Last updated October 2026
V.E. Schwab has written adult fantasy, YA, middle grade, a superhero revenge trilogy, a vampire novel, and one of the most beloved standalones of the last decade. Which means "where do I start?" and "what order do I read her books in?" are very real questions.
This guide has every V.E. Schwab book in order, grouped by series, with what each one is about, which ones you need to read first, and where to start depending on your mood. With Victorious finally out and the Villains trilogy complete, it is the perfect time to dive in.
I just saw V.E. Schwab on her Victorious tour in Raleigh with my sister-in-law, and you can read everything she said in my V.E. Schwab tour recap, from the moment that made her decide to become an author to the secret project she is announcing in January.
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The Quick Reference: V.E. Schwab Books in Order
Villains (adult)
- Vicious (2013)
- Vengeful (2018)
- Victorious (2026)
Shades of Magic (adult)
- A Darker Shade of Magic (2015)
- A Gathering of Shadows (2016)
- A Conjuring of Light (2017)
Threads of Power (adult, same world as Shades of Magic)
- The Fragile Threads of Power (2023)
Adult standalones
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (2020)
- Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil (2025)
- The Ending Writes Itself (2026, co-written as Evelyn Clarke)
YA
- The Near Witch (2011)
- The Archived (2013) and The Unbound (2014)
- This Savage Song (2016) and Our Dark Duet (2017)
- Gallant (2022)
Middle grade
- City of Ghosts (2018), Tunnel of Bones (2019), Bridge of Souls (2021)
- Everyday Angel series (2014)
Do You Have to Read V.E. Schwab's Books in Order?
Within a series, yes. Across her whole catalog, no. Each series lives in its own world, so you can start with whichever one sounds best to you.
The two rules that actually matter:
- Read Vicious and Vengeful before Victorious. The finale is built entirely on Victor and Eli's history. It will not make sense on its own.
- Read the Shades of Magic trilogy before The Fragile Threads of Power. Threads brings back Lila, Kell, and Rhy and assumes you know how the trilogy ended, so reading it first spoils everything.
Her standalones (Addie LaRue, Bury Our Bones, Gallant) can be read anytime, in any order.
The Villains Series in Order
Superheroes with no heroes. People who survive near-death experiences sometimes come back with powers, and the Villains books follow what happens when two brilliant, competitive college roommates figure that out. Thirteen years from the first book to the last.
1. Vicious (2013)
Vicious by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Published: September 24, 2013 (Tor) | Audience: Adult
Victor and Eli are college roommates who set out to prove that near-death experiences can create superpowers, and it works. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison to find Eli, who now calls himself a hero. Told on two timelines, it is a revenge story that asks who gets to be the good guy.
It is dark, fast-paced, and so much fun, with a premise that hooks you immediately and a dual timeline that keeps the tension high.
Need a refresher? Read my Vicious summary, characters, and ending explained.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
ExtraOrdinary (2021), optional. A graphic novel set between Vicious and Vengeful, about a teenager who can see how people will die, and sees her own death at Eli's hands. Schwab has said its characters matter later in the series, so it is worth picking up if you want the full picture.
2. Vengeful (2018)
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Published: September 25, 2018 (Tor) | Audience: Adult
Five years later, Marcella Riggins walks out of the fire her husband set to kill her, able to turn anything she touches to dust, and decides she is done standing behind the throne. Victor, back from the dead but not quite right, and Eli, locked up by the agency that hunts people like him, get pulled into her plan to take over the city.
Middle books always catch some flack, and this one does too, but I really enjoyed it and happily reread it before Victorious.
Need a refresher? Read my Vengeful summary, characters, and ending explained.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
3. Victorious (2026)
Victorious by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Published: October 6, 2026 (Tor) | Audience: Adult
The finale. Victor, Sydney, and Mitch take on EON, the agency that contains people with powers, and Victor and Eli's rivalry finally gets its ending. Read Vicious and Vengeful first.
I saw her on tour the week it came out. Here is everything she said about writing it in my Victorious tour recap. I am reading this one now and will be back with my thoughts as soon as I finish!
Want everything out this month? See the October 2026 new releases.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
The Shades of Magic Series in Order
Four parallel Londons (Red, Grey, White, and the lost Black London) and only a handful of magicians who can travel between them. This is the series that made a lot of readers lifelong Schwab fans.
1. A Darker Shade of Magic (2015)
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Published: February 24, 2015 (Tor) | Audience: Adult
Kell is one of the last magicians who can move between Londons, and he has a habit of smuggling things across. When he carries one object too many, he collides with Lila Bard, a pickpocket from Grey London who wants nothing more than adventure.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
2. A Gathering of Shadows (2016)
A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Published: February 23, 2016 (Tor) | Audience: Adult
Months later, an international magic tournament brings old allies back together in Red London, while something dark stirs in the ruins of another.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
3. A Conjuring of Light (2017)
A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Published: February 21, 2017 (Tor) | Audience: Adult
The trilogy ends with every London in danger and everyone we love fighting to hold the worlds together.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
The Shades of Magic comics, optional. The Steel Prince, Night of Knives, and The Rebel Army are prequel comics about a young Maxim Maresh, Rhy's father. Read them anytime. They are extra backstory, not required.
The Threads of Power Series in Order
A new series set in the Shades of Magic world, years after the trilogy ends. Read the trilogy first.
1. The Fragile Threads of Power (2023)
The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Published: September 26, 2023 (Tor) | Audience: Adult
Seven years after the trilogy, a young runaway with a rare gift, White London's queen, and Lila Bard are pulled toward a new threat to the worlds. Two more books are planned, but no titles or dates have been announced yet.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
V.E. Schwab Standalone Novels
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (2020)
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Published: October 6, 2020 (Tor) | Audience: Adult
In 1714, a young woman in France makes a desperate bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Three hundred years later, in a bookstore in New York, someone finally remembers her. This is the Schwab book most readers have heard of, and the easiest place to start if you want something without a series attached.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil (2025)
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Published: June 10, 2025 (Tor) | Audience: Adult
Three women in three centuries (sixteenth-century Spain, nineteenth-century London, and present-day Boston), bound together by hunger and vampirism. A dark, gothic, sapphic vampire novel, and a perfect pick for October. The paperback came out in August 2026.
It also made my summer romantasy list.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
The Ending Writes Itself (2026)
The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke Book Cover
Published: April 7, 2026 (Harper) | Audience: Adult | Written with Cat Clarke as Evelyn Clarke
A locked-room mystery for book lovers. Six struggling writers are invited to a bestselling author's Scottish island, find him dead with his last book unfinished, and get seventy-two hours to write the ending. Schwab co-wrote it with Cat Clarke under the pen name Evelyn Clarke.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
V.E. Schwab YA Books (as Victoria Schwab)
Her young adult books are published under Victoria Schwab, and plenty of adult readers (myself included) love them too.
The Near Witch (2011)
The Near Witch by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Published: August 2, 2011 | YA
Her debut. Children start disappearing from a village on the moor just as a mysterious stranger arrives, and Lexi is determined to find out why. Reissued in 2019 with a new look.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
The Archived (2013)
The Dark Vault by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Published: January 22, 2013 | YA | Sequel: The Unbound (2014)
The dead rest like books in a hidden library, and when they wake up, teenage Mackenzie Bishop's job is to send them back. The two books are collected together as The Dark Vault, which is the edition linked here.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
This Savage Song (2016)
This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Published: July 5, 2016 (Greenwillow) | YA | Sequel: Our Dark Duet (2017)
In a divided city where violence literally creates monsters, a crime boss's daughter and a monster who wants to be human are forced together. The Monsters of Verity duology ends with Our Dark Duet.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
Gallant (2022)
Gallant by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Published: March 1, 2022 (Greenwillow) | YA
Olivia, an orphan who cannot speak, is summoned to a family estate she never knew existed, and it sits right next to a dark mirror world. A gothic standalone that crosses over beautifully to adult readers.
📖 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
V.E. Schwab Middle Grade Books
City of Ghosts by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
Cassidy Blake series. City of Ghosts (2018), Tunnel of Bones (2019), and Bridge of Souls (2021). After nearly drowning, Cass can cross into the world of ghosts, and her ghost-hunting parents' TV show takes her to Edinburgh, Paris, and New Orleans. A great pick for spooky-season readers ages 8 to 12. Start with City of Ghosts.
Everyday Angel series. New Beginnings, Second Chances, and Last Wishes (all 2014), about a young guardian angel helping three different girls through hard times.
Where to Start with V.E. Schwab, by Mood
- If you want her most beloved book, start with The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
- If you want a finished series you can binge, start with Vicious, Vengeful, and Victorious. Now that the trilogy is complete, there is no waiting.
- If you want big, immersive fantasy, start with A Darker Shade of Magic.
- If you want something dark for October, try Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil or Gallant.
- If you want a mystery, try The Ending Writes Itself.
- If you are shopping for a younger reader, start with City of Ghosts.
V.E. Schwab Book Adaptations
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. A film has been in development since 2020, with Augustine Frizzell attached to direct and Schwab producing. As of mid-2025, Schwab said the script was still being refined. No cast or release date yet.
- Shades of Magic. Film rights went to Sony in 2017, with a writer attached in 2019. No newer updates.
- Vicious. Film rights were optioned back in 2013. No newer updates.
- This Savage Song. A TV series was announced in development in 2022. No newer updates.
- First Kill. The Netflix series based on her vampire short story aired in 2022 and was canceled after one season.
Frequently Asked Questions
What order should I read V.E. Schwab's books in?
Read each series in publication order. For Villains, that is Vicious, Vengeful, and Victorious. For Shades of Magic, it is A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, and A Conjuring of Light, followed by The Fragile Threads of Power. Her standalones, including The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, can be read in any order.
Do I need to read Vicious and Vengeful before Victorious?
Yes. Victorious is the final book in the Villains trilogy and picks up directly from Vengeful. The whole story is built on Victor and Eli's history from the first two books.
Should I read Shades of Magic before The Fragile Threads of Power?
Yes. The Fragile Threads of Power is set years after the Shades of Magic trilogy and brings back its main characters, so reading it first would spoil how the trilogy ends.
What is the best V.E. Schwab book to start with?
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is the most popular starting point and is a standalone. If you want a complete series, start with Vicious, since the Villains trilogy is now finished.
Are V.E. Schwab's books connected?
Only within their series. Villains, Shades of Magic, and Threads of Power are separate worlds, though Threads of Power continues the Shades of Magic world. Addie LaRue and Bury Our Bones are standalones.
What is V.E. Schwab's newest book?
Victorious, the final book in the Villains trilogy, was published October 6, 2026, by Tor.
Does V.E. Schwab have a new book coming?
Yes. At her October 2026 Victorious tour stop in Raleigh, Schwab teased a secret project that will be announced in January and released later that year, in a genre she has only touched on before. Two more Threads of Power books are also planned, though no titles or dates have been announced.
Is there an Addie LaRue movie?
A film adaptation has been in development since 2020, with Augustine Frizzell attached to direct and Schwab as a producer. As of mid-2025 the script was still being worked on, and no cast or release date has been announced.
Is V.E. Schwab the same as Victoria Schwab?
Yes. She publishes adult books as V.E. Schwab and books for younger readers as Victoria Schwab.
Which Schwab book got you first? Tell me in the comments. And if you want more reading order guides like this one, The Weekly Bookmark newsletter is where I send them first.
