How to Read the Stage Dive Series
Kylie Scott’s bestselling rockstar romance series follows the four members of the mega-famous rock band Stage Dive—guitarist David, drummer Mal, lead singer Jimmy, and bassist Ben—as they navigate the turbulent waters of global stardom, personal demons, and intense love. In addition to the four primary novels, the series includes five companion novellas that expand on secondary characters and offer heartwarming epilogues for the main couples.
Because the band members' personal lives, career milestones, and relationships evolve chronologically, the recommended reading order is the publication order. Reading the books out of order will spoil major plot points, including marriages, pregnancies, and sobriety journeys.
The Recommended Reading Order
- Lick (2013) – Focuses on lead guitarist David Ferris and Evelyn Thomas.
- Play (2014) – Focuses on drummer Mal Ericson and Anne Rollins.
- Lead (2014) – Focuses on lead singer Jimmy Ferris and Lena Morrissey.
- Deep (2015) – Focuses on bassist Ben Nicholson and Lizzy Rollins.
- Strong (2018) – A novella focusing on head of security Sam Knowles and Martha Nicholson.
- Closer (2019) – A novella focusing on bodyguard Ziggy Thayer and Mae Cooper.
- Love Song (2020) – A novella focusing on guest rock star Adam Dillon and Jill Schwartz.
- The Rhythm Method (2021) – An epilogue novella focusing on David Ferris and Evelyn Thomas.
- Just What I Needed (2022) – A novella focusing on music producer Dean Jennings and Jude (the band's nanny).
Deep Dive Into the Main Novels
1. Lick (David & Evelyn)
The series kicks off with a classic accidental-marriage trope set in Las Vegas. Evelyn Thomas wakes up on her twenty-first birthday on a bathroom floor with a massive hangover, a huge diamond ring, and a gorgeous, tattooed stranger named David Ferris. It turns out David is the lead guitarist for Stage Dive, one of the biggest bands in the world. As the media circus descends, Evelyn must navigate a sudden marriage to a man she barely knows, while David tries to balance his intense rockstar lifestyle with his growing, genuine feelings for his accidental wife.
2. Play (Mal & Anne)
Widely considered a fan favorite for its laugh-out-loud humor, the second book focuses on Stage Dive’s drummer, Mal Ericson. Mal is the outgoing, charismatic class clown of the band, but he needs a clean image to appease the press. Enter Anne Rollins, a quiet bookseller struggling to make ends meet. Mal convinces Anne to pose as his fake girlfriend to clean up his public profile. What starts as a convenient business arrangement quickly turns into a deeply emotional, hilarious, and steamy romance as Anne sees the vulnerable side of the loud drummer.
3. Lead (Jimmy & Lena)
The emotional weight shifts in the third installment, which tackles lead singer Jimmy Ferris's recovery journey. Jimmy is fresh out of rehab, notoriously difficult, and determined to keep everyone at arm's length. Lena Morrissey is hired as his live-in assistant to keep him on the straight and narrow. The tension between the brooding rockstar and his no-nonsense assistant builds slowly, offering a raw look at addiction, trust, and mutual redemption. It is a slow-burn romance that balances intense angst with Kylie Scott's signature humor.
4. Deep (Ben & Lizzy)
The core series concludes with the story of bassist Ben Nicholson. Ben is the quiet, protective member of the band who prefers to keep his life uncomplicated. Lizzy Rollins, Anne’s younger sister, has had a crush on Ben for years. After a passionate weekend together in Vegas, they go their separate ways, only for an unexpected pregnancy to bring them back together. Ben must step up and confront his fears of commitment, while Lizzy learns to stand on her own feet within the chaotic world of rockstardom.
The Stage Dive Novellas
After completing the main four novels, Kylie Scott continued to expand the Stage Dive universe through a series of novellas, many of which were published in collaboration with the 1001 Dark Nights collection. These stories focus on side characters who support the band or offer check-ins on the original couples.
- Strong (Stage Dive #4.5): Martha Nicholson (Lizzy’s cousin) and Sam Knowles (Stage Dive's head of security) find themselves in an unexpected romance, showing that the band's security team is just as protective in their personal lives.
- Closer (Stage Dive #4.6): Mae Cooper, a plus-size fashion stylist, is paired with Ziggy Thayer, a former military man turned bodyguard hired to protect her.
- Love Song (Stage Dive #4.7): A second-chance romance following rockstar Adam Dillon and his ex-girlfriend, Jill Schwartz, as they navigate their past and a potential future.
- The Rhythm Method (Stage Dive #4.8): A direct sequel novella to Lick. It catches up with David and Evelyn Ferris years into their marriage as they navigate the chaotic combination of parenthood and rock stardom.
- Just What I Needed (Stage Dive #4.9): Focuses on Dean Jennings, a music producer working with the band, and Jude, David and Evelyn's nanny, who finds herself being set up by the band members.
The Dive Bar Spin-Off Series
If you finish the Stage Dive series and want more of Kylie Scott's writing in the same universe, you should transition directly to the Dive Bar series. Set in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, this spin-off shifts focus from international rock arenas to a local bar, but maintains close ties to the original band.
Vaughan Hewson, a major character in the Dive Bar series, is introduced in Deep (Stage Dive #4). The Stage Dive band members also make frequent cameos in these books, making it a satisfying continuation. The Dive Bar books should be read in this order:
- Dirty (2016) – Follows Vaughan Hewson and Lydia Green.
- Twist (2017) – Follows Joe Collins and Alex Parks.
- Chaser (2018) – Follows Eric Collins and Jean Saunders.
What to Know Before You Start
The Stage Dive series is celebrated for its mix of lighthearted humor, sizzling romantic chemistry, and emotional depth. While the books are high on romance tropes—ranging from accidental marriage and fake dating to workplace romance and unexpected pregnancy—they also address serious themes such as substance recovery, family estrangement, and the loss of privacy. The stories are written in the first-person perspective of the female protagonists, keeping the narratives grounded in emotional reality.
For audiobook listeners, the series is narrated by Andi Arndt. Her narration is highly praised by the romance community and has contributed significantly to the series' enduring popularity. Kylie Scott's success with the series helped earn her the title of Australian Romance Writer of the Year multiple times throughout the 2010s, cementing Stage Dive's place as a staple of modern contemporary romance.