Rachel Vincent Books in Order (Updated March 10, 2026)

Rachel Vincent’s bibliography is split across several separate tracks. The most important thing is not choosing a single master list and reading straight through at random. It is knowing which books share a world, which ones are spin-offs, and which ones stand alone.

Her biggest connected universe is the Shifters / Wildcats world. After that, the other major lines are Soul Screamers, Unbound, Menagerie, The Stars Never Rise, Brave New Girl, 100 Hours, and the newer Alchemy Trials launch. She also has several standalones.

Quick answer

If you want Rachel Vincent’s best-known adult paranormal world, read:

1. Stray
2. Rogue
3. Pride
4. Prey
5. Shift
6. Alpha
7. Lion’s Share
8. Blind Tiger
9. Wild Card
10. Fat Cat

If you want Rachel Vincent’s best-known YA series, read:

1. My Soul to Take
2. My Soul to Save
3. My Soul to Keep
4. My Soul to Steal
5. If I Die
6. Before I Wake
7. With All My Soul

For most new readers, Stray is the safest starting point for adult fantasy readers, while My Soul to Take is the safest starting point for YA paranormal readers.

The continuity map

Rachel Vincent does not have one single sequence where every book connects to every other book.

Connected worlds

• Shifters and Wildcats share continuity
• Soul Screamers is its own YA paranormal line
• Menagerie stands on its own
• Unbound stands on its own
• The Stars Never Rise is a separate duology
• Brave New Girl is a separate duology
• 100 Hours is a separate duology
• The Alchemy Trials begins a new fantasy line

Standalones

• Red Wolf
• No One Is Alone
• Every Single Lie

Recommended reading orders

Best order for adult paranormal readers

1. Stray
2. Rogue
3. Pride
4. Prey
5. Shift
6. Alpha
7. Lion’s Share
8. Blind Tiger
9. Wild Card
10. Fat Cat

This is the cleanest route through Rachel Vincent’s longest shared world. Read the six Shifters books first, then move into the Wildcats spin-off.

Best order for YA paranormal readers

1. My Soul to Take
2. My Soul to Save
3. My Soul to Keep
4. My Soul to Steal
5. If I Die
6. Before I Wake
7. With All My Soul

That is the simple novel-only path. The novellas can be added if you want the fuller version.

Best order if you want newer or shorter series

• The Stars Never Rise → The Flame Never Dies
• Brave New Girl → Strange New World
• 100 Hours → 99 Lies
• Silver-in-tone dark fantasy readers looking for something new from Vincent should watch The Alchemary, which starts a new series in 2026.

Rachel Vincent publication order by series

Shifters / Wildcats world

Shifters

1. Stray (2007): Faythe Sanders is pulled back into Pride politics and danger, launching Vincent’s werecat world with family pressure, power struggles, and a reluctant heroine who cannot stay out of the fight.
2. Rogue (2008): A serial threat inside shifter society forces Faythe deeper into enforcement, where survival and duty start outweighing her hopes for an ordinary life.
3. Pride (2009): Faythe’s position becomes more precarious as internal politics, accusations, and shifting loyalties push the series toward open fracture.
4. Prey (2009): A hunt for dangerous enemies turns personal fast, making this one of the books where the world’s violence and the heroine’s responsibilities fully collide.
5. Shift (2010): The series broadens beyond reactive survival into bigger movement inside shifter society, with alliances and sacrifices becoming harder to avoid.
6. Alpha (2010): The original Shifters arc reaches its main conclusion as Faythe faces leadership, legacy, and the cost of trying to change her world.

Optional Shifters side entry

7. Hunt (2014): A later Shifters-world story focused on Abby, best read after the main six books because it depends on the established world and character history.

Wildcats spin-off

8. Lion’s Share (2015): Set in the Shifters world after the original series, this spin-off shifts toward romance while keeping the same supernatural rules and political baggage.
9. Blind Tiger (2017): Robyn’s story continues the spin-off’s more romance-forward approach, but it still works best after the original Shifters books.
10. Wild Card (2017): Kaci’s book digs into survival, reputation, and belonging inside the same werecat continuity, with a slightly more self-contained shape.
11. Fat Cat (2023): Returning to the Wildcats line years later, Vincent expands the shared world again with a fresh lead and a barroom mystery-romance setup.

Soul Screamers

Main novels

1. My Soul to Take (2009): Kaylee’s ability to sense death pulls her into a banshee-centered paranormal world where every scream means something is terribly wrong.
2. My Soul to Save (2009): The second book deepens the mythology and raises the emotional stakes as Kaylee learns that knowing what is coming does not mean she can stop it.
3. My Soul to Keep (2010): Romance, possession, and underworld danger tighten around Kaylee, making the series more personal and more unstable.
4. My Soul to Steal (2010): Family, power, and bodily danger come sharply into focus as the series leans harder into what these gifts can cost.
5. If I Die (2011): One of the series’ major turning points, this book pushes Kaylee into deeper sacrifice and strips away any sense that the rules will stay merciful.
6. Before I Wake (2012): The fallout keeps widening as dream and reality become part of the series’ supernatural pressure system.
7. With All My Soul (2013): The final novel closes the main Kaylee arc with the series at full emotional and cosmic scale.

Optional Soul Screamers novellas and side stories

• Fearless (2010): A Sabine prequel story set before the main series, useful for background but not required before starting the novels.
• My Soul to Lose (2009): A prequel novella that introduces the world early, though most readers can still start with My Soul to Take without confusion.
• Reaper (2010): A Tod-centered side story that fits after My Soul to Keep if you want extra character depth.
• Niederwald (2011): A shorter interlude story for readers who want more pieces of the world between the main books.
• Never to Sleep (2012): A Sophie-focused novella that belongs late in the series and works best once the central mythology is already familiar.
• Last Request (2014): A post-series follow-up best saved until after With All My Soul.

Best practical Soul Screamers order

For most readers, the easiest full order is:

1. My Soul to Lose
2. My Soul to Take
3. My Soul to Save
4. My Soul to Keep
5. Reaper
6. My Soul to Steal
7. If I Die
8. Never to Sleep
9. Before I Wake
10. With All My Soul
11. Last Request

You can treat Fearless and Niederwald as optional extras rather than required stops.

Unbound

1. Blood Bound (2011): A bloodtracker with dangerous magic is dragged into a dark system of bindings, debt, and pursuit in one of Vincent’s grimmer adult fantasy worlds.
2. Shadow Bound (2012): The sequel shifts perspective and deepens the magical underworld, widening both the mythology and the personal stakes.
3. Oath Bound (2013): The trilogy closes by pushing its characters into direct confrontation with the syndicate structures shaping the whole series.

Menagerie

1. Menagerie (2015): A hidden market for imprisoned mythological creatures opens into a brutal fantasy world built around captivity, spectacle, and resistance.
2. Spectacle (2017): Delilah’s story grows more dangerous as the costs of survival, loyalty, and revolt become harder to separate.
3. Fury (2019): The trilogy finale turns the series’ anger into open escalation, paying off the world’s cruelty with a larger reckoning.

The Stars Never Rise duology

1. The Stars Never Rise (2015): In a world where the Church is entangled with demonic power, Nina must protect her sister while learning how compromised the whole system really is.
2. The Flame Never Dies (2016): The sequel expands the rebellion side of the story and drives the duology toward a bigger supernatural confrontation.

Brave New Girl duology

1. Brave New Girl (2017): A clone raised inside a tightly controlled society begins to see the cracks in the system, pushing this series into YA science-fiction territory rather than paranormal fantasy.
2. Strange New World (2018): The sequel picks up that destabilization and forces its heroine to question identity, freedom, and the story she has been told about her world.

100 Hours duology

1. 100 Hours (2017): A luxury spring-break trip becomes a survival thriller when weather, isolation, and violence trap the characters far from safety.
2. 99 Lies (2018): The follow-up shifts from immediate survival into aftermath, suspicion, and another round of danger for the same core cast.

Standalones

1. Red Wolf (2024): A darker reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood, built around village fear, forest danger, and the tension between protection and control.
2. No One Is Alone (2022): A contemporary YA drama-thriller about grief, family secrets, and a teenager forced into a hidden second life she never knew existed.
3. Every Single Lie (2021): A social-media-era YA thriller where rumor, performance, and half-truths make a dead girl’s story more dangerous after she is gone than before.

Upcoming

1. The Alchemary (2026): The first book in The Alchemy Trials, opening a new fantasy line centered on alchemy, memory, power, and academy-style pressure.

Where to start

The best starting point depends on what you want from Rachel Vincent.

Start with Stray if you want her longest adult supernatural continuity.

Start with My Soul to Take if you want her best-known YA paranormal series.

Start with Menagerie if you want a darker fantasy trilogy that is separate from everything else.

Start with Every Single Lie or No One Is Alone if you want a standalone and no series commitment.

Included, optional, and separate continuity

Included

• Shifters
• Wildcats
• Soul Screamers
• Unbound
• Menagerie
• The Stars Never Rise
• Brave New Girl
• 100 Hours
• The Alchemy Trials

Optional

• Hunt
• Fearless
• My Soul to Lose
• Reaper
• Niederwald
• Never to Sleep
• Last Request
• Omnibus editions such as the Soul Screamers volumes and collections

Separate continuity

• Red Wolf
• No One Is Alone
• Every Single Lie

Latest release status

The most recent Rachel Vincent novel already released is Red Wolf (2024). The next confirmed book is The Alchemary, scheduled for April 7, 2026.

FAQs

What is Rachel Vincent’s best series?

That depends on audience. Shifters is her major adult paranormal series, while Soul Screamers is her most recognizable YA paranormal line.

Do Shifters and Wildcats connect?

Yes. Wildcats is a spin-off set in the Shifters world, so it should be read after the main Shifters books.

Do you need to read the Soul Screamers novellas?

No. The seven main novels work on their own. The novellas add context and character texture, but most readers do not need them.

Is Menagerie connected to Shifters or Soul Screamers?

No. Menagerie is its own separate trilogy.

What is Rachel Vincent’s newest series?

The newest confirmed series start is The Alchemy Trials, beginning with The Alchemary in 2026.

Conclusion

Rachel Vincent is easiest to read by choosing a lane and staying inside it. For adult paranormal readers, that lane is Shifters followed by Wildcats. For YA paranormal readers, it is Soul Screamers. For readers who want something self-contained, the standalones are the cleaner entry.