Donna McDonald Books in Order

Where to Start: Finding Your Ideal Reading Path

With a signature blend of humor, steam, and relatable protagonists (especially characters finding love in their thirties, forties, and beyond), Donna McDonald offers several excellent entry points depending on your favorite genre:

• For Contemporary Romance: Start with Dating a Cougar, the first book in the signature Never Too Late series. It introduces the witty, adult-oriented tone that made McDonald a USA Today bestselling author. Alternatively, the lower-heat, romantic comedy series The Perfect Date begins with Never Is a Very Long Time.
• For Science Fiction Romance & Space Opera: Start with The Demon of Synar, kicking off the action-packed Forced to Serve series, or dive into the military cyborg romance of Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined with Peyton 313.
• For Paranormal Women's Fiction & Cozy Fantasy: Begin with Midlife Muse, the first book in the Nine Heirs and a Spare series, or follow the laugh-out-loud antics in 40 Ways to Say Goodbye from the Tales of a Midlife Witch series.

Contemporary Romance Series

Never Too Late Series

This is the series that established Donna McDonald's popularity, focusing on older protagonists rediscovering love and defying ageist stereotypes. The books are best read in order to follow recurring character circles:

1. Dating a Cougar (2011)
2. Dating Dr. Notorious (2011)
3. Dating a Saint (2011)
4. Dating a Metro Man (2011)
5. Dating a Silver Fox (2012)
6. Dating a Cougar II (2013)
7. Dating A Pro (2016)

The Perfect Date Series

A fun, lighthearted contemporary series focusing on second chances, designed with a slightly lower steam level than her other contemporary series. Reading order is straightforward:

1. Never Is a Very Long Time (2017)
2. Never Say Never (2017)
3. Never a Dull Moment (2017)
4. Never Ever Satisfied (2017)
5. Never Be Her Hero (2017)
6. Never Try to Explain (2018)
7. Never Look Back (2018)
8. Never Ever Been Better (2019)
9. Never Too Old To Date (2020)
10. Never Stop Believing (2020)

Art of Love Series

Focused on creative professionals, this series mixes romantic tension with artistic passions:

1. Carved In Stone (2011)
2. Created In Fire (2011)
3. Captured In Ink (2011)
4. Commissioned in White (2011)
5. Cruising Speed (2014)
6. Covered in Paint (2015)
7. Carved In Wood (2019)

Sci-Fi & Space Opera Romance

Forced to Serve Series

This space opera series combines interstellar politics, alien species, and romance. The story flows chronologically, so reading in order is recommended:

1. The Demon of Synar (2012)
2. The Demon Master's Wife (2012)
3. The Siren's Call (2012)
4. The Healer's Kiss (2012)
5. The Demon's Change (2013)
6. The Tracker's Quest (2014)
7. The Siren's Surrender (2020)

Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined

Exploring themes of genetic engineering and identity, these books follow genetically modified military cyborgs finding love and agency:

1. Peyton 313 (2014)
2. Kingston 691 (2015)
3. Marcus 582 (2015)
4. Eric 754 (2015)
5. William 874X (2018)
6. Nero 1000 (2019)
7. Ashland 297 (2020)

Alien Romance Comedy Series

McDonald has written several interconnected, lighthearted alien romances. These are organized into smaller sub-series:

• Aliens In Kilts: Reads sequentially: Matchmaker Abduction (2017), Nate's Fated Mate (2017), and Shades of Darcone (2017).
• Alien Guardians of Earth: Follows the feline-like alien protectors: Bad Panther (2019), Mad Panther (2019), and Dad Panther (2019).
• My Crazy Alien Romance: Follows the comedic adventures of Topper: Tangling With Topper (2016), Touching Topper (2017), Timeless Topper (2017), and Topper's Magical Christmas (2018).

Paranormal Women's Fiction & Shared Worlds

Nine Heirs and a Spare Series

Combining Greek mythology with paranormal elements, this series is best read in order:

1. Midlife Muse (2021)
2. Muse It or Lose It (2021)
3. Muse No More (2021)
4. ExMuse Me (2021)
5. Not aMused (2022)
6. Muse Inspired (2022)

Tales of a Midlife Witch Series

This series centers around the humorous struggles of a witch navigating midlife. Follow the numerical publication order:

1. 40 Ways to Say Goodbye (2023)
2. 40 Ways to Lose a Guy (2023)
3. 40 Ways to Tell a Lie (2023)
4. 40 Ways to Make Me Sigh (2024)
5. 40 Ways to Catch a Bad Guy (2024)
6. 40 Ways to Alibi (2024)

Robyn Peterman's Magic and Mayhem Universe

McDonald is a frequent contributor to Robyn Peterman's shared **Magic and Mayhem Universe**. Her contributions are broken into several series that can be read independently but share the same quirky rules of magic:

• Baba Yaga Saga: How to Train a Witch (2016), How to Date a Dragon (2016), To Yaga or Not To Yaga (2016).
• Baba Yaga Adventures: Whole Lot of Shiftin' Going On (2018).
• Game of Crones: Stone Cold Crone (2022), Crone Alone (2022), and Crone Wars (2023).
• My Crazy Paranormal Romance: Dragon Days, Witch Nights (2020), Talk Fairy To Me (2020), Howl About It (2021), and Second Chance Witch (2021).

Important Reading Order Caveats

When searching online libraries, readers often encounter database confusion regarding two collaborative multi-author universes. Keep these clarifications in mind:

• The Dare to Love Universe: This is a shared world created by Carly Phillips. While database records sometimes list the entire universe under McDonald's name, she only authored one book in this project: A Secret Dare (2016). Other books like Truth or Dare (by Allie K. Adams) or A Stranger's Dare (by Vonnie Davis) are written by different authors.
• The Hot SEALs Universe: Created by Cat Johnson, this military romance project includes various guest authors. The book Homebound for You (2016), which sometimes appears on McDonald's lists, was actually written by Yvette Hines.