The Recommended Reading Order for Catherine Cerveny’s Luck Series
If you are diving into Catherine Cerveny's work, navigating her bibliography is refreshingly simple. She has written one central, highly acclaimed trilogy: the Felicia Sevigny series (often called the Luck series). Because the series follows a single continuous storyline with heavy character development and evolving political intrigue, it must be read in publication order. Reading these books out of order will result in major spoilers regarding character relationships, genetic revelations, and the political status of the universe.
1. The Rule of Luck (2016)
This is where the story begins. Set in the year 2950, the world has rebuilt itself after global wars under the strict rule of "One Gov." We meet Felicia Sevigny in Nairobi, where she works as a tarot card reader. Her life takes a dramatic turn when Alexei Petriv, a powerful and enigmatic Russian crime lord, walks into her shop. A reading reveals their fates are deeply intertwined, throwing Felicia into a web of conspiracy, genetics, and corporate control. It is a fast-paced science fiction romance that establishes the series' main themes of choice versus destiny.
2. The Chaos of Luck (2017)
In the second installment, the setting shifts from Earth to a terraformed Mars. Felicia and Alexei seek a new beginning away from the immediate reach of One Gov, but their pasts and trust issues follow them. While Felicia sets up shop fortune-telling for the Martian elite, Alexei is drawn back into dangerous operations. When corporate mining disasters strike and old flames resurface, Felicia's cards warn of a systemic threat that could shatter the fragile peace of the TriSystem.
3. The Game of Luck (2018)
The trilogy reaches its climax in this third book. The authoritarian hold of One Gov is beginning to crumble, and political instability threatens to throw humanity into chaos. Felicia now holds a delicate position within One Gov, hoping to guide the transition peacefully, but her marriage to crime lord Alexei Petriv makes her a target. When her family members go missing and factions try to weaponize her unique "luck gene" for control, Felicia must take a stand to protect those she loves amidst a looming revolution.
What to Know Before You Start
Catherine Cerveny’s Luck series stands out in the Science Fiction Romance (SFR) subgenre by offering detailed world-building alongside romantic tension. The setting of 2950 is rich with advanced technology, including age-halting gene therapies, genetic manipulation, and interplanetary travel. However, it remains grounded in raw human emotions and classic crime-syndicate drama.
Readers should expect a strong, slightly cynical heroine who relies on intuition and adaptability, paired with an antihero protagonist. The romance is central to the plot, featuring a "steamy" and high-tension dynamic that evolves over the course of the three novels. If you enjoy futuristic dystopian settings mixed with dark romance and mafia-adjacent power struggles, this trilogy is tailored for you.
Are There Any Spin-offs, Side Stories, or Alternate Orders?
Currently, there are no spin-offs, short story prequels, companion novellas, or co-authored projects set in the Luck universe. Catherine Cerveny wrote this series as a direct, self-contained trilogy. There is no chronological detour to worry about; the storyline marches straight forward from the first chapter of The Rule of Luck to the final pages of The Game of Luck. This makes the trilogy an excellent, fuss-free binge-read for fans of complete sci-fi romance series.