Stephanie Archer Books in Order: Vancouver Storm, Queen’s Cove & Standalones (2026)
Stephanie Archer books in order is two series and two standalones, and 2026 is the year to catch up: The Wild Card closed out the Vancouver Storm hockey series in February, and Bedside Manner, her first medical romance, arrives in December. Below is every Stephanie Archer book in reading order with a spoiler-free hook, the Vancouver Storm and Queen’s Cove series sorted out (they get mixed up constantly), where to start, what’s coming next and hotter hockey picks for when you’ve run out of Storm.
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Stephanie Archer Books in Order: Where to Start
Start with Behind the Net. It’s the first Vancouver Storm book, the one that put Archer at the center of the hockey romance boom, and it’s the purest version of what she does: a grumpy goalie who barely speaks, a sunshine heroine who moves into his house, and a slow burn built out of protein smoothies and full sentences he only uses on her. Every Storm book follows a different couple and stands alone, but the Hartley sisters and the team carry over, so reading in order is the better ride.
If you’d rather have a small-town rom-com than a rink, begin with That Kind of Guy, the first Queen’s Cove book. If you only want her newest, The Wild Card and Bedside Manner both read as standalones.
One thing to know before you buy: Archer’s heroes are the soft kind. Jamie, Rory, Hayden, Alexei and Tate are protective, devoted and very willing to say so in bed, but none of them is a dark romance hero, and the conflict comes from careers, families and old wounds rather than danger.
The Vancouver Storm Series in Order
Five books about a fictional NHL team in Vancouver, one couple per book, all standalone. Heat is 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ explicit: open door, generous and warm rather than dark. Archer self-published the series on Kindle first; Orion picked up the UK paperbacks in 2024 and Penguin Random House re-released the US editions in 2025, which is why there are so many covers floating around.
- Behind the Net (2023): Jamie Streicher is a top NHL goalie, newly traded to the Storm, focused on hockey and on caring for his mother. Pippa Hartley is a musician who has lost faith in music and takes the job as his live-in personal assistant. They had secret crushes on each other in high school. Grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, friends to lovers, and he falls silently. Our list of books like Behind the Net has the readalikes.
- The Fake Out (2023): Hazel Hartley, Pippa’s sister, is the Storm’s physiotherapist. Rory Miller is the league’s top scorer, her ex’s new teammate and rival, and the boy she tutored in high school. She fake-dates him to get back at her ex, and starts to wonder whether Rory was ever pretending. Our books like The Fake Out guide picks up from here.
- The Wingman (2024): Hayden Owens becomes a dating coach for his friend Darcy, which goes about as well for his heart as you’d expect. Friends to lovers, with the Storm’s most golden-retriever hero.
- Gloves Off (2025): Georgia has to marry to claim an inheritance and asks Storm defenseman Alexei Volkov, a man she doesn’t much like, to help. Enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, and the series’ most tightly wound hero.
- The Wild Card (February 3, 2026): Tate Ward is a former star turned head coach of the Storm and a single dad. Jordan Hathaway was happy running a bar until her father threatened to sell the team, and now she’s the newest member of Tate’s staff. He moves her into his guest house, trusts her with his daughter and fires the person who made her cry. Boss and employee, single dad, forced proximity, and the fifth and final Storm book.
The Queen’s Cove Series in Order
Four small-town rom-coms built around the Rhodes brothers, written before and alongside the early Storm books. No hockey. Heat is 🌶️🌶️🌶️ open door, a notch gentler than the Storm series, with the comedy doing more of the work.
- That Kind of Guy (2021): Avery Adams manages a restaurant she wants to buy. Emmett Rhodes is running for mayor and needs a wife. A fake engagement solves both problems, until it doesn’t. Archer’s debut and the Queen’s Cove opener.
- The Wrong Mr. Right (2022): Hannah is a shy bookstore owner nearing thirty. Wyatt is a laid-back surfer. They trade social media management for surf lessons. Small-town friends to lovers.
- In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes (2022): Holden and Sadie end up co-owning an inn and make a deal to find him a wife, with a friends-with-benefits clause that sabotages the plan. Enemies to friends to lovers.
- Finn Rhodes Forever (2023): Finn is a firefighter who broke the heroine’s heart twelve years ago. She’s a PhD student who needs a summer of fieldwork to finish, and he’s the help she can’t refuse. She agrees to fake-date him hoping he’ll dump her; he’s planning to win her back. Second chance, and the last Rhodes brother.
The Standalones: The Heartbreak Rule and Bedside Manner
- The Heartbreak Rule (2022): Gemma is a rising stand-up comedian who hates Reid, her best friend’s ex. When her comedy club closes overnight, Reid offers the comics his old theatre. A truce becomes something else. Enemies to lovers, slow burn, 🌶️🌶️🌶️ open door.
- Bedside Manner (December 2026): Dr. Linden Starling is a medical resident with money problems, and Dr. Grant Cross is the grumpy pediatric plastic surgeon she works under. She becomes a high-end escort; he becomes her first client, strictly no feelings. Then his fellowship is threatened by his terrible people skills and she offers to pose as his girlfriend to fix his reputation. Archer’s first hospital romance, listed as 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ explicit.
All Stephanie Archer Books in Publication Order
- That Kind of Guy (2021)
- The Wrong Mr. Right (2022)
- The Heartbreak Rule (2022)
- In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes (2022)
- Finn Rhodes Forever (2023)
- Behind the Net (2023)
- The Fake Out (2023)
- The Wingman (2024)
- Gloves Off (2025)
- The Wild Card (2026)
- Bedside Manner (December 2026)
What’s Next for Stephanie Archer
The Storm series is complete at five books. Bedside Manner, due in December 2026, is a standalone and a new direction, with a hospital instead of an arena. No screen adaptation of Behind the Net or the Storm series has been announced as of October 2026, which, given how many hockey romances are currently in development, feels like a matter of time.
Vancouver Storm vs. Queen’s Cove: which is which?
Readers search for That Kind of Guy as a Vancouver Storm book all the time. It isn’t. Vancouver Storm is the hockey series: Behind the Net, The Fake Out, The Wingman, Gloves Off and The Wild Card. Queen’s Cove is the small-town Rhodes brothers series: That Kind of Guy, The Wrong Mr. Right, In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes and Finn Rhodes Forever. The Heartbreak Rule and Bedside Manner belong to neither.
Read Next: Hotter Picks From Fractal Enigma
Archer readers come for the grumpy goalie, the fake relationship that gets too real and the quiet competence of people who work inside a hockey team. These Fractal Enigma reads keep all of that and run the heat to Inferno. The full shelf is in our hockey romance reading guide.
Goalie Problems — Tessa Valehart
The Northbridge Wolves hire goaltending coach Wren Cassidy for eight weeks to fix a starter who keeps getting beaten by the same goal, and she’s the only person in the building who thinks that’s good news. He’s grumpy, enormous and does not take instruction. She stands in his crease and tells him to prove it. Behind the Net’s goalie energy with the woman in charge of the drills, and no fade to black.
Heat: Inferno 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tropes: Coach × Goalie, Forbidden Workplace Romance, Grumpy Hero, Competence Kink, Praise Kink, He Falls First
Start reading Goalie Problems →
Sin Bin — Rowan Black
Tommy Catalano is Chicago’s favorite party boy, until a viral video of him punching a fan threatens his career. The crisis manager hired to save it proposes a fake relationship, and the secret he’s hidden for thirty years starts to show. The Fake Out’s arrangement with a hockey player who has far more to lose, plus neurodivergent representation handled with care.
Heat: Inferno 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tropes: Fake Dating, Grumpy/Sunshine, Found Family, He Falls First, Neurodivergent Rep
Off the Ice — Chase Power
Rafe Donnelly is the league’s golden boy, until his knee goes. He ends up on crutches in the spare room of an older ex-player with no stairs and a contract clause that says nobody lays a finger on him for six weeks. Nobody said anything about telling him what to do. An MM take on the live-in forced proximity that made Behind the Net work, with the caretaking turned up and the door wide open.
Heat: Inferno 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tropes: Injured Athlete, Age Gap, Roommates to Lovers, Forbidden Romance, Praise Kink, Brat/Tamer, Comeback Story
Hat Trick & Hickeys — Chase Power
Leo “Lightning” Kostas is the NHL’s most charismatic winger and its most reckless, and after a viral bar incident the franchise orders an image rehab: a wholesome, photogenic, brand-safe relationship. The man they pick is Jonah Park, the team’s brilliant, private head of analytics. Fake dating for the cameras, real feelings in the film room, for readers who want The Fake Out between two men. More on our MM hockey romance shelf.
Heat: Inferno 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tropes: Fake Dating, Enemies to Lovers, Workplace Romance, Secret Relationship, Praise Kink, Found Family
Start reading Hat Trick & Hickeys →
FAQ: Stephanie Archer Reading Order
Do you need to read Stephanie Archer’s books in order?
No. Every book follows a new couple to its own ending. Within Vancouver Storm, The Fake Out reads better after Behind the Net because Hazel and Pippa are sisters and the team is the same, and The Wild Card assumes you know the Storm’s staff. Queen’s Cove can be read in any order.
Which Stephanie Archer book should I read first?
Behind the Net for hockey, That Kind of Guy for small-town rom-com. If you want her most recent, The Wild Card.
How spicy are Stephanie Archer’s books?
Open door throughout. Vancouver Storm sits around 4 chilis, explicit and frequent; Queen’s Cove and The Heartbreak Rule are closer to 3, with more banter than bedroom. Our romance spice levels guide explains the scale; every Fractal Enigma pick above is Inferno.
Is Behind the Net being made into a show?
Not that anyone has announced as of October 2026. If you want hockey romance on screen while you wait, Heated Rivalry is the one already streaming, and our guide to books like Heated Rivalry maps the reads around it.
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