Assassins Books in Order

The Assassins series is where Toni Aleo’s hockey universe begins. Centered on the fictional NHL team the Nashville Assassins, these books mix the fast pace of pro sports with messy, heartfelt relationships that unfold far beyond the rink.

Each story focuses on a different player and the person who upends his carefully controlled life. In Taking Shots, shy photographer Elli Fisher has to decide whether she can trust star captain Shea Adler after years of emotional abuse left her convinced she is not enough. Trying to Score follows sniper Lucas Brooks as he returns to Nashville desperate to win back Fallon Parker, the woman he broke and the mother of the child he did not know he had. Empty Net introduces rookie goalie Tate Odder, whose grief over losing his family collides with Audrey Parker’s deep sense of never being chosen.

Blue Lines turns a one-night stand into a surprise pregnancy when party‑boy winger Erik Titov and sweet, underestimated Piper Allen are forced to reconsider what they want from each other. The novella Falling for the Backup gives a second chance to injured goaltender Jordan Ryan and schoolteacher Aynslee Shaw after a charged conversation on a plane. Later novels and novellas broaden the canvas: we see players in rehab, couples planning weddings and holidays, and veterans wrestling with retirement and the pressure of living up to their own legends.

The series has a strong thread of found family. Readers watch the locker room evolve from a collection of cocky professionals into a tight clan that celebrates babies, rallies around injured teammates, and steps in when someone is spiralling. Partners and kids are not on the sidelines; they show up at practices, hang out in luxury boxes, and occasionally cause exactly the kind of chaos that makes a team feel real.

Tone‑wise, the Assassins books are steamy and emotional. Aleo does not shy away from big topics—addiction, past abuse, mental health struggles, the grind of professional sports—but she balances them with banter, friendship, and on‑ice triumphs. Expect long games, detailed play‑by‑play, and dirty jokes in the locker room, right alongside therapy sessions, heartfelt apologies, and quiet domestic moments.

If you like interconnected series where earlier couples keep reappearing, Assassins delivers. Characters you meet in the first books turn up at weddings and Cup runs many titles later, and side characters often grow into leads in their own right. By the time you reach the spin‑offs, the Assassins feel less like a roster and more like an extended family who just happen to carry sticks for a living.