Nancy Holder Books in Order (Updated March 10, 2026)

Nancy Holder’s bibliography works best when you separate her books into two groups. One group is her own original fiction, including YA horror, paranormal fantasy, and several co-written series. The other is a very large body of tie-in fiction for worlds like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Smallville, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and others.

So the right reading order is not one giant author-wide sequence. It is read each series in its own order, and keep the tie-in worlds separate from the original novels.

The clean answer

If you want Nancy Holder’s original fiction first, start with these series:

1. Wicked
2. The Gifted
3. Possessions
4. Saving Grace
5. Crusade
6. Wolf Springs Chronicles

If you want Nancy Holder’s media tie-ins, pick the franchise first, then read her books inside that franchise in order.

Nancy Holder original fiction in order

Wicked

1. Witch (2002): Holly and Amanda’s bond is tested by legacy, grief, and a growing supernatural threat, opening the series with the family curse that drives everything after it.
2. Curse (2003): The sisters’ fight against dark magic deepens, and the second book turns the original haunting into a broader struggle over inheritance and identity.
3. Legacy (2003): The series expands its family-history angle here, pushing the consequences of the earlier books into a more dangerous confrontation.
4. Spellbound (2003): This closes the original arc by bringing the central curse and the sisters’ choices to a more decisive payoff.
5. Resurrection (2009): Published later, this returns to the Wicked world rather than starting a new sequence, so it belongs after the original four books.

The Gifted

1. Daughter of the Flames (2006): This opens a fantasy sequence built around powerful bloodlines and emerging magical identity, making it the right entry point for the series.
2. Daughter of the Blood (2006): The story continues directly, widening the conflict around lineage and power rather than resetting with a new cast.
3. Son of the Shadows (2008): The series shifts into its next phase by moving the focus forward while still paying off the earlier books’ family and magic stakes.
4. Son of the Sea (2008): This completes the sequence by carrying the bloodline conflict to its final stage.

Possessions

1. Possessions (2009): Lindsay’s ability to sense demons turns a small-town teen life into a possession horror story, opening one of Holder’s clearest original YA horror series.
2. The Evil Within (2010): The demonic threat becomes more personal and less containable, so this works as a direct continuation rather than a detachable sequel.
3. The Screaming Season (2011): The trilogy closes by paying off the possession arc and the mounting pressure around Lindsay’s role in it.

Saving Grace

1. Cry Me a River (2009): Grace’s move to a new town becomes the setup for a paranormal teen mystery with a supernatural problem at its center.
2. Tough Love (2010): The story continues from the first book’s trouble rather than starting over, so it belongs second and finishes the short series.

Crusade

1. Crusade (2010): In a vampire-ravaged future, Jenn and her allies are drawn into a holy-war framework that launches the trilogy’s central conflict.
2. Passing (2011, short story): This short piece is tied to the Crusade world and works best as optional side material after book one or before book two.
3. Damned (2011): The war escalates and the cast’s loyalties are tested more severely, making this the true middle volume of the trilogy.
4. Vanquished (2012): The trilogy reaches its endgame here, with the conflict moving toward final resolution rather than expansion.

Wolf Springs Chronicles

1. Unleashed (2011): A move to Wolf Springs drops Katelyn into a town built around werewolf rules and rivalries, beginning the series’ core supernatural mystery.
2. Hot Blooded (2012): The secrets of Wolf Springs become harder to survive once Katelyn understands more of the town’s real structure.
3. Savage (2013): The trilogy closes by turning the series’ werewolf politics and personal betrayals into open confrontation.
4. The Rules (2014): This later addition belongs after the original trilogy and works as follow-up material rather than a new starting point.

Original novels and standalones

1. Jessie’s Song (1983): An early standalone novel from the start of Holder’s fiction career, separate from her later horror and fantasy series.
2. Rough Cut (1990): Another standalone from her early fiction period, not connected to the later YA series.
3. The Ghosts of Tivoli (1992): A standalone novel that fits the Gothic and eerie side of Holder’s work before her larger YA-brand series took shape.
4. Making Love (1993, with Melanie Tem): A separate co-written novel that sits outside Holder’s later fantasy and horror continuities.
5. Dead in the Water (1994): A standalone horror novel, separate from the YA series that followed.
6. Pearl Harbor, 1941 (2000): A historical novel rather than horror or paranormal fantasy, and best treated as its own shelf.
7. Spirited (2004): A standalone ghost-centered novel that fits alongside Holder’s supernatural work without belonging to a series.
8. Pretty Little Devils (2006): A standalone YA novel with a darker social edge, separate from Wicked, Possessions, and the co-written trilogies.
9. The Rose Bride (2007): A standalone historical fantasy retelling rather than part of Holder’s YA horror lines.
10. On Fire (2012): A Teen Wolf novelization/tie-in rather than original fiction, so it belongs with the media shelves, not the original series.
11. Crimson Peak (2015): An official movie novelization and therefore separate from Holder’s own fictional universes.
12. Ghostbusters: The Official Movie Novelization (2016): Another standalone tie-in novelization, best treated as franchise work.
13. Wonder Woman: The Official Movie Novelization (2017): A film tie-in novelization rather than part of Holder’s original-fiction lines.

Nancy Holder media tie-ins in order

Because these books belong to other franchises, the best way to read them is by franchise, not by Nancy Holder publication date.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

1. Halloween Rain (1997): One of Holder’s earliest Buffy novels, helping establish her long association with the franchise.
2. Child of the Hunt (1997): An early Buffy tie-in that keeps close to the show-era format of standalone monster-and-mystery adventures.
3. Blooded (1998): Another early Buffy novel, best read with the first wave of her Buffy books.
4. Out of the Madhouse (1999): This begins the Gatekeeper Trilogy, so it should be read before the next two volumes.
5. Ghost Roads (2000): The middle volume of the Gatekeeper Trilogy, continuing the same connected arc.
6. Sons of Entropy (2000): The trilogy concludes here, making this the proper finish to that Buffy run.
7. The Angel Chronicles, Volume 3 (2001): A Buffy/Angel franchise collection rather than a fresh starting point.
8. Immortal (2001): A later Buffyverse novel that fits after the earlier Buffy books.
9. The Evil That Men Do (2001): A Buffyverse novel that works best once you already know the core Buffy/Angel setup.
10. The Book of Fours (2001): Another later Buffyverse entry, best kept with the early-2000s franchise novels.
11. The Journals of Rupert Giles (2001): A character-focused Buffyverse book that makes more sense after you know Giles from the show.
12. Blood and Fog (2003): A later Buffy novel, still part of the broader Buffy shelf rather than a separate series.
13. Keep Me in Mind (2004): A late Buffy prose novel that belongs near the end of Holder’s Buffy run.
14. Queen of the Slayers (2005): A later-era Buffy novel that reads like a more advanced franchise entry, not the place to begin.
15. Tales of the Slayer, Volume 3 (2004): A collection project rather than a mainline novel, so it is optional.
16. Sunnydale High Yearbook: Companion material, not part of a strict narrative reading order.
17. Buffy the Vampire Slayer 2 / 3 omnibus editions: These collect earlier novels and do not change the underlying order.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel

1. The Burning: Unseen Book 1 (2001): This begins the Unseen trilogy and should be read first within that sub-series.
2. Door to Alternity: Unseen Book 2 (2001): The second Unseen book continues the same crossover arc.
3. The Long Way Home: Unseen Book 3 (2001): This closes the Unseen trilogy.
4. Heat (2002): A separate Buffy/Angel crossover novel rather than part of the Unseen trilogy.
5. Buffy: Making of a Slayer: Companion/nonfiction franchise material rather than narrative fiction.

Angel

1. City of (1999): Holder’s Angel shelf starts here, closely tied to the early shape of the TV series.
2. Not Forgotten (2000): A direct follow-up-era Angel novel that stays inside the franchise’s early-season mood.
3. Endangered Species (2001): Another Angel tie-in novel, best read after the earlier entries.
4. The Longest Night (2002): A later Angel prose novel that rounds out Holder’s main Angel run.

Smallville

1. Hauntings (2003): Holder’s Smallville fiction starts here, using the show’s early format of teen-supernatural mystery.
2. Silence (2004): The second Smallville novel continues in that same franchise mode.
3. Smallville Omnibus 1 / 2: These are collected editions, not separate new stories.

Beauty & the Beast

1. Vendetta (2014): This opens Holder’s tie-in trilogy for the television series.
2. Some Gave All (2015): The second book continues the franchise arc rather than resetting the story.
3. Fire at Sea (2016): This completes the trilogy.

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch

1. Spying Eyes: One of Holder’s Sabrina tie-ins from the earlier franchise-fiction period.
2. Eight Spells a Week: Another Sabrina standalone adventure, best read alongside the rest of that shelf.
3. Scarabian Nights: A further Sabrina tie-in, still in the franchise’s episodic mode.
4. Up, Up, and Away: Another standalone Sabrina adventure.
5. Feline Felon: Part of Holder’s Sabrina run, but not the beginning of a distinct sub-series.
6. Millennium Madness: A later Sabrina tie-in from the same general line.

Other tie-in shelves

1. Ivanhound, Featuring Wishbone: A single Wishbone tie-in, separate from Holder’s fantasy and horror series.
2. Line titles like Athena Force, Highlander, and other franchise books: These are best read inside their own brand order rather than in an author-wide sequence.

Best starting points

Nancy Holder is one of those authors where the best starting point depends heavily on what you want.

Start with Witch if you want the best-known original fantasy-horror series.

Start with Possessions if you want a tighter YA horror trilogy.

Start with Crusade if you want co-written YA vampire dystopian fantasy.

Start with Halloween Rain only if you are specifically here for the Buffyverse books.

Latest release status

Nancy Holder’s official site currently presents her published-work page as a representative selection, not a complete bibliography. Among the later books clearly featured there are the official novelizations Crimson Peak, Ghostbusters, and Wonder Woman, plus the continuing emphasis on her major earlier original series and Buffyverse-related work.

FAQ

What is the best Nancy Holder series to start with?

For original fiction, Wicked is the clearest starting point. For a shorter horror run, start with Possessions.

Should I read Nancy Holder’s books in publication order?

Only inside each series. Across her full bibliography, publication order is less useful than keeping each continuity separate.

Is Resurrection part of Wicked?

Yes. It belongs after the original four Wicked books.

Is The Rules the first Wolf Springs Chronicles book?

No. Read Unleashed, Hot Blooded, and Savage first, then The Rules.

Are Buffy and Angel books mixed together?

Some are. Holder has separate Buffy, Angel, and Buffy/Angel crossover shelves, so it is best to read within the exact franchise line you choose.

Final answer

The best way to read Nancy Holder is series by series. For original fiction, begin with Wicked, Possessions, or Crusade. For tie-ins, choose the franchise first, then read Nancy Holder’s books inside that franchise in order. Her bibliography is broad enough that a single master list is much less helpful than clean continuity boundaries.