J.L. Beck Books in Order (Updated: April 14, 2026)

J.L. Beck’s bibliography works better as a set of separate dark-romance corridors than as one giant reading chain. Some series are solo. Some are co-written, especially with C. Hallman. Some are the current flagship books. Others are older, more compact crime-family or academy runs.

So the useful question is not “What is the full publication order of everything?” It is “Which Beck lane do you want first?”

The current center of the catalog

1. If you want the newest, most visible J.L. Beck shelf, start with Oakmount Elite. That is the biggest current solo series and the one still expanding.
2. If you want mafia-family dark romance, start with Torrio Empire or King Crime Family.
3. If you want co-written dark academia and revenge romance, start with Blackthorn Elite.
4. If you want smaller completed crime-family duets, go to The Diavolo Crime Family or The Obsession Duet.

Oakmount Elite in order

This is the clearest flagship series right now and the best place to begin if you want J.L. Beck’s current solo dark-romance style.

1. The Wallflower (2024): The opener, built around power imbalance, money pressure, and the kind of dangerous campus-world obsession that defines the series.
2. The Wildflower (2024): The second book turns harder toward betrayal, survival, and the emotional cost of staying in Oakmount’s orbit.
3. The Prey (2024): A hunter-and-hunted style romance that sharpens the predatory tone already running through the series.
4. The Predator (2024): A direct continuation in mood and menace, keeping the series focused on control, fixation, and retaliation.
5. The Misfit (2025): A later entry that shifts toward the so-called golden boy of the group, while keeping the series dark and emotionally volatile.
6. The Psychopaths (2025): A more openly chaotic and violent installment, pushing Oakmount’s damage and danger even further out front.
7. The Reckoning (2025): The current endpoint of the released Oakmount line, framed like a payoff book where distance, secrets, and protection finally collide.

Torrio Empire in order

This is one of the strongest mafia shelves in the solo catalog and one of the cleanest alternatives if you do not want academy romance first.

1. Empire of Lust (2023): The opener, built around a dark age-gap billionaire setup with crime-family energy running underneath the romance.
2. Empire of Lies (2023): The second book escalates the emotional deceit and control already seeded in the first installment.
3. Empire of Pain (2023): The third book keeps the series centered on damage, devotion, and the cost of staying loyal to dangerous men.
4. Dark Knight (2024): The fourth book extends the empire past the original trilogy shape and gives the series a broader family-and-power feel.

King Crime Family in order

This is a shorter solo mafia duet and an easier entry point if you want J.L. Beck’s darker crime-family side without committing to a longer shelf.

1. Indebted (2020): The first book, built around debt, possession, and the trap of owing the wrong man everything.
2. Inevitable (2020): The second book closes the duet by turning obsession and obligation into an unavoidable final collision.

Blackthorn Elite in order

This co-written series with C. Hallman is one of the better-known Beck collaborations and one of the most readable revenge-driven academy shelves in the backlist.

1. Devious Hate (2019): The opener, starting with old ruin, revenge, and the kind of elite-school cruelty the series runs on.
2. Ruthless Rivals (2020): A continuation built around competition, hostility, and personal history that refuses to stay buried.
3. Hurting You (2020): The third book leans further into pain as leverage, emotionally and socially.
4. Vicious Regret (2021): The final book brings the retaliation arc to its endpoint and reads like the natural series payoff.

The Diavolo Crime Family in order

This is a compact co-written duet, also with C. Hallman, and it is one of the neatest places to go if you want mafia romance without a long runway.

1. Devil You Hate (2021): The opener, centered on a violent man known as the Devil and a romance built on fear, proximity, and resistance.
2. Devil You Know (2021): The second book finishes the duet and deepens the same ruthless-family atmosphere rather than branching into a different world.

The Obsession Duet in order

Another J.L. Beck and C. Hallman collaboration, this one is built even more directly around fixation and protection turned dangerous.

1. Cruel Obsession (2020): The first book, opening with a childhood vow of protection that has curdled into something much darker.
2. Deadly Obsession (2020): The follow-up turns that fixation into fallout, pushing the duet toward its promised danger-heavy finish.

Black Hollow Creek in order

This is one of the newest official shelves on J.L. Beck’s current store, and it looks like an active series rather than a closed one. One small catalog wrinkle matters here: Goodreads still surfaces an older three-book Black Hollow grouping, but J.L. Beck’s official store now uses Black Hollow Creek and Fantastic Fiction lists upcoming books under that name.

1. Sinner & Saint (2025): The current opener, pairing a preacher’s daughter and a feared heir in a small-town, bloodstained dark-romance setup.
2. Branded & Broken (2026): The second book and the next clearly listed release in the series, continuing the same town and family pressure line.
3. Reckless & Ruined (2027): A later announced entry that keeps the series visibly active beyond the current year.

Other official current shelves

J.L. Beck’s current store also lists several additional series lines that are part of the active catalog map even when they are less visible than Oakmount or Torrio.

Doubeck Crime Family

A co-written crime-family shelf with Monica Corwin, best read in order if you want a longer shared mafia run.

1. Vow to Protect
2. Promise to Keep
3. Bound to Darkness
4. Bound to Cruelty
5. Bound to Deception
6. Bound to Punish

Moretti Crime Family

A co-written shelf with C. Hallman, built around dark mafia-family romance.

1. Savage Beginnings
2. Violent Beginnings
3. Stolen Innocence

Rossi Crime Family

Another co-written crime-family line with C. Hallman.

1. Protect Me
2. Keep Me
3. Guard Me
4. Tame Me
5. Remember Me

Broken Heroes

A co-written darker-protector shelf with C. Hallman.

1. Convict Me
2. Protect Me
3. Keep Me

North Woods University

An official current shelf on the J.L. Beck store, best treated as its own dark-college line.

Breaking the Rules

Another official current shelf on the store, distinct from the larger mafia and elite-academy books.

The Spoiled Collection

An official grouped shelf on the store, separate from the main Oakmount and crime-family lines.

The most useful reading paths

For the strongest current J.L. Beck experience

1. The Wallflower
2. The Wildflower
3. The Prey
4. The Predator
5. The Misfit
6. The Psychopaths
7. The Reckoning

For a solo mafia-first route

1. Indebted
2. Inevitable
3. Empire of Lust
4. Empire of Lies
5. Empire of Pain
6. Dark Knight

For a co-written dark-romance route

1. Devious Hate
2. Ruthless Rivals
3. Hurting You
4. Vicious Regret
5. Devil You Hate
6. Devil You Know
7. Cruel Obsession
8. Deadly Obsession

Publication order or series order?

For J.L. Beck, series order matters much more than all-books publication order.

That is especially true because the bibliography splits between solo shelves and co-written shelves. Reading everything by year would jumble Oakmount, mafia families, academy revenge books, and newer small-town dark romance together in a way that is much less useful than simply staying inside one series at a time.

Latest release status

The newest clearly released J.L. Beck title I could verify is Branded & Broken (March 2026) in Black Hollow Creek. The next announced title I found is Frostbite (October 2026), which is listed as Sterling Vultures #1, followed by Reckless & Ruined (January 2027) in Black Hollow Creek.

FAQ

What should I read first by J.L. Beck?

Start with The Wallflower if you want the current flagship series, or Indebted if you want a shorter mafia entry point.

Is Oakmount Elite finished?

Not from the sources I checked. It is the largest current solo shelf, and the author’s recent Goodreads activity shows it still active around the later books.

Are the co-written books separate from the solo books?

Usually yes. The safest approach is to treat the C. Hallman and Monica Corwin collaborations as their own reading lanes unless a series page says otherwise.

What is the newest J.L. Beck series?

The newest clearly announced one I found is Sterling Vultures, beginning with Frostbite in October 2026.

Is Black Hollow the same as Black Hollow Creek?

Catalog sources do not present that perfectly cleanly. Goodreads shows an older Black Hollow grouping, while J.L. Beck’s official store and Fantastic Fiction currently use Black Hollow Creek for the active series line, so that is the safer current label.