Mandi Beck writes contemporary romance featuring mixed martial arts fighters, musicians, professional hockey players, college athletes, childhood friends, and couples with complicated shared histories.
Her bibliography is concentrated into three principal author-owned worlds: Caged Love, Wrecked, and Fulton University Hockey. She has also written two Cherry Falls novellas, the standalone romance Twisted, and stories for several multi-author collections.
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The most important distinction is between continuations and connected standalones. Caged Love follows Deacon and Frankie across two full-length novels before shifting to another couple in a novella. Wrecked begins with Stone and Willow, then adds a holiday follow-up and a separate musician romance. Fulton University Hockey changes couples with every book.
A Character-Based Route Through Mandi Beck’s Books
- Readers who want one couple’s complete story should begin with Love Hurts and continue directly into Love Burns.
- Readers who prefer rock-star romance should begin with Stoned, then read Rhythm. Sugar belongs near that music-centered world but follows a different couple and provides its own ending.
- Readers looking for hockey romance should begin with Sin Bin and continue through Arena Lights and Sweater Weather.
- Readers who want short small-town romance can read 1026 Wild Way and 1228 Wanderlust Lane without completing any of Mandi Beck’s other series.
Caged Love Books in Order
Caged Love centers on mixed martial arts fighters, the people connected to their gym, and relationships shaped by violence, loyalty, shared history, and the emotional cost of fighting for someone.
The first two books follow the same couple and must be read in order. The final novella changes couples but depends on the gym and friendships established in the duet.
1. Love Hurts
Love Hurts (2015): MMA fighter Deacon “The Hitman” Love has loved his best friend Frankie De Rosa for most of his life, but his possessiveness, drinking, and reckless behavior repeatedly complicate the relationship he wants.
Deacon is fearless inside the cage and far less controlled when Frankie is involved. The novel begins their central conflict and does not complete their full story.
Continuity status: Required first book.
2. Love Burns
Love Burns (2015): Deacon and Frankie face the consequences of the first novel while a threat from Frankie’s past places their relationship and her safety under increasing pressure.
Deacon is also preparing for an important professional fight, but the danger surrounding Frankie becomes the more personal battle.
This is a direct continuation of Love Hurts. Starting here would remove the history needed to understand Deacon, Frankie, and the choices that brought them to this point.
2.5. Love Fights
Love Fights: Maxie enters the gym looking for a trainer and is paired with Leo, the man whose feelings for her survived years apart.
Training for Maxie’s upcoming fight brings them into close contact, giving Leo a chance to prove that she was never simply someone he forgot.
The novella changes couples but returns to Deacon’s gym and the established Caged Love circle.
Placement: Read after Love Burns.
The Complete Caged Love Order
- Love Hurts
- Love Burns
- Love Fights
The first two books form Deacon and Frankie’s duet. Love Fights is a connected follow-up about Leo and Maxie.
Caged Love Collection
Caged Love: The Duet: This collection contains Love Hurts, Love Burns, and the novella Love Fights.
Despite the word “duet” in the title, the collection includes all three published Caged Love stories.
It is an alternate format rather than another installment.
Wrecked Books in Order
Wrecked is a music-centered romance world involving rock stars, country singers, record-label staff, addiction, damaged reputations, and relationships complicated by fame.
The official catalog presents three works together: Stoned, Rhythm, and Sugar. Their exact structural roles are different.
Stoned is the principal Wrecked novel. Rhythm is a Valentine follow-up for its characters. Sugar follows a new musician and works as a full standalone romance.
1. Stoned
Stoned (2016): Stone Lockhart, lead singer of the rock band Wrecked, has spent years using drugs, casual sex, and fame to escape the damage caused when he pushed Willow away.
After becoming clean, Stone tries to repair their relationship, only to discover that Willow has changed and may no longer want the future he once denied her.
The book combines rock-star romance, addiction, recovery, and a difficult second chance.
1.5. Rhythm
Rhythm (2017): The members of Wrecked return for a Valentine’s Day performance, with the shorter story revisiting the relationships and characters established in Stoned.
The holiday setting provides follow-up material rather than an independent introduction to the band.
Placement: Read after Stoned.
Status: Included holiday novella.
2. Sugar
Sugar (2017): Country singer Beau McCrae has become too difficult for his former label, leading Hard Candy Records to assign Addy Mae Masterson to control his behavior and repair his public image.
Addy is unimpressed by Beau’s charm and bad-boy reputation. Beau becomes increasingly interested in proving that the man behind the scandals is capable of more than she expects.
The book is connected to the music industry surrounding Wrecked, but its romance is complete and can be read independently.
How Sugar Is Numbered
Some catalogs identify Sugar as part of Wrecked, while others label it as book four in the multi-author Exposé project.
Both descriptions reflect its publication history.
For a Mandi Beck reading order, the clearest placement is after Stoned and Rhythm. It introduces a different couple and does not continue Stone and Willow’s central romance.
Wrecked Reading Order
- Stoned
- Rhythm
- Sugar
Readers interested only in Beau and Addy may begin with Sugar.
Fulton University Hockey Books in Order
Fulton University Hockey, also displayed as FU Hockey, connects professional hockey players with students and athletes at Fulton University.
Each installment follows a different couple. The Sexton family, hockey team, softball program, and shared social circle create the continuity.
Publication order is recommended because later leads are introduced through earlier teammates and relatives.
1. Sin Bin
Sin Bin (2018): Professional hockey player Jason Dagger spends an intense weekend with Fulton University softball pitcher Stella Cruz, then cuts off contact because of their ten-year age difference and the demands of his career.
Six months later, Jason returns determined to reclaim the relationship he abandoned. Stella has no intention of making forgiveness easy.
The story was first published in the Team Player anthology and later released independently with added content.
This is the correct FU Hockey starting point.
2. Arena Lights
Arena Lights (2023): Hockey player Benny Hayes is asked to chaperone a Fulton softball trip and keep watch over Maeve Sexton, his best friend’s younger sister and his teammate’s sibling.
Maeve is already off limits before forced proximity, late-night swims, and their mutual attraction make the team’s rules difficult to obey.
The story expands the Sexton family and Fulton athlete circle introduced around the series.
3. Sweater Weather
Sweater Weather (2023): Fulton hockey captain Levi Sexton becomes the tutor of Saffron Briggs, the university’s newest softball pitcher and a woman who openly insists that she dislikes him.
Levi is also the son of Saffron’s coach, while Saffron is friends with his sisters and already has a boyfriend. Their study sessions turn hostility into an attraction neither should pursue.
Read Arena Lights first because Maeve, Levi, and the Sexton family form one of the series’ central links.
FU Hockey Reading Order
- Sin Bin
- Arena Lights
- Sweater Weather
Every romance concludes within its own book, but the family and team introductions work best in sequence.
Why Some FU Hockey Dates Appear as 2025
Audiobook editions of Arena Lights and Sweater Weather were released in 2025.
Those audiobook dates do not represent new fourth or fifth FU Hockey stories. The novels remain books two and three of the established sequence.
Use the title order rather than assuming every newly dated edition adds another installment.
Cherry Falls Books by Mandi Beck
Cherry Falls is a multi-author small-town romance project. Each participating writer contributes a separate address-based story set in the same community.
Mandi Beck wrote two Cherry Falls novellas. They are not connected to Caged Love, Wrecked, or Fulton University Hockey.
1026 Wild Way
1026 Wild Way (2021): A short romance unfolds at one of Cherry Falls’ address-based locations, using the shared small-town community while focusing on its own central couple.
The novella is listed within the larger Cherry Falls project rather than as book one of a private Mandi Beck series.
It can be read independently.
Continuity status: Separate multi-author world.
1228 Wanderlust Lane
1228 Wanderlust Lane (2021): Jett and Lynnie receive a holiday romance connected to the Wild family, bringing travel, Christmas atmosphere, and a warmer seasonal relationship into Cherry Falls.
The novella returns to characters or family connections associated with Mandi Beck’s earlier Cherry Falls contribution.
Read 1026 Wild Way first for the fuller Wild-family context.
Mandi Beck’s Cherry Falls Order
- 1026 Wild Way
- 1228 Wanderlust Lane
Readers following the entire multi-author Cherry Falls project may encounter much higher series numbers because dozens of authors contributed books. Those numbers do not mean that Mandi Beck wrote all preceding installments.
Standalone Mandi Beck Books
Twisted
Twisted (2018): Fannin McGuire is trying to secure an important promotion while preparing to attend the wedding of her former fiancé and her stepsister.
Scottish bartender Jasper James steps in as her fake date, even though Fannin is responsible for winning the business account connected to his bar.
Their practical arrangement becomes genuine as workplace pressure, family humiliation, and hidden truths complicate the relationship.
The novella was originally connected to a shared Kindle Worlds project, but its principal romance can be read without another Mandi Beck book.
Continuity status: Standalone.
Anthology and Shared-World Stories
Mandi Beck has contributed stories to several collaborative collections. These books contain work by multiple authors and should not automatically be counted as separate full-length Mandi Beck novels.
Team Player
Team Player (2017): This sports-romance anthology originally contained Sin Bin before Mandi Beck released the story independently with additional content.
Readers who own the expanded independent edition do not need the anthology solely for Jason and Stella’s romance.
Team Player 2
Team Player 2 (2019): A second multi-author sports collection includes fiction from several romance writers.
It should be treated as optional anthology reading rather than another FU Hockey installment.
Beaus and Arrows
Beaus and Arrows (2017): This Valentine collection originally included Rhythm, the holiday follow-up to Stoned.
Readers can use the independent edition of Rhythm when available.
Wild in the Windy City
Wild in the Windy City: This collaborative anthology included Love Fights, the Caged Love novella following Leo and Maxie.
The story is also included in the complete Caged Love collection.
Unexpected Ever After
Unexpected Ever After: This anthology contains seventeen contemporary romance stories about relationships developing under unusual circumstances.
Mandi Beck’s contribution is separate from her principal numbered series unless an edition specifically identifies a previously published story.
Together with Love
Together with Love (2020): This bonus-scene collection includes follow-up material from several romance authors.
Its content is supplementary and should not be counted as a new full-length Mandi Beck novel.
One Love: Volume 3
One Love: Volume 3 (2025): This multi-author collection contains a Mandi Beck contribution alongside work by other writers.
It is an anthology appearance, not a new author-owned series entry.
Sexy Bedtime Stories: Volume 2
Sexy Bedtime Stories: Volume 2: This collection gathers shorter high-heat fiction from multiple romance authors, including Mandi Beck.
Status: Optional anthology.
Books That Should Not Be Added Yet
Several title records have appeared in informal catalogs or reader databases without stable publication details.
These include Even in Death, Hockey Fights, One Goal, Inevitable, and Judged.
As of August 4, 2026, these titles were not presented as completed, currently available books in Mandi Beck’s official active bibliography. They should not be inserted into a numbered reading order without a confirmed release, final series placement, and reliable edition record.
This is especially important for Judged. Older reader databases have associated it with Wrecked, but the official Wrecked page currently presents Stoned, Rhythm, and Sugar as the available reading group.
Complete Mandi Beck Publication Order
This list uses original publication years for the independently available stories where those dates are stable.
- Love Hurts (2015): MMA fighter Deacon Love begins his turbulent romance with lifelong best friend Frankie De Rosa.
- Love Burns (2015): Deacon and Frankie confront danger from her past while their relationship and his fighting career remain under pressure.
- Stoned (2016): Recovering rock star Stone Lockhart tries to repair the relationship he destroyed with Willow.
- Love Fights: Leo trains Maxie for a fight while trying to reclaim the woman he never stopped wanting.
- Rhythm (2017): Wrecked returns for a Valentine’s Day follow-up to Stoned.
- Sugar (2017): Country bad boy Beau McCrae is assigned to Addy Mae, the label representative expected to manage his image.
- Sin Bin (2018): Jason Dagger returns after abandoning Fulton softball pitcher Stella Cruz following their weekend together.
- Twisted (2018): Jasper becomes Fannin’s fake date for the wedding of her ex-fiancé and stepsister.
- 1026 Wild Way (2021): Mandi Beck contributes an independent address-based romance to the Cherry Falls world.
- 1228 Wanderlust Lane (2021): Jett and Lynnie lead a Wild-family holiday romance in Cherry Falls.
- Arena Lights (2023): Benny Hayes falls for Maeve Sexton, his best friend’s younger sister and teammate’s sibling.
- Sweater Weather (2023): Hockey captain Levi Sexton tutors softball pitcher Saffron Briggs despite her insistence that she dislikes him.
Anthologies and later audio editions are excluded from this count when they repeat stories already listed independently.
Chronological Order
No universal chronology connects every Mandi Beck book.
Caged Love, Wrecked, Fulton University Hockey, and Cherry Falls are separate story groups. Similar themes, such as athletes or famous musicians, do not establish one shared fictional timeline.
Within Caged Love, use:
- Love Hurts
- Love Burns
- Love Fights
Within Wrecked, use:
- Stoned
- Rhythm
- Sugar
Within FU Hockey, use:
- Sin Bin
- Arena Lights
- Sweater Weather
Within Mandi Beck’s Cherry Falls contributions, use:
- 1026 Wild Way
- 1228 Wanderlust Lane
Recommended Mandi Beck Reading Order
For a Continuing Couple
- Love Hurts
- Love Burns
- Love Fights
The first two books provide Deacon and Frankie’s complete central arc. The novella then expands the gym through Leo and Maxie.
For Music Romance
- Stoned
- Rhythm
- Sugar
This keeps Stone and Willow’s main novel and follow-up together before moving to Beau and Addy.
For Hockey Romance
- Sin Bin
- Arena Lights
- Sweater Weather
The couples change, but the team, university, softball program, and Sexton family make this the strongest publication-order sequence.
For Shorter Romance
- Twisted
- 1026 Wild Way
- 1228 Wanderlust Lane
These books do not form one continuity. The order simply moves from an independent fake-dating novella into Mandi Beck’s two Cherry Falls contributions.
Latest Mandi Beck Release Status
The latest original novels in Mandi Beck’s active author-owned catalog are Arena Lights and Sweater Weather, both first published in 2023.
Arena Lights received an audiobook edition in March 2025, while Sweater Weather received an audiobook edition in June 2025. These are format releases, not new stories.
Mandi Beck also appeared in the multi-author collection One Love: Volume 3 in 2025.
As of August 4, 2026, no later original Mandi Beck novel had a reliably confirmed title, release date, and official series position.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Mandi Beck’s first book?
Love Hurts (2015): MMA fighter Deacon Love has spent years wanting his best friend Frankie, but his volatile behavior and her reluctance make their relationship his most difficult fight.
It begins the Caged Love series.
What is the best Mandi Beck book to start with?
Begin with Love Hurts for her original MMA romance series.
Begin with Stoned for rock-star romance or Sin Bin for hockey romance.
Do Love Hurts and Love Burns follow the same couple?
Yes.
Both books follow Deacon and Frankie. Love Burns is a direct sequel and should not be read first.
Where does Love Fights fit?
Love Fights: Leo trains Maxie for an upcoming fight and tries to rebuild the relationship they lost years earlier.
Read it after Love Burns. It changes couples but remains inside the Caged Love gym.
Is Caged Love a duet or a three-book series?
The principal Deacon and Frankie story is a two-book duet.
The complete Caged Love collection also contains Love Fights, a novella about Leo and Maxie.
Do Stoned and Rhythm follow the same characters?
Yes.
Rhythm is a Valentine follow-up featuring characters from Stoned. Read the full novel first.
Is Sugar part of Wrecked?
The official author page groups Sugar with the Wrecked books, and some international editions number it as the second Wrecked novel.
It follows a different couple and is also associated with the multi-author Exposé project. It can be read as a standalone.
What order should the FU Hockey books be read in?
Read:
- Sin Bin
- Arena Lights
- Sweater Weather
This order preserves the introductions of the hockey players, Fulton athletes, and Sexton family.
Is Sin Bin a novella?
It began as a story in the Team Player anthology.
The independent edition contains added content and serves as FU Hockey book one.
Are Arena Lights and Sweater Weather 2025 books?
Their audiobook editions were released in 2025.
The original novels are generally cataloged as 2023 releases.
Are the FU Hockey books standalones?
Each book follows a different couple and gives that romance an ending.
They are interconnected standalones because teammates, siblings, and Fulton University athletes carry across the series.
Are 1026 Wild Way and 1228 Wanderlust Lane connected?
They are both Mandi Beck contributions to Cherry Falls.
1228 Wanderlust Lane returns to the Wild-family circle, so reading 1026 Wild Way first provides the better sequence.
Must the entire Cherry Falls series be read first?
No.
Cherry Falls is a multi-author shared world containing dozens of separate couples. Mandi Beck’s novellas can be read without completing every other author’s contribution.
Is Twisted connected to another Mandi Beck series?
No active Mandi Beck series currently includes it.
It originated in a shared publishing project but works as an independent fake-dating romance.
What is Mandi Beck’s latest book?
Her latest original author-owned novels are Arena Lights and Sweater Weather, first published in 2023.
Her most recent catalog activity includes 2025 audiobook editions and an anthology contribution, not a newly confirmed standalone novel.
Conclusion
Mandi Beck’s bibliography is built around three compact romance worlds.
Begin with Love Hurts for the complete Caged Love arc, then continue directly into Love Burns before reading Love Fights. Begin with Stoned for the music-centered Wrecked books, keeping Rhythm immediately afterward. Begin with Sin Bin for Fulton University Hockey.
The Cherry Falls novellas and Twisted can be read separately. Anthologies and collected editions should be checked carefully because several contain stories that later appeared independently.
For the strongest overall introduction, start with Love Hurts. It establishes Mandi Beck’s combination of intense relationships, protective heroes, long shared histories, and characters who treat love as another fight they cannot afford to lose.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.