Rachel Hartman Books in Order (Updated March 7, 2026)

Rachel Hartman’s fiction is simpler to navigate than it first appears. All five of her novels are set in the world of Goredd, but they do not all serve the same role inside that world. The clearest way to read them is to separate the Seraphina arc, the Tess arc, and the later Among Ghosts branch.

For most readers, the safest choice is still publication order. That keeps the worldbuilding, political context, and character revelations in the sequence Hartman originally released them.

The fast recommendation

Read Rachel Hartman this way:

1. Seraphina
2. Shadow Scale
3. Tess of the Road
4. In the Serpent’s Wake
5. Among Ghosts

That order works because it preserves the original expansion of Goredd. You begin with the core dragon-human tension, move through Seraphina’s main conflict, then widen into Tess’s more roaming and personal story, and finish with Among Ghosts, which stands on its own but gains extra depth once you already know the world.

How the Goredd books fit together

Hartman’s books are best understood in three lanes.

Lane one: the Seraphina books

• Seraphina
• Shadow Scale

These are the original central arc and the closest thing Hartman has to a main series spine.

Lane two: the Tess books

• Tess of the Road
• In the Serpent’s Wake

These are set in the same world and connect to the earlier books, but they shift the center of gravity to Tess and her journey.

Lane three: the later stand-alone

• Among Ghosts

This is set in Goredd as well, but it is built as a stand-alone story rather than “book five” in one continuous plotline.

Rachel Hartman books in publication order

1. Seraphina (2012): Hartman’s debut introduces Goredd through a half-dragon court musician whose hidden identity becomes dangerous when a royal murder threatens the fragile peace between humans and dragons.
2. Shadow Scale (2015): The direct follow-up sends Seraphina into a broader conflict, turning personal secrecy into open political and military stakes as she searches for other half-dragons.
3. Tess of the Road (2018): A companion novel in the same world, this shifts focus to Tess and becomes a looser, more road-shaped story about shame, survival, and rebuilding a self.
4. In the Serpent’s Wake (2022): This continues Tess’s story immediately, widening the journey into a multi-character quest with stronger questions of faith, responsibility, and what doing good actually costs.
5. Among Ghosts (2025): A stand-alone Goredd novel set about a century before Seraphina, following Charl in the refuge-town of St. Muckle’s as ghosts, violence, and older fears begin closing in around him.

Recommended reading order for most readers

Option 1: Best for new readers

1. Seraphina: Start here for the core world, the foundational politics, and the first major lens on dragons and Goredd.
2. Shadow Scale: Read next without a gap because it directly continues Seraphina’s conflict.
3. Tess of the Road: Move here once the Seraphina arc is complete, since Tess’s book works better when the world already feels lived in.
4. In the Serpent’s Wake: Continue immediately because Tess’s duology is strongest as one flowing character arc.
5. Among Ghosts: Finish here as a later stand-alone that deepens the setting without needing to carry the earlier plotlines.

Option 2: If you only want the main original arc

1. Seraphina
2. Shadow Scale

That is the tightest version of Hartman’s work if you want a complete first stop.

Option 3: If you want the Tess storyline

1. Seraphina
2. Shadow Scale
3. Tess of the Road
4. In the Serpent’s Wake

You can technically begin with Tess of the Road, but it lands better after Seraphina and Shadow Scale because some of the emotional and family context is richer that way.

Is there a chronological order?

There is one, but it is not the best first-read order.

If you arranged the books by internal timeline, Among Ghosts would come earlier than Seraphina, because it is set about a hundred years before that novel. After that, the practical path returns to Seraphina, Shadow Scale, Tess of the Road, and In the Serpent’s Wake.

For first-time readers, though, chronological order is not the strongest recommendation. Among Ghosts may stand alone, but publication order still gives you the cleanest introduction to Goredd.

Best place to start

The best starting point is Seraphina.

It is the book that establishes the setting most clearly, introduces the core dragon-human tensions, and gives you the strongest foundation for everything else. Tess of the Road is a reasonable alternate start only for readers who already know they want a more wandering, character-led book instead of the court-centered setup of Seraphina.

Book-by-book guide

Seraphina books

1. Seraphina (2012): A hidden half-dragon musician is pulled into a royal murder investigation, and the novel uses that mystery to introduce the political nerves, prejudices, and alliances that define Goredd.
2. Shadow Scale (2015): Seraphina’s private burden becomes public consequence as she travels more widely, gathers allies, and faces a much larger conflict than the first book could contain.

These two belong together and should be read in order with no interruption.

Tess books

1. Tess of the Road (2018): Tess breaks away from the expectations and damage built around her life, and the result is a companion novel that feels more intimate, raw, and self-reconstructive than the Seraphina books.
2. In the Serpent’s Wake (2022): The sequel picks up right away and pushes Tess’s growth into a bigger expedition, turning her personal changes into a story with broader moral and geographic reach.

These should also be read in order, and they work best after the Seraphina duology.

Separate Goredd stand-alone

1. Among Ghosts (2025): Set much earlier in the history of the world, this stand-alone uses a haunted refuge-town and a boy named Charl to explore Goredd from a different angle, with more distance from the original series plot.

This is separate enough to stand alone, but it is still part of the same world.

Latest release status

The most recent Rachel Hartman novel is Among Ghosts, published in 2025. As of March 7, 2026, I did not find a newer announced Goredd novel beyond that title in the sources reviewed, so Among Ghosts is the current latest release.

FAQ

Do all Rachel Hartman books connect?

Yes, in setting. All five novels are set in Goredd. But they do not all function as one straight five-book sequence.

Do I need to read Seraphina before Tess of the Road?

It is not an absolute requirement, but it is the better route for most readers.

Is Among Ghosts a prequel?

Not in the usual “read this first” sense. It is earlier in the world’s history, but Hartman describes it as a stand-alone rather than a book meant to replace Seraphina as the starting point.

What is the best Rachel Hartman reading order?

For most readers: Seraphina, Shadow Scale, Tess of the Road, In the Serpent’s Wake, Among Ghosts.

Final recommendation

If you want the cleanest path, begin with Seraphina and Shadow Scale, continue with Tess of the Road and In the Serpent’s Wake, and then read Among Ghosts as a later stand-alone visit to the same world. That order preserves Hartman’s original expansion of Goredd and gives each branch room to land properly.