Leah Brunner writes closed-door contemporary romance, romantic comedy, and hockey romance. Her books usually combine familiar romance setups with family relationships, friendship groups, and recurring couples.
Her bibliography is divided into four main areas: Under Kansas Skies, D.C. Eagles Hockey, Hockey Boys of Loft 3B, and Honey Badger Creek.
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These are not all parts of one continuous storyline. Under Kansas Skies is a completed family-centered romantic comedy series. D.C. Eagles Hockey follows a professional team. Hockey Boys of Loft 3B is a collaborative, second-generation hockey series written with Katie Bailey. Honey Badger Creek is a separate small-town series beginning in 2026.
The Order That Matters Most
Most Leah Brunner novels have a new central couple and a complete romantic ending. Readers can often understand an individual book without reading everything before it.
Order still matters for three reasons:
- Previous couples return as relatives, teammates, and friends.
- Later books reveal which earlier relationships succeeded.
- Hockey Boys of Loft 3B uses second-generation characters and rewards readers who recognize the wider family background.
The safest general rule is to read each series in publication order.
Leah Brunner’s Series at a Glance
Under Kansas Skies
A four-book romantic comedy series centered on the Windell family and the people who become part of it.
Best starting point: Running Mate.
Series status: Complete.
D.C. Eagles Hockey
A professional hockey romance series featuring different players, relatives, and members of the same social circle.
Best starting point: Desire or Defense.
Series status: Four main novels plus one optional prequel novella.
Hockey Boys of Loft 3B
A new adult hockey romance trilogy co-written with Katie Bailey. The books follow NHL roommates in San Francisco.
Best starting point: Rookie Season.
Series status: The third book is scheduled for August 2026.
Honey Badger Creek
A separate small-town romance series beginning with Take Me Home.
Best starting point: Take Me Home.
Series status: Upcoming.
Under Kansas Skies Books in Order
Under Kansas Skies follows members of the Windell family and their connected romantic relationships. Each book has a different central couple, but family appearances and references make the published order the clearest route.
1. Running Mate
Running Mate (2021): Congressional candidate Madden Windell enters a marriage of convenience with a small-town woman who needs money to care for her parents, only for their practical political arrangement to become emotionally complicated.
This book was previously published as A Love Unexpected. The two titles represent the same story, so readers should not count them as separate installments.
Running Mate introduces the Windell family and provides the foundation for the sibling relationships used throughout the series.
2. House Mate
House Mate (2021): A widowed mother rents part of Dr. Drew Reed’s home and works as his daughter’s nanny, creating a close-proximity romance between two single parents learning whether they can risk loving again.
This novel was previously published as A Love Uncontainable. It is a retitled edition, not an additional book.
The story can be understood alone, but Running Mate establishes the family circle surrounding the new couple.
3. Check Mate
Check Mate (2022): Predictable and reserved David Windell books an adventurous trek to Machu Picchu, only to discover that his irritating neighbor Isabella is taking the same trip.
The forced travel arrangement places a grumpy, cautious hero beside a more spontaneous heroine. Earlier Windell family members continue to appear around their romance.
4. Cabin Mate
Cabin Mate (2022): Brooks agrees to pose as his newly single best friend Molly’s boyfriend at a Vermont wedding, despite having secretly loved her since college and being bound by a bet that forbids him from dating.
The holiday setting adds fake dating, one shared room, and years of hidden feelings to the final Windell-family romance.
Read Cabin Mate after Check Mate. The family relationships, sibling bets, and earlier couples carry directly into Brooks and Molly’s story.
Best Under Kansas Skies Reading Order
- Running Mate (2021): Introduces the Windell family through Madden’s politically useful marriage of convenience.
- House Mate (2021): Moves to a single-father and widowed-mother romance within the same family circle.
- Check Mate (2022): Sends David and Isabella on an unwanted shared adventure to Machu Picchu.
- Cabin Mate (2022): Closes the series with Brooks and Molly’s friends-to-lovers holiday romance.
Publication order is also the recommended order. There is no separate chronological arrangement that improves the sequence.
D.C. Eagles Hockey Books in Order
D.C. Eagles Hockey follows professional players and the friends, siblings, and partners around the team. The central romance changes in each full-length book.
The series can be entered with Desire or Defense. A prequel novella exists, but it is optional.
Optional Prequel: Passion or Penalty
Passion or Penalty (2023): Melanie accidentally sends a pain-medication-fueled confession to West, her brother’s best friend and longtime secret love, before his move to the D.C. Eagles forces them back into each other’s lives.
This novella is commonly numbered 0.5. It takes place before the main numbered sequence and introduces the D.C. Eagles setting through a shorter romance.
It can be read first, but it is not essential. Readers who prefer to begin with a full-length novel should start with Desire or Defense and return to the novella later.
1. Desire or Defense
Desire or Defense (2023): Suspended D.C. Eagles defenseman Mitch is ordered to coach youth hockey to repair his reputation, where a protective woman and her younger brother begin breaking through the anger he uses as emotional armor.
This is the main series opener. It establishes the team, its public pressures, and the players who return in later books.
Although the romance resolves within the novel, the couple remains part of the D.C. Eagles community.
2. Flirtation or Faceoff
Flirtation or Faceoff (2023): After swearing off athletes, Noel finds herself repeatedly challenged by Colby Knight, the persistent teammate of the NHL player marrying her best friend.
The enemies-to-lovers relationship grows within the team and friendship network created in Desire or Defense.
Read the first book before this one to understand the existing friendships and to avoid learning the outcome of the opening romance too early.
3. Betrothal or Breakaway
Betrothal or Breakaway (2024): Remy and Amber enter a marriage-of-convenience arrangement, forcing two longtime friends to confront unspoken love and the difference between a legal agreement and a genuine commitment.
This book builds on relationships already established around the D.C. Eagles. Its central couple has a complete story, but earlier players and partners remain visible.
Publication order provides the best emotional context for Remy and Amber’s history.
4. Secret or Shutout
Secret or Shutout (2025): Goaltender Bruce McBride shares an unforgettable kiss with Farrah, then discovers that she is his captain’s recently divorced sister and therefore considered off limits to the entire team.
Their hidden relationship develops during the Stanley Cup playoffs, placing Bruce’s romance, friendship with his captain, and performance in goal under the same pressure.
This book brings together the established D.C. Eagles cast and works best after the first three main novels.
Recommended D.C. Eagles Hockey Order
For a complete reading experience, use this sequence:
- Passion or Penalty (2023): Optional prequel following Melanie and West.
- Desire or Defense (2023): Main series opener following Mitch.
- Flirtation or Faceoff (2023): Colby and Noel’s enemies-to-lovers romance.
- Betrothal or Breakaway (2024): Remy and Amber’s marriage-of-convenience story.
- Secret or Shutout (2025): Bruce and Farrah’s secret, best-friend’s-sister romance.
Readers who want only the full-length novels may skip Passion or Penalty without losing the central team progression.
Hockey Boys of Loft 3B Books in Order
Hockey Boys of Loft 3B is co-written by Leah Brunner and Katie Bailey. It follows young NHL players sharing a converted San Francisco firehouse loft.
The trilogy is a second-generation project. Characters have family connections to earlier books by the two authors, and established parents may appear, but the new series introduces its own central cast and can be started independently.
Publication order is required because the three heroes begin as roommates and continue appearing in one another’s books.
1. Rookie Season
Rookie Season (2025): NHL rookie Noah Downsby wants a distraction-free first professional season, but that plan fails when Allegra Callahan moves into the loft he shares with his teammates.
Ally is seeking a fresh start after damaging rumors affected her reputation. Living with Noah creates a grumpy and optimistic roommate romance shaped by emotional recovery, attraction, and the found family forming inside Loft 3B.
This book introduces Noah, Penn, Fisher, and the shared living arrangement that holds the trilogy together.
2. Rival Season
Rival Season (2026): Penn Matthews agrees to fake-date his downstairs neighbor Hazel Palmer after discovering that her cheating former boyfriend is also his longtime hockey rival.
The arrangement begins as revenge but becomes more serious as Penn’s difficult past and Hazel’s academic pressures complicate their growing attachment.
Read Rookie Season first because Penn is introduced there as one of Noah’s roommates. Earlier loft relationships and dynamics continue around his story.
3. Rebel Season
Rebel Season (2026): Wealthy NHL rookie Archibald Fisher faces an inheritance ultimatum requiring him to marry, while artist Lila Chen is trying to save the historic firehouse community threatened by his family’s company.
A marriage intended to solve both problems forces Fisher and Lila into a relationship challenged by family control, grief, secrets, and the future of the building they value for different reasons.
This is the third Hockey Boys of Loft 3B novel. It is scheduled for August 27, 2026 and should be read after Rival Season.
Why the Loft 3B Order Matters
The trilogy follows three roommates in succession:
- Noah leads Rookie Season.
- Penn leads Rival Season.
- Fisher leads Rebel Season.
Later books reveal the relationship status of earlier couples and continue the shared-loft storyline. Beginning with Rookie Season therefore preserves both romantic outcomes and the development of the group.
Do You Need to Read Earlier Books Before Rookie Season?
No earlier Leah Brunner series is strictly required.
Rookie Season is designed to introduce its principal characters, professional hockey setting, and San Francisco loft. Readers can understand Noah and Ally’s relationship without completing Under Kansas Skies or D.C. Eagles Hockey.
However, the series is described as second generation. Readers familiar with earlier books by Leah Brunner and Katie Bailey may recognize family connections and receive additional context from parental appearances.
Treat those earlier books as optional background, not compulsory prequels.
Honey Badger Creek Books in Order
Honey Badger Creek is a separate small-town romance series. It does not belong to the D.C. Eagles or Loft 3B hockey continuities.
1. Take Me Home
Take Me Home (2026): The opening Honey Badger Creek romance introduces the new small-town setting and its first central couple.
The title is scheduled for October 2026. Detailed final plot information was not consistently available at the time of this update, so its tropes and character names should not be treated as confirmed until the author releases a complete description.
Continuity status: First book in a separate series.
2. Need You Now
Need You Now (2027): The second planned Honey Badger Creek novel will continue the small-town series with another central romance.
It is listed for July 2027. A stable full synopsis was not available at the time of this update, so further story details remain unconfirmed.
Continuity status: Upcoming second book.
Complete Leah Brunner Publication Order
This list follows original book publication rather than story chronology.
- Running Mate (2021): A congressional candidate and a small-town woman enter a politically useful marriage of convenience.
- House Mate (2021): A widowed mother becomes both tenant and nanny in a single father’s home.
- Check Mate (2022): A cautious man and his adventurous neighbor end up on the same journey to Machu Picchu.
- Cabin Mate (2022): Longtime best friends pretend to be a couple at a Vermont wedding while one secretly wants the relationship to become real.
- Passion or Penalty (2023): A woman’s accidental confession reopens her feelings for her brother’s best friend in a D.C. Eagles prequel novella.
- Desire or Defense (2023): An angry, suspended defenseman is assigned to coach youth hockey and meets a woman unwilling to tolerate his behavior.
- Flirtation or Faceoff (2023): A woman determined to avoid athletes clashes with an NHL player who refuses to stop pursuing her.
- Betrothal or Breakaway (2024): Two friends enter a marriage of convenience while concealing how much the relationship already means to them.
- Secret or Shutout (2025): A goalie secretly dates his captain’s recently divorced sister during a high-pressure playoff run.
- Rookie Season (2025): A rookie NHL player’s carefully controlled season is disrupted when Ally becomes his new roommate.
- Rival Season (2026): A hockey player and his downstairs neighbor fake-date to get revenge on the rival who betrayed her.
- Rebel Season (2026): A wealthy rookie and an artist agree to marry while fighting over the future of a historic firehouse community.
- Take Me Home (2026): The first Honey Badger Creek novel opens a separate small-town romance continuity.
- Need You Now (2027): The second planned Honey Badger Creek book continues the town with a new romance.
This order is useful for readers completing the full bibliography, but it alternates between unrelated series. It is not the most efficient order for readers interested in only one continuity.
Retitled Leah Brunner Books
Two early novels may appear under different names in older catalogs.
Running Mate and A Love Unexpected
Running Mate (2021): Madden’s marriage-of-convenience political romance was originally published as A Love Unexpected.
These are two editions of the same novel.
House Mate and A Love Uncontainable
House Mate (2021): Drew’s single-parent, nanny, and close-proximity romance was originally published as A Love Uncontainable.
These are also two editions of the same novel.
Readers should count Under Kansas Skies as four books, not six.
Novellas and Shorter Works
Passion or Penalty
Passion or Penalty (2023): Melanie’s accidental romantic confession brings her back into contact with West, her brother’s best friend and a new D.C. Eagles player.
Status: Optional prequel novella.
Placement: Before Desire or Defense for strict series order, or after it for readers who prefer to begin with the main full-length novel.
No other confirmed Leah Brunner novella needs to be inserted into Under Kansas Skies or Hockey Boys of Loft 3B.
Boxed Sets and Collections
A boxed set should not be counted as a new Leah Brunner book when it simply combines previously published novels.
Under Kansas Skies collections should be read internally as:
- Running Mate
- House Mate
- Check Mate
- Cabin Mate
D.C. Eagles collections should preserve the main order beginning with Desire or Defense, with Passion or Penalty treated as an optional prequel.
Status: Optional format, not additional continuity.
Is There a Chronological Order?
No separate chronological order is needed.
Under Kansas Skies, D.C. Eagles Hockey, Hockey Boys of Loft 3B, and Honey Badger Creek are separate series. Combining them into one fictional timeline would suggest connections that have not been established.
Within each series, publication order already provides the clearest chronology.
The only flexible placement is Passion or Penalty. It is numbered as a prequel and can be read before Desire or Defense, but readers lose nothing essential by starting with the first main novel.
The Best Reading Plan for New Readers
For Family-Centered Romantic Comedy
- Running Mate
- House Mate
- Check Mate
- Cabin Mate
This route follows the complete Windell-family sequence.
For Professional Hockey Romance
- Passion or Penalty, optional
- Desire or Defense
- Flirtation or Faceoff
- Betrothal or Breakaway
- Secret or Shutout
This route follows the D.C. Eagles and preserves all teammate and family appearances.
For New Adult Hockey Romance
- Rookie Season
- Rival Season
- Rebel Season
This order follows the three Loft 3B roommates and should not be rearranged.
For Small-Town Romance
- Take Me Home
- Need You Now
Honey Badger Creek begins a separate continuity and does not require either hockey series.
Latest Leah Brunner Book
As of August 4, 2026, Leah Brunner’s latest published book is Rival Season, co-written with Katie Bailey.
Rival Season (2026): Penn and Hazel enter a fake relationship to retaliate against her cheating ex, who is also Penn’s hockey rival, before their planned revenge develops into a genuine emotional bond.
The next scheduled release is Rebel Season.
Rebel Season (2026): Fisher and Lila enter a marriage arrangement that could secure his inheritance and protect the firehouse art community threatened by his family.
It is scheduled for August 27, 2026.
The first Honey Badger Creek book is expected later in the year.
Take Me Home (2026): This title is scheduled to open Leah Brunner’s new small-town romance series in October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Leah Brunner’s first book?
Running Mate (2021): A congressional candidate offers a financially struggling small-town woman a marriage arrangement designed to improve his political campaign.
It was originally published as A Love Unexpected.
What is the best Leah Brunner book to start with?
Running Mate is the best starting point for readers who want to begin with her earliest series.
Hockey-romance readers should begin with Desire or Defense. New adult readers can begin separately with Rookie Season.
Do Leah Brunner’s books need to be read in order?
The individual romances usually resolve within their own books, but publication order is recommended inside each series.
Previous couples, siblings, teammates, and friends continue to appear, especially in Under Kansas Skies and D.C. Eagles Hockey.
Are Running Mate and A Love Unexpected different books?
No.
Running Mate is the current title of the novel originally published as A Love Unexpected. Buying both would give the reader the same central story.
Are House Mate and A Love Uncontainable different books?
No.
House Mate was previously published as A Love Uncontainable. They should be counted as one Under Kansas Skies installment.
Is Passion or Penalty the first D.C. Eagles book?
It is the prequel novella, commonly listed as book 0.5.
The first main novel is Desire or Defense. Starting there is completely safe.
Can the D.C. Eagles books be read as standalones?
Each main book follows a different couple and reaches its own romantic resolution.
Reading in order is still preferable because players and earlier couples recur, while later books reveal previous relationship outcomes.
Is Hockey Boys of Loft 3B connected to D.C. Eagles Hockey?
Both involve professional hockey, but they are separate named series.
Hockey Boys of Loft 3B is co-written with Katie Bailey and follows a younger, second-generation cast living together in San Francisco.
Do I need to read Leah Brunner and Katie Bailey’s earlier books before Rookie Season?
No. Rookie Season introduces its own heroes, heroine, team circumstances, and shared-loft setting.
Earlier books offer optional family recognition because the trilogy uses second-generation characters.
What order do the Loft 3B books go in?
Read Rookie Season, then Rival Season, followed by Rebel Season.
Each book follows a different roommate, and the group storyline continues across the trilogy.
Is Rebel Season already published?
As of August 4, 2026, it is still upcoming.
Its scheduled release date is August 27, 2026.
What is Honey Badger Creek?
Honey Badger Creek is a separate small-town romance series beginning with Take Me Home.
It is not a continuation of Under Kansas Skies or either hockey series.
What is Leah Brunner’s next book?
The next confirmed release is Rebel Season, co-written with Katie Bailey and scheduled for August 27, 2026.
Take Me Home is then listed for October 2026 as the beginning of Honey Badger Creek.
Conclusion
Leah Brunner’s bibliography is best read as four separate series rather than one continuous storyline.
Begin with Running Mate for the complete Under Kansas Skies family sequence. Begin with Desire or Defense for D.C. Eagles Hockey, adding Passion or Penalty as an optional prequel. Begin with Rookie Season for the collaborative Hockey Boys of Loft 3B trilogy.
Publication order within each series remains the clearest choice. It preserves recurring character appearances without forcing unrelated towns, teams, and generations into one artificial timeline.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.