Reading Order

If you’ve read any of my books, you’ve probably seen references to side characters and wondered: hmm, who’s that, what’s their story, and where do they fit in with the other books? You might even be the kind of person who prefers to read in order. I hear you! This page explains my series connections and where you might want to start. If a book is not included here, assume it’s not connected to any of my other books - at least not yet. So grab my printable booklist and happy reading!

xoxo
Kate

Let’s Connect the Dots . . .

Chicago Rebels, Rookie Rebels, and Chicago Players: Same world of hockey players built around the Chicago Rebels hockey franchise; Series 1 and 2 are set about four to five years apart; the Chicago Players series is a next generation series featuring selected kids from the first two series, all grown up and ready (or not) for love.

Hot in Chicago & Hot in Chicago Rookies: Same world of firefighters; the series are set about five years apart.

Hot in Chicago & Rookie Rebels: Heroine in Flirting with Fire is close friends with heroine in Good Guy.

Rookie Rebels & Hot in Chicago Rookies: Hockey hero falls for firefighter hero in Down in Flames, the first official crossover between MCs in my book universes.

There are several Easter eggs in each series, too many to list. Chronologically, the series reads are mostly in publication order: Hot in Chicago, Chicago Rebels, Rookie Rebels, Hot in Chicago Rookies, Chicago Players, with a couple of exceptions, which you can read about below.

Love hockey players?

Start with: In Skates Trouble or Irresistible You

The Chicago Rebels, Rookie Rebels, and Chicago Players series take place in the same high-octane world of professional hockey.

The first series - Chicago Rebels - focuses on the Chase sisters who have inherited their father’s failing hockey franchise.
The second series - Rookie Rebels - explores the team’s fortunes a few years later and has more distinct connections with my firefighter series.
The third and current series - Chicago Players - is a next generation series focused on the hockey-mad Kershaw family, the patriarch of which is introduced in Rookie Rebels book, Instacrush.

The Chicago Rebels series reading order:

In Skates Trouble is a prequel where the heroine Addison is a friend of Harper, the heroine in the first full-length novel of the series, Irresistible You. It’s a steamy puck drop into the Chicago Rebels world, but it’s not absolutely necessary to have read it first. The real Rebels action starts with Book 1, Irresistible You.
Books 3 and 5 are MM and feature the same couple (Cade and Dante), four years apart. Book 3 has a HEA for #Cadante; Book 5 solidifies it. Chronologically, Book 5 takes place after Instacrush, Book 2 of the Rookie Rebels series. In the image gallery below, I’ve listed the order as it falls in the timeline.

The Rookie Rebels series reading order:

Down in Flames is officially Book 2 of the Hot in Chicago Rookies firefighter series but could easily be a Rookie Rebels hockey book because one of the heroes is a Rebels player. In terms of timeline, it takes place after Jock Wanted and before Superstar.
Goodreads has Book 6 as 5.5, Book 7 as 6, and so on, because it doesn’t allow full numbering for novellas - just in case you see that and think you’re missing something!
Holly Jolly Rebel, the final entry, is a short story that connects the end of the Rookie Rebels with the start of the next generation series, Chicago Players.
And don’t forget the Bonus Scenes, fun extras for most of the Rebels players!

The Chicago Players series reading order:

0. Holly Jolly Rebel | 1. Sweet Thing | 2. Rebel Bride | 3. Top Shelf Stud | 4. Secret Husband

The Chicago Players series is centered around the Kershaw family and children of former Rebels players from the first two series.
Holly Jolly Rebel, the free prequel, takes place approximately 17 years after Hockey Wife, the last book in the Rookie Rebels series.
Sweet Thing, Book 1, takes places about five years after Holly Jolly Rebel.

Free Reads: In Skates Trouble, Good Guy, and Holly Jolly Rebel

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Love firefighters?

Start with: Rekindle the Flame or Flirting with Fire

The Hot in Chicago and Hot in Chicago Rookies series take place at Engine 6, the “most romantic firehouse in Chicago.” The first series focuses on the Dempseys, a family of firefighting foster siblings. The second follows a trio of firefighter academy graduates. Both series feature standalone MF and MM romances with guaranteed HEAs.

The Hot in Chicago series reading order:

Rekindle the Flame is a prequel novella that sets the stage and features most of the series heroes, but you may prefer to jump in with the first full-length novel, Flirting with Fire.
The origin of Gage and Brady’s romance is depicted in Flirting with Fire, which has scenes from Gage’s POV. The rest of the story is told in Melting Point, so while it can be read as a standalone, you might enjoy it more if you read FwF first.
The bonus shorts - After the Fire and Forever in Fire - are extended epilogues for reader-favorite couple, Alexandra and Eli from Playing with Fire.

Five years later, we head back to the Engine 6 firehouse for a spin-off series with plenty of cameos from the original crew.

The Hot in Chicago Rookies series reading order:

Coming in Hot is a novella, originally published as part of the Men in Uniform anthology. It’s set at Engine 6 and is loosely connected to the series’ other books. It’s currently free to newsletter subscribers and included in the boxset sold in the Kate Meader store.
One Night Burn and White-Hot Hookup are prequels for Up in Smoke and Down in Flames respectively, or you can go straight to the full-length books which contain the prequel content for their linked title.