Kimberly Readnour writes contemporary romance, college sports romance, professional baseball romance, small-town romance, and romantic suspense. Before moving fully into romance, she began her publishing career with the young adult Mystical Encounter trilogy.
Her catalog is divided into several independent reading paths. Bad Boys Redemption follows professional baseball players seeking second chances. Cessna U Wildcats, Cessna U Hockey, and the announced Cessna U Football books belong to a college sports setting. Sugar Creek Falls is a separate small-town series.
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Most of Readnour’s romance novels are interconnected standalones. Each book follows a new central couple and provides its own romantic resolution, although teammates, friends, relatives, and previous couples may return.
The major exception is the Mystical Encounter trilogy. That series follows one developing supernatural mystery and should be read from Visions through Vanished without rearranging the books.
What to Read First
- The best starting point for Kimberly Readnour’s sports romances is Second Chance Hero. It opens Bad Boys Redemption and introduces her professional baseball stories through a complete second-chance romance.
- Readers who prefer college athletes should start with Swinging Strike, the first Cessna U Wildcats book.
- For college hockey, begin with Deke Me.
- For small-town romance, begin with City Lights, Starry Nights.
- Readers interested in Readnour’s earliest young adult work should start with Visions, but that trilogy differs noticeably from her later contemporary sports romances.
Kimberly Readnour’s Series at a Glance
Her confirmed series are:
- Mystical Encounter, three connected young adult paranormal suspense novels.
- Unforeseen Destiny, two contemporary romances with different central couples.
- Bad Boys Redemption, four professional baseball romances.
- Cessna U Wildcats, four main college baseball novels and one prequel novella.
- Sugar Creek Falls, two published small-town romances.
- Cessna U Hockey, three college hockey romances.
- Cessna U Football, an announced college football branch without a reliably confirmed release schedule.
Bad Boys Redemption and Cessna U belong to different stages of the baseball world. The first centers on professional players, while Cessna U follows college athletes.
Mystical Encounter Books in Order
Mystical Encounter is Kimberly Readnour’s earliest published series. It combines young adult relationships with visions, disappearances, deception, and a continuing supernatural mystery.
These are not interchangeable standalone novels. The central conflict develops across all three books.
1. Visions
Visions (2014): A teenager begins experiencing disturbing visions that appear connected to real danger, opening a supernatural mystery where trust and ordinary explanations quickly become unreliable.
This is Kimberly Readnour’s debut novel and the required starting point for the trilogy.
2. Deceptions
Deceptions (2015): The mystery from Visions widens as hidden motives and conflicting loyalties make it increasingly difficult to distinguish genuine help from manipulation.
The book assumes knowledge of the characters and revelations established in the first installment.
3. Vanished
Vanished (2015): A disappearance pushes the continuing paranormal mystery toward its final confrontation, resolving the major questions developed across the trilogy.
Read Vanished only after Deceptions. It is the conclusion rather than an independent missing-person story.
Mystical Encounter Box Set
Visions: The Mystical Encounters Series Boxset (collection): A combined edition containing Visions, Deceptions, and Vanished in their correct sequence.
The box set does not add a fourth story. Readers who own it already have the complete trilogy.
Unforeseen Destiny Books in Order
Unforeseen Destiny contains two contemporary romances. Each book follows a different couple and provides a complete ending.
The books are connected by their wider romantic world rather than one unresolved relationship.
1. Impossible Love
Impossible Love (2016): Hawaiian tour guide Kai follows a strict rule against becoming involved with tourists until a visiting woman turns an expected vacation romance into a relationship with lasting consequences.
This is the cleaner introduction to the series, although its featured romance is complete within one book.
2. Unexpected Love
Unexpected Love (2019): Graduate student Staci tries to avoid relationships after an embarrassing encounter, only to find herself repeatedly clashing with Kyle, the intelligent and infuriating man who becomes her boss.
The second installment uses an opposites-attract workplace setup and can be understood without rereading Impossible Love.
Bad Boys Redemption Books in Order
Bad Boys Redemption follows professional baseball players who must face past romantic mistakes. Each man receives a separate second-chance romance.
The first three books were published between 2017 and 2018. A fourth installment, Bad Ball Hitter, returned to the series in 2024.
1. Second Chance Hero
Second Chance Hero (2017): Cy Young-winning pitcher Zach Pritchett reunites with Lacey, the college girlfriend he left behind while pursuing a professional baseball career.
The romance introduces the series theme of successful athletes confronting the personal damage caused by earlier choices.
2. Swing for the Fences
Swing for the Fences (2018): Shortstop Jax Carrigan encounters Jocelyn ten years after their relationship ended, giving him one last opportunity to overcome his pride and repair what he broke.
Previous characters may return, but Jax and Jocelyn’s romance is resolved within this volume.
3. Bottom of the Ninth
Bottom of the Ninth (2018): Professional catcher A. J. Gonzalez is stranded with Mia, the woman he stood up years earlier, forcing him to explain the decision that ended their first chance together.
The holiday setting and close proximity make this another complete redemption romance rather than a continuation of Jax’s story.
4. Bad Ball Hitter
Bad Ball Hitter (2024): Boston Bears catcher Drake Gunner receives a second chance with his first love, but repairing their relationship requires him to confront the plans, secrets, and failures that separated them.
This later installment expands the series after a six-year publication gap. It is still numbered as Bad Boys Redemption book four.
Is Bad Boys Redemption Complete?
Four novels have been published.
No fifth title had a reliably confirmed name and publication date as of August 4, 2026. The existing books can be read as a complete set of interconnected standalones because each featured couple receives a resolution.
Cessna U Wildcats Books in Order
Cessna U Wildcats follows baseball players at Cessna University. The books change central couples, but teammates and friends remain active throughout the series.
Each main novel can stand alone. Publication order is preferable because later books show the changing team and reveal which earlier couples stayed together.
1. Swinging Strike
Swinging Strike (2020): Baseball player Braxton Smith enters an enemies-to-lovers romance while struggling with outside expectations and the pressure to decide what he genuinely wants.
This is the main entry point into Cessna University and its baseball team.
2. Behind the Count
Behind the Count (2020): Noah Geren becomes involved with his best friend’s younger sister, breaking an unwritten team and friendship rule that neither character can ignore.
The romance expands the Wildcats circle through a forbidden family connection.
3. Full Count
Full Count (2020): Cessna University shortstop Garret Cartel faces the possibility of losing both his athletic future and the best friend he has kept at an emotional distance.
The friends-to-lovers story develops within the team relationships established in the first two books.
3.5. On Deck
On Deck (2022): Dalton and Cassie’s earlier history is introduced before their full romance, explaining the choices and emotional conflict that later separate them.
This novella does not end with a complete happily ever after. Continue into Caught Looking for the conclusion.
4. Caught Looking
Caught Looking (2022): Dalton receives another chance with Cassie, but the relationship is threatened when the woman he wants appears capable of damaging the baseball future he has worked to secure.
Readers may begin directly with Caught Looking, but On Deck provides the complete background behind the couple’s estrangement.
Where Heartbreak Hitter Fits
Heartbreak Hitter is connected to Kimberly Readnour’s baseball catalog and has been displayed alongside the Cessna U Wildcats books on the author’s website. It was originally published through the multi-author Cocky Hero Club project.
Heartbreak Hitter (2021): Baseball player Rick Bosley becomes involved with journalist Hailey, the woman assigned to investigate or write about him and potentially expose the past he needs to keep hidden.
The story is a complete standalone. It can be read after Full Count or separately as a Cocky Hero Club contribution.
It should not be numbered as Cessna U Wildcats book five.
Recommended Cessna U Wildcats Order
For the smoothest college baseball route, read:
- Swinging Strike (2020): Introduces Cessna University baseball through Braxton’s enemies-to-lovers romance.
- Behind the Count (2020): Continues the team with a best friend’s sister relationship.
- Full Count (2020): Moves a long friendship into romance while athletic pressure increases.
- On Deck (2022): Provides Dalton and Cassie’s prequel history.
- Caught Looking (2022): Completes Dalton and Cassie’s story.
- Heartbreak Hitter (2021): Add this as an optional connected baseball standalone, preferably after meeting the original Wildcats.
Because Heartbreak Hitter was released before On Deck and Caught Looking, readers following strict publication order may place it after Full Count. Readers grouping only the numbered Wildcats books can save it for later.
Cessna U Wildcats Box Set
Cessna U Wildcats Box Set: A College Sports Collection (collection): A bundled edition containing previously published Wildcats baseball romances.
Check the contents of the specific edition before purchasing. Some collections may package only the main novels and omit On Deck or the separately published Heartbreak Hitter.
Sugar Creek Falls Books in Order
Sugar Creek Falls is a small-town romance series about characters returning to or rebuilding their lives within a close community.
The published books change couples and provide complete romantic endings.
1. City Lights, Starry Nights
City Lights, Starry Nights (2023): A character accustomed to a different life is drawn into the slower rhythms and personal connections of Sugar Creek Falls, beginning the series through a conflict between city expectations and small-town belonging.
This is the proper introduction to the town and its recurring residents.
2. Love Schemes, Clouded Dreams
Love Schemes, Clouded Dreams (2023): Ansley returns to the small town she believed she had left behind, where old relationships, local interference, and an unwanted attraction complicate her plans.
The second romance can stand alone, but the first book supplies a clearer introduction to Sugar Creek Falls.
Is Sugar Creek Falls Complete?
Two books have been published.
The author’s website has referred to a third Sugar Creek Falls book as upcoming, but no reliable title and publication date were confirmed by August 4, 2026. Readers should treat the third installment as planned rather than scheduled.
Cessna U Hockey Books in Order
Cessna U Hockey expands the college sports world from baseball into hockey. The books feature different couples connected through the university and team.
Each romance is complete within one volume. Publication order preserves teammate introductions and returning relationship updates.
1. Deke Me
Deke Me (2024): A financially struggling student agrees to fake date wealthy hockey captain Blake Morton, only for the paid arrangement to become more emotionally convincing than either expected.
This is the correct entry point into the hockey branch of Cessna University.
2. Face Me Off
Face Me Off (2025): A hockey player becomes involved with Maddy, the woman who wants to escape her good-girl image despite having strong reasons to resent him and his family conflict.
The romance combines hostility, temptation, and a secret arrangement within the established Cessna U team.
3. Blindside Me
Blindside Me (2025): Two emotionally guarded students enter a forbidden enemies-to-lovers relationship where ambition and university connections make acting on their attraction especially risky.
This is the third confirmed Cessna U Hockey romance and the latest published book in the series.
Is Cessna U Hockey Complete?
Three books have been published: Deke Me, Face Me Off, and Blindside Me.
The author’s older promotional pages referred to additional hockey books, but no fourth title with a reliable release date was confirmed as of August 4, 2026. The published trilogy can still be read without an unresolved central romance.
Cessna U Football Books
Kimberly Readnour has announced a Cessna U Football branch. Several provisional titles have appeared in catalog records:
- Calling an Audible: An announced college football romance intended to begin the Cessna U Football series.
- Icing the Kicker: A provisional second football title listed in advance catalogs.
- My Fair Catch: A provisional third football title connected to the same university sports setting.
As of August 4, 2026, reliable publication dates and final release details were not confirmed for these books.
They should not yet be counted as published novels. Titles, numbering, and dates may change before release.
Standalone and Shared-World Books
Kimberly Readnour has also written romances for multi-author projects. These stories are complete on their own and should not be inserted into her numbered series unless a direct crossover is identified.
Sworn to Protect
Sworn to Protect (2021): An ex-military hero becomes involved with a single mother while danger and his protective instincts force him to reconsider the limits of a temporary role in her life.
The novel belongs to K. Bromberg’s multi-author Everyday Heroes World. It is separate from Bad Boys Redemption and Cessna U.
Celebrity Playboy
Celebrity Playboy (2020, later reissued): A celebrity and an ordinary woman are pushed into close proximity, creating a shorter romance where public image and private attraction become difficult to separate.
The novella was written for the multi-author All American Boy series. Later editions may carry a 2023 date, but they contain the same central story.
Heartbreak Hitter
Heartbreak Hitter (2021): A cocky baseball player faces professional and emotional trouble when the journalist investigating him becomes the woman he cannot afford to want.
It belongs to the Cocky Hero Club shared world and also has links to Readnour’s wider baseball-romance catalog.
Christmas Curveball
Christmas Curveball (2021): A holiday baseball romance uses an unexpected seasonal complication to bring its central couple together when career plans and personal feelings are moving in different directions.
The story appeared in the multi-author Scoring Over the Holidays anthology and has also been made available separately.
Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan (2017), written with Michelle Lynn: A shorter romance centers on characters whose attraction becomes complicated by school, professional, or instructional boundaries.
This collaborative work is separate from Kimberly Readnour’s later baseball and small-town series.
Complete Kimberly Readnour Publication Order
The following list focuses on original novels and novellas. Box sets and reissues are excluded so the same stories are not counted more than once.
2014
- Visions (2014): A teenager’s disturbing visions begin a continuing supernatural mystery.
2015
- Deceptions (2015): Hidden motives deepen the danger established in Visions.
- Vanished (2015): A disappearance brings the Mystical Encounter trilogy to its conclusion.
2016
- Impossible Love (2016): A Hawaiian tour guide breaks his rule against becoming involved with visitors.
2017
- Second Chance Hero (2017): A professional pitcher tries to win back the college girlfriend he left behind.
- Lesson Plan (2017): A collaborative short romance develops around a complicated educational or professional connection.
2018
- Swing for the Fences (2018): A star shortstop tries to repair the relationship he destroyed ten years earlier.
- Bottom of the Ninth (2018): A professional catcher is stranded with the woman he once stood up.
2019
- Unexpected Love (2019): A graduate student falls for the infuriating man who becomes her boss.
2020
- Swinging Strike (2020): An enemies-to-lovers baseball romance introduces Cessna University.
- Behind the Count (2020): A player breaks the rule against dating his best friend’s sister.
- Full Count (2020): A shortstop risks his friendship and future in a slow-burn romance.
- Celebrity Playboy (2020): Forced proximity complicates a celebrity’s carefully managed public identity.
2021
- Heartbreak Hitter (2021): A baseball player falls for the journalist capable of exposing his past.
- Sworn to Protect (2021): An ex-military hero protects a single mother while developing feelings for her.
- Christmas Curveball (2021): A seasonal baseball romance first appears through a holiday sports anthology.
2022
- On Deck (2022): Dalton and Cassie’s unfinished earlier relationship is introduced.
- Caught Looking (2022): Their second-chance romance reaches its full conclusion.
2023
- City Lights, Starry Nights (2023): Sugar Creek Falls opens through a city-versus-small-town romantic conflict.
- Love Schemes, Clouded Dreams (2023): Ansley returns home and becomes caught in a new small-town relationship.
2024
- Deke Me (2024): A student accepts money to fake date Cessna U’s hockey captain.
- Bad Ball Hitter (2024): A professional catcher tries to reclaim the first love he lost.
2025
- Face Me Off (2025): A secret arrangement develops between a hockey player and the woman who resents him.
- Blindside Me (2025): Forbidden attraction brings two emotionally guarded Cessna U students together.
This sequence is useful as a bibliography, but it is not the recommended way to read the separate continuities.
Is There a Chronological Reading Order?
Kimberly Readnour’s full catalog does not share one timeline. Mystical Encounter, Unforeseen Destiny, Bad Boys Redemption, Sugar Creek Falls, and the shared-world novels remain separate.
The Cessna U books are the only group where readers may want to combine several sports branches. The clearest available route is:
- Swinging Strike (2020): Introduces the Wildcats baseball team.
- Behind the Count (2020): Continues the baseball circle.
- Full Count (2020): Completes the first three Wildcats romances.
- Heartbreak Hitter (2021): Adds an optional connected professional baseball story.
- On Deck (2022): Begins Dalton and Cassie’s history.
- Caught Looking (2022): Completes their romance.
- Deke Me (2024): Opens Cessna U Hockey.
- Face Me Off (2025): Continues with the second hockey couple.
- Blindside Me (2025): Completes the currently published hockey sequence.
There is no need to insert the unissued Cessna U Football titles until they are actually published.
Recommended Kimberly Readnour Reading Order
Rather than moving from her 2014 debut straight through every release, readers can follow three focused routes.
The Baseball Route
- Second Chance Hero (2017): Begin with a professional pitcher seeking romantic redemption.
- Swing for the Fences (2018): Continue with another player’s long-delayed second chance.
- Bottom of the Ninth (2018): Finish the original trio through a holiday reunion.
- Bad Ball Hitter (2024): Return to the professional series for Drake’s romance.
- Swinging Strike (2020): Move back to college baseball at Cessna University.
- Behind the Count (2020): Continue through the team’s friendship network.
- Full Count (2020): Read the friends-to-lovers installment.
- On Deck (2022): Begin Dalton and Cassie’s two-part history.
- Caught Looking (2022): Complete their second-chance story.
- Heartbreak Hitter (2021): Add the Cocky Hero Club baseball standalone.
- Christmas Curveball (2021): Finish with an optional holiday sports romance.
Bad Boys Redemption and Cessna U Wildcats do not need to be combined, but this route keeps the baseball focus consistent.
The Cessna University Route
- Swinging Strike (2020): Baseball opens the university setting.
- Behind the Count (2020): The second Wildcats relationship develops.
- Full Count (2020): Another teammate receives his romance.
- On Deck (2022): Dalton and Cassie’s prequel begins.
- Caught Looking (2022): Their full romance concludes.
- Deke Me (2024): Hockey becomes the next major Cessna U branch.
- Face Me Off (2025): A secret relationship continues the hockey series.
- Blindside Me (2025): Forbidden enemies-to-lovers tension closes the currently published sequence.
The Non-Sports Route
- Impossible Love (2016): Begin with a Hawaiian vacation romance.
- Unexpected Love (2019): Continue with an opposites-attract workplace story.
- City Lights, Starry Nights (2023): Move into small-town romance.
- Love Schemes, Clouded Dreams (2023): Return to Sugar Creek Falls for its second couple.
- Sworn to Protect (2021): Add romantic suspense and an ex-military hero.
Readers seeking paranormal young adult fiction should treat Mystical Encounter as a separate three-book route.
Latest Kimberly Readnour Book
The latest fully confirmed Kimberly Readnour novel is Blindside Me, published in 2025.
Blindside Me (2025): Enemies-to-lovers tension and a forbidden connection bring two emotionally guarded students together in the third Cessna U Hockey romance.
No newly released 2026 novel was reliably confirmed as of August 4, 2026.
Upcoming Kimberly Readnour Books
Kimberly Readnour has indicated plans for more books in several continuities, including Cessna U Football and Sugar Creek Falls.
The provisional Cessna U Football titles are:
- Calling an Audible: Planned as the first football romance.
- Icing the Kicker: Listed as a possible second installment.
- My Fair Catch: Listed as a possible third installment.
A third Sugar Creek Falls book has also been mentioned without a confirmed title.
Because no reliable release dates were available, these books should be classified as planned rather than formally scheduled. Readers should not add them to a completed reading list until publication is confirmed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Kimberly Readnour’s first book?
Visions was published in 2014.
Visions (2014): A teenager experiences supernatural visions connected to a growing mystery, beginning the three-book Mystical Encounter series.
What Kimberly Readnour book should I read first?
Start with Second Chance Hero for contemporary sports romance.
Second Chance Hero (2017): A successful professional pitcher attempts to reclaim the college relationship he sacrificed for baseball.
Begin with Swinging Strike when college sports are the priority.
Are Kimberly Readnour’s sports romances standalones?
Most are interconnected standalones.
Each Bad Boys Redemption, Cessna U Wildcats, and Cessna U Hockey novel normally follows a different couple and provides a complete central romance.
Does On Deck end with a happily ever after?
No. On Deck is a prequel to Caught Looking.
On Deck (2022): Dalton and Cassie’s earlier relationship is introduced but intentionally left unresolved.
Read Caught Looking afterward for their complete ending.
Can Caught Looking be read without On Deck?
Yes, but reading the novella first provides the couple’s full history.
Readers who dislike incomplete prequel endings may begin with Caught Looking and return to On Deck later.
Is Heartbreak Hitter a Cessna U Wildcats book?
It is connected to Readnour’s baseball catalog and appears alongside the Wildcats on parts of her website, but it was published as a Cocky Hero Club novel.
Treat it as an optional related standalone, not as numbered Wildcats book five.
Is Bad Ball Hitter part of Bad Boys Redemption?
Yes. It is listed as book four.
Bad Ball Hitter (2024): Catcher Drake Gunner tries to win back his first love while confronting the failed plans and old choices that divided them.
Why do some sites list only three Bad Boys Redemption books?
Older series pages were created before Bad Ball Hitter was released.
The current stable order contains four books, ending with the 2024 installment.
Are Cessna U Wildcats and Cessna U Hockey connected?
They share the Cessna University sports setting.
The hockey series can still be started with Deke Me because it introduces its own team and central couple.
Do I need to finish the baseball books before Deke Me?
No.
Reading Cessna U Wildcats first provides the broadest view of the university, but Deke Me functions as a clean hockey-series opening.
Is Cessna U Football available?
Not as a reliably confirmed published series as of August 4, 2026.
Several titles have appeared in advance listings, but their final dates and publication status remain uncertain.
Is Sugar Creek Falls complete?
Two books are currently published.
A third book has been mentioned by the author, but it did not have a reliably confirmed title and release date at the time of this update.
Are Impossible Love and Unexpected Love about the same couple?
No.
Impossible Love follows Kai and a visiting woman in Hawaii. Unexpected Love follows graduate student Staci and her new boss, Kyle.
Do the Mystical Encounter books need to be read in order?
Yes.
The visions, deceptions, disappearances, and central supernatural mystery build from one volume to the next.
Is Celebrity Playboy a full-length novel?
It is generally presented as a novella or shorter romance.
Celebrity Playboy (2020, later reissued): A public figure and an ordinary woman are placed in forced proximity, challenging the divide between his image and private emotions.
Where does Christmas Curveball fit?
It is an optional holiday baseball story.
Christmas Curveball (2021): A seasonal complication turns a sports-centered connection into a romance with consequences beyond the holiday.
It does not change the order of Bad Boys Redemption or Cessna U Wildcats.
What is Kimberly Readnour’s latest series?
Cessna U Hockey is her newest confirmed published series.
It began with Deke Me in 2024 and continued with Face Me Off and Blindside Me in 2025.
Conclusion
Begin with Second Chance Hero for Kimberly Readnour’s professional baseball romances. Continue through Swing for the Fences, Bottom of the Ninth, and Bad Ball Hitter to complete the current Bad Boys Redemption sequence.
For college sports, start with Swinging Strike. Read the four Cessna U Wildcats novels in order, placing On Deck immediately before Caught Looking. Move into Cessna U Hockey with Deke Me when you are ready to switch from baseball to hockey.
Sugar Creek Falls and Unforeseen Destiny offer separate contemporary romance routes. Mystical Encounter should remain on its own because it is a continuing young adult paranormal trilogy rather than an interconnected standalone romance series.
Publication order is the most useful choice inside each named series. Across the wider catalog, no single chronology is required.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.