Lesley Jones is a British-born romance author who grew up in Essex and later moved to Australia. She writes emotionally intense contemporary romance featuring musicians, family secrets, addiction, betrayal, grief, second chances, domestic abuse, and characters rebuilding their lives after major loss.
Her bibliography is divided into three principal continuities. Carnage is a long-running British rock-star saga, the Saviour series follows connected small-town romances, and Spiralling Skywards is a two-book relationship story that must be read consecutively.
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Several titles have also been rewritten or renamed. Saving Ren is the expanded current edition of Saviour, Loving Wild replaces Resolution, and A Cowboy in Essex was previously published as CowSex. These versions should not be counted as separate novels.
The Reading Order in Brief
Readers beginning with Lesley Jones’s best-known work should start with The Story of Us and follow Carnage in numbered order.
The current Carnage sequence is:
- The Story of Us
- The Story of Me
- Marley
- The Letters
- A Different Kind of December
- The Interview
- The Definition of Insanity – scheduled for August 4, 2026
For the Saviour series, use the revised titles:
- Saving Ren
- Loving Wild
- Chasing Blue
For the Spiralling Skywards duet, read:
- Falling
- Fading
The remaining novels are standalones and may be read in any order.
Carnage Books in Order
Carnage is the part of Lesley Jones’s catalog where reading order matters most. The series follows Georgia Rae Layton, Sean McCarthy, the rock band Carnage, Georgia’s brother Marley, and the people affected by decades of love, fame, secrets, addiction, betrayal, and loss.
The first two books form the core of Georgia’s story. The later companion novels and novellas revisit events from other perspectives, reveal concealed information, and extend the family history.
1. The Story of Us
The Story of Us (2014): Eleven-year-old Georgia Layton meets Sean McCarthy and becomes certain that he is the boy she will love forever, beginning a relationship later tested by fame, distance, family interference, lies, and the rise of Sean’s rock band.
The novel follows Georgia and Sean from childhood into adulthood. Their romance is central, but this is not a self-contained conventional love story with every emotional question settled at the end.
Readers should continue directly into The Story of Me. Later Carnage books assume knowledge of the defining losses and relationship choices established here.
2. The Story of Me
The Story of Me (2014): Georgia attempts to survive after the future she expected is torn away, forcing her to confront grief, isolation, and whether she can build another life without denying the love that shaped her.
This is a direct continuation of The Story of Us. It moves the focus from Georgia’s idealized first love toward recovery, maturity, and the difficult possibility of loving again.
Beginning with Book 2 would reveal the outcome of the first novel’s central relationship. The two books should be treated as one continuous emotional arc.
3. Marley
Marley (2015): Former Carnage member Marley Layton considers telling the truth about his band, his family, his relationships, and the role he played in damaging the lives of his sister Georgia and his closest friend.
The novel retells and expands the Carnage story from Marley’s perspective. It fills gaps in the timeline, explains choices that Georgia could not fully understand, and brings hidden motives into the open.
Marley is a companion novel rather than a new starting point. Read The Story of Us and The Story of Me first so that its revelations retain their intended impact.
4. The Letters
The Letters (2016): Georgia receives a box of letters written across different stages of a relationship, and the words inside force her to reconsider what she believed about the man who wrote them and the life they shared.
The novella is built around memory, guilt, love, and closure. It reveals information that changes Georgia’s understanding of earlier events without replacing the first three books.
Read The Letters after Marley. The author specifically positions it as Carnage Book 4 and warns that Books 1-3 should come first.
5. A Different Kind of December
A Different Kind of December (2017): The Carnage family gathers during the holiday season, giving established characters space to reflect on grief, family, survival, and the different shape their lives have taken.
This is a shorter follow-up rather than a new principal romance. Its emotional meaning depends on knowing which characters were lost, which relationships survived, and how the family changed across the first four books.
It originally served as a closing story for the five-book Carnage collection. The later publication of The Interview reopened the continuity.
6. The Interview
The Interview (2025): Fiercely private Georgia McCarthy King agrees to participate in an unrestricted interview and documentary connected to a film about Carnage, allowing cameras into a family history she has guarded for years.
The project raises questions about why Georgia is finally prepared to discuss Sean, Marley, the band, and the trauma surrounding them. Old secrets are revisited as public curiosity collides with the family’s private version of events.
This is not a recap designed for newcomers. All five preceding Carnage books should be read first.
7. The Definition of Insanity
The Definition of Insanity (2026): A character continues repeating choices that damage relationships, isolate family members, destroy professional stability, and place a life at risk, bringing another troubled perspective into the Carnage story.
The novel is scheduled for August 4, 2026. It is identified as Carnage Book 7 and should be placed after The Interview.
Because it had previously appeared as a delayed or shelved project, readers may encounter older listings without a valid release date. The current August 2026 date is the relevant scheduled publication information as of July 18, 2026.
Does Carnage Need to Be Read in Order?
Yes.
The series relies on accumulated knowledge rather than a succession of unrelated rock-star couples. Deaths, marriages, betrayals, children, addiction, and family secrets established in one book are discussed openly in the next.
The safest order is the official numbered sequence. Reading Marley first would expose information intentionally withheld during Georgia’s story, while The Interview assumes that the reader already understands decades of family history.
The Core Carnage Story Versus the Later Continuation
The first five books form the original completed collection:
- The Story of Us
- The Story of Me
- Marley
- The Letters
- A Different Kind of December
That sequence contains three novels and two shorter works. It was marketed as the complete Carnage collection before the series continued.
Readers who own that collection still need to add:
- The Interview
- The Definition of Insanity
The newer books are not included in editions labeled “Books 1-5.”
Saviour Books in Order
The Saviour series began with Saviour and Resolution. Both were later rewritten and republished under new titles.
Use Saving Ren and Loving Wild when following the current catalog. Buying the older and newer versions would duplicate the same basic stories, although the revisions contain expanded or changed material.
The series follows different central relationships within a connected small-town and family setting.
1. Saving Ren
Saving Ren (2021): Lauren’s marriage ends after she discovers that betrayal can take more than one form, leaving her to rebuild her identity, living situation, and future as a newly single woman in her forties.
She meets Gabe, a younger single father whose previous marriage left him wary of emotional complications. What begins during a drunken night out develops into a later-in-life romance between two people reluctant to repeat their past mistakes.
Saving Ren is the rewritten and expanded edition of Saviour (2013). Readers should choose one version, with Saving Ren representing the author’s current edition.
2. Loving Wild
Loving Wild (2021): A connected couple confronts love later in life while carrying the consequences of family responsibilities, earlier relationships, and emotional damage that cannot be solved by attraction alone.
The book continues the Saviour setting with a different principal romance. Returning characters make Saving Ren the better first step even though the central couple changes.
Loving Wild is the revised edition of Resolution (2013). It should not be counted as a fourth Saviour novel.
3. Chasing Blue
Chasing Blue (2022): A small-town second-chance romance brings former lovers or deeply connected characters back together after time and past decisions have placed distance between them.
The couple must decide whether the relationship they lost can be rebuilt without ignoring the reasons it failed. Familiar Saviour characters and family connections give the romance a wider context.
This is the first Saviour installment without an older title that needs to be replaced in the reading order.
Original and Revised Saviour Titles
The current reading order is:
- Saving Ren
- Loving Wild
- Chasing Blue
The original-title equivalent is:
- Saviour
- Resolution
- Chasing Blue
Do not read Saviour and then count Saving Ren as Book 2. They occupy the same position.
The newer editions are the preferable route because Saving Ren is explicitly described as rewritten and expanded, and the active series branding uses the revised names.
Are the Saviour Books Standalones?
They are connected romances rather than one uninterrupted couple’s story.
Each book places a different relationship at the center and provides a substantial resolution. Publication order remains recommended because family members and earlier couples can return.
The series also addresses difficult subjects, including domestic violence and child loss. Readers sensitive to those themes should consult the author’s current content guidance before beginning.
Spiralling Skywards Books in Order
Spiralling Skywards is also called the Contradictions series in some catalogs. It is a two-book contemporary-romance story following Sarah and Liam.
Both titles were published in 2016, and the second book directly resolves the confusion and relationship crisis left by the first.
1. Spiralling Skywards: Falling
Spiralling Skywards: Falling (2016): Sarah feels an immediate and consuming connection with Liam, but his past, her own unresolved issues, family ties, business partnerships, and former relationships begin placing pressure on them almost as soon as the romance starts.
The novel establishes a relationship with the potential to become permanent while showing how outside loyalties can undermine something new.
It is also published under the shortened form Falling and is sometimes listed as Spiralling Skyward rather than Spiralling Skywards. These variations refer to the same first book.
2. Spiralling Skywards: Fading
Spiralling Skywards: Fading (2016): Sarah and Liam face the emotional consequences of the first book as misunderstandings, family complications, and competing loyalties threaten to extinguish their relationship.
This is the conclusion to the story begun in Falling. It assumes that the reader understands how the couple met and why their bond is already under severe strain.
Do not begin with Fading. The duet is designed to be read as one continuous romance.
Which Spiralling Title Is Correct?
The series appears under several closely related forms:
- Spiralling Skywards: Falling
- Spiralling Skyward: Falling
- Falling
The same pattern applies to Fading.
These are spelling, subtitle, or edition variations rather than additional books. The complete duet contains only two novels.
Lesley Jones Standalone Books
The standalones do not require knowledge of Carnage, Saviour, or Spiralling Skywards.
Recurring themes such as musicians, Essex settings, betrayal, and second chances do not by themselves establish a shared continuity.
Conviction
Conviction (2015): Connor Reed and Nina Matthews plan a future together as teenagers, but one failed meeting and a devastating misunderstanding send them onto separate paths for approximately fifteen years.
Connor turns toward sex, drugs, rock music, and emotionally detached relationships, while Nina attempts to survive the consequences of believing he abandoned her when she needed him most.
Their eventual reunion becomes a second-chance romance about discovering who failed whom and whether the truth arrives too late to repair the damage.
A Cowboy in Essex
A Cowboy in Essex (2017): A cowboy arrives in Essex and enters a romance shaped by cultural differences, humor, family involvement, and the collision between an outsider’s expectations and local life.
The novel uses a lighter premise than Carnage while retaining Jones’s interest in emotionally direct, imperfect characters.
It was previously published as CowSex. The two titles are alternate editions of the same story, not a duet.
All the Forbidden Things
All the Forbidden Things (2019): A younger woman becomes involved with an older single father, forcing both characters to confront the age gap, family expectations, and the reasons their relationship is considered off-limits.
The romance is built around attraction that carries social and personal consequences rather than a connection to one of Jones’s established series.
It is a complete standalone and can be chosen without reading Conviction or A Cowboy in Essex.
Repulse
Repulse (2024): Bored housewife Mila enters a weekend encounter with two seductive strangers, expecting temporary freedom rather than the tenderness and emotional attention that begin breaking through her defenses.
What starts as physical exploration becomes more complicated when the men’s gentleness, care, and familiarity awaken needs Mila has spent years suppressing.
The novel is a separate multi-partner contemporary romance. It does not belong to the Saviour or Spiralling continuities.
CowSex and A Cowboy in Essex Explained
CowSex is the older title. A Cowboy in Essex is the current title used in the active catalog.
Readers may still see both books listed separately in older databases. Count them once and choose the available edition.
The title change does not create a sequel, prequel, or expanded series.
Lesley Jones Books in Publication Order
This chronology uses original publication years for the main stories while identifying later rewritten editions.
- Saviour (2013): Lauren’s marriage collapses, and an unexpected relationship with younger single father Gabe challenges her to rebuild her life. This story was later rewritten as Saving Ren.
- Resolution (2013): A second connected Saviour romance develops through later-life love, family responsibilities, and the consequences of earlier pain. This story was later republished as Loving Wild.
- The Story of Us (2014): Georgia’s lifelong love for Sean unfolds beside the rise of the rock band Carnage and decades of separation, interference, and loss.
- The Story of Me (2014): Georgia confronts the destruction of her expected future and the possibility of continuing after profound grief.
- Conviction (2015): Teenage lovers Connor and Nina reunite after a misunderstanding separates them for fifteen years and sends Connor into a destructive rock-star life.
- Marley (2015): Georgia’s brother reveals his role in the Carnage story and the secrets he has kept from the people closest to him.
- The Letters (2016): A collection of old letters changes Georgia’s understanding of love, guilt, and the past.
- Spiralling Skywards: Falling (2016): Sarah and Liam form an immediate relationship threatened by family, exes, business, and unresolved personal issues.
- Spiralling Skywards: Fading (2016): The couple faces the damage created during the opening book and attempts to determine whether their connection can survive.
- A Cowboy in Essex (2017): An outsider cowboy enters an Essex romance involving humor, family, and cultural differences. Originally published as CowSex.
- A Different Kind of December (2017): The Carnage family gathers for a reflective holiday follow-up shaped by survival and remembrance.
- All the Forbidden Things (2019): An age-gap romance develops between a younger heroine and an older single father.
- Saving Ren (2021): The rewritten and expanded current edition of Saviour revisits Lauren and Gabe’s later-in-life romance.
- Loving Wild (2021): The revised current edition of Resolution updates the second Saviour story.
- Chasing Blue (2022): A separated couple receives another opportunity within the connected Saviour setting.
- Repulse (2024): Mila’s weekend with two strangers becomes an emotionally intimate multi-partner relationship.
- The Interview (2025): Georgia permits a documentary to examine Carnage, Marley, and the family secrets she has protected.
- The Definition of Insanity (2026): Carnage Book 7 follows destructive patterns that damage family, career, and survival. Publication is scheduled for August 4, 2026.
When counting unique stories, do not add Saviour and Saving Ren separately, Resolution and Loving Wild separately, or CowSex and A Cowboy in Essex separately.
A Recommended Lesley Jones Reading Plan
A useful reading plan begins with the most demanding continuity and then moves into the shorter connected series.
Begin with Carnage
- The Story of Us
- The Story of Me
- Marley
- The Letters
- A Different Kind of December
- The Interview
- The Definition of Insanity after publication
This route preserves the changing viewpoints and prevents later revelations from spoiling Georgia’s original experience.
Continue with the Saviour Series
- Saving Ren
- Loving Wild
- Chasing Blue
Use the revised titles rather than mixing original and rewritten editions.
Read the Spiralling Skywards Duet Together
- Falling
- Fading
The duet is short enough to read as one continuous story, and separating the books would interrupt the unresolved relationship arc.
Choose the Standalones by Premise
- Conviction for a long-separated rock-star second chance
- A Cowboy in Essex for a lighter fish-out-of-water romance
- All the Forbidden Things for a single-father age gap
- Repulse for an emotionally developing multi-partner relationship
These four books may be rearranged freely.
The Latest Lesley Jones Book
As of July 18, 2026, the latest released Lesley Jones novel is The Interview, published in 2025 as Carnage Book 6.
The Interview (2025): Georgia allows cameras and interviewers to enter the private history surrounding Carnage, Marley, and the family, exposing trauma and information concealed during the earlier books.
New readers should not begin there. The author states that Carnage Books 1-5 should be read first.
The Next Lesley Jones Book
The Definition of Insanity is scheduled for August 4, 2026.
The Definition of Insanity (2026): The seventh Carnage installment examines repeated destructive choices that break a heart, alienate family, damage a career, and nearly end a life.
The title was associated with the series years before receiving its current publication date. Older references describing it as shelved were accurate at the time but no longer represent the active 2026 schedule.
Because the release date falls after this article’s July 18 update, the book remains upcoming rather than released.
Collections and Anniversary Editions
The Story of Carnage: The Complete Collection
The Story of Carnage: The Complete Collection: An omnibus containing The Story of Us, The Story of Me, Marley, The Letters, and A Different Kind of December.
The collection contains three novels and two shorter works. It does not include The Interview or The Definition of Insanity.
Carnage Ten-Year Anniversary Edition
Carnage Ten-Year Anniversary Edition: A special-format edition created to mark the series anniversary.
Artwork, covers, formatting, or collectible features do not create a new reading-order position. Readers should check which original title or titles are included before buying other editions.
Content and Continuity Notes
Carnage includes drug use and addiction, child loss, attempted suicide, the death of a major character, and infidelity. These subjects are central to the story rather than brief background references.
The Saviour series includes domestic violence and child loss. The revised editions do not remove the need for content awareness.
Spiralling Skywards includes postpartum depression and attempted suicide.
The emotional impact of these books depends heavily on major outcomes, so readers should also avoid reviews or summaries of later installments before completing the relevant series.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Lesley Jones’s first book?
Saviour (2013): A woman rebuilding after the collapse of her marriage develops a relationship with a younger single father.
The book was later rewritten and expanded as Saving Ren, which is the current preferred edition.
What is the first Carnage book?
The Story of Us (2014): Georgia meets Sean as a child and believes he is the love of her life, beginning a decades-long story involving rock music, fame, betrayal, and loss.
It must be read before The Story of Me.
How many Carnage books are there?
Seven titles are currently identified in the numbered series.
Six had been released as of July 18, 2026. The Definition of Insanity, Book 7, is scheduled for August 4, 2026.
Does The Story of Us have a complete ending?
It completes a major stage of Georgia’s story, but readers looking for the broader emotional resolution should continue into The Story of Me and the later companion books.
The author warns that readers may need the rest of the series to reach the ending they want.
Can Marley be read first?
No.
Marley retells and expands events from a perspective deliberately withheld during the first two books. Its disclosures would change how a new reader experiences Georgia’s story.
Is The Letters optional?
It is a novella, but it contains meaningful revelations and closure.
Readers following the full Carnage story should include it after Marley.
Does the Carnage Books 1-5 collection contain the whole current series?
No.
It contains the original five-book sequence but predates The Interview and The Definition of Insanity.
Is The Interview a standalone?
No.
It is structured around a documentary revisiting people and events from the first five Carnage books. Reading it first would remove the context behind Georgia’s secrecy and the significance of the revelations.
Is The Definition of Insanity finally being released?
It is currently scheduled for August 4, 2026.
The project had previously been shelved, which explains why older reader discussions describe it as unavailable.
Are Saviour and Saving Ren the same book?
They are the original and rewritten versions of the same core story.
Saving Ren is expanded and represents the active edition.
Are Resolution and Loving Wild the same book?
Yes. Loving Wild is the revised title and edition of Resolution.
Count them once in the second Saviour position.
Does Chasing Blue follow the same couple as Saving Ren?
No. The Saviour books change central couples while retaining a connected setting and recurring characters.
Publication order is still recommended.
Do the Spiralling Skywards books follow the same couple?
Yes.
Both Falling and Fading follow Sarah and Liam, and the first book leaves their relationship unresolved.
Is Spiralling Skyward different from Spiralling Skywards?
No. Catalogs use both singular and plural forms.
The series still consists of Falling and Fading.
Is CowSex a separate book from A Cowboy in Essex?
No.
A Cowboy in Essex is the current title for the novel previously published as CowSex.
Are Conviction and Carnage connected?
Both involve British rock music and emotionally damaged relationships, but Conviction is presented as a standalone.
No Carnage preparation is required.
Which Lesley Jones book should a new reader start with?
Start with The Story of Us for the author’s principal long-form saga.
Choose Conviction for a complete second-chance standalone, Saving Ren for later-in-life romance, or Repulse for a modern multi-partner story.
Final Reading Recommendation
Begin with The Story of Us and complete the Carnage books in numbered order. The shifts in perspective only work properly when Georgia’s experience comes first, followed by Marley’s disclosures, the letters, the family follow-ups, and the later documentary.
For the Saviour series, use Saving Ren and Loving Wild instead of buying both the original and revised editions. Continue with Chasing Blue for the third connected romance.
Keep Falling and Fading together because they form one unresolved duet. The four standalones can then be selected by premise without affecting any other storyline.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.