Tara Sim Books in Order (Updated March 10, 2026)

Tara Sim’s bibliography is easier to navigate than it first looks because it breaks into a few clear clusters. There is one completed YA trilogy, one completed YA duology, one adult fantasy saga in progress, and a newer YA fantasy-horror duology that has started but not yet finished. Around those sit several anthology contributions, which are optional rather than part of any core reading path.

For most readers, there are three sensible starting points. Timekeeper is the best place to begin if you want her original breakout series. Scavenge the Stars is the strongest entry if you want a tighter two-book commitment. The City of Dusk is the right doorway if you are here for her adult epic fantasy.

Start here, depending on what you want

Start with Timekeeper if you want YA fantasy with clockwork, romance, and the earliest Tara Sim series.

Start with Scavenge the Stars if you want a completed duology and a revenge-driven fantasy arc.

Start with The City of Dusk if you want her adult work first and do not mind entering an unfinished larger saga.

Start with We Shall Be Monsters if you want her newest YA fantasy-horror direction and are comfortable waiting for the second book.

The books most readers will care about first

1. Timekeeper (2016): In an alternate Victorian England ruled by clock towers, Danny Hart tries to repair time itself while uncovering sabotage, grief, and an impossible romance.
2. Chainbreaker (2018): Danny’s world opens beyond Enfield as the series grows more political, more dangerous, and more openly concerned with the gods behind the machinery.
3. Firestarter (2019): The Timekeeper trilogy closes by turning personal loyalties into a final confrontation over the future of time, industry, and the world’s divine order.
4. Scavenge the Stars (2020): Amaya Chandra escapes years on a debtor ship and sets out on a revenge story shaped as a gender-swapped Count of Monte Cristo retelling.
5. Ravage the Dark (2021): The duology widens from revenge into revolution, forcing Amaya and Cayo to deal with corruption that reaches far past one betrayal.
6. The City of Dusk (2022): Four heirs from four divine bloodlines are pushed into uneasy alliance as the gods begin to return and their city starts to fail.
7. The Midnight Kingdom (2023): The heirs are scattered across realms of death, darkness, and light, and the series becomes more openly about survival after faith, family, and power all break down.
8. The Dawn Throne (2026): The third Dark Gods novel continues the war against the divine threat as the heirs try to pull their fractured alliances back together.
9. The Meridian Forge (2026): The announced finale is positioned as the conclusion to the Dark Gods saga, where a new fifth god threatens the fabric of the realms.
10. We Shall Be Monsters (2024): Kajal tries to resurrect her sister and instead unleashes a bhuta, starting a Frankenstein-inflected fantasy rooted in Indian mythology.
11. We Shall Be Monsters 2 (TBA): A second volume is listed on Tara Sim’s official site, but I did not find a public final title or release date reliable enough to print as fact here.

Tara Sim series in order

Timekeeper trilogy

1. Timekeeper (2016): The clock-tower premise, Danny’s family loss, and the romance with Colton all begin here, so this is a true book-one start.
2. Chainbreaker (2018): Read second, because it builds directly on the first book’s damage and discoveries.
3. Firestarter (2019): Read third for the trilogy’s payoff.

This is the cleanest complete series in Tara Sim’s catalog if you want a beginning, middle, and end without moving into newer unfinished work.

Scavenge the Stars duology

1. Scavenge the Stars (2020): The revenge setup, shipboard backstory, and social-climbing deception all belong to this opener.
2. Ravage the Dark (2021): Read second, because the fallout from Amaya’s plan is the whole engine of the finale.

This is the best Tara Sim entry point for readers who want something complete but shorter than a trilogy.

The Dark Gods saga

1. The City of Dusk (2022): Four divine houses, four heirs, and a city caught between dying gods and political collapse.
2. The Midnight Kingdom (2023): The second book deepens the realms and consequences rather than resetting the cast.
3. The Dawn Throne (2026): The next major escalation in the same saga.
4. The Meridian Forge (2026): Planned conclusion to the series.

Read these in order. This is one continuous adult fantasy storyline, and it is not a series you can safely hop around in.

We Shall Be Monsters

1. We Shall Be Monsters (2024): The duology opener mixes resurrection, guilt, rebellion, and mythic horror.
2. We Shall Be Monsters 2 (TBA): Officially listed, but not yet fully public in a way that supports a cleaner bibliographic entry.

This is a separate continuity from all of Sim’s earlier YA and adult fantasy series.

Best reading orders

Best overall path

1. Scavenge the Stars (2020): The strongest balance of accessibility, payoff, and commitment.
2. Ravage the Dark (2021): Finish the duology while the plot is fresh.
3. Timekeeper (2016): Then move back to her earlier trilogy if you want more YA fantasy.
4. Chainbreaker (2018): Continue directly.
5. Firestarter (2019): Finish the trilogy.
6. The City of Dusk (2022): Shift to the adult saga after that.
7. The Midnight Kingdom (2023): Read second in that line.
8. We Shall Be Monsters (2024): Try the newer YA horror-fantasy lane once you have sampled the main backlist.

Best if you only want completed series

1. Timekeeper (2016): Complete trilogy opener.
2. Chainbreaker (2018): Middle volume.
3. Firestarter (2019): Trilogy finale.
4. Scavenge the Stars (2020): Complete duology opener.
5. Ravage the Dark (2021): Duology finale.

Best if you want adult fantasy first

1. The City of Dusk (2022): Adult entry point.
2. The Midnight Kingdom (2023): Continue immediately.
3. The Dawn Throne (2026): Third book.
4. The Meridian Forge (2026): Planned finale.

Anthologies and side reading

These are not part of Tara Sim’s main series order, so they are easiest to treat as optional.

1. A Universe of Wishes (2020): A multi-author fantasy anthology featuring Tara Sim as one contributor rather than the sole author.
2. Color Outside the Lines (2019): A multi-author YA anthology centered on interracial and LGBTQ+ relationships.
3. Boundless (2023): A multi-author collection focused on multicultural and multiracial identities.
4. Out Now: Queer We Go Again! (2023): Another anthology contribution, not a Tara Sim standalone.
5. From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi (2023): A Star Wars anniversary anthology with many contributors, including Tara Sim.
6. Night of the Living Queers (2023): A queer YA horror anthology with Tara Sim among the contributors.

These matter for completists, but none should interrupt a first read of her novels.

Do Tara Sim’s books need to be read in order?

Only within each series. The Timekeeper books must stay together. The Scavenge the Stars duology should be read in sequence. The Dark Gods novels absolutely need order, because they are one continuous adult epic fantasy story. We Shall Be Monsters is also a series start, not a standalone.

Across series, though, there is no shared universe order to preserve. You can move from one continuity to another without missing hidden crossover plot.

Where should new readers start?

The safest answer is Scavenge the Stars. It gives you Tara Sim’s style in a concise, finished format and does not ask for a trilogy-sized commitment on day one.

The most representative early-career answer is Timekeeper.

The best adult-fantasy answer is The City of Dusk.

The best “latest direction” answer is We Shall Be Monsters, but that comes with the obvious caveat that the sequel is still pending.

Latest release status

The newest published Tara Sim novel I could confirm is We Shall Be Monsters (2024). Her official site and current publisher pages also show multiple announced books beyond that: The Dawn Throne is coming in June 2026, The Meridian Forge is announced as the Dark Gods finale for November 2026, and a second We Shall Be Monsters book is listed on her site without a public final title or date that I could verify confidently enough to include here as a normal entry.

FAQ

What is Tara Sim’s first book?

Timekeeper (2016): It is her debut novel and the start of her first published trilogy.

What is Tara Sim’s best series?

For completed YA fantasy, Timekeeper is the most natural answer. For a shorter completed read, Scavenge the Stars is often the easier recommendation.

Is The City of Dusk YA?

No. It opens Tara Sim’s adult fantasy saga.

Is We Shall Be Monsters a standalone?

No. It is the opener to a duology.

What is Tara Sim’s newest book?

Among books already published, it is We Shall Be Monsters (2024).

Final recommendation

If you want one neat Tara Sim reading plan, read Scavenge the Stars, Ravage the Dark, Timekeeper, Chainbreaker, and Firestarter first. Then move into The City of Dusk and The Midnight Kingdom when you are ready for her adult fantasy. Save the anthologies for last, and treat We Shall Be Monsters as the beginning of a newer line that is still in progress.