Where Should You Start Reading Adriana Mather?
For readers new to Adriana Mather, the best starting point is her breakout debut novel, How to Hang a Witch. As a 12th-generation descendant of Cotton Mather—the infamous Salem Witch Trials figure—Adriana weaves her authentic family history, complete with ancestral journals, ghosts, and high school drama, into this atmospheric mystery. If you prefer high-stakes suspense, secret societies, and spy academies over supernatural curses, you can alternatively start with the thriller Killing November.
How to Hang a Witch Series (Salem and Titanic Ghosts)
This series blends real historical documents, modern teen dynamics, and paranormal occurrences. It is set in modern-day Salem and heavily references Adriana's ancestors. The series must be read in publication order, as the character relationships and supernatural rules build directly from the first book to the second.
- How to Hang a Witch (2016): Introduces Samantha Mather as she moves to Salem, faces the wrath of a popular clique known as the Descendants, and uncovers a centuries-old family curse alongside a handsome ghost.
- Haunting the Deep (2017): Shifts the supernatural focus to the Titanic. Samantha has to deal with another curse, this time tied to her family members who historically survived the tragic maritime disaster.
Killing November Series (High-Stakes Spy Academy)
If you love dark academia, puzzles, and stories about deadly training grounds (similar to The Ally Carter books or The Ivies), this duology is a perfect fit. Like the Salem books, these should be read in order because the second book picks up exactly where the first one leaves off, resolving the overarching global conspiracy.
- Killing November (2019): Follows November Adler, who wakes up in Academy Absconditi—a boarding school hidden from maps where students learn archery, poison, and martial arts, and where one student's murder changes everything.
- Hunting November (2020): November escapes the school walls and travels across Europe, playing a dangerous game of hide-and-seek to find her missing father and dismantle the secret society running her life.
Standalone Novels and Upcoming Romance
Mather has also expanded into contemporary romance and dark academia fantasy. These standalones can be read completely independently of her series in any order.
- Mom Com (2023): Mather's first adult contemporary romance, featuring a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story set during the winter holidays in a cozy Massachusetts bakery.
- The Breakup Artists (2024): A witty Young Adult romance about teen entrepreneurs who run a business helping peers break up from toxic or bad relationships.
- Alchemy of Souls (Expected August 2026): An upcoming YA dark academia fantasy centering on Grayson Stone and Eloise Belrose, who are magically bound together at the University of Magical Arts and must solve an ancient mystery.
Chronological Order vs. Publication Order
Because Adriana Mather's books are written in clean, self-contained arcs, there is no confusing chronological timeline to follow. Chronological order matches publication order within each respective series. You do not need to read the How to Hang a Witch books to understand Killing November, as they take place in entirely different fictional universes. Simply choose the genre you are in the mood for—supernatural historical mystery, deadly spy thriller, or cozy holiday romance—and read that series or standalone from start to finish.