a separate couple. The Braddock siblings remain closely involved throughout the four-book sequence.
1. Score
Score (2017): Hockey star Jude Braddock reconnects with Zoey after her divorce, hoping that the disastrous date they shared as teenagers can become the beginning of a genuine second chance.
Jude’s romance introduces the Braddock family and the San Francisco Thunder organization.
2. Slammed
Slammed (2017): Thunder publicist Dixie Braddock begins a secret relationship with newly promoted goalie Eli Casco, knowing that being discovered could damage both her job and his career.
The workplace conflict continues the team setting while moving the focus to Jude’s sister.
3. When It’s Right
When It’s Right (2018): Single father and hockey coach Griffin Sullivan meets emergency-room nurse Sadie Braddock, but family illness and demanding responsibilities leave little room for a new relationship.
Sadie’s story adds a child and the coaching staff to the family-centered series.
4. Now or Never
Now or Never (2019): Winnie Braddock retreats to the family cottage to heal and finds former childhood tormentor Holden Hendricks renovating it, forcing two old enemies to share the same space.
This final book moves away from the professional team while completing the romantic stories of the four Braddock siblings.
How San Francisco Thunder Connects to Hockey Royalty
San Francisco Thunder and Hometown Players provide the parents and family histories behind Hockey Royalty.
Readers will encounter grown children from both earlier series in the newer books. This creates a genuine generational link, not merely a shared hockey setting.
Hockey Royalty can still be read independently because each book explains the relationships needed for its central story. Reading the earlier series first gives returning parents and inherited family names more emotional weight.
Ocean Pines Books in Order
Ocean Pines is a four-book small-town romance series set in coastal Maine. It follows friends, siblings, and residents whose past relationships are difficult to separate from the town’s close social network.
The official sequence contains four books. Some older lists incorrectly stop at three.
1. The Fall We Fell
The Fall We Fell (2021): Firefighter Bennett returns to Ocean Pines still in love with his best friends’ younger sister Terra, whose serious illness makes his attempt to repair their past more urgent.
The novel establishes the town, the Hawkins family, and the emotional history connecting later characters.
2. The Winter We Collided
The Winter We Collided (2021): A blizzard brings guarded newcomer Britta into the care of single-father paramedic Logan Hawkins, but both are hiding truths that could damage their growing relationship.
Logan’s family connection ties the romance directly to the community introduced in the first book.
3. The Spring We Ignited
The Spring We Ignited (2022): After her marriage to Declan Hawkins ends, a woman takes a prize vacation with his brother Finn while pretending they are married, reviving feelings she has kept buried.
This book contains major Hawkins family developments. It should not be read before the first two Ocean Pines novels if avoiding relationship spoilers matters.
4. The Summer We Surrendered
The Summer We Surrendered (2022): Hockey player Abbott Barlowe returns to Maine and confronts Declan Hawkins, the man he has loved privately for years but was once too afraid to choose openly.
The final book resolves a relationship whose background is closely tied to the marriage and family events of The Spring We Ignited.
Ocean Pines Reading Verdict
Read the four books in order.
The series changes couples, but the Hawkins family story runs continuously through the seasons. The Spring We Ignited and The Summer We Surrendered are particularly dependent on one another because Declan’s marriage and sexuality affect both romances.
Racing Hearts Books in Order
Racing Hearts shifts from hockey to Formula One. The series follows the Mirabella racing family, its drivers, and people responsible for keeping them safe.
1. The Chase
The Chase (2022): Frankie Mirabella takes control of her family’s racing team and becomes the boss of Billy, the driver who kissed her and disappeared years earlier.
The book introduces Mirabella Racing through a workplace second-chance romance.
2. Fast Track
Fast Track (2023): Formula One driver Lucia is reunited with her former bodyguard after a stalking threat forces them back together, despite the painful secret that ended their casual relationship.
Lucia and her family are already part of the racing world established in The Chase. Reading the first book provides useful context for the team and family dynamics.
Racing Hearts Reading Verdict
Read The Chase before Fast Track.
Both books contain complete romances, but the racing family and supporting characters carry from one installment to the next.
Comets Christmas Books in Order
Comets Christmas is a pair of holiday hockey romances. The books share the Charleston Comets organization and a festive setting, but each follows a separate couple.
1. Secret Santa Face-Off
Secret Santa Face-Off (2022): Two people with a hostile history are drawn together through a hockey-team Secret Santa arrangement that makes avoiding each other during the holidays impossible.
The novella combines enemies-to-lovers tension with team celebrations and forced seasonal interaction.
2. Offside Yuletide
Offside Yuletide (2023): A younger hockey player becomes involved with an older woman during the Christmas season, creating an age-gap romance inside the Comets circle.
The central relationship is self-contained, but the shared team setting makes it preferable to read after Secret Santa Face-Off.
Hockey Royalty Books in Order
Hockey Royalty follows the grown children of characters from Hometown Players and San Francisco Thunder.
This is Denault’s clearest next-generation series. Readers meet descendants of the Garrisons, Westwoods, Cascos, and other established hockey families while those children pursue careers and relationships of their own.
1. Conner
Conner (2024): Conner enters a fake relationship with a woman connected to his family and hockey circle, only for long-standing friendship and an age difference to complicate the arrangement.
The novel opens the next-generation sequence and reintroduces families from the two earlier hockey series.
2. Tate
Tate (2024): Tate is pursuing a major hockey milestone when Mallory appears with a baby she says is his, forcing him to become a father while confronting their forbidden past.
Tate is the son of an established hockey star, and the arrival of his child pushes the generational story forward.
3. Crew
Crew (2024): Recently divorced hockey player Crew Westwood shares a one-night stand with Liv Garrison, then discovers she is the cousin of his teammate and best friend.
Crew’s identity as Avery Westwood’s son directly connects the novel to On the Line. Liv also belongs to the Garrison family introduced in Hometown Players.
4. Nash
Nash (2025): Hockey player Nash Westwood wakes in Las Vegas married to documentary filmmaker Tenley Garrison, and professional pressure forces the enemies to pretend their accidental marriage is happy.
The romance joins two major legacy families. Earlier books make the Westwood and Garrison connection easier to appreciate, but the central conflict is fully explained.
5. Grady
Grady (2025): Closeted goalie Grady is traded alongside his secret crush Landon Casco, whose unstable relationship and unexpected pregnancy news force both men to confront their attraction and possible parenthood.
Landon is connected to the Casco family from San Francisco Thunder, making this another direct next-generation romance.
6. Theo
Theo (2026): Theo’s hockey career and family reputation collide with a relationship that brings another member of Denault’s legacy generation to the center of the series.
This sixth installment completes the currently published Hockey Royalty sequence. It should be read after Grady because previous couples and family developments continue to accumulate.
The Best Hockey Royalty Preparation Order
Readers who want all available family history should use this sequence:
- Hometown Players
- San Francisco Thunder
- Hockey Royalty
It is not necessary to alternate the first two series by publication date. Completing Hometown Players before beginning San Francisco Thunder creates a cleaner reading experience.
Readers interested only in Hockey Royalty may begin with Conner. The books explain their own romantic conflicts, though returning parents and family jokes will have less context.
World of True North Contributions
Victoria Denault has written two books inside Sarina Bowen’s World of True North projects. These are shared universes containing installments by multiple authors.
Denault’s books can be read as complete romances without finishing every title in the wider projects.
Blindsided
Blindsided (2021): A college hockey player and a woman who strongly dislikes him are forced into repeated contact, turning hostility into attraction inside the Moo U hockey world.
This is Book 2 of the multi-author Moo U Hockey Romance series. Reading Book 1 by another author is optional because Denault’s central couple receives a complete story.
Dauntless
Dauntless (2022): Two men meet within Vermont’s small-town wine-bar community and must decide whether attraction can survive the personal fears and differences keeping them guarded.
The book belongs to the multi-author In Vino Veritas series. It is separate from Denault’s own Ocean Pines and hockey-family continuities.
Faster Series Contribution
Apex
Apex (2023): Two Formula One drivers enter a fake relationship while competition, public attention, and real attraction make their arrangement increasingly difficult to control.
The novel is Book 3 in the multi-author Faster series. It shares a motorsport genre with Racing Hearts but belongs to a separate continuity.
Readers do not need to read The Chase or Fast Track before Apex.
Unwrapping the Truth
Unwrapping the Truth (2023): Two men with a hostile history are brought together during the holidays, where attraction and a best-friend’s-brother connection make their conflict harder to maintain.
This male-male hockey novella is a separate holiday story. It is not a numbered Comets Christmas installment, even though both use hockey and Christmas themes.
Read it independently.
If the World Was Ending
If the World Was Ending (2026): Two men connected to the entertainment world face an emotional and romantic awakening while circumstances force them to reconsider the lives and identities they believed were settled.
The novel is presented as a standalone male-male Hollywood romance. It does not continue Hockey Royalty, Ocean Pines, or the World of True North books.
As of August 4, 2026, it is the newest Victoria Denault title listed for publication.
Anthologies and Collections
Anthologies should be kept separate from Denault’s numbered novels because they collect work by multiple romance authors.
On the Line
On the Line (2023): This multi-author hockey-romance anthology includes a Victoria Denault contribution alongside stories by other writers.
It should not be confused with On the Line (2016), the fifth Hometown Players novel. The identical title creates a genuine bibliography problem.
When cataloging the books, identify the 2016 title as a full-length Hometown Players romance and the 2023 title as a multi-author collection.
Hockey Halloween
Hockey Halloween (2025): This seasonal multi-author collection combines hockey romance with Halloween settings and includes work from several authors.
The collection is optional and does not add a numbered book to Hockey Royalty or Hometown Players.
Victoria Denault Books in Publication Order
This master list is useful for readers who want to follow Denault’s career across changing teams, settings, and shared worlds.
- One More Shot (2015): Jordan Garrison seeks another chance with Jessie Caplan after six years of separation and unanswered hurt.
- Making a Play (2015): Luc Richard returns to Maine to repair his image and discovers that Rose Caplan no longer intends to hide her feelings.
- The Final Move (2015): Divorced hockey star Devin Garrison reconnects with Callie Caplan after their earlier night together.
- Winning It All (2016): Enforcer Sebastian Deveau pursues hockey-resistant Shayne after an impulsive encounter in her brother’s gym.
- On the Line (2016): Avery Westwood risks his carefully controlled career image for Stephanie Deveau.
- Game On (2017): Alex Larue volunteers at Brie Bennett’s charity while both conceal painful histories behind mutual hostility.
- Score (2017): Jude Braddock tries to turn an awkward teenage date with newly divorced Zoey into a real second chance.
- Slammed (2017): Publicist Dixie Braddock secretly dates Thunder goalie Eli Casco despite the professional consequences.
- When It’s Right (2018): Single-father coach Griffin Sullivan falls for nurse Sadie Braddock during a difficult period for both families.
- Now or Never (2019): Winnie Braddock shares her family cottage with former childhood enemy Holden Hendricks.
- Blindsided (2021): Enemies within the Moo U college-hockey world discover that repeated conflict is hiding attraction.
- The Fall We Fell (2021): Firefighter Bennett returns to Ocean Pines hoping to prove himself to the seriously ill woman he has always loved.
- The Winter We Collided (2021): A blizzard brings a secretive tenant and her single-father paramedic landlord into close proximity.
- The Spring We Ignited (2022): A divorced woman takes a vacation with her former husband’s brother while pretending he is her spouse.
- The Summer We Surrendered (2022): Hockey player Abbott returns to pursue Declan, the man he once loved only in secret.
- The Chase (2022): Racing-team owner Frankie becomes the boss of Billy, the driver who once kissed and ghosted her.
- Dauntless (2022): Two men find romance inside Vermont’s shared In Vino Veritas setting.
- Secret Santa Face-Off (2022): A team holiday exchange forces two enemies into a festive confrontation with their attraction.
- Fast Track (2023): A stalking threat reunites Formula One driver Lucia with the bodyguard she pushed away.
- Apex (2023): Rival motorsport figures use a fake relationship that begins to feel increasingly real.
- Offside Yuletide (2023): A Christmas hockey romance pairs a younger athlete with an older heroine.
- Unwrapping the Truth (2023): Holiday proximity brings two antagonistic men together in a hockey-centered novella.
- Conner (2024): A fake relationship opens Hockey Royalty by placing a new-generation player inside an emotionally risky arrangement.
- Tate (2024): Tate learns he has a baby just as his professional hockey career reaches a defining moment.
- Crew (2024): Divorced player Crew Westwood becomes involved with Liv Garrison after a supposedly anonymous night together.
- Nash (2025): Nash Westwood and Tenley Garrison must maintain an accidental Las Vegas marriage for professional reasons.
- Grady (2025): Grady and Landon face hidden attraction, a possible child, and the consequences of remaining closeted.
- Theo (2026): Another member of the hockey legacy generation confronts a romance shaped by family expectations and professional pressure.
- If the World Was Ending (2026): Two men in a Hollywood-centered standalone reconsider love, identity, and the futures they expected.
Publication Order or Series Order?
Series order is better for most readers.
A complete publication-order read moves repeatedly between unrelated worlds. It places Ocean Pines beside multi-author Vermont stories, Formula One romances beside Christmas novellas, and next-generation hockey books beside standalones.
Reading by series keeps the relevant families and supporting casts together.
Is There a Chronological Order?
No separate chronological order is needed within most of Denault’s bibliography.
Hometown Players and San Francisco Thunder should be completed before Hockey Royalty when following the full generational timeline. Within each individual series, publication order already provides the clearest chronology.
The shared-world books do not need to be inserted into the timeline of Denault’s solo series. Their characters and settings belong to separate continuities.
Recommended Victoria Denault Reading Order
For the most complete experience, follow this route:
- Read the six Hometown Players books.
- Read the four San Francisco Thunder books.
- Read the six Hockey Royalty books.
- Read Ocean Pines from The Fall We Fell through The Summer We Surrendered.
- Read The Chase and Fast Track together.
- Read the two Comets Christmas stories.
- Add Blindsided, Dauntless, and Apex whenever you want a shared-world standalone.
- Read Unwrapping the Truth and If the World Was Ending independently.
This order prioritizes family continuity without forcing separate settings into one artificial universe.
Latest Victoria Denault Book
If the World Was Ending (2026): A standalone male-male Hollywood romance follows two men whose emotional connection challenges their established identities and expected futures.
It is listed as an August 2026 release and is the newest Victoria Denault title as of this update.
The book is separate from Hockey Royalty. Readers do not need to complete Theo or any earlier series before beginning it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Victoria Denault’s First Book?
One More Shot (2015): NHL player Jordan Garrison reunites with Jessie Caplan six years after the collapse of their first relationship.
It begins Hometown Players and remains the best starting point for Denault’s original hockey continuity.
How Many Hometown Players Books Are There?
There are six:
- One More Shot
- Making a Play
- The Final Move
- Winning It All
- On the Line
- Game On
The books are connected standalones and should be read in publication order.
Is Hockey Royalty Connected to Hometown Players?
Yes. Hockey Royalty follows grown children from Hometown Players and San Francisco Thunder.
The relationship is generational, with legacy surnames, returning parents, and family histories carrying into the newer series.
Can I Start with Conner?
Yes. Conner explains its own central romance and begins Hockey Royalty.
Reading Hometown Players and San Francisco Thunder first is recommended when you want the full meaning of the family connections.
How Many Ocean Pines Books Are There?
There are four:
- The Fall We Fell
- The Winter We Collided
- The Spring We Ignited
- The Summer We Surrendered
Older lists that describe Ocean Pines as a trilogy are incomplete.
Are The Spring We Ignited and The Summer We Surrendered Connected?
Yes. Both books involve Declan Hawkins and the consequences of his marriage.
Read The Spring We Ignited first because it establishes the relationship changes that make Declan and Abbott’s romance possible.
Is Apex Part of Racing Hearts?
No. Apex belongs to the multi-author Faster series.
Both involve Formula One, but they have separate characters and continuities.
Do I Need to Read Every Moo U Book Before Blindsided?
No. Blindsided is part of the multi-author Moo U Hockey Romance series, but its central couple receives a complete story.
Reading the wider series is optional.
Are There Two Books Called On the Line?
Yes.
On the Line (2016) is the fifth full-length Hometown Players novel. On the Line (2023) is a multi-author hockey-romance collection.
They should be listed separately to avoid counting the anthology as another series installment.
Is Unwrapping the Truth Part of Comets Christmas?
No. It is a separate male-male holiday hockey novella.
Its Christmas setting makes it thematically similar, but it is not numbered as the third Comets Christmas book.
What Is Victoria Denault’s Latest Hockey Royalty Book?
Theo (2026): The sixth Hockey Royalty romance continues the next-generation hockey and family continuity.
Read it after Grady when following the whole series.
What Is Victoria Denault’s Latest Book Overall?
If the World Was Ending is listed as her newest book in August 2026.
It is a standalone rather than Hockey Royalty Book 7.
Conclusion
The most rewarding Victoria Denault reading route begins with One More Shot. Complete Hometown Players, continue with San Francisco Thunder, and then move into Hockey Royalty for the grown children of those earlier couples.
Ocean Pines should be read as its own four-book family sequence, while Racing Hearts and Comets Christmas form shorter independent series. Blindsided, Dauntless, and Apex belong to multi-author shared worlds and can be read without completing Denault’s solo backlist.
For a single current release without earlier continuity, begin with If the World Was Ending. For the complete hockey-family experience, begin with One More Shot and preserve publication order within every series.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.