Michelle Heard Books in Order (Updated April 14, 2026)

Michelle Heard’s bibliography makes the most sense when you split it into two reading tracks instead of trying to force everything into one giant chain. Her earlier work leans toward contemporary romance, college romance, suspense romance, and emotional relationship arcs. Her newer and most recognizable work is the mafia and bratva track, where one series often hands off to the next through recurring families, alliances, and next-generation characters.

That means there are really two useful answers. If you want the full Michelle Heard bibliography, start at the beginning and move forward by series. If you want the modern Michelle Heard experience most readers are actually looking for, start with Merciless Saints, then continue through Sinners, Corrupted Royals, Kings of Mafia, and Mafia Empire.

The shortest useful answer

For the mafia route, read:

1. The Saints
2. Sinners
3. Corrupted Royals
4. Kings of Mafia
5. Mafia Empire

For the full bibliography route, read:

1. Beautifully Broken
2. Enemies to Lovers
3. Southern Heroes
4. Trinity Academy
5. Heirs
6. The Saints
7. Sinners
8. Corrupted Royals
9. Kings of Mafia
10. Vaalbara
11. Mafia Empire
12. Standalones and side titles

If you are brand new to Michelle Heard

1. Start with Merciless Saints (2021) if you want the core mafia universe.
2. Start with Falcon (2019) if you want the college-and-legacy side of her catalog.
3. Start with Beautifully Broken (2016) only if you want to go from the very beginning and watch the style evolve across the full backlist.

The earlier emotional and contemporary books

Beautifully Broken series

This is the earliest clear entry point in the main Michelle Heard bibliography and works best as its own small trilogy.

1. Beautifully Broken (2016): The opening novel begins Heard’s published series work with an emotional, damage-and-healing romance that sets the tone for many of her later character dynamics.
2. Beautifully Hurt (2017): The second book continues the same wounded-hearts approach, deepening the series through another emotionally intense pairing.
3. Beautifully Destroyed (2021): The later third entry returns to the series with a romantic-suspense edge and closes the trilogy’s broken-to-healed emotional arc.

Enemies to Lovers series

A self-contained new-adult and college-romance run.

1. Heartless (2017): The first book starts the series with a sharp enemies-to-lovers dynamic that introduces the tone of the whole run.
2. Reckless (2018): The second book keeps the college-romance energy while shifting to a new couple inside the same emotional framework.
3. Careless (2018): This entry continues the sequence with another high-friction relationship built on conflict first and payoff later.
4. Ruthless (2018): The fourth book leans even harder into the push-pull dynamic that defines the series.
5. Shameless (2018): The finale closes the five-book run and works best after the earlier relationship webs are already in place.

Southern Heroes series

This is the suspense-romance lane in the earlier bibliography.

1. The Ocean Between Us (2018): The series begins with a romance shaped by separation, emotional distance, and the first hints of Heard’s suspense instincts.
2. The Girl in the Closet (2018): The second book darkens the tension and continues the series’ mix of romance and danger.
3. The Lies We Tell Ourselves (2019): This entry builds on secrecy and emotional fallout, keeping the suspense-romance balance intact.
4. All the Wasted Time (2019): The fourth book turns missed chances and regret into the central emotional engine.
5. We Were Lost (2019): The finale brings the Southern Heroes run to its most reflective and emotionally restorative point.

Trinity Academy series

This is the cleanest starting point for readers who want Michelle Heard’s school-and-legacy romance lane.

1. Falcon (2019): The first Trinity Academy book introduces the wealth, status, and campus hierarchy that define the series.
2. Mason (2019): The second book expands the academy world while keeping the focus on power, attraction, and social pressure.
3. Lake (2019): This entry deepens the shared setting and keeps the series moving through another couple-led story.
4. Julian (2020): The fourth novel completes the main quartet and lands best once the earlier academy relationships are already familiar.
5. The Epilogue (2020): This follow-up piece acts as a capstone for the Trinity Academy cast rather than a separate starting point.

The Heirs series

Read this only after Trinity Academy, because it is built as a next-generation follow-on.

1. Coldhearted Heir (2020): The series opener launches the heirs generation and depends on the emotional groundwork laid in Trinity Academy.
2. Arrogant Heir (2020): The second book continues the next-generation handoff with another privileged, high-pressure romance.
3. Defiant Heir (2020): This entry strengthens the sense that The Heirs is a continuation world, not a reset.
4. Loyal Heir (2021): The fourth book adds more family and legacy consequences to the romance structure.
5. Callous Heir (2021): The series keeps widening its cast while staying rooted in inherited power and personal vulnerability.
6. Sinful Heir (2021): This book pushes the emotional stakes higher as the heirs generation grows more interconnected.
7. Tempted Heir (2021): The late-series entry works best in order because the character network is fully active by this point.
8. Forbidden Heir (2021): The finale closes the heirs arc and serves as the emotional payoff to the full next-generation sequence.

The mafia and bratva universe

This is the side of Michelle Heard’s catalog that most readers now mean when they ask for her books in order. The internal progression is much clearer here, and the books are meant to be read as one expanding romance-underworld lane.

The Saints series

This is the best modern starting point.

1. Merciless Saints (2021): The opening book introduces the mafia-romance world that becomes the backbone of Heard’s best-known later catalog.
2. Cruel Saints (2021): The second novel deepens the family and alliance structure while shifting to a new central couple.
3. Ruthless Saints (2021): This entry keeps the same world moving, with recurring names and loyalties becoming more important.
4. Tears of Betrayal (2021): The fourth book raises the personal and family stakes through betrayal rather than simple attraction.
5. Tears of Salvation (2021): The finale closes The Saints while also leaving doors open for later mafia books to keep using the same wider world.

Sinners series

Read this after The Saints for the smoothest crossover experience.

1. Taken by a Sinner (2022): The series begins by shifting into a new set of couple dynamics while staying in the same broader mafia ecosystem.
2. Owned by a Sinner (2022): The second book increases the possessive, obsession-heavy tone that defines this run.
3. Stolen by a Sinner (2022): This installment keeps the momentum high and continues building the world through another linked romance.
4. Chosen by a Sinner (2022): The fourth book works best in order because family names and prior ties matter more by this point.
5. Captured by a Sinner (2022): The finale closes the Sinners arc and helps bridge the reader into the next mafia sequence.

Corrupted Royals series

This is still mafia romance, but it leans harder into dynastic identity and ruling-family intensity.

1. Destroy Me (2023): The opener starts a more overtly dynastic mafia run with a central couple tied to power and inherited violence.
2. Control Me (2023): The second book sharpens the dominance-and-devotion dynamic that defines the series.
3. Brutalize Me (2023): This entry intensifies the series’ harder edge and continues the family crossover logic.
4. Restrain Me (2023): The fourth book pushes emotional confinement and control to the center of the romance.
5. Possess Me (2023): The finale completes Corrupted Royals and prepares the ground for the even larger Kings of Mafia run.

Kings of Mafia series

This is the biggest current branch in the mafia reading order and the one that now feels like the center of Heard’s modern brand.

1. Tempted by the Devil (2023): The first book opens the Kings of Mafia line with a strong arranged-power and criminal-family setup.
2. Craving Danger (2023): The second novel expands the series through another dangerous romance inside the same ruling network.
3. Hunted by a Shadow (2024): The third book deepens the threat level and makes the wider family stakes more visible.
4. Drawn to Darkness (2024): This entry continues the progression with a darker, more psychologically pressured romance.
5. God of Vengeance (2024): The fifth book turns revenge into the organizing force of the relationship and the family conflict around it.
6. Craving Revenge (2025): The sixth book carries the same world forward and marks the series’ transition into its 2025–2026 phase.
7. Forceful God (2026): This 2026 entry continues the Kings of Mafia sequence with Christiano’s story and keeps the Five Families pressure at the center.
8. Possessive Enemy (2026): Listed as the next Kings of Mafia book, this appears to continue the same world rather than begin a new branch.
9. Vicious Devil (2026): This later 2026 title remains part of the Kings of Mafia sequence and should follow the earlier books in order.
10. Saved by a God (2026): The tenth listed Kings of Mafia title is currently part of the same planned reading order and belongs at the end of the sequence.

Mafia Empire series

This is the newest fully grouped mafia sequence currently listed on Michelle Heard’s official site and bibliography pages.

1. The Hermit (2025): The opening book starts Mafia Empire with a fresh five-book structure and a new symbolic naming pattern.
2. The High Priestess (2025): The second book keeps the same sequence moving while broadening the emotional and power dynamics.
3. Death (2025): The third entry shifts the series into a darker midpoint where the title alone signals higher stakes.
4. The Empress (2025): This book widens the family and relationship consequences as the sequence approaches its final stretch.
5. The Devil (2025): The fifth currently listed book closes the present Mafia Empire lineup and serves as the latest fully grouped endpoint in that series.

Separate fantasy lane

Vaalbara

This is its own track and not part of the mafia reading order.

Visions & Shadows (2024): Michelle Heard’s romantasy entry opens a separate fantasy world and should be treated as a standalone branch unless more books are added.

Standalone and side novels

These do not fit neatly into the main series map, so they are best read separately.

1. False Perceptions (2018): An early standalone that sits outside the later series architecture and works best as a curiosity read for completists.
2. Lifeline (2022): A separate novel that does not function as a core entry in either the academy or mafia tracks.
3. Unforgettable (2023, with Tayla Louise): A co-authored standalone that belongs outside the main Michelle Heard continuity routes.
4. Things That Break Us (2026): A 2026 standalone that shifts away from mafia structure into a tragedy-shaped contemporary romance setup.
5. Every Single Broken Piece (2026): Another 2026 standalone title currently listed outside the main series groupings.
6. My Neighbor, the Assassin (2026): A separate novel entry that appears distinct from the established mafia-series order.

Optional contributed title

Not My Hero (2020): This is a Michelle Heard contribution to the multi-author Black Mountain Academy world, so it is optional and separate from her own main series order.

So what is the best reading order?

If your goal is Michelle Heard’s strongest current lane, use this:

1. Merciless Saints
2. Cruel Saints
3. Ruthless Saints
4. Tears of Betrayal
5. Tears of Salvation
6. Taken by a Sinner
7. Owned by a Sinner
8. Stolen by a Sinner
9. Chosen by a Sinner
10. Captured by a Sinner
11. Destroy Me
12. Control Me
13. Brutalize Me
14. Restrain Me
15. Possess Me
16. Tempted by the Devil
17. Craving Danger
18. Hunted by a Shadow
19. Drawn to Darkness
20. God of Vengeance
21. Craving Revenge
22. Forceful God
23. Possessive Enemy
24. Vicious Devil
25. Saved by a God
26. The Hermit
27. The High Priestess
28. Death
29. The Empress
30. The Devil

If your goal is the full Michelle Heard bibliography, start with Beautifully Broken and work forward by the series order used in this article.

Latest release status

As of April 14, 2026, the most recent Michelle Heard book currently showing as published in the verified bibliography is Things That Break Us (March 2026), while the mafia side’s newest published entry is Forceful God (2026). The next clearly listed upcoming mafia title is Possessive Enemy (May 2026).

Final recommendation

Michelle Heard is easiest to read when you stop thinking in terms of “all books in one line” and start thinking in lanes. Her earlier books belong to one emotional-contemporary phase. Her later mafia books belong to a much more deliberate crossover phase. For most readers, the right place to begin is Merciless Saints, then keep going through Sinners, Corrupted Royals, Kings of Mafia, and Mafia Empire in that order.