L.J. Smith Books in Order (Updated April 10, 2026)

L.J. Smith’s bibliography is one of those catalogs where the phrase “books in order” needs a little extra care. Some series are clean, self-contained runs. Some have later continuation books credited to her as creator rather than as sole author. And one of the most famous unfinished threads, Night World, now has a newer wrinkle because her official site says the last two Strange Fate books were completed and are in final editing, but no release date is currently listed.

So the best way to read L.J. Smith is not to force everything into one master line. It is to separate the catalog into three groups:

Start here if you want the classic core:

1. The Vampire Diaries through The Return
2. Night World
3. The Secret Circle, The Forbidden Game, and Dark Visions

Read later only if you want official continuation books not fully written by Smith:

1. The Secret Circle books 4-6
2. The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters
3. The Vampire Diaries: The Salvation
4. Stefan’s Diaries

Treat as alternate or special-case material:

1. The Vampire Diaries: Evensong
2. unreleased or unconfirmed continuation titles such as Strange Fate: Mystic and Strange Fate: Apocalypse

Where most readers should begin

There are three strong starting points, depending on what you want from L.J. Smith.

1. Start with The Awakening if you want the iconic entry and the series most tied to her name.
2. Start with Secret Vampire if you want the broadest paranormal world and the most replayable standalone-style structure inside a bigger series.
3. Start with The Forbidden Game: The Hunter if you want the quickest taste of what made her so distinctive: romance, danger, supernatural rules, and emotionally intense love triangles.

The best L.J. Smith reading path for most readers

This path avoids the confusing rights and continuation issues until later.

1. The Vampire Diaries original four books
2. The Vampire Diaries: The Return trilogy
3. Night World books 1-9
4. The Secret Circle original trilogy
5. The Forbidden Game trilogy
6. Dark Visions trilogy
7. Wildworld
8. Later continuation books only if you want more of the franchise branches

That order works because it gives you the books most clearly identified with L.J. Smith first, before you reach the creator-credit expansions and the more complicated publication history.

The Vampire Diaries books in order

This is the most complicated part of the bibliography, so it helps to split it by continuity.

The original L.J. Smith sequence

1. The Awakening (1991): Elena, Stefan, and Damon enter in the opening novel that establishes the love triangle and the Gothic small-town tone the series never really leaves behind.
2. The Struggle (1991): The central triangle sharpens fast, with Stefan and Damon’s conflict becoming more dangerous and Elena pulled deeper into supernatural stakes.
3. The Fury (1991): The series turns darker and more volatile here, with power struggles and sacrifice pushing the original arc toward its breaking point.
4. Dark Reunion (1992): The first main sequence closes with grief, resurrection, and a more openly supernatural ensemble fight around Fell’s Church.

The Return trilogy

These are still core L.J. Smith books and the natural place to continue after the original four.

5. Nightfall (2009): Elena’s story resumes with demonic threats and a bigger supernatural scale, reopening the series after a long publishing gap.
6. Shadow Souls (2010): The group crosses into stranger territory as the rescue mission for Stefan pushes the series into a more fantasy-heavy mode.
7. Midnight (2011): The Return ends with large-scale consequences for Fell’s Church and works as the last easy stopping point if you only want the L.J. Smith-written mainline.

Official continuation books after Smith’s core run

These are part of the official franchise, but not the cleanest place to start if you specifically want books written by L.J. Smith herself.

8. Phantom (2011): The first Hunters book continues the official storyline after Midnight, but this is where authorship becomes a real dividing line for many readers.
9. Moonsong (2012): The second Hunters book keeps that official continuation moving rather than resetting the series.
10. Destiny Rising (2012): The third Hunters book closes that trilogy of continuation novels.
11. Unseen (2013): The Salvation arc begins another official extension of the franchise under creator-credit rather than straightforward sole-authorship reading.
12. Unspoken (2013): The second Salvation book follows directly from Unseen and belongs in sequence.
13. Unmasked (2014): The official continuation currently ends here.

Alternate continuation: Evensong

This is best treated separately from the official numbered series.

1. Paradise Lost (2014): L.J. Smith’s own alternate continuation picks up after Midnight, but it was published as Kindle Worlds material rather than as the official next book.
2. The War of Roses (2014): The second Evensong installment continues that alternate line created outside the official publisher continuity.
3. Into the Wood (unreleased): Planned as the third Evensong book, but not confirmed as released.

Optional side material

• An Untold Tale: Elena’s Christmas (2010): A short extra connected to The Return era, best read as bonus material rather than a required step.
• Tumbleweeds (2011): Another short piece tied to the Shadow Souls period and clearly optional.

Night World books in order

This is the easiest major L.J. Smith series to read once you know one thing: the books are linked by world and mythology, but many of them work almost like self-contained entries inside a larger apocalypse arc.

1. Secret Vampire (1996): A human girl facing death and a forbidden choice opens the series and introduces the Night World’s core law: never reveal yourself to humans and never love one.
2. Daughters of Darkness (1996): Vampire politics and sibling conflict widen the world while keeping the soulmate theme central.
3. Spellbinder (1996): Witches take the spotlight here, and the series starts showing how different supernatural groups fit into the same hidden society.
4. Dark Angel (1996): A near-death experience and a manipulative supernatural guide make this one feel more eerie and fate-driven than the earlier books.
5. The Chosen (1997): A vampire hunter and a vampire become the emotional center, pushing the soulmate idea into open enemy territory.
6. Soulmate (1997): Reincarnation and repeated loss give this entry one of the most mythic emotional frames in the series.
7. Huntress (1998): The series starts moving more directly toward its endgame as Wild Power and apocalypse language come forward.
8. Black Dawn (1998): A hidden vampire-controlled society gives this book a larger political feel than the earlier entries.
9. Witchlight (1998): The last published book ties more threads together and pushes hard toward the promised finale.

The Strange Fate situation

For years, readers knew Strange Fate as the long-missing Night World finale. As of the current official website, that ending has evolved into two books:

• Strange Fate: Mystic
• Strange Fate: Apocalypse

The site says both have been finished and are in final editing, but there are still no listed publication dates. Until release details are confirmed, the practical reading order is still to stop after Witchlight and then watch for official publication news.

The Secret Circle books in order

Here again, the main divide is between the original trilogy and the later continuation.

Original trilogy

1. The Initiation (1992): Cassie’s move to New Salem opens a witch-coven story built around identity, loyalty, and forbidden attraction.
2. The Captive (1992): Blackmail, murder, and Circle politics make the second book more openly dangerous and more dependent on reading in order.
3. The Power (1992): The original trilogy concludes with leadership struggles, revealed secrets, and the payoff to the first two books’ tensions.

Later continuation books

4. The Divide (2012): The story resumes long after the original trilogy, but this sits in the creator-credit continuation category rather than the original Smith-only core.
5. The Hunt (2012): The fifth book continues that later continuity and is best read only after the first four.
6. The Temptation (2013): The continuation sequence ends here.

The Forbidden Game books in order

This is one of the cleanest places to sample L.J. Smith.

1. The Hunter (1994): Jenny’s ordinary life gets pulled into Julian’s supernatural game-world, creating one of Smith’s strongest dark-charmer setups.
2. The Chase (1994): The danger turns more active and puzzle-like, with Jenny’s friends drawn deeper into Julian’s traps.
3. The Kill (1994): The trilogy ends in the Shadow World, where the romantic and psychological stakes finally collide head-on.

Dark Visions books in order

Another compact trilogy and one of the easiest recommendation picks for readers who want psychic rather than vampire or witch fantasy.

1. The Strange Power (1995): Kaitlyn’s psychic gifts bring her to the Institute, where talent, control, and attraction start tangling immediately.
2. The Possessed (1995): Escape, mistrust, and group tension move the series out of the lab setting and into a more road-story structure.
3. The Passion (1995): The trilogy closes with the strongest emotional choices of the three, turning power and romance into one final test.

Wildworld books in order

This is the earliest L.J. Smith series and reads younger than the later paranormal books.

1. The Night of the Solstice (1987): Four children cross toward Wildworld to rescue Morgana Shee, making this the most overt portal-fantasy entry in Smith’s catalog.
2. Heart of Valor (1990): The sequel returns to the same world with trials, prophecy, and a broader struggle around power and identity.

Possible third book

Some databases and reader listings mention Mirror of Heaven as Wildworld #3, but the main official bibliography currently lists only the first two Wildworld novels. The safest way to handle that is to treat Mirror of Heaven as an unreleased or unconfirmed follow-up rather than a published reading-order entry.

Stefan’s Diaries

These books belong to the wider Vampire Diaries franchise, but they are not the place to begin a L.J. Smith reading project.

1. Origins (2010): A prequel focused on Stefan’s earlier life and the brothers’ past.
2. Bloodlust (2011): The Civil War-era arc continues.
3. The Craving (2011): The brothers’ early transformation story pushes forward.
4. The Ripper (2011): Damon and Stefan’s violent early mythology deepens.
5. The Asylum (2012): The prequel sequence continues with more historical-gothic emphasis.
6. The Compelled (2012): Another direct continuation of the same prequel line.

These are best read after the original Vampire Diaries if you want franchise expansion rather than core Smith reading.

The short version: best reading order by reader type

If you want the signature L.J. Smith experience:
Read The Vampire Diaries original four, then The Return, then Night World.

If you want the strongest self-contained trilogy first:
Read The Forbidden Game.

If you want paranormal worldbuilding over one fixed cast:
Read Night World.

If you want all major original-era L.J. Smith books before any continuation material:
Read:

• The Vampire Diaries 1-7
• Night World 1-9
• The Secret Circle 1-3
• The Forbidden Game 1-3
• Dark Visions 1-3
• Wildworld 1-2

Latest status and special notes

The largest current status note is Night World. L.J. Smith’s official site says she finished Strange Fate: Mystic and Strange Fate: Apocalypse, and that both were in final editing with her agent. No release dates are listed yet, so they should not be treated as available books as of April 10, 2026.

The other major note is The Vampire Diaries. For readers who care about authorship, Midnight is the cleanest stopping point in the official mainline, because later books move into continuation territory under creator-credit and franchise extension.

FAQ

What is the best L.J. Smith book to start with?

The Awakening is the best starting point if you want the most famous series. Secret Vampire is the best starting point if you want a broader paranormal world without committing to one cast for many books.

Do I need to read Night World in order?

Yes, but not because every book follows the same protagonist. The world arc and endgame material build gradually, especially in the later books.

Which Vampire Diaries books were actually written by L.J. Smith?

For a simple reader-facing answer, the safest core is The Awakening through Midnight. After that, the series enters official continuation territory that many readers separate from Smith’s own main run.

Is Strange Fate finally out?

Not yet, based on the official site. What is confirmed is that the site says Strange Fate: Mystic and Strange Fate: Apocalypse were completed and in final editing, but no publication dates are posted.

Is Mirror of Heaven a real published Wildworld book?

It is better treated as an unconfirmed or unpublished follow-up. The official bibliography currently lists only The Night of the Solstice and Heart of Valor in Wildworld.

Final recommendation

If you want one clean path through L.J. Smith, start with The Vampire Diaries through Midnight, then read the nine published Night World books, then move to The Secret Circle, The Forbidden Game, and Dark Visions. Leave the later creator-credit franchise continuations for last, and treat Evensong as an alternate branch rather than part of the main official order.