The Princess Trials Books in Order

How to Read The Princess Trials Series in Order

If you love the high-stakes survival of The Hunger Games mixed with the royal drama and romance of The Selection, Cordelia K. Castel’s dystopian young adult series The Princess Trials (also referred to as the Phangloria series) is built for you. The books follow a clear progression, but the series is divided into two distinct narrative arcs and includes a companion novella. Reading them in publication order is highly recommended to avoid major spoilers.

1. The Core Phangloria Trilogy (Zea Calico's Story)

The series begins with the original trilogy set in the post-apocalyptic Kingdom of Phangloria. This arc focuses on Zea Calico, a low-class harvester who enters a brutal, televised royal pageant to marry Prince Kevon, while secretly serving as a spy for the rebel faction known as the Red Runners.

• The Princess Trials (2020): Zea enters the trials. She must survive deadly arena challenges, cutthroat competitors, and the growing distraction of her feelings for the prince.
• The Rebel (2020): Categorized as Book 1.5, this companion novella is written from the perspective of Ryce Wintergreen, a rebel soldier and Zea's close ally. It is best read immediately after the first book to flesh out the political backdrop of the rebellion.
• The Princess Games (2020): The competition escalates, forcing Zea to navigate increasingly lethal trials and make a devastating choice between her loyalty to the rebellion and her heart.
• The Princess Crown (2020): The climax of Zea's story arc. Rebellion erupts across Phangloria, and Zea must decide how far she will go to overthrow the monarchy.

2. The Amstraad Republic Duology (Princess Briar's Story)

After the events of the core trilogy, the narrative shifts perspective and location. Books 4 and 5 focus on Princess Briar, a royal character who moves to the neighboring Amstraad Republic, only to find herself fighting for survival in an entirely new set of televised games.

• The Princess Purge (2021): Princess Briar is thrown into a violent, gladiatorial gameshow where the other contestants are trying to hunt her down for cash rewards.
• The Princess Strike (2022): Briar takes the fight directly to the corrupt president who orchestrated the games, aiming to dismantle the system once and for all while defending against a foreign invasion.

Chronological Order vs. Publication Order

Because the main storyline flows linearly, your chronological reading path matches the publication order. The only point of variation is the companion novella, The Rebel. You can read it as Book 1.5, or you can skip it initially and read it as a prequel after finishing the core trilogy. Here is the recommended sequence:

1. The Princess Trials (Book 1)
2. The Rebel (Book 1.5 / Companion Novella)
3. The Princess Games (Book 2)
4. The Princess Crown (Book 3)
5. The Princess Purge (Book 4 / Briar's Story Part 1)
6. The Princess Strike (Book 5 / Briar's Story Part 2)

What to Know Before You Start

Before diving into Phangloria's glittering but cutthroat world, keep these details in mind:

• Is the series complete? Yes, the main storyline wrapping up the Phangloria and Amstraad arcs is complete with the fifth book.
• The Case of the "Missing" Book: You may run across listings online for a book titled The Gauntlet Trials, which was originally scheduled for a late 2021 release. This book was ultimately canceled and never published, so you don't need to look for it to complete the story.
• Can the books be read as standalones? No. The trilogy (Books 1–3) forms a continuous story arc where each book picks up immediately after the previous cliffhanger. Similarly, Books 4–5 build directly on the fallout of the first three books while introducing Briar's plotline. Reading them out of order will spoil major character deaths, romantic pairings, and political twists.
• The Setting: The world is a post-nuclear United States where water is the ultimate currency, the land is mostly desert, and society is split into a rigid Echelon system. The high-contrast aesthetic blends clean, high-tech royal palaces with toxic, irradiated outer sectors.

Theme and Tone: Romance Meets High-Stakes Action

Cordelia K. Castel strikes a balance between intense action and slow-burn romantic tension. Unlike some survival game novels that focus purely on combat, this series places heavy emphasis on the psychological pressure of the televised competition. Zea has to balance her role as a symbol of hope for the oppressed harvesters with the realization that Prince Kevon is not the monster the rebellion made him out to be. The contrast between high-society glamour and gritty rebel hideouts keeps the pacing swift and engaging.