Guardians Books in Order

Guardians is the paranormal historical side of Mary Jo Putney's bibliography, a romantic fantasy sequence set in the eighteenth century where magic exists alongside politics, clan loyalty, and the ordinary dangers of travel and war. The key idea is simple and memorable: Guardians are people whose powers come from nature. Some can heal, some can sense, some can command elements or minds, and all of that power sits inside a recognizable historical world rather than a separate fantasy kingdom.

A Kiss of Fate lays out the foundation. Duncan Macrae is both Scottish laird and Guardian, which means he carries magical responsibilities as well as family and political ones. From there, the series expands the world rather than repeating the same couple dynamic. Stolen Magic follows Simon Malmain, an enforcer for the Guardian Council, as a mission against a rogue mage collapses into imprisonment, escape, and romance. A Distant Magic then pushes the scope wider again with Jean Macrae, a pirate ship, a man bent on revenge, and even a reach across time.

The world is one of the pleasures here.

Putney keeps the magic tactile and personal. Gifts are not just fireworks. They shape identity, family expectations, law, and even who can be trusted. Because the stories are also historicals, the settings matter a lot, from Scottish strongholds to Welsh forests, London streets, Mediterranean waters, and the edges of empire. The books have movement and danger, but the emotional center stays clear. People with unusual power still have to figure out love, duty, and what they owe one another.

Expect a tone that is more adventurous and openly fantastical than her straight historical romances, but still grounded in character. The heroes and heroines are not off saving the world in a vague heroic blur. They are handling rogue magic, family wounds, political pressure, and attraction that arrives at inconvenient moments. The stakes can be large, yet the books never lose sight of individual hearts.

If you like historical romance but want a stronger supernatural thread, this page is a very good entry point. Read in order if you want the Macrae and Guardian connections to unfold clearly. The series rewards readers who enjoy magic with rules, romance with danger, and a setting that lets powdered wigs, secret powers, and hard choices occupy the same room quite comfortably.