Protector Books in Order

The Best Reading Order for Julie Kenner’s Protector Series

Julie Kenner’s Protector series—originally published under names like the Superhero Central series or the Aphrodite series, and recently repackaged as the Extraordinarily Yours romances—blends the high-stakes heroics of comic books with the humor and heat of contemporary romance. To fully appreciate the recurring characters, running jokes, and the overarching bureaucracy of the superhero registry, you should read these books in order of their storyline progression, beginning with the shifter prequel.

Here is the recommended reading sequence, listing both their original titles and their newer, self-published titles:

1. Book 0.5: The Cat's Fancy (2000) – Also retitled as The Seductive Charm of a Sexy Shifter. This is a prequel novella that follows Maggie, a cat temporarily transformed into a human woman to win the heart of Nicholas Goodman. It introduces Nicholas's sister Deena and his cynical investigator colleague Hoop, both of whom play major supporting roles in the main superhero books.
2. Book 1: Aphrodite's Kiss (2001) – Also retitled as So (Very!) Much More Than the Girl Next-door. This is the official starting point of the Protector arc. It follows Zoe Smith, a half-mortal librarian with X-ray vision who must choose whether to register as a superhero, while falling for private investigator George Peters.
3. Book 1.5: Seeking Single Superhero (2002) – Also retitled as Mayhem, Matchmakers and a Bit of Bewitching. A novella originally featured in the A Mother's Way anthology, following the wider superhuman community.
4. Book 2: Aphrodite's Passion (2002) – Also retitled as The Charmed Affair of an Invisible Bodyguard. This book focuses on Hale, a Protector who works as a romance cover model, as he attempts to retrieve a stolen magical girdle and falls for mortal Tracy Tannin.
5. Book 3: Aphrodite's Secret (2003) – Also retitled as The “Super” Secret Life of an Accidental Daddy. The story follows Jason Murphy, a Protector attempting to hide his powers while fighting to win back his true love and raise his young son.
6. Book 4: Aphrodite's Flame (2004) – Also retitled as Never Trust a Rogue on a Magical Mission. This installment focuses on the redemption of Mordi, a former villain in the Protector universe who must complete a high-stakes mission and finds love along the way.
7. Book 4.5: Aphrodite's Delight (2008) – Also published as A Step in the Right Direction, and retitled as How a Sexy Hero and a Marvelous Makeover (Sorta!) Saved the World. A fun companion novella detailing a humorous, low-stakes superhero intervention.
8. Book 4.75: Aphrodite's Embrace (2013) – A standalone novella originally printed in a 2007 anthology, wrapping up minor character threads.

Understanding the Publication History and Retitles

For readers trying to collect physical copies or buy digital editions, the Protector series can be incredibly confusing. Julie Kenner (who also writes bestselling romance as J. Kenner) originally published the main novels through Dorchester Publishing between 2001 and 2004. Years later, she reclaimed the rights to these books and self-published them. During this transition, she rebranded the collection as the Extraordinarily Yours series and gave almost every book a new, highly descriptive, comedic title.

If you are searching online storefronts or used bookstores, keep this checklist handy to avoid buying duplicate copies of the same book under different names:

• The Cat's Fancy is identical to The Seductive Charm of a Sexy Shifter.
• Aphrodite's Kiss is identical to So (Very!) Much More Than the Girl Next-door.
• Seeking Single Superhero is identical to Mayhem, Matchmakers and a Bit of Bewitching.
• Aphrodite's Passion is identical to The Charmed Affair of an Invisible Bodyguard.
• Aphrodite's Secret is identical to The “Super” Secret Life of an Accidental Daddy.
• Aphrodite's Flame is identical to Never Trust a Rogue on a Magical Mission.
• Aphrodite's Delight is identical to How a Sexy Hero and a Marvelous Makeover (Sorta!) Saved the World.

What to Know Before You Start

Julie Kenner’s Protector universe is built on a lighthearted, slightly satirical premise: what if superheroes were descended from the Greek gods, and what if their heroic deeds were governed by a rigid, bureaucratic agency? The tone of the series is heavily inspired by late 1990s and early 2000s romantic comedies, featuring fast-paced dialogue, slapstick situations, and highly unusual sidekicks—including talking ferrets, shapeshifting dolphins, and magic mirrors.

While each book features a self-contained romance with a clear Happy Ever After (HEA) for the main couple, they are not true standalones. The characters from earlier books frequently reappear as friends, mentors, or colleagues in later volumes. Crucially, the prequel The Cat's Fancy is not a superhero book—it is a shifter romance about a cat turned human—but reading it first is highly recommended because it introduces the recurring mortal investigators who help the Protectors in subsequent books.