Anne Mercier writes contemporary romance, rock-star romance, young adult romance, and romantic suspense. Her largest fictional world is the Rockstar series, which follows a close group of musicians, partners, relatives, and friends across full-length novels, holiday stories, and shorter character updates.
That series is where reading order matters most. Several books continue an established couple rather than introducing a completely independent romance, and the numbered novellas often bridge changes in the wider group.
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Mercier has also written the Way series, Truths series, Forbidden Fantasies series, Kiss duet, Chance Creek series, and Suits series. These are separate continuities and do not need to be read before Rockstar.
Anne Mercier’s Series at a Glance
| Series | Best Starting Point | Continuity |
|---|---|---|
| Rockstar | Falling Down | Strongly interconnected |
| The Way | The Way Back to Me | Continuing family and relationship story |
| Truths | Whispered Truths | Young adult series; incomplete |
| Forbidden Fantasies | Unzipped | Connected contemporary romances |
| Kiss | Kiss This | Two-part story |
| Chance Creek | When Petals Fall | Small-town series beginning |
| Suits | Flirting With the CEO | Workplace-romance series beginning |
- Best overall starting point: Falling Down.
- Best short completed route: Read the Kiss duet beginning with Kiss This.
- Best book outside the major series: That Night, a friends-to-lovers novella that can be read independently.
The Complete Rockstar Reading Order
Continuity label: Included – one interconnected story world
Rockstar is not a collection that should be approached by choosing random couples. The books change viewpoint and romantic focus, but established relationships, children, marriages, tours, and family developments continue in the background.
The safest sequence is the author’s numbered order, including the decimal-numbered stories.
1. Falling Down
Falling Down (2014): Lucy has carried a long-standing crush on rocker Jesse Kingston, and a proposed weekend together gives that fantasy a chance to become a real relationship.
This is the foundation of the Rockstar world. It introduces the musicians and the close-knit circle that expands through the later books.
2. Blush
Blush (2014): Lucy and Jesse wake after a Las Vegas trip to discover that they are married, then have to manage touring, press attention, family reactions, and groupies who ignore Jesse’s changed status.
This is a direct continuation of Falling Down. It should not be treated as a separate-couple standalone.
2.5. A Very Xander Christmas
A Very Xander Christmas (2014/2015): Xander narrates the group’s first holiday story, offering a shorter look at the Rockstar family between the major novels.
The exact displayed year varies by edition and catalog. Its reading position is clearer than its publication date: place it after Blush and before Amplify.
3. Amplify
Amplify (2015): Sera and Cage move beyond friendship after one night changes their relationship, forcing both of them to decide whether fear is worth risking the future they want.
The book shifts to a new central couple but remains closely tied to Lucy, Jesse, and the established Rockstar circle.
4. Interlude
Interlude (2015): Past scenes revisit Jesse’s first meeting with Lucy and fill in parts of Cage’s history, while present-day chapters prepare the group to return to touring.
This bridge novel contains context that supports both the opening books and the next stage of the series. It works best exactly where numbered.
5. Ballad
Ballad (2015): Ben is immediately drawn to Nicole but hesitates because of their age difference, while Nicole believes her difficult life has made her ready to choose the relationship for herself.
The romance has its own focus, yet the couple enters an already-developed network of musicians and partners.
5.5. Lullabye
Lullabye (2015): This shorter Rockstar installment revisits the growing family and provides a quieter update between Ballad and the later holiday and parenthood stories.
It is optional for the principal romantic arcs but useful for readers who want every family development in sequence.
5.6. A Very Xander Christmas 2
A Very Xander Christmas 2 (2015): Xander returns as the group gathers for another holiday, using his perspective to connect the changing relationships and expanding Rockstar household.
Read it after Lullabye. Its value comes from familiarity with the cast rather than from an independent plot.
6. Kadence
Kadence (2016): Bass guitarist Jace Warner learns that he has a six-year-old daughter after his former high-school sweetheart calls him home, leaving him to prove that his touring life can support the child he wants to raise.
Social worker Summer Stephens questions whether Jace’s world is suitable for parenthood, making the story both a family transition and a new romance.
6.5. A Very Xander Christmas 3
A Very Xander Christmas 3 (2016): Another holiday gathering lets Xander report on the marriages, children, and relationships that now define the group.
The story assumes knowledge of Kadence, so it should remain after Book 6.
6.6. Duet
Duet (2017): A shorter relationship-centered installment expands the Rockstar ensemble while linking the family changes of Kadence to Xander’s longer story.
It is a between-the-numbers entry rather than a substitute for the next full novel.
7. Xander: Part 1, The Beginning
Xander: Part 1, The Beginning (2017): Xander recounts meeting Tera when they were eight, their separation and reunion, and the way success pulls their lives apart before a violent event changes everything.
This is the first half of a two-book story. It includes violence, abuse, and sexual-assault content that may be difficult for some readers.
7.5. A Very Rockstar Holiday Season
A Very Rockstar Holiday Season (2018): The wider cast moves through a sequence of seasonal celebrations while Xander and Tera’s unresolved story remains central to the emotional background.
Do not use this as an entry point. It is written for readers who already know the couples and their histories.
8. Xander: Part 2, The Present
Xander: Part 2, The Present (2018): Ten years after the events that divided their lives, Xander is determined to close the distance between himself and Tera and build the shared future they postponed.
This directly completes the story begun in Xander: Part 1. The two parts should be read together and in order.
8.5. Pulse
Pulse (2018): A shorter Rockstar story checks in on the connected cast after Xander and Tera’s main resolution and positions the group for the next full-length romance.
It is optional for readers following only the major numbered novels, but it belongs here for a complete continuity read.
9. Refrain
Refrain (2019): Another member of the Rockstar circle faces a romance shaped by the group’s shared history, with returning characters carrying the series beyond Xander and Tera’s reunion.
Because it draws on the established community, Refrain is better read as Book 9 than as an isolated rock-star romance.
9.1. Melody & Styx
Melody & Styx (2020): Melody and Styx receive a focused story within the Rockstar world, developing a relationship that had previously existed alongside the principal couples.
The author’s current catalog places it at 9.1. Some outside listings use 9.5, but its correct practical position is immediately after Refrain.
9.6. A Very Xander Christmas 4
A Very Xander Christmas 4 (2020): Xander once again guides readers through a Rockstar holiday, now with a much larger network of couples and children than the series had at the beginning.
This is best treated as a cast update rather than a full independent romance.
9.7. Sync
Sync (2022): A new relationship develops inside the established music world while the title’s placement connects it to the characters and events following Melody & Styx.
Some catalogs number Sync as Book 10, but the author’s current website places it at 9.7 and reserves Book 10 for Strings. Follow the author’s present numbering.
9.8. A Very Xander Christmas 5
A Very Xander Christmas 5 (2023): The fifth Christmas story adds another Xander-led holiday episode and appears within the collected holiday edition rather than as a clearly separate current release.
It belongs after Sync. Readers who own A Very Xander Holiday Collection may already have this story.
10. Strings
Strings (Publication date unconfirmed): Kennedy is identified as the intended central character for the next major Rockstar novel.
The book remains listed by the author as “still to come.” An older preview announced it for 2024, but that date passed without a reliably confirmed current release, so no new date should be assumed.
Do You Need the Rockstar Novellas?
There are two workable routes.
Full Continuity Route
Read every numbered and decimal-numbered entry:
- Falling Down
- Blush
- A Very Xander Christmas
- Amplify
- Interlude
- Ballad
- Lullabye
- A Very Xander Christmas 2
- Kadence
- A Very Xander Christmas 3
- Duet
- Xander: Part 1, The Beginning
- A Very Rockstar Holiday Season
- Xander: Part 2, The Present
- Pulse
- Refrain
- Melody & Styx
- A Very Xander Christmas 4
- Sync
- A Very Xander Christmas 5
- Strings when released
This route preserves every family and holiday update.
Core-Novel Route
Readers who prefer only the principal books can use:
- Falling Down
- Blush
- Amplify
- Interlude
- Ballad
- Kadence
- Xander: Part 1, The Beginning
- Xander: Part 2, The Present
- Refrain
- Strings when released
This shorter route keeps the major romantic and continuity developments, though some cast updates will be skipped.
Is Rockstar Publication Order Different from Story Order?
Not in a way that justifies rearranging the books.
The official numbering already places flashbacks, holiday episodes, and present-day developments where the author wants readers to encounter them. Interlude includes past material, and Xander: Part 1 reaches back through Xander and Tera’s history, but moving either book earlier would disclose information before its intended reveal.
Publication order and recommended order are therefore effectively the same.
A Very Xander Holiday Collection
A Very Xander Holiday Collection (2023): This omnibus gathers multiple Christmas and Halloween stories narrated around Xander and the Rockstar family, including a new fifth Christmas short.
The collection includes:
- A Very Xander Christmas
- A Very Xander Christmas 2
- A Very Xander Halloween
- A Very Xander Christmas 3
- A Very Xander Halloween 2
- A Very Xander Halloween 3
- A Very Xander Christmas 4
- A Very Xander Christmas 5
This is a replacement format for stories already associated with the series, not a new numbered novel. Readers using the collection should place each story according to the stage of the cast it reflects rather than reading the whole volume immediately after Book 2.
The Rockstar Series Extras
The Rockstar Series Extras (2022): A supplementary collection provides additional material connected to the musicians and couples rather than a new central romance.
Treat it as optional bonus content. It should not be counted as the next numbered book after Sync.
Rockstar Omnibus Editions
The Rockstar Series: Part One: A collected edition packages the opening books of the series, beginning with Lucy and Jesse and continuing into the early connected romances.
The Rockstar Series: Part Two (2018): A later collection groups another portion of the Rockstar sequence without adding a new story position.
My Night with a Rockstar (2020): A multi-author rock-star romance collection includes material by several writers and is not an Anne Mercier series installment as a whole.
Omnibuses are purchasing formats. Count the individual stories inside them, not the collection title itself.
The Way Books in Order
Continuity label: Included – connected series
The Way series centers on relationships marked by loss, history, family ties, and the difficulty of returning to a life that has changed.
1. The Way Back to Me
The Way Back to Me (2016): A relationship shaped by past pain and separation receives another chance when the characters are brought back into one another’s lives.
This is the required beginning because it establishes the family and emotional history carried into the second book.
2. The Way With You
The Way With You (2016; later revised edition): The series shifts attention while continuing the relationships and consequences established in The Way Back to Me.
Read it second. The author has revised and republished editions of the Way books, so publication years may vary between catalog records.
What About The Way We Love?
The Way We Love (status uncertain): Some catalogs identify a third Way title, but it is not included in the author’s current official book list.
Because its current publication status could not be confirmed reliably, it should not be presented as an available required third novel.
Truths Books in Order
Continuity label: Included – unfinished young adult series
1. Whispered Truths
Whispered Truths (2015): A high-school romance develops around personal secrets, difficult truths, and young characters learning how much honesty can alter a relationship.
The book has been revised and republished with minor changes. It remains the only currently confirmed Truths novel available in the official catalog.
Are There More Truths Books?
Older series records describe Truths as a planned trilogy, and the author previously discussed sequels. No second or third volume is currently listed in the official catalog.
Read Whispered Truths knowing that the wider planned series appears incomplete.
Forbidden Fantasies Books in Order
Continuity label: Included – connected adult-romance series
1. Unzipped
Unzipped (2017): A fantasy-driven attraction crosses into real life, beginning an adult contemporary-romance series built around desire, risk, and relationships that challenge the characters’ usual boundaries.
Start here to preserve the introduction to the series concept and connected cast.
2. Undone
Undone (2018): A new romance pushes emotional and physical boundaries further while continuing the adult tone and shared framework established in Unzipped.
The central relationship changes, but publication order remains the clearest route.
Are Unreasonable and Untamable Published?
Unreasonable (status uncertain): Some databases list this as a third Forbidden Fantasies book, but it is absent from the author’s current official catalog.
Untamable (status uncertain): Some series pages identify a fourth planned title, though a current confirmed edition could not be verified.
For an accuracy-first reading list, count Unzipped and Undone as the two currently confirmed books.
Kiss Duet in Order
Continuity label: Included – two-part romance
The Kiss books form one continuing story and should not be separated.
1. Kiss This
Kiss This (2019): The first half establishes the central attraction and conflict, ending before the couple’s complete story has been resolved.
This is not an optional prequel. Begin here.
2. Kiss This Too
Kiss This Too (2019): The second volume resumes the same relationship and carries its unresolved emotional and romantic conflict to a conclusion.
Reading Kiss This Too alone would mean entering midway through the story.
Chance Creek Books in Order
Continuity label: Included – series beginning
1. When Petals Fall
When Petals Fall (2020): A romance unfolds in Chance Creek amid personal upheaval, community ties, and the need to rebuild when an expected future begins to fall apart.
It is currently the only Chance Creek title shown in the author’s catalog. No second book should be added until a title and publication status are confirmed.
Suits Books in Order
Continuity label: Included — workplace-romance series
1. Flirting With the CEO
Flirting With the CEO (2026): Audra knows that flirting with her powerful boss Derek violates the rules she is responsible for enforcing, but attraction gives way to serious consequences when trust is broken.
The story focuses on accountability and rebuilding rather than treating the workplace relationship as consequence-free. Content warnings include cheating and a character being drugged at a club.
This is Suits Book 1 and was published on January 30, 2026. Later Suits romances may follow other men in the professional circle, but no second title is confirmed strongly enough to list.
Anne Mercier Standalone Book
That Night
That Night (2023): Lifelong best friends take their usual pre-tour trip to Las Vegas, where one changed night forces them to reconsider the boundaries of their relationship.
The story is a short friends-to-lovers romance. It is not numbered as part of Rockstar, even though the male character tours with a band and the music setting resembles Mercier’s best-known series.
Read it independently rather than inserting it into the Rockstar sequence.
Earlier Titles Sometimes Attributed to Anne Mercier
Some broad bibliographies list Arum Field and Campanella as early works by an author named Anne Mercier.
These titles are not present in the romance author’s official catalog, and reliable confirmation that they belong to the same Anne Mercier is lacking. They should therefore remain outside this reading order rather than being asserted as her first novels.
Anne Mercier Books in Practical Publication Order
This chronology lists confirmed individual works rather than duplicate omnibuses. Approximate years are used where editions disagree.
- Falling Down (2014): Lucy’s lifelong attraction to Jesse becomes a real weekend relationship and opens the interconnected Rockstar world.
- Blush (2014): Lucy and Jesse deal with an unexpected Las Vegas marriage, touring, publicity, and the realities of being together.
- A Very Xander Christmas (2014/2015): Xander narrates the first holiday update involving the expanding Rockstar family.
- Amplify (2015): Friends Sera and Cage confront the love that has grown beneath their long-standing bond.
- Whispered Truths (2015): Teen romance and concealed personal history drive the first, and currently only confirmed, Truths book.
- Interlude (2015): Flashbacks and present-day touring preparations fill gaps between the early Rockstar romances.
- Ballad (2015): Ben and Nicole pursue an attraction complicated by their age difference and different stages of life.
- Lullabye (2015): A brief family-centered Rockstar story provides a quieter bridge between larger installments.
- A Very Xander Christmas 2 (2015): Xander gives another seasonal account of the group’s changing relationships.
- Kadence (2016): Jace learns he is a father and must convince social worker Summer that his daughter belongs with him.
- A Very Xander Christmas 3 (2016): The Rockstar cast returns for another holiday after the major family change in Kadence.
- The Way Back to Me (2016): A relationship divided by past pain is given a route back toward love and family.
- The Way With You (2016): The connected Way story continues through another relationship shaped by the first book’s history.
- Duet (2017): A shorter Rockstar romance and ensemble update bridges Kadence and Xander’s main books.
- Xander: Part 1, The Beginning (2017): Xander recounts his long history with Tera and the traumatic event that separates their lives.
- Unzipped (2017): A private fantasy begins to turn into an emotionally complicated real relationship.
- Undone (2018): The Forbidden Fantasies framework continues through another adult romance and a new set of boundaries.
- A Very Rockstar Holiday Season (2018): Multiple seasonal moments revisit the connected Rockstar couples and families.
- Xander: Part 2, The Present (2018): Xander attempts to reunite fully with Tera ten years after the break in their shared life.
- Pulse (2018): A shorter post-Xander story keeps the wider cast moving toward the next major romance.
- Refrain (2019): A new central relationship develops within the now well-established Rockstar family.
- Kiss This (2019): The opening half of the Kiss duet introduces a romance whose main conflict continues into Book 2.
- Kiss This Too (2019): The second half completes the couple’s unresolved two-book story.
- Melody & Styx (2020): Two connected Rockstar characters receive their own focused relationship story.
- A Very Xander Christmas 4 (2020): Xander reports on another holiday with the enlarged group of couples and children.
- When Petals Fall (2020): Personal loss and change begin a romance within the Chance Creek community.
- Sync (2022): The Rockstar world advances through another connected relationship after Melody & Styx.
- That Night (2023): Best friends on a Las Vegas trip cross a line that changes their relationship before a band tour.
- A Very Xander Christmas 5 (2023): The newest collected Xander holiday story adds another seasonal update to the Rockstar continuity.
- Flirting With the CEO (2026): Audra and Derek’s workplace attraction leads to broken trust and a difficult attempt at accountability.
Latest Anne Mercier Book
As of July 18, 2026, the latest confirmed Anne Mercier release is Flirting With the CEO, published on January 30, 2026.
Flirting With the CEO (2026): An employee’s attraction to her powerful boss develops into a relationship that must confront workplace boundaries, betrayal, and the slow process of rebuilding trust.
It begins the Suits series and does not require any of Mercier’s earlier books.
Next Anne Mercier Book
Strings remains identified as Rockstar Book 10 and Kennedy’s story.
However, its release status needs caution. The author’s website still labels it “still to come,” while an older holiday-collection announcement described it as coming in 2024. Since that date has passed, the title should be listed as upcoming without a current publication date.
No other future Anne Mercier book has been confirmed reliably enough to place ahead of it.
Recommended Anne Mercier Reading Order
For the strongest introduction to Anne Mercier’s connected fiction, use this route:
Begin with the Core Rockstar Story
- Falling Down
- Blush
- Amplify
- Interlude
- Ballad
- Kadence
- Xander: Part 1, The Beginning
- Xander: Part 2, The Present
- Refrain
- Melody & Styx
- Sync
- Strings when released
Insert the holiday and decimal-numbered stories at their official positions when you want the complete cast experience.
Continue with the Shorter Series
- The Way Back to Me
- The Way With You
- Unzipped
- Undone
- Kiss This
- Kiss This Too
- When Petals Fall
- Flirting With the CEO
Add the Flexible Titles
- Whispered Truths
- That Night
This recommendation groups complete and currently active continuities rather than mixing unrelated series by release year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first Anne Mercier book?
The first confirmed novel in Anne Mercier’s current romance catalog is Falling Down (2014).
Some third-party lists attach earlier titles to the name Anne Mercier, but they cannot be connected confidently to this author.
What order should I read the Rockstar books in?
Follow the official numbered sequence beginning with Falling Down and include the decimal-numbered stories in their listed positions.
The series contains recurring couples, family milestones, and story developments that make random reading likely to reveal earlier outcomes.
Are Falling Down and Blush about the same couple?
Yes. Both center on Lucy and Jesse.
Blush begins after the relationship established in Falling Down and should be read second.
Are Xander: Part 1 and Part 2 one story?
Yes. The Beginning provides Xander and Tera’s history and the event that divides them, while The Present resumes their relationship ten years later.
They should be read in that order.
Is Melody & Styx Book 9.1 or Book 9.5?
The author’s current official catalog labels it Book 9.1.
Some older or third-party listings use 9.5, but both numbers refer to the same book and the same position after Refrain.
Is Sync Rockstar Book 10?
Some external catalogs label it Book 10. The author’s current website calls it Book 9.7 and reserves Book 10 for Strings.
For present-day reading order, use 9.7.
Has Strings been released?
A reliable current release could not be confirmed as of July 18, 2026.
The author still lists it as forthcoming, so it should not yet be counted among the published Rockstar novels.
Are the Xander holiday stories required?
They are optional for the principal romances but recommended for readers who enjoy the full ensemble.
They show marriages, children, celebrations, and continuing character interactions between the major books.
Can A Very Xander Holiday Collection replace the individual holiday books?
Yes, as a purchasing format.
The collection contains several previously released stories and a newer fifth Christmas short, but the stories are best read at the appropriate points in the wider Rockstar sequence.
Is Whispered Truths part of a completed trilogy?
No. It was planned as part of a longer Truths series, but only the first book is currently confirmed in the author’s catalog.
Readers should approach it as the available beginning of an unfinished series.
Is The Way series complete?
Two books are currently confirmed: The Way Back to Me and The Way With You.
A third title appears in some databases but is absent from the current official catalog, so its availability should not be assumed.
Is the Kiss series a duet?
Yes. Read Kiss This followed by Kiss This Too.
The second book continues the same central story rather than introducing an unrelated couple.
Can Flirting With the CEO be read first?
Yes. It begins the separate Suits series and does not depend on Rockstar or any of Mercier’s earlier books.
Is That Night a Rockstar novella?
It is a rock-band friends-to-lovers story, but it is listed as a standalone rather than a numbered Rockstar installment.
It can be read independently.
Conclusion
The clearest place to begin Anne Mercier’s books is Falling Down. Continue directly into Blush, then follow the official Rockstar numbering because couples, children, friendships, tours, and family events carry from one installment to the next.
Readers who want a shorter sequence should choose the two-book Kiss story, beginning with Kiss This. For a current independent entry point, Flirting With the CEO opens a separate workplace-romance series without requiring any previous reading.
The most important catalog caution concerns unfinished or uncertain titles. Strings remains forthcoming without a reliable release date, while additional Truths, Way, and Forbidden Fantasies books appearing in some databases should not be treated as available until their status is confirmed.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.