Jax Calder is a New Zealand author of contemporary MM romance. Her books include rugby romance, royal romance, romantic comedy, young adult romance, online mistaken identity stories, second chances, enemies to lovers, and found family.
Most Jax Calder novels are interconnected standalones. A new couple takes the lead in each book, and the central romance reaches a complete ending. Returning friends, relatives, teammates, and former lead couples make publication order worthwhile, but readers rarely face unresolved cliffhangers.
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The main series are Sporting Secrets, the Hookup Duology, Unlikely Dilemmas, Rainbow Redemption, Queer Ways to Fall in Love, and the Revenge Club. Her remaining novels and novellas belong to separate continuities unless a specific series connection is stated.
The Order Question in One Minute
Jax Calder’s bibliography does not require one continuous master chronology.
Readers can begin with any of these series openers:
- Playing Offside for New Zealand rugby romance.
- The Anonymous Hookup for a shorter anonymous encounter romance.
- The Unlikely Heir for royal romance and political pressure.
- Beautiful Hearts for emotional recovery and second chances.
- Moderating Love for online rivals who meet offline.
- The Revenge Game for enemies, romantic comedy, and badly planned revenge.
The safest overall starting point is Playing Offside. It was Calder’s first full-length published romance and opens her most established sports series.
Books That Should Stay Together
No major Jax Calder series divides one unresolved romance across several full novels. However, several sequences become more satisfying when kept intact.
- Sporting Secrets follows connected rugby players and should be read from Playing Offside through Playing for Keeps.
- Unlikely Dilemmas moves through the same fictional royal family and political world. Later books reveal important relationship and succession developments from earlier novels.
- Rainbow Redemption follows men rebuilding their lives after grief, poor decisions, or emotional damage. The books change couples, but the social connections grow across the trilogy.
- The Revenge Club begins with an optional prequel and then follows members of the same revenge-focused friendship group.
Sporting Secrets Books in Order
Sporting Secrets is a three-book MM rugby romance series set around elite New Zealand players. Each novel follows a different couple, while teammates, friendships, and the pressures of professional sport remain central.
The series is complete at three main novels.
1. Playing Offside
Playing Offside (2021): Rugby star Tyler becomes involved with younger player Asher, creating an age-gap romance shaped by rivalry, public scrutiny, and the risks of being queer in elite sport.
The book introduces the rugby world, its team culture, and several characters who return later. It is the strongest entry point into Jax Calder’s catalog.
2. Playing at Home
Playing at Home (2021): Jacob hires Austin to help care for his children, turning a practical domestic arrangement into a romance complicated by single parenthood, rugby, and the fear of disrupting a family.
Previous Sporting Secrets characters return, but Jacob and Austin’s relationship is complete within this novel.
3. Playing for Keeps
Playing for Keeps (2022): Ethan and Luke confront years of buried attraction when friendship, professional rugby, and personal timing finally force them to decide whether they want a permanent future together.
The novel closes the published Sporting Secrets trilogy by giving an established member of the friendship group his own romance.
Sporting Secrets Bonus Material
Coming Out at the Ball Game
Coming Out at the Ball Game (2021): A shorter sports romance uses a public game and the risk of coming out to bring its central couple toward honesty.
The story is separate from the three numbered Sporting Secrets novels and is optional.
Sporting Secrets Box Set
Sporting Secrets Box Set (2024): A collection containing Playing Offside, Playing at Home, and Playing for Keeps, along with bonus material connected to the rugby couples.
The set does not add a fourth full-length series novel.
The Hookup Duology Books in Order
The Hookup Duology contains two compact romances about encounters that begin with limited expectations and become emotionally significant.
The books follow different couples. They share a thematic and social connection rather than one continuous romance.
1. The Anonymous Hookup
The Anonymous Hookup (2022): Two men agree to an anonymous encounter with rules designed to prevent emotional involvement, only for their connection to become much harder to leave behind.
The novella provides a complete romantic ending and can be read without any previous Calder book.
2. The Unforgettable Hookup
The Unforgettable Hookup (2024): A supposedly temporary encounter stays with both men long after it ends, forcing them to reconsider whether anonymity and emotional distance ever protected them.
The second book features a new central couple. Reading the first novella adds thematic context but is not necessary for understanding the romance.
Unlikely Dilemmas Books in Order
Unlikely Dilemmas combines MM romance with a fictional British royal family, government responsibility, media attention, and public expectations.
Each book changes couples. The political and family developments continue, so the trilogy should be read in order.
1. The Unlikely Heir
The Unlikely Heir (2023): Callum unexpectedly moves closer to the throne and falls for the prime minister, placing their relationship inside a constitutional and media crisis neither man can keep private.
The novel establishes the royal family, the government setting, and the succession questions that affect the later books.
2. The Unlikely Pair
The Unlikely Pair (2024): Two men positioned as political opponents become stranded together, forcing public hostility and private attraction into a relationship neither side of the political divide expects.
The second novel changes couples but takes place within the same government and royal continuity.
3. The Unlikely Spare
The Unlikely Spare (2025): A royal spare confronts the expectations attached to his family role while a new relationship challenges the future others have planned for him.
This book completes the published trilogy and contains updates involving the couples and political changes established earlier.
How to Read Unlikely Dilemmas
Publication order is the only recommended order:
- The Unlikely Heir: Introduces the monarchy and government relationship.
- The Unlikely Pair: Expands the political conflict through a new couple.
- The Unlikely Spare: Returns attention to the royal family and succession.
Beginning with book two or three will reveal the romantic and political outcome of The Unlikely Heir.
Rainbow Redemption Books in Order
Rainbow Redemption follows men who are trying to rebuild after grief, reckless behavior, trauma, or painful relationship history.
The novels feature separate couples and complete endings. Recurring characters make the trilogy feel like one connected emotional community.
1. Beautiful Hearts
Beautiful Hearts (2022): Widower Tim has closed himself off after losing his husband, but a new relationship challenges the belief that loving again would diminish the life and marriage he had before.
The novel begins the series through grief, healing, and the complicated permission to pursue a second future.
2. Reckless Hearts
Reckless Hearts (2025): Seb becomes involved with Marcus, his sister’s best friend, creating a relationship shaped by impulsive choices, family connections, and feelings neither man can treat casually.
The second book broadens the series beyond bereavement while maintaining its focus on people trying to make better emotional choices.
3. Colliding Hearts
Colliding Hearts (2025): Two men connected through a traumatic event form an intense bond, but survival, recovery, and the weight of what brought them together make a lasting relationship difficult to build.
The final published book completes the trilogy with a romance centered on trust after crisis.
The Revenge Club Books in Order
The Revenge Club follows people whose plans to settle old scores produce unexpected romantic consequences.
The series combines enemies-to-lovers conflict, mistaken assumptions, workplace or social complications, and romantic comedy.
Optional Prequel: Hired by the Enemy
Hired by the Enemy (2024): Two men who have treated each other as enemies since childhood are forced into professional proximity, giving them the chance to question whether the conflict still reflects who they have become.
The novella is numbered 0.5. It introduces the revenge-centered world but is not required before the first full novel.
1. The Revenge Game
The Revenge Game (2025): A revenge plan draws two opponents into repeated contact, where competition and attraction steadily undermine the original purpose of the scheme.
This is the best full-length introduction to the club and its badly controlled attempts at payback.
2. The Revenge Mishap
The Revenge Mishap (2026): A revenge attempt goes wrong and traps a grumpy man in an increasingly personal connection with the more optimistic man caught in the fallout.
The book was released on May 8, 2026 and is the latest published Jax Calder novel as of this update.
3. The Revenge Scheme
The Revenge Scheme (scheduled for April 29, 2027): Gus tries to respond after being deceived by an online scammer, but his attempt to regain control leads into another complicated Revenge Club romance.
This is the confirmed third full-length book. Its date remains subject to change before publication.
Recommended Revenge Club Order
Readers who want every available story should use:
- Hired by the Enemy (2024): Optional childhood-enemies prequel.
- The Revenge Game (2025): First full-length club novel.
- The Revenge Mishap (2026): Second club romance.
- The Revenge Scheme (2027): Upcoming third novel.
Readers who prefer to begin with a full book can start with The Revenge Game and return to the prequel later.
Queer Ways to Fall in Love Books in Order
Queer Ways to Fall in Love is a romantic comedy series built around unconventional meetings, online communication, mistaken identity, and relationships that become real before the characters fully understand who is involved.
1. Moderating Love
Moderating Love (2026): Devin moderates an online forum devoted to queer love stories and repeatedly clashes with a cynical fellow moderator, only to discover that their combative digital relationship has created a powerful personal connection.
The novella is a grumpy-sunshine romance built through years of online arguments and messages.
Bonus Epilogue
Moderating Love: Bonus Epilogue (2026): Devin and his partner return after the novella for an additional look at their established relationship.
Read it after Moderating Love. It contains no separate central romance.
2. It Started with a Text
It Started with a Text (2026): A mistaken message begins an increasingly intimate conversation between two men who connect emotionally before fully understanding each other’s identity and place in the real world.
The novella changes couples and can stand alone, although it continues the series theme of romance developing through digital communication.
Standalone Jax Calder Novels
The following books do not belong to Calder’s principal numbered series.
The Other Brother
The Other Brother (2021): A man becomes involved with the brother who has spent his life being compared with someone else, creating a romance shaped by family tension, assumptions, and the need to be valued as an individual.
The novel is a complete standalone and requires no previous reading.
Some bibliographic catalogs show a 2022 date because of later editions. The story first appeared in 2021.
Attractive Forces
Attractive Forces (2022): High school students Logan and Jake move from tutoring and friendship into a secret nerd-jock romance while confronting sexuality, family pressure, and the uncertainty of life after school.
This is a young adult romance and occupies a separate continuity from Calder’s adult rugby and royal books.
Jax Calder Novellas and Short Romances
These shorter books can be read in any order unless they are attached to a named series.
The Inappropriate Date
The Inappropriate Date (2021): A date that appears unsuitable because of personal or social boundaries develops into a romance that challenges the assumptions surrounding the couple.
The story is self-contained.
Being Set Up
Being Set Up (2021): Friends or relatives arrange a meeting between two men who do not expect the setup to produce a genuine relationship.
The novella has been offered as newsletter-exclusive fiction and is not part of a numbered series.
Coming Out at the Ball Game
Coming Out at the Ball Game (2021): A sporting event becomes the setting for a romance in which public identity and private feelings can no longer remain separate.
It is an optional short sports romance rather than Sporting Secrets book four.
Secret Crush
Secret Crush (2022): A hidden attraction becomes harder to protect when circumstances repeatedly bring the central characters together.
The short story provides a complete romantic payoff without requiring series background.
Keeping It Casual
Keeping It Casual (2023): A fake date and a supposedly casual arrangement bring two neighboring men closer, but clear emotional limits become impossible to maintain.
The novella includes single-parent and secret-relationship elements and is not connected to the Hookup Duology.
Love Language
Love Language (2024): Two men whose feelings are expressed in different ways must learn how to understand what the other is actually offering.
This is a short standalone romance, not an entry in Rainbow Redemption.
Feeding the Grump
Feeding the Grump (2025): Sunshine neighbor Benji repeatedly brings food to grumpy farmer David, turning practical kindness and rural proximity into an enemies-to-lovers romance.
The novella first appeared through a charity anthology before becoming available separately.
Collections and Anthologies
A Taste of Love
A Taste of Love: A Short Story Collection (2025): A collection of shorter Jax Calder romances centered on attraction, food, affection, or small moments that lead to larger emotional connections.
Readers should check the contents before buying individual novellas because a collection may include stories available elsewhere.
Elite Connections
Elite Connections (2024): A multi-author LGBTQ+ romance charity anthology containing Hired by the Enemy alongside stories by other writers.
The anthology is not a separate Revenge Club installment. Readers who own the later standalone edition of Hired by the Enemy already have Calder’s central contribution.
Delicious: Volume One
Delicious: Volume One (2025): A multi-author food-themed charity anthology containing a short romance by Jax Calder.
It should remain outside the author’s numbered series orders.
Complete Jax Calder Publication Order
The following list counts original books and stories once. Box sets, audiobooks, bonus epilogues, and later editions are excluded where they would duplicate existing material.
2021
- Playing Offside (2021): Tyler and Asher open the Sporting Secrets rugby world.
- Playing at Home (2021): Jacob and Austin develop a domestic romance involving rugby and single parenthood.
- The Other Brother (2021): Family comparisons and attraction drive a complete standalone romance.
- The Inappropriate Date (2021): An apparently unsuitable date becomes emotionally significant.
- Coming Out at the Ball Game (2021): Sport and public identity shape a short romance.
- Being Set Up (2021): An arranged meeting develops into an unexpected relationship.
2022
- Playing for Keeps (2022): Ethan and Luke complete the Sporting Secrets trilogy.
- The Anonymous Hookup (2022): An anonymous encounter becomes impossible to forget.
- Beautiful Hearts (2022): A widower confronts the possibility of loving again.
- Attractive Forces (2022): A tutor and closeted athlete form a young adult romance.
- Secret Crush (2022): A concealed attraction moves toward revelation.
2023
- The Unlikely Heir (2023): A royal succession crisis places an heir and prime minister in a forbidden relationship.
- Keeping It Casual (2023): Neighbors attempt a casual arrangement that becomes emotionally serious.
2024
- The Unlikely Pair (2024): Political opponents develop a relationship after being forced together.
- The Unforgettable Hookup (2024): A brief encounter leaves a lasting emotional impact.
- Hired by the Enemy (2024): Childhood enemies reconnect through a professional arrangement.
- Love Language (2024): Two men learn how differently they communicate affection.
2025
- The Unlikely Spare (2025): Another royal family member confronts duty and love.
- Reckless Hearts (2025): Seb falls for his sister’s best friend.
- Colliding Hearts (2025): A bond formed through crisis develops into romance.
- The Revenge Game (2025): A revenge plan becomes an enemies-to-lovers relationship.
- Feeding the Grump (2025): Food brings a cheerful neighbor and grumpy farmer together.
- A Taste of Love (2025): Short romances are collected in one volume.
2026
- Moderating Love (2026): Online moderators move from ideological enemies to romantic partners.
- It Started with a Text (2026): A mistaken message creates an intimate digital connection.
- The Revenge Mishap (2026): A failed revenge attempt leads to a grumpy-sunshine romance.
2027
- The Revenge Scheme (scheduled for 2027): An online scam and a plan for payback begin the next Revenge Club story.
Is There a Chronological Order?
No meaningful chronology combines every Jax Calder book. The rugby players, royal family, online moderators, young adult characters, and Revenge Club occupy separate continuities.
Within each series, publication order already provides the best progression.
Sporting Secrets should remain:
- Playing Offside
- Playing at Home
- Playing for Keeps
Unlikely Dilemmas should remain:
- The Unlikely Heir
- The Unlikely Pair
- The Unlikely Spare
Rainbow Redemption should remain:
- Beautiful Hearts
- Reckless Hearts
- Colliding Hearts
No alternate timeline offers a clearer experience than these numbered sequences.
A Practical Jax Calder Reading Plan
Readers wanting a broad introduction should begin with Sporting Secrets. The trilogy combines professional rugby, family life, coming out, friendship, and established-couple appearances without requiring knowledge of another series.
Continue with Unlikely Dilemmas for royal and political romantic comedy. Read all three books in order because the monarchy and succession develop across the trilogy.
Move next to Rainbow Redemption when a more emotional series is preferred. The stories address grief, recovery, reckless choices, and relationships formed after painful experiences.
Finish with the Revenge Club for lighter enemies-to-lovers conflict and interconnected revenge schemes.
The Hookup Duology and Queer Ways to Fall in Love work well between the longer novels because their shorter stories have no unresolved cliffhangers.
Latest Jax Calder Book
As of August 4, 2026, Jax Calder’s latest confirmed published romance is The Revenge Mishap, released on May 8, 2026.
The Revenge Mishap (2026): A revenge plan goes sideways, bringing a grumpy man and his more optimistic counterpart into a relationship neither expected from the original scheme.
Although an unrelated fantasy title has appeared in some automated bibliographic records under the name Jax Calder, it is not included here because it was not confirmed through the romance author’s official catalog.
Upcoming Jax Calder Book
The Revenge Scheme is scheduled for April 29, 2027.
The Revenge Scheme (2027): Gus reacts to being deceived by an online scammer, but his attempt to regain control leads toward a new romantic entanglement within the Revenge Club.
It is confirmed as book three. The date may change before publication.
The author has also indicated continued interest in returning to the Sporting Secrets world, but no fourth title or release date was formally confirmed at the time of this update.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Jax Calder’s first book?
Playing Offside was published in 2021 and is the author’s first full-length listed novel.
Playing Offside (2021): Two rugby players face an age gap, rivalry, and the public risks surrounding a queer relationship in elite sport.
What Jax Calder book should I read first?
Start with Playing Offside for the broadest introduction.
Readers who prefer royal romance can begin with The Unlikely Heir. Readers wanting a shorter story can begin with The Anonymous Hookup.
Are Jax Calder’s books standalones?
Most are complete romances featuring a new couple.
Books within the same series contain returning characters and updates about earlier relationships. Publication order is therefore recommended even when it is not mandatory.
Do the Sporting Secrets books follow the same couple?
No. Each book follows a different central couple.
The rugby team and friendship circle continue throughout all three novels.
Is Sporting Secrets complete?
Three novels and a box set have been published.
The author has expressed interest in another Sporting Secrets romance, but no fourth book had a confirmed title or release date as of August 4, 2026.
Is Coming Out at the Ball Game part of Sporting Secrets?
It is a separate short sports romance.
It can be read near Sporting Secrets, but it is not numbered as book four.
Do the Hookup Duology books follow one couple?
No. The Anonymous Hookup and The Unforgettable Hookup feature separate central relationships.
Both explore supposedly temporary encounters that become emotionally important.
Do I need to read Hired by the Enemy first?
No.
It is an optional Revenge Club prequel. Readers can begin with The Revenge Game and return to the novella later.
Is Hired by the Enemy also in an anthology?
Yes. It originally appeared in Elite Connections and was later released separately.
The anthology and standalone editions contain the same central story.
What order should I read Unlikely Dilemmas?
Read The Unlikely Heir, The Unlikely Pair, and The Unlikely Spare.
The books change couples but continue the same royal and political world.
Does The Unlikely Pair spoil The Unlikely Heir?
It can reveal the earlier book’s relationship and political outcome.
Reading the trilogy in numbered order is strongly recommended.
Is Rainbow Redemption one continuous romance?
No. Each book has a different central couple.
The trilogy is connected through recurring characters and the shared theme of rebuilding after emotional loss or harmful choices.
Is Moderating Love a full-length novel?
It is an approximately 18,000-word novella.
Moderating Love (2026): Two online moderators who have argued for years discover that their digital rivalry has developed into a real emotional connection.
Is It Started with a Text connected to Moderating Love?
Yes. Both belong to Queer Ways to Fall in Love.
They follow separate couples, so either romance can be understood independently.
Is Feeding the Grump part of a series?
No. It is a standalone novella.
Feeding the Grump (2025): A cheerful neighbor uses food and persistence to soften the boundaries of a grumpy farmer.
Is Attractive Forces an adult romance?
It is a young adult romance about high school students.
Its characters and continuity are separate from Calder’s adult sports, royal, and romantic comedy books.
Are Jax Calder’s boxed sets new stories?
No. Box sets collect books already published individually.
The Sporting Secrets set includes the trilogy and bonus material, but it does not contain a fourth main novel.
What is Jax Calder’s newest series?
Queer Ways to Fall in Love began in 2026 with Moderating Love and continued with It Started with a Text.
The Revenge Club is also ongoing, with its third full novel scheduled for 2027.
What is Jax Calder’s latest book?
The Revenge Mishap is the latest confirmed published romance as of August 4, 2026.
It is Revenge Club book two.
Conclusion
Begin with Playing Offside when you want Jax Calder’s clearest and most representative starting point. Continue through Playing at Home and Playing for Keeps to complete the connected rugby trilogy.
Read Unlikely Dilemmas in strict publication order because its royal succession and political relationships build across all three novels. Rainbow Redemption also works best from Beautiful Hearts through Colliding Hearts, even though each book changes couples.
For shorter romances, the Hookup Duology and Queer Ways to Fall in Love can be read as compact separate sequences. Begin the Revenge Club with Hired by the Enemy for the full experience or with The Revenge Game for the first full-length novel.
As of August 4, 2026, The Revenge Mishap is the latest released book. The Revenge Scheme is scheduled for April 29, 2027.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.