Elena Lawson Books in Order (Updated March 12, 2026)

Elena Lawson is a Canadian romance author known for dark why-choose romance and paranormal romance. Her catalog is mostly made up of separate series rather than one large shared universe, so the main reading-order question is usually which series to start with, not how to merge everything into one master timeline.

For most readers, the safest approach is simple: pick the series premise you like best and read that series in publication order. Within each individual series, order matters because these books regularly continue the same central relationships and plot threads.

The quick answer

Start with the first book in whichever Elena Lawson series matches your taste:

• For dark academy romance: Crooked Crows
• For paranormal academy romance: Of Wolves & Witches
• For dark college romance: Soulless Saint
• For paranormal fantasy romance: Claimed by Night or Kiss of the Damned

If you want one general starting point, Crooked Crows is the clearest modern entry point because it leads into one of her best-known completed series.

Elena Lawson series in publication order

Queen’s Consorts

1. Claimed by Night (2018): The series opener that establishes the central paranormal-romance setup and starts the core relationship dynamics that carry through the trilogy.
2. Bound by Secret (2018): The middle book deepens the loyalties, secrets, and power tensions introduced in book one, so it works best read immediately after it.
3. Seduced by Power (2018): The trilogy finale resolves the main romantic and supernatural conflicts, making this the natural stopping point for the series.

Arcane Arts Academy

1. Of Wolves & Witches (2019): The first book introduces the academy setting, supernatural factions, and the relationship framework that drives the rest of the series.
2. Of Magic & Moonlight (2019): Book two expands the magical politics and emotional stakes, building directly on the first novel’s reveals.
3. Of Beasts & Blood (2019): The conflict broadens here, with the series leaning harder into danger, loyalty, and supernatural consequences.
4. Of Fate & Fortune (2019): The final book pays off the academy arc and resolves the biggest character and series-level tensions.

The Last Vocari

1. Compel Me (2019): The opener sets up the central dark-romance premise and introduces the characters whose shifting loyalties shape the whole series.
2. Provoke Me (2019): The second book pushes those loyalties into open conflict, raising both the emotional pressure and the outside threat.
3. Redeem Me (2019): This installment starts turning the series toward reckoning and fallout, with past choices becoming harder to escape.
4. Destroy Me (2019): The finale brings the darkest threads to a head and closes the main arc of the series.

Her Immortal Legacy

1. Chasing Time (2020): A co-authored paranormal romance that stands apart from Lawson’s other series, best treated as its own separate entry rather than part of a larger sequence.

The Wolves of Forest Grove

1. Shifted Fate (2020): The first book establishes the shifter-romance world and launches the central bond and pack tensions.
2. Shifted Soul (2020): Book two deepens the emotional attachment and the supernatural complications already in motion from the opener.
3. Shifted Rule (2020): The series conflict becomes more political here, with leadership, survival, and allegiance moving to the front.
4. Shifted Scars (2020): The closing book resolves the pack and relationship arcs while paying off the series’ central wounds and rivalries.

Fallen Cities: Elisium

1. Kiss of the Damned (2020): The series begins with a supernatural-city setup, introducing the darker paranormal world and the key romantic entanglements.
2. Sins of the Damned (2020): The second book widens the consequences of the first, with more pressure from the world around the main cast.
3. Rise of the Damned (2020): The trilogy concludes by resolving the power struggle and bringing the central paranormal arc to its endpoint.

Arcane Arts Academy sequence two

1. Soul Bound (2021): This later sequence starts a separate academy-centered arc and should not be confused with the earlier Of Wolves & Witches run.
2. Magic Untamed (2021): Book two develops the magical bond and the academy conflict, continuing the story in direct sequence.
3. Blood Pledged (2021): The stakes turn more dangerous here, with obligation, loyalty, and supernatural cost taking a larger role.
4. Shadow Tainted (2021): The darker elements of the series move to the forefront as the characters get closer to the endgame.
5. Death Kissed (2021): The final book closes this separate Arcane Arts Academy sequence and resolves its main relationship and plot arcs.

Boys of Briar Hall

1. Crooked Crows (2021): Lawson’s best-known dark-academy starting point, introducing Briar Hall’s dangerous social world and the core group dynamic.
2. Wicked Trials (2021): The second book escalates both the emotional pressure and the institutional threats surrounding the characters.
3. Twisted Games (2021): Alliances grow more unstable here, with the series leaning harder into manipulation, exposure, and fallout.
4. Warped Minds (2021): The finale brings the Briar Hall arc to a close, resolving the major conflicts built across the series.

Kings of Kilborn University

1. Soulless Saint (2022): A dark college-romance opener that sets up the central relationship conflict and the tone for the duet.
2. Ruthless Reign (2022): The second book finishes the Kilborn arc, paying off the power struggle and romantic tension established in book one.

Painted Sinners

1. White Rose Painted Red (2025): The first book opens the co-authored dark-romance series and establishes its central aesthetic and conflict pattern.
2. Black Heart Painted Gold (2026): The second book continues the story with a stronger focus on fallout, obsession, and the consequences of the first installment.
3. Red Queen Painted Black (2026): Commonly listed as the next book in the sequence, though the wider series labeling around this set has been somewhat inconsistent.

Recommended reading order

There is no strong need to read Elena Lawson’s entire bibliography by global publication date. Her series are generally best handled one at a time.

Use this order if you want a balanced way into the catalog:

1. Crooked Crows
2. Finish Boys of Briar Hall
3. Soulless Saint
4. Finish Kings of Kilborn University
5. Of Wolves & Witches
6. Finish the first Arcane Arts Academy quartet
7. Kiss of the Damned
8. Finish Fallen Cities: Elisium
9. Explore The Last Vocari, The Wolves of Forest Grove, and Queen’s Consorts based on premise preference

Why this works: it starts with the most visible completed dark-romance entry point, moves into another completed dark-academy duet, then shifts to the paranormal side of Lawson’s backlist.

Do you need a chronological order?

Not really.

For Elena Lawson, chronological order is usually the same as series order inside each series, and there is no clearly established cross-series master timeline that improves the reading experience. Publication order within a chosen series is the better option because it preserves reveals, relationship progression, and cliffhanger payoffs.

Where to start by reader type

Start with Crooked Crows if you want dark, contemporary academy romance.

Start with Of Wolves & Witches if you want paranormal academy romance with witches, shifters, and a more fantasy-forward setup.

Start with Soulless Saint if you want a tighter, more recent dark college duet.

Start with Kiss of the Damned if you want paranormal romance with a supernatural-city feel.

Start with Claimed by Night if you want to go back to an earlier paranormal-romance series from the start of Lawson’s catalog.

Novellas, collections, and omnibus editions

Optional.

A few omnibus or complete-series editions are listed for some series, including Queen’s Consorts: Books 1-3, Kiss of the Damned: Books 1-3, and Boys of Briar Hall: The Complete Series. These are collection editions rather than separate continuity entries, so they do not change the reading order.

I did not find a well-documented, reliably verified novella map across Elena Lawson’s catalog, so it is better not to force a novella guide here.

Latest release status

The most clearly documented recent Elena Lawson release is Black Heart Painted Gold in 2026.

A third Painted Sinners title, Red Queen Painted Black, is also listed online for 2026, but the series labeling around this project is inconsistent across major listings. It should be treated as an upcoming or newly listed title that readers should verify on their preferred retailer before using it as a fixed endpoint.

FAQs

What is the best Elena Lawson book to start with?

Crooked Crows is the best all-purpose starting point for new readers.

Are Elena Lawson’s series connected?

Most of them are best treated as separate continuities. Read within each series in order, but do not assume you need to jump between series.

Is Boys of Briar Hall complete?

Yes, the main series is commonly listed as four books.

Is Kings of Kilborn University complete?

Yes, it is a two-book sequence.

Are there two Arcane Arts Academy sequences?

Yes. Online listings commonly split Lawson’s Arcane Arts Academy material into an earlier four-book run beginning with Of Wolves & Witches and a later five-book run beginning with Soul Bound. Because the naming is messy across databases, readers should keep the two blocks separate when checking order.

The bottom line

The easiest way to read Elena Lawson is not by one giant author-wide timeline. Choose a series, begin with book one, and stay in that sequence until you finish it.

For most new readers, start with Crooked Crows. For paranormal romance readers, start with Of Wolves & Witches.