Navessa Allen Books in Order (Updated March 12, 2026)

Navessa Allen’s bibliography is easier to read once you stop treating it like one single ladder. There is the current mainstream lane, led by the bestselling Into Darkness books, and there is the earlier backlist, which includes historical romance, paranormal serial-era projects, and a few standalones. That split matters because most new readers are really asking one of two questions: “Where do I start after Lights Out?” or “What did she publish before Lights Out?”

For most readers, the cleanest reading order is this: start with Into Darkness, then circle back to The Kings of Kearny, Snowed In, and the earlier series only if you want the deeper backlist. That gives you her strongest current shelf first, without mixing in older web-serial-era projects too early.

The best reading order for most readers

1. Lights Out (2024): The breakout opener introduces Josh and Aly in a dark rom-com stalker setup, and it is now the obvious modern entry point to Navessa Allen’s catalog.
2. Caught Up (2025): Book two stays in the same Into Darkness lane and is best read right after Lights Out if you want the current flagship series in order.
3. Game On (2026): The third Into Darkness book shifts to Tyler and Stella, keeping the same dark-rom-com energy while moving the trilogy forward.
4. The Kings of Kearny (2021): Once you want to see Allen outside Into Darkness, this MC romance is the clearest standalone next stop.
5. Snowed In (2017): This small-town, friends-to-lovers contemporary shows a much softer side of her catalog and works well as a tonal reset after the darker books.
6. Scandal (2014): The best place to begin the earlier historical-romance lane, especially if you want a very different side of her writing.
7. Betrayal (2015): Read directly after Scandal, since it continues the same Ladies of Infamy thread rather than functioning as a detached sequel.
8. The Lunatics: Volume One (2019): Start here if you want Allen’s paranormal side, with werewolves, vampires, witches, and a more web-serial-style build.
9. The Lunatics: Volume Two (2020): Goodreads lists this as the second Lunatics volume, so it follows book one even though the series is more closely tied to her serial-era backlist than her current frontlist.
10. Bisclavret (2015): A historical paranormal romance inspired by the Marie de France tale, best treated as its own separate shelf.
11. Valentine’s Slay (2026): This is a contribution to the multi-author Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances project, so it is optional and separate from her main series.

Start with the shelf you actually want

If you want the books Navessa Allen is known for right now

Read Into Darkness first. That is the series built around her current audience, and it is the most stable place to begin if your interest comes from Lights Out.

If you want one book and done

Read The Kings of Kearny. It is a standalone MC romance, easy to sample on its own, and much simpler than dropping into an unfinished-feeling early serial project.

If you want older Navessa Allen

Start with Scandal for historical romance or The Lunatics: Volume One for paranormal romance. Those are the two clearest early entry points depending on genre.

Into Darkness books in order

This is the core series for most readers now, and the one to read straight through first. Goodreads lists it as a three-book series, and the official site is currently foregrounding Lights Out and Game On as major releases.

1. Lights Out (2024): After Aly jokingly invites masked-man chaos into her life, Josh takes the idea seriously and the book turns dark fantasy into a real romantic threat-and-protection story.
2. Caught Up (2025): The second book stays in the same morally gray, high-heat space and is meant to follow the success of Lights Out, not replace it as a starting point.
3. Game On (2026): Tyler and Stella’s enemies-to-lovers setup pushes the series into revenge, blackmail, and forced proximity, making it the clearest next step after books one and two.

The earlier backlist, sorted by lane

Ladies of Infamy

This is Navessa Allen’s historical-romance lane, and it should be read in order.

1. Scandal (2014): Katherine, John, and Henry are drawn into a Regency-era web of desire, secrecy, and blackmail, making this the real opening move of the series.
2. Betrayal (2015): The second book shifts the action into espionage-and-escape territory, so it works as continuation rather than optional extra.

Love and Fame

This shelf is easy because it currently contains one main book.

1. Snowed In (2017): Ella and Ben’s small-town, fame-adjacent romance mixes cozy humor with heavier emotional material, and it reads like a standalone even though Goodreads groups it under Love and Fame.

Lunatics

This is the paranormal lane, built around shifters and other preternatural factions.

1. The Lunatics: Volume One (2019): Layla’s unexpected mating and the fragile Boston ceasefire set up the series’ paranormal politics and relationship conflict.
2. The Lunatics: Volume Two (2020): Goodreads places this as book two, so it follows directly after volume one for readers exploring her earlier paranormal work.

Wolves of Vendée

A separate historical-paranormal shelf.

1. Bisclavret (2015): Inspired by the medieval tale, this gothic paranormal romance moves Allen into French Revolution territory and is best treated as a separate, self-contained branch.

Standalone

1. The Kings of Kearny (2021): A bar owner gets pulled into the orbit of Jakob Larson and the town’s ruling MC, making this the clearest standalone dark-contemporary entry in Allen’s backlist.

Optional extra / separate project

1. Valentine’s Slay (2026): This is part of the multi-author Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances series, so it belongs in a separate “extras” bucket, not in the middle of Allen’s main reading order.

Publication order

If you want everything by first publication date instead of by shelf, the currently verifiable order is:

1. Scandal (2014): Early historical-romance series opener.
2. Betrayal (2015): Ladies of Infamy continuation.
3. Bisclavret (2015): Historical paranormal standalone/series opener.
4. Snowed In (2017): Contemporary romance.
5. The Lunatics: Volume One (2019): Paranormal romance opener.
6. The Lunatics: Volume Two (2020): Second Lunatics volume.
7. The Kings of Kearny (2021): Standalone MC romance.
8. Lights Out (2024): Into Darkness book one.
9. Caught Up (2025): Into Darkness book two.
10. Game On (2026): Into Darkness book three.
11. Valentine’s Slay (2026): Separate anthology/shared-series contribution.

Publication order is accurate, but it is not the best order for new readers, because it throws you from historical romance to paranormal to cozy contemporary to dark rom-com thriller. Series order is cleaner.

Latest release status

The newest current main-series release I could verify is Game On (March 2026), the third Into Darkness novel. Valentine’s Slay is also a 2026 release, but it sits in a shared multi-author project rather than Allen’s core solo bibliography.

Final answer

For most readers, the best Navessa Allen reading order is:

1. Lights Out (2024): Start with the book that defines her current audience.
2. Caught Up (2025): Continue the same flagship trilogy.
3. Game On (2026): Finish the currently listed Into Darkness run.
4. The Kings of Kearny (2021): Move to this standalone if you want more dark contemporary.
5. Snowed In (2017): Try this if you want her softer contemporary side.
6. Scandal (2014) and Betrayal (2015): Go here for the historical-romance lane.
7. The Lunatics: Volume One (2019) and The Lunatics: Volume Two (2020): Save these for readers specifically interested in her early paranormal work.
8. Bisclavret (2015): Treat as its own separate historical-paranormal branch.
9. Valentine’s Slay (2026): Optional extra only.