Melissa Marr Books in Order (Updated March 10, 2026)

Melissa Marr writes across several separate continuities. The biggest one is the Wicked Lovely world, but she also has the Graveminder books, the Faery Bargains books, the A Course in Magic books, the coauthored Blackwell Pages trilogy, several YA and adult standalones, and a children’s line. The main thing readers need to know is that most of these do not connect to each other.

For most readers, the safest place to begin is Wicked Lovely. It is still Marr’s signature series, and it is the only part of her catalog where later books and spin-offs most clearly build on earlier continuity.

Quick answer

If you want Melissa Marr’s main reading order, read the Wicked Lovely books first:

1. Wicked Lovely
2. Ink Exchange
3. Fragile Eternity
4. Radiant Shadows
5. Darkest Mercy
6. Dark Sun

After that, treat the rest of her bibliography by series or by audience, not as one giant shared universe.

The best way to read Melissa Marr

1) The Wicked Lovely world

This is the clearest core path in Melissa Marr’s bibliography.

1. Wicked Lovely (2007): Aislinn has spent years hiding from faeries, but that strategy collapses when the Summer King starts pursuing her and the hidden world refuses to stay hidden.
2. Ink Exchange (2008): Leslie’s bargain with a dangerous dark faery turns body image, pain, and power into a much rougher second entry that runs alongside the same world rather than simply repeating book one.
3. Fragile Eternity (2009): Seth and Aislinn move to the center again as romance, court politics, and immortality make the series less local and more unstable.
4. Radiant Shadows (2010): Ani and Dev take over the lead roles in a book that widens the world and prepares the final collision of the courts.
5. Darkest Mercy (2011): The original arc closes with the courts out of balance, old promises breaking down, and the series finally bringing its separate threads together.
6. Dark Sun (2022): Marr returned to the Wicked Lovely world years later with a new full novel set after the original sequence, making this the right “read last” stop for core fans.

Optional Wicked Lovely side material

These fit after the main five-book run, or after the specific points noted below.

• Stopping Time (2010): A shorter Wicked Lovely story that fits around the middle of the series if you want extra character context.
• Old Habits (2011): Another shorter same-world piece for readers who want more court-side material before the finale.
• Desert Tales (2013): A collected graphic sequence focused on Rika, gathering Sanctuary (2009), Challenge (2010), and Resolve (2011), and best saved until after the main series.

2) Graveminder

A separate adult supernatural line.

1. Graveminder (2011): In Claysville, the dead do not stay properly dead unless very specific rituals are kept, and Marr turns that premise into Southern Gothic horror with romance and civic dread.
2. Cursed by Death (2020): The return to Claysville pushes the same death-bound rules forward with new trouble and works best after Graveminder.

Optional extra: Guns for the Dead is a same-world short story rather than a main novel.

3) Faery Bargains

A different adult fantasy/paranormal sequence, not part of Wicked Lovely.

1. The Wicked and the Dead (2021): Half-dead witch Geneviève Crowe tries to keep the dead down, her life intact, and her feelings for faery prince Eli under control in a more adult supernatural setting.
2. Blood Martinis & Mistletoe (2021): A novella set after book one, where holidays, murder, and a too-neat bargain make things worse instead of easier.
3. The Kiss & The Killer (2021): The second main book keeps Gen and Eli in motion as romance, violence, and faery obligation keep colliding.
4. Daiquiris & Daggers (2021): Another in-between novella that slots after book two.

I am keeping this sequence cautious because the site and Goodreads clearly support the order, but the line mixes novels and novellas tightly.

4) A Course in Magic

A separate fantasy-romance duology.

1. Remedial Magic (2024): A librarian discovers she is entangled in a magical world and in love with a powerful witch, launching Marr’s newer queer fantasy line.
2. Reluctant Witch (2025): The sequel continues Prospero and Ellie’s story while the magical community around them starts to come apart.

5) Blackwell Pages

A middle grade Norse-myth trilogy coauthored with Kelley Armstrong.

1. Loki’s Wolves (2013): Matt, Laurie, and Fen discover they are tied to Norse prophecy and have almost no time to become the team the world needs.
2. Odin’s Ravens (2014): The quest deepens as the trio tries to stay ahead of prophecy, monsters, and gods who are not especially patient.
3. Thor’s Serpents (2015): The trilogy finale pushes the children toward the last stage of Ragnarök-level danger.

Standalone novels and separate YA lines

These are best treated as their own books or short series.

1. Fragile (2009): A standalone YA suspense novel about secrets, memory, and the damage left behind after violence.
2. Carnival of Secrets (2012): The opening of the Untamed City line, set in a daimon-ruled city where class, competition, and identity all become dangerous at once.
3. The Arrivals (2013): A weird-west fantasy about strangers pulled into a brutal alternate frontier where death is unreliable and survival is communal.
4. Made For You (2014): A contemporary YA thriller in which Eva survives an attack and begins foreseeing deaths through touch, while a killer fixates on her.
5. Seven Black Diamonds (2016): The start of a fae duology built around Lilywhite, hidden bloodlines, and a faery sleeper-cell structure inside the human world.
6. One Blood Ruby (2017): The duology’s second book turns lineage and war into the main pressure points.
7. Kids of Appetite (2017): A contemporary YA novel about grief, found family, and a group of teens pulled together around violence and survival.
8. Pretty Broken Things (2020): A dark psychological thriller, released first as an Audible Original and later in print and ebook.

Children’s books, picture books, and graphic novel

These do not belong inside the adult or YA series order.

1. Bunny Roo, I Love You (2015): A picture book built around the loving ways parents see their children in the animal world around them.
2. Baby Dragon, Baby Dragon! (2019): A picture book that plays with dragon affection and parent-child warmth.
3. The Hidden Knife (2020): A children’s fantasy about young heroes, hidden magic, and dangerous creatures living alongside the human world.
4. The Hidden Dragon (2021): A follow-up children’s fantasy adventure that keeps the same magical world moving.
5. Wild Horses (2022): A photographic picture book celebrating Arizona’s wild horses.
6. Family Is Family (2024): A picture book about family in its many loving forms.
7. Harleen & Harley (2024): A DC graphic novel with a Jekyll-and-Hyde setup, where Harleen discovers she is sharing her life with a much less controlled version of herself.

Newer adult contemporary romances

These are separate from the fantasy lines.

1. Toni and Addie Go Viral (2025): A sapphic contemporary romance about a Victorian-history professor, a rising actress, and a fake wedding that becomes public very fast.
2. Greta Gets the Girl (2026): Another adult contemporary romance, this time about an editor and the writer she is falling for before either realizes their professional connection.

Recommended reading orders

Best order for most readers

1. Wicked Lovely
2. Ink Exchange
3. Fragile Eternity
4. Radiant Shadows
5. Darkest Mercy
6. Dark Sun

That is the cleanest path because it starts with Marr’s defining work and keeps the later return to that world in its proper place.

Best order if you want adult fantasy/paranormal only

1. Graveminder
2. Cursed by Death
3. The Wicked and the Dead
4. Blood Martinis & Mistletoe
5. The Kiss & The Killer
6. Daiquiris & Daggers
7. Remedial Magic
8. Reluctant Witch

That gives you Marr’s adult speculative fiction without mixing in the YA fae books.

Best order if you only want standalones first

1. Fragile
2. The Arrivals
3. Made For You
4. Kids of Appetite
5. Pretty Broken Things

This is the easiest way to sample Marr outside her longer series.

Latest release status

The newest Melissa Marr book already released that I could verify is Greta Gets the Girl, published on January 13, 2026. The next confirmed book I found is A Treason of Magic, listed for June 23, 2026 on Marr’s site and retailer metadata.

FAQs

What is the best Melissa Marr book to start with?

For most readers, Wicked Lovely is still the best place to begin because it starts her best-known world.

Do all Melissa Marr books connect?

No. Wicked Lovely, Graveminder, Faery Bargains, A Course in Magic, and Blackwell Pages are separate lines, and many other books are standalones.

Is Dark Sun part of Wicked Lovely?

Yes. It is a later return to the Wicked Lovely world and belongs after the original five-book run.

Do you need to read Desert Tales?

No. It is optional side material, not the main path through the series.

Is Blackwell Pages solo Melissa Marr?

No. It is coauthored with Kelley Armstrong.

Conclusion

Melissa Marr is easiest to read by continuity and audience. Start with Wicked Lovely for the signature experience, move to Graveminder or A Course in Magic if you want adult fantasy next, and keep the children’s books and graphic novel in their own lane.