Tracy Solheim is an American contemporary romance and romantic suspense author whose books move between professional football, professional hockey, coastal small towns, and the protective world of the United States Secret Service.
Her bibliography contains five principal series. Baltimore Blaze, previously known as Out of Bounds, follows a professional football team. Chances Inlet centers on families and returning residents in coastal North Carolina. Men of the Secret Service is a romantic suspense trilogy. Milwaukee Growlers follows another professional football organization, while Milwaukee Mayhem shifts to professional hockey.
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Most of Solheim’s books focus on a new couple and provide a complete romantic ending. Series order still matters because athletes, siblings, teammates, friends, and earlier couples continue to appear.
The Reading Order in Plain Terms
There is no single continuity connecting all five series.
Readers can start with the series that best matches their interests:
- Professional football: Begin with Game On.
- Coastal small-town romance: Begin with Back to Before.
- Romantic suspense: Begin with Recipe for Disaster.
- Newer football romance: Begin with Just for Kicks.
- Professional hockey: Begin with Keeping It Real.
The Baltimore Blaze and Milwaukee Growlers are separate football organizations. Milwaukee Mayhem is a hockey series and should not be confused with Milwaukee Growlers.
Tracy Solheim’s Series Map
| Series | First book | Continuity level |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Blaze | Game On | Interconnected football romances |
| Chances Inlet | Back to Before | Interconnected small-town romances |
| Men of the Secret Service | Recipe for Disaster | Connected romantic suspense trilogy |
| Milwaukee Growlers | Just for Kicks | Interconnected football romances |
| Milwaukee Mayhem | Keeping It Real | Interconnected hockey romances |
The two multi-author contributions, Holiday at Magnolia Bay and Smolder, belong to separate shared projects.
Baltimore Blaze Books in Order
Baltimore Blaze is Tracy Solheim’s original professional football series. Earlier editions and catalogs may call it Out of Bounds, but the current author branding uses Baltimore Blaze.
The books follow players, executives, staff members, relatives, and people caught in the public pressure surrounding the team. Each installment has a new central couple, but professional and family relationships continue throughout the sequence.
1. Game On
Game On (2013): Rebellious quarterback Shane Devlin joins the Baltimore Blaze for one final attempt at the record books and clashes with Carly March, the team employee assigned to control his damaging reputation.
Shane is nearing the end of his career and carries deep resentment toward the famous football father who abandoned him. Carly has her own experience with public scandal and wants nothing to do with another man whose life belongs in the headlines.
This book introduces the Blaze organization, several recurring players, and the found-family relationships that support the later novels.
2. Foolish Games
Foolish Games (2013): Football star Will Connelly learns that the woman from one impulsive night kept both her identity and the existence of their child from him, forcing them into a relationship shaped by politics, parenthood, and distrust.
Will is summoned into a sensitive situation involving a powerful political family and discovers that Julianne March has been protecting secrets with consequences for both of them.
The book expands the March family introduced through Carly and makes the Baltimore Blaze world more strongly interconnected.
2.5. A Numbers Game
A Numbers Game (2014): Accountant Merrit Callahan reunites with the professional football player who once humiliated her through a cruel college wager, giving them a chance to determine whether he has genuinely changed.
Merrit flees to Baltimore after another failed engagement and encounters Heath, the athlete connected to one of her most painful memories.
This novella belongs between Foolish Games and Risky Game. It is optional to the team’s main progression, but it provides a complete second-chance romance within the Blaze circle.
3. Risky Game
Risky Game (2014): Graduate student and Blaze intern Shannon “Shay” Everett discovers tight end Brody Janik’s carefully concealed health problem while gathering information for a football gossip site.
Shay needs money and accepts a morally questionable assignment to uncover private details about the team. Brody has good reason to fear that the truth could threaten both his health and his professional career.
Read it after A Numbers Game or directly after Foolish Games. The novella does not carry essential plot information into Brody and Shay’s story.
4. Sleeping with the Enemy
Sleeping with the Enemy (2015): Blaze owner Jay McManus must work with attorney Bridgett Janik, the former lover whose heart he broke, when a lawsuit and an anonymous blogger threaten the team.
Bridgett is Brody’s sister, giving the fourth novel a strong family connection to Risky Game. Her legal work places her beside Jay while old attraction and unresolved betrayal complicate the investigation.
This book closes the original Baltimore Blaze run and reveals the settled relationships of the earlier couples.
5. Gossip Game
Gossip Game (2024): A romance connected to sports media and the Baltimore Blaze returns to the dangerous boundary between reporting the truth, protecting private lives, and exploiting an athlete’s public reputation.
The later installment revisits the Blaze world nearly a decade after Sleeping with the Enemy. Its media-centered conflict echoes earlier problems involving bloggers, tabloids, and confidential team information.
Readers can follow the central romance independently, but the appearance of established Blaze characters makes it more satisfying after the original four novels and A Numbers Game.
The Best Baltimore Blaze Order
Read the series as follows:
- Game On
- Foolish Games
- A Numbers Game
- Risky Game
- Sleeping with the Enemy
- Gossip Game
Publication order preserves the team’s changing relationships and family connections.
A Numbers Game is a novella rather than a full numbered novel. It can be skipped by readers following only the main Blaze books, but it should remain in its original position when completing the entire series.
Chances Inlet Books in Order
Chances Inlet is set in a coastal North Carolina town where family history, old friendships, inherited responsibilities, and community knowledge make it difficult for anyone to return quietly.
The books follow different couples, but the town and its families remain constant. The later Christmas stories openly revisit earlier relationships.
1. Back to Before
Back to Before (2015): Gavin McAlister returns to Chances Inlet after years away and faces the woman, family, and unfinished history he left behind.
The novel centers on a second chance complicated by family expectations and the difference between the life Gavin built elsewhere and the home that still claims him.
This is the correct introduction to the town and the safest starting point for the full small-town continuity.
2. All They Ever Wanted
All They Ever Wanted (2016): Members of the McAlister family confront old desires, family responsibilities, and a relationship that challenges what they believed would finally make them happy.
The second book develops the family and community relationships introduced in Back to Before. Earlier characters remain present, so the emotional consequences carry beyond one couple.
Read it second to preserve family introductions and avoid learning the outcome of the opening romance too early.
3. Second Chance Christmas
Second Chance Christmas (2021): A holiday return to Chances Inlet gives former partners another opportunity to repair a relationship that time and past decisions never fully resolved.
Christmas places the couple back among family members and residents who remember their shared history. The setting turns private regret into a community event.
The story can be understood on its own, but its town appearances have more meaning after the first two Chances Inlet books.
4. It Had to Be You
It Had to Be You (2023): A relationship that has long seemed inevitable finally moves to the center when familiar characters must decide whether history, friendship, and family expectations can support lasting love.
The novel returns to Chances Inlet after the Christmas story and expands the lives of the town’s connected families.
It belongs fourth because previous couples and community changes appear as established background.
5. Take Me Home for Christmas
Take Me Home for Christmas (2024): Editor Elle McAlister returns home with a difficult war reporter and faces Deputy Sheriff Hayden Lovell, her lifelong best friend and the man she kissed before abruptly pulling away.
Hayden has loved Elle as the most reliable person in his life, especially after returning from military service with lasting wounds. Their friends-to-lovers story unfolds beside another later-life romantic thread and the deadline surrounding the reporter’s unfinished memoir.
This is the fifth Chances Inlet book and should be read after It Had to Be You. It contains a developed town, returning relatives, and references to earlier family outcomes.
Why Chances Inlet Works Best in Order
The romances are individually complete, but Chances Inlet functions as an evolving community.
The first two novels establish the principal families. The later books return during holidays or major life changes and assume that readers recognize established couples.
The recommended sequence is:
- Back to Before
- All They Ever Wanted
- Second Chance Christmas
- It Had to Be You
- Take Me Home for Christmas
Men of the Secret Service Books in Order
Men of the Secret Service follows three former West Point classmates who served in the Army before joining the United States Secret Service.
The men share a Capitol Hill townhouse and are known within their circle as the Heartthrob, the Enforcer, and the Brain. Each expects his career to prevent a lasting relationship.
The trilogy follows separate couples, but the friendship among the three agents continues through every book.
1. Recipe for Disaster
Recipe for Disaster (2018): A Secret Service agent becomes involved with a woman connected to food, public events, and a security situation that turns professional protection into personal danger.
The romance introduces the three-agent brotherhood and the demanding work that has shaped their refusal to settle down.
This is the series foundation. Read it before the other agents’ stories so their friendship and shared household are already familiar.
2. Shot in the Dark
Shot in the Dark (2019): Another member of the Secret Service trio faces a threat involving hidden motives, physical danger, and a woman whose presence makes professional detachment impossible.
The investigation adds a stronger suspense element while continuing the agents’ personal and professional relationships.
Earlier characters return, so the second book works better after Recipe for Disaster.
3. Between Love and Honor
Between Love and Honor (2020): The final agent must choose how to balance duty, loyalty, and the relationship he wants when service to his country places love in direct conflict with honor.
The book completes the romantic stories of the three West Point friends and provides updates on the couples formed in the earlier novels.
Read it last. It assumes familiarity with the agents, their careers, and the brotherhood established at the beginning of the trilogy.
Men of the Secret Service Reading Rule
Read the trilogy in publication order:
- Recipe for Disaster
- Shot in the Dark
- Between Love and Honor
Each investigation reaches a conclusion, but the friendship arc develops across all three books.
Milwaukee Growlers Books in Order
Milwaukee Growlers is Tracy Solheim’s second professional football series.
It is separate from Baltimore Blaze. Readers do not need to complete Game On or the other Blaze novels before beginning Just for Kicks.
The three Growlers romances involve players, people working around the organization, and relationships affected by the pressure of professional football.
1. Just for Kicks
Just for Kicks (2021): A professional football player enters a romance involving family responsibility, public expectations, and a relationship that is more serious than either person originally intended.
The book establishes the Milwaukee Growlers organization and the teammates who later move into central roles.
It is the correct first book even for readers already familiar with Solheim’s earlier football series.
2. Double Dog Dare
Double Dog Dare (2022): A dare, an inconvenient attraction, and a dog-centered complication bring another Growlers-connected couple together while teammates and friends interfere.
The romance expands the football circle through a lighter setup, but emotional commitments and career concerns still create lasting consequences.
Read it after Just for Kicks for the team introductions and appearances by the first couple.
3. Catch and Release
Catch and Release (2024): Disciplined Growlers quarterback Trey Van Horn is reunited with London Headley, the woman whose heart he broke a decade earlier and who now stands between him and an important professional goal.
London is approaching a major career opportunity, but reaching it requires working closely with the man who taught her that she would never be anyone’s first choice.
The book closes the published Growlers trilogy through second chance, workplace, and forced-proximity conflict.
Milwaukee Growlers Reading Rule
Use this order:
- Just for Kicks
- Double Dog Dare
- Catch and Release
The couples have separate endings, but team relationships and professional developments carry through the trilogy.
Milwaukee Mayhem Books in Order
Milwaukee Mayhem is a professional hockey series.
Despite the similar city name, it is not the same organization as the Milwaukee Growlers. The Growlers play football, while the Mayhem play hockey.
The series should be read from Keeping It Real because its ownership and family relationships establish the background for Dirty Little Secret.
1. Keeping It Real
Keeping It Real (2025): Mayhem goalie Alek Bergeron becomes guardian of his former best friend’s son and must share responsibility with Sheridan Cobert, the boy’s aunt and the woman whose teenage heart he once broke.
Alek wants to win the championship and prove something to the former friend who became his rival. The unexpected death in their shared past instead gives him responsibility for a child and forces him into close domestic contact with Sheridan.
The book introduces the hockey organization and the ownership circumstances that lead into the second novel.
2. Dirty Little Secret
Dirty Little Secret (2026): Max Kellogg unexpectedly inherits the Milwaukee Mayhem from the father who never acknowledged him and becomes involved with Olivia Dern, the older sister and protector of the teenage hockey phenomenon he signs.
Max intends to rebuild the team and use its success as a final act of revenge against his late father. Olivia joins the organization to keep her younger brother Parker steady as intense media attention follows his professional debut.
Their brother’s-boss romance develops through travel, private training sessions, and forced proximity while Max decides whether revenge is worth sacrificing the first relationship that has given him a different future.
Is Dirty Little Secret Connected to Keeping It Real?
Yes. Both books belong to Milwaukee Mayhem and share the professional hockey organization.
The second novel focuses on the new owner rather than the goalie from the opening book, but team changes and supporting relationships continue.
Read them in this order:
- Keeping It Real
- Dirty Little Secret
Multi-Author and Shared-Series Books
Tracy Solheim has also written books for projects in which other installments belong to different authors.
These books should not be inserted into Baltimore Blaze, Chances Inlet, Men of the Secret Service, Milwaukee Growlers, or Milwaukee Mayhem unless their specific story states otherwise.
Holiday at Magnolia Bay
Holiday at Magnolia Bay (2014): A Southern Christmas setting brings former lovers or people with unfinished history together as family obligations and the holiday season create another chance at commitment.
The book belongs to the multi-author Carolina Christmas project.
It is separate from Chances Inlet, even though both use coastal Southern settings and Christmas romance.
Readers can approach it independently without completing another Carolina Christmas installment.
Smolder
Smolder (2015): A Montana firefighter confronts a dangerous attraction while professional risk, community responsibility, and the possibility of fire place the romance under pressure.
The novel belongs to the multi-author Firefighters of Montana series.
Other Firefighters of Montana books are written by different authors and follow separate couples. They are optional for readers interested only in Tracy Solheim.
Boxed Sets and Digital Bundles
Tracy Solheim offers several series bundles.
Baltimore Blaze Bundle
Baltimore Blaze Bundle: Collects the principal Blaze football romances available in the edition, typically beginning with Game On.
Readers should check whether A Numbers Game and the later Gossip Game are included, since bundle contents can differ from the complete six-title reading route.
Chances Inlet Bundle
Chances Inlet Bundle: Collects the town’s interconnected romances in one digital purchase.
Earlier bundles may not include Take Me Home for Christmas, which was published after the first four Chances Inlet books.
Men of the Secret Service Bundle
Men of the Secret Service Bundle: Collects Recipe for Disaster, Shot in the Dark, and Between Love and Honor.
This bundle contains the full trilogy and does not add another investigation.
Milwaukee Growlers Bundle
Milwaukee Growlers Bundle: Collects Just for Kicks, Double Dog Dare, and Catch and Release.
It should not be confused with Milwaukee Mayhem, which is a separate hockey series.
Boxed sets and digital bundles are alternate purchase formats. They should not be counted as additional books.
Tracy Solheim Books in Overall Publication Order
This list combines the principal novels, novella, and multi-author contributions.
- Game On (2013): Quarterback Shane Devlin joins the Baltimore Blaze and clashes with Carly March, the woman assigned to control his public reputation.
- Foolish Games (2013): Will Connelly discovers that Julianne March kept their child and her true identity secret after their first encounter.
- A Numbers Game (2014): Merrit Callahan reunites with the football player who once humiliated her through a college wager.
- Risky Game (2014): Graduate student Shay Everett uncovers Brody Janik’s hidden health problem while gathering information for a football gossip site.
- Holiday at Magnolia Bay (2014): A Southern holiday reunion gives a couple with unfinished history another chance at love.
- Back to Before (2015): Gavin returns to Chances Inlet and faces the relationship and family ties he left behind.
- Smolder (2015): A Montana firefighter romance develops under the professional and physical danger surrounding the job.
- Sleeping with the Enemy (2015): Team owner Jay McManus and attorney Bridgett Janik reunite while defending the Blaze against a lawsuit and anonymous attacks.
- All They Ever Wanted (2016): Another Chances Inlet couple confronts family responsibility and the difference between expected happiness and genuine love.
- Recipe for Disaster (2018): The first Secret Service agent finds romance inside a security problem involving public pressure and danger.
- Shot in the Dark (2019): The second agent faces a threat that turns professional protection into an intensely personal responsibility.
- Between Love and Honor (2020): The final member of the Secret Service brotherhood must balance duty with the relationship he wants.
- Just for Kicks (2021): The Milwaukee Growlers series opens with a football romance shaped by team life and family responsibility.
- Second Chance Christmas (2021): A holiday return to Chances Inlet gives former partners another opportunity to repair their relationship.
- Double Dog Dare (2022): A dare and dog-related complications bring another couple together inside the Growlers football circle.
- It Had to Be You (2023): A long-building relationship moves to the center of the established Chances Inlet community.
- Catch and Release (2024): Quarterback Trey Van Horn tries to win back London Headley while their professional lives force them together.
- Gossip Game (2024): Sports media and private information create a new romantic conflict around the Baltimore Blaze.
- Take Me Home for Christmas (2024): Elle McAlister returns to Chances Inlet and faces her lifelong friend Hayden after their relationship changed with one kiss.
- Keeping It Real (2025): Goalie Alek Bergeron and Sheridan Cobert become responsible for raising her orphaned nephew together.
- Dirty Little Secret (2026): New Mayhem owner Max Kellogg falls for Olivia Dern while she protects her teenage hockey-star brother from professional pressure.
Does Tracy Solheim Have a Chronological Order?
A separate author-wide chronological order is unnecessary.
Each series belongs to its own team, town, or professional circle. Combining them by date would repeatedly move between unrelated football organizations, North Carolina families, Secret Service agents, and Milwaukee hockey players.
Publication order and story order are effectively the same within each series.
The only fractional placement is A Numbers Game, which belongs between Foolish Games and Risky Game.
Recommended Tracy Solheim Reading Routes
For Sports Romance Readers
- Begin Baltimore Blaze with Game On.
- Include A Numbers Game after Foolish Games.
- Finish the Blaze books with Gossip Game.
- Move to Milwaukee Growlers with Just for Kicks.
- Finish with the Milwaukee Mayhem hockey books.
This route moves from Solheim’s original football series to her newer football and hockey work.
For Small-Town Romance Readers
- Back to Before
- All They Ever Wanted
- Second Chance Christmas
- It Had to Be You
- Take Me Home for Christmas
Add Holiday at Magnolia Bay separately when you want another Southern Christmas romance. It does not belong to Chances Inlet.
For Romantic Suspense Readers
Read the Men of the Secret Service trilogy in order:
- Recipe for Disaster
- Shot in the Dark
- Between Love and Honor
The suspense cases differ, but the three agents’ friendship gives the trilogy its continuing emotional structure.
Latest Tracy Solheim Book
Dirty Little Secret (2026): Max Kellogg inherits the Milwaukee Mayhem from the father who refused to claim him, then falls for Olivia Dern while she protects her younger brother through a highly publicized entry into professional hockey.
The novel was published in June 2026.
It is Milwaukee Mayhem Book 2 and Tracy Solheim’s latest verified release as of August 4, 2026.
Upcoming Tracy Solheim Books
No later Tracy Solheim book with a confirmed title and publication date could be reliably verified as of August 4, 2026.
The Milwaukee Mayhem series may continue, but an unconfirmed future installment should not be added to the numbered order until the author announces its title and release information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Tracy Solheim’s First Book?
Game On (2013): Veteran quarterback Shane Devlin joins the Baltimore Blaze and becomes involved with Carly March, the staff member expected to manage his reputation.
It begins the Baltimore Blaze series, originally known as Out of Bounds.
Is Out of Bounds the Same as Baltimore Blaze?
Yes. Out of Bounds is the earlier series name used in many retailer and reader catalogs.
The author’s current website uses Baltimore Blaze. The books should not be counted as two separate series.
Where Does A Numbers Game Belong?
A Numbers Game belongs between Foolish Games and Risky Game.
It is commonly numbered Book 2.5 because it is a novella with its own central couple.
Can the Baltimore Blaze Books Be Read as Standalones?
The romances are individually complete, but reading in order is recommended.
Players, siblings, executives, and earlier couples return. Sleeping with the Enemy has especially strong family connections to Risky Game.
Is Gossip Game Part of the Original Football Series?
Yes. It is Baltimore Blaze Book 5 when only full-length numbered novels are counted.
When A Numbers Game is included, it is the sixth story in the complete reading sequence.
How Many Chances Inlet Books Are There?
There are five published books:
- Back to Before
- All They Ever Wanted
- Second Chance Christmas
- It Had to Be You
- Take Me Home for Christmas
Older lists containing only two or four books are incomplete.
Are the Chances Inlet Books Standalones?
Each book follows a different central romance.
The town, families, and earlier couples continue across the series, so publication order gives the best community progression.
Is Holiday at Magnolia Bay a Chances Inlet Book?
No. It belongs to the multi-author Carolina Christmas project.
Its coastal Southern holiday setting is similar, but it uses a separate continuity.
How Many Men of the Secret Service Books Are There?
There are three:
- Recipe for Disaster
- Shot in the Dark
- Between Love and Honor
The trilogy follows three former West Point classmates who become Secret Service agents.
Are Milwaukee Growlers and Milwaukee Mayhem the Same Series?
No.
Milwaukee Growlers is a professional football series. Milwaukee Mayhem is a professional hockey series.
How Many Milwaukee Growlers Books Are There?
There are three published Growlers books:
- Just for Kicks
- Double Dog Dare
- Catch and Release
How Many Milwaukee Mayhem Books Are There?
There are two published books as of August 4, 2026:
- Keeping It Real
- Dirty Little Secret
Should Keeping It Real Be Read Before Dirty Little Secret?
Yes.
The central couples differ, but the Mayhem organization and its developing team relationships connect the novels.
Is Smolder Part of a Tracy Solheim Series?
It belongs to the multi-author Firefighters of Montana series.
It is not connected to Baltimore Blaze, Chances Inlet, or Men of the Secret Service.
What Is Tracy Solheim’s Latest Football Book?
Gossip Game is her latest Baltimore Blaze book.
Catch and Release is her latest Milwaukee Growlers book. Both were published in 2024.
What Is Tracy Solheim’s Latest Book Overall?
Dirty Little Secret is her latest verified release.
It was published in June 2026 and is the second Milwaukee Mayhem hockey romance.
Conclusion
Start with Game On for Tracy Solheim’s original sports-romance world. Read the Baltimore Blaze books in order, placing A Numbers Game between Foolish Games and Risky Game, then finish with the later return Gossip Game.
For a coastal small-town sequence, begin Chances Inlet with Back to Before and continue through Take Me Home for Christmas. The town evolves across the five romances, so publication order provides the strongest family and community context.
The Men of the Secret Service trilogy should remain in order, while the Milwaukee Growlers and Milwaukee Mayhem series can be approached separately. Begin the Growlers with Just for Kicks and the Mayhem with Keeping It Real.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.