Caitlin Ricci Books in Order (Updated April 16, 2026)

Caitlin Ricci has a large catalog, so the useful question is not “what is every book she has ever published?” but “which reading path fits the kind of story you want?” Her bibliography breaks into a few clear lanes: recent high-interest series like Golden Pride and Nereidan Compatibility Program, older solo fantasy and paranormal lines, and a long shelf of co-written series with A.J. Marcus.

For most new readers, the easiest starting points are Accidentally Abducted if you want current sci-fi romance, or The Lion’s Sunshine if you want the newest fantasy-romance run. If you prefer to start with older solo work, To the Highest Bidder and The Dragon’s Treasure are the clearest entry points.

The simplest way to approach Caitlin Ricci

Pick one track and stay in it.

1. Start with Nereidan Compatibility Program for recent alien-abduction romance.
2. Start with Golden Pride for the newest fantasy-romance sequence.
3. Start with A Planet Called Wish for older solo sci-fi/fantasy romance.
4. Start with For Love of Dragons if you want early fantasy romance.
5. Treat the co-written A.J. Marcus books as a separate shelf unless you are reading the full bibliography.

That approach works better than trying to force the entire catalog into one straight line.

Best starting point

Best overall starting point: Accidentally Abducted (2025)

It is one of Ricci’s most visible recent series starters, it belongs to a compact modern sequence, and it gives you a clean on-ramp without asking you to commit to one of the older, larger backlist clusters.

A close second is The Lion’s Sunshine (2026) if you want the newest ongoing-feeling fantasy line instead.

Recommended reading order by series

Nereidan Compatibility Program

This is one of the easiest modern entry points and one of Ricci’s best-known recent series.

1. Accidentally Abducted (2025): The series opens with a low-angst alien-abduction setup that introduces the central premise and establishes the playful sci-fi-romance tone.
2. Deliberately Abducted (2025): The second book stays inside the same concept and reads best after book one because the worldbuilding carries forward.
3. Reluctantly Abducted (2025): A third variation on the same abduction-and-romance framework, building the series through a familiar but connected structure.
4. Technically Abducted (2025): The fourth book extends the run and works best once you already know the series’ tone and logic.
5. Secretly Abducted: This appears in current series listings as a later Nereidan title, but I found less stable year data than for the first four books, so it is safest to treat it as a subsequent entry rather than pinning down a date here.

Golden Pride

This is the newest high-profile solo fantasy line I could verify.

1. The Lion’s Sunshine (2026): The series begins with a fantasy-romance setup that clearly launches a new world rather than relying on older backlist continuity.
2. The Lion’s Hurricane (2026): Book two continues the lion-themed fantasy branch and is best read after the opener for continuity and tone.
3. The Lion’s Light (2026): The third installment keeps the same naming pattern and builds the series as an ordered sequence rather than a loose grouping.
4. The Lion’s Tempest (2026): This later entry pushes the series forward and reads like part of one sustained line.
5. The Lion’s Haven (2026): Currently listed as book five, making it the present endpoint of the verified Golden Pride order.

A Planet Called Wish

This is one of the clearer older solo series and a good place to start if you want earlier Ricci.

1. To the Highest Bidder (2015): The first book opens the series with a speculative-romance premise that introduces the world from the beginning.
2. Fantasy for a Gentleman (2015): The second entry stays in the same series space and benefits from reading book one first.
3. Falling Into the Black (2016): This continues the run with a darker title and a stronger mid-series feel.
4. Escape to Paradise (2016): The fourth book closes the currently verified A Planet Called Wish sequence.

Thornwood

An older three-book solo series that works best in order.

1. One More Time (2015): The series opener establishes Thornwood’s central setting and relationship-driven framework.
2. About Last Night (2015): Book two builds on the first and reads like a continuation of the same connected world rather than a reset.
3. Somewhere to Belong (2016): The third book rounds out the sequence and lands best after the first two.

A Forever Home

A short two-book solo series.

1. Rescuing Jack (2015): The first book starts the series with a rescue-centered emotional setup and should be read before the follow-up.
2. Of Monsters and Men (2015): The second book completes the currently verified series order and benefits from the foundation of the opener.

For Love of Dragons

This is one of Ricci’s earliest clearly traceable solo fantasy-romance series.

1. The Dragon’s Treasure (2012): The first book opens the dragon-focused fantasy line and is the natural place to start if you want early Ricci.
2. Betrayed by Dragons (2013): Book two expands the same world and reads best as a direct continuation.
3. Dragon Flight (2013): The third entry completes the main verified sequence.

Into the Land of Unicorns

A short solo fantasy series.

1. Captured by the Unicorn (2016): The opener starts the unicorn-focused fantasy line and introduces its core setup from scratch.
2. Hunted by the Unicorn (2016): The second book continues the same world and works best after book one.
3. Trusted by the Unicorn (2016): The third book completes the verified trilogy.

Omegas

A later solo paranormal/omegaverse line.

1. Unwanted Omega (2018): The series starts with a rejected-or-outsider setup that establishes the line’s tone immediately.
2. Disgraced Omega (2018): The second book keeps the same world and naming pattern, making publication order the easiest choice.
3. Forbidden Omega (2019): This entry pushes the series into more restricted or taboo territory while staying inside the established framework.
4. Lost Omega (2020): The fourth verified book acts as the current endpoint of the main sequence.

Separate solo series worth knowing about

These are also part of Caitlin Ricci’s solo catalog, but they are easier to treat as separate branches rather than part of a “best first route.”

Mountain Shifters

1. Being Wanted (2014): A shifter-series opener that establishes the duo’s world and tone.
2. Being Cherished (2014): The follow-up completes the short verified run.

Robbie & Sam

This series exists and is currently listed with at least four books in broader series databases, but I found less stable title-by-title confirmation in the sources I checked than I did for the major lines above. It is best treated as a separate branch if you are reading deeper into the backlist.

Brass and Bone

This darker fantasy-romance series is also listed in current series databases, with Savior confirmed as book three, but I did not get a clean primary-source title sequence from the sources available here. I would not publish a full book-by-book order for it without a stronger series page.

Co-written books with A.J. Marcus

Caitlin Ricci also has an extensive co-written catalog with A.J. Marcus. Those books are real series, but they are best handled as a different shelf from the solo bibliography because there are many of them and the branding is shared.

The clearest verified co-written series include:

• Patching Up
• Watchers
• Wild Lands
• Kinky Holidays
• Kinky Kritters
• Pack Rules
• Master of Dragons
• New Blood Changes
• To Serve and Protect

If you are building a full author page rather than a reader-first guide, those can be added as a second section after the solo series. For a practical starting-order article, they are easier to frame as optional expansions.

Best reading order for most readers

If you want the smoothest reader-friendly route, go like this:

1. Nereidan Compatibility Program
2. Golden Pride
3. A Planet Called Wish
4. Thornwood
5. A Forever Home
6. For Love of Dragons
7. Into the Land of Unicorns
8. Omegas
9. Add the co-written A.J. Marcus series afterward if you want the deeper catalog

That order is not “chronological by publication year at all costs.” It is a better new-reader path because it starts with compact, current, easy-entry series before moving backward into older branches and then outward into collaborations.

Latest release status

The newest clearly verified solo line I found is Golden Pride, with five books currently listed in series databases and recent retailer/author listings. The Nereidan Compatibility Program books are also recent and remain one of the clearest current entry points in Ricci’s catalog.

Because some database entries show inconsistent years on older metadata pages, I would treat Golden Pride and Nereidan Compatibility Program as the most stable “current” recommendations, and use older sources mainly for the backlist order.

Final recommendation

If you want one simple answer, start with Accidentally Abducted.

If you want fantasy instead of sci-fi, start with The Lion’s Sunshine. If you want to begin with her older solo work, use To the Highest Bidder or The Dragon’s Treasure. The key with Caitlin Ricci is not reading everything in one giant chain. It is choosing a lane, then staying in that lane until the series is finished.