Blud Books in Order

The Blud books are where Delilah S. Dawson first laid out the full whimsydark toolkit, romance, danger, carnivals, blood, strange creatures, steampunk flourishes, and women who are tired of being controlled. The series begins with Wicked as They Come, when Tish Everett opens a locket and gets pulled from Earth into Sang, a world where humans live alongside Bludmen, who are close enough to vampires to scratch the same itch but weird enough to feel like their own invention.

Sang is the hook.

It is a place of caravans, performers, magic, strange politics, dangerous mayors, ghosts, monsters, and fashion that knows exactly what it is doing. Criminy Stain, the charismatic ringmaster who first brings Tish into that world, gives the series much of its early spark, but the setting is big enough to hold more than one romance or one heroine. As the books continue, other characters step forward and the world gets broader rather than smaller.

That matters because Blud is not only one couple's story. Wicked as She Wants shifts toward a colder, more royal corner of the world. Wicked After Midnight leans into performance, Paris, and rescue. The shorter works add more texture around the caravan and the people moving through it. So while the series absolutely delivers romance, it also works as ongoing worldbuilding with a lot of gothic theater around the edges.

The tone is lush, playful, and a little dangerous. Dawson is clearly enjoying the costumes, the kisses, the weird animals, the blades, and the blood, but there is also a steady interest in agency. These books keep returning to women trying to reclaim themselves from fear, abuse, expectation, or fate.

If that mix sounds good, start with Wicked as They Come. Expect a romantically charged fantasy world, a traveling carnival with teeth, and a series that likes its beauty touched with danger and its danger dressed for the stage.