Lish McBride Books in Order
Explore Lish McBride's books in order, with quick summaries, series guides, and easy starting points for her funny, creepy fantasy and romance.
Last updated: July 14, 2026
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Lish McBride books in publication order
13 books
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer
by Lish McBride
2010
Fast-food worker Sam LaCroix learns he is a necromancer after catching the attention of the terrifying Douglas. With only days to choose between serving Douglas or resisting him, Sam must protect his friends and master powers he barely understands.
Necromancer
by Lish McBride
2011
In this short companion, Matt's childhood friend Ashley has started visiting again. That would be easier to explain if Ashley were not dead, and if she were not now Death with a late-night craving for waffles and fries.
Heads Will Roll
by Lish McBride
2012
Lena is no ordinary animal trainer, and Steve is no ordinary unicorn. When the pair enter a fight, their unusual partnership turns a simple contest into a sharp, offbeat fantasy adventure with plenty of unexpected danger.
Necromancing the Stone
by Lish McBride
2012
Sam is adjusting to life as a powerful necromancer, a council member, and protector of people he loves. But attacks, threats against his sister, and disturbing questions about Douglas force him to take control before everything falls apart.
Burnt Sugar
by Lish McBride
2014
Ava, Lock, and Ezra take an assignment for the magical mafia that leads them to a gingerbread house. They know better than to trust a place that sweet, especially when something far less friendly may be waiting inside.
Firebug
by Lish McBride
2014
Ava can start fires with her mind, but her power has made her a killer for the magical mafia. When she refuses an order to murder a family friend, Ava, Lock, and Ezra must run from the Coterie's brutal retaliation.
Freaks & Other Family: Two Stories
by Lish McBride
2016
Two short stories return to Sam LaCroix's supernatural Seattle. Sam and Ramon face a dangerous formal event and its hidden forces, while Ramon deals with life after becoming a were-bear, where family problems can be as hard as magic.
Pyromantic
by Lish McBride
2017
Ava is still bound to the Coterie, even after its leadership changes. As a new threat turns magical creatures violent, she must work with friends, exes, and uneasy allies to find the source before the danger spreads.
Curses
by Lish McBride
2021
Merit is turning into a beast and has until her eighteenth birthday to break a fairy's curse. Tevin, a charming young swindler protecting his siblings, becomes her unlikely ally in this lively, gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast retelling.
A Little Too Familiar
by Lish McBride
2022
Animal mage Louise wants to complete her apprenticeship, but new roommate Declan, an occasionally wolf-shaped man with a dangerous past, complicates everything. When his escaped parents seek revenge, Louise's feared magic may be their best defense.
Rough Around the Hedges
by Lish McBride
2023
Vanessa dreams of becoming a hedge witch, but her controlling father blocks the training she needs. Her best friend Will will do anything to help, even as his long-hidden feelings make their friendship harder to protect.
Red in Tooth and Claw
by Lish McBride
2024
After her grandfather dies, Faolan is sent to a remote settlement where a charismatic leader holds frightening control. Hiding that she is a girl, Faolan investigates strange deaths and must escape the monster stalking the fort.
Most Likely to Murder
by Lish McBride
2026
A prank replaces Meadowvale High's yearbook superlatives with predictions of grisly deaths. When the forecasts start coming true, outcast best friends Rick and Martina must identify the killer before their own label, Homecoming's Cutest Corpses, becomes reality.
Where to start with Lish McBride
For paranormal coming-of-age: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer → Necromancing the Stone
For supernatural crime and action: Firebug → Pyromantic
For a fairy-tale fantasy: Curses
For magical adult romance: A Little Too Familiar → Rough Around the Hedges
For darker standalone YA: Red in Tooth and Claw → Most Likely to Murder
Lish McBride sub-series and character series
An Uncanny Romance books in order
Explore this seriesFirebug books in order
Explore this seriesNecromancer books in order
Explore this series
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer
by Lish McBride
2010Necromancer, Book 1
Necromancer
by Lish McBride
2011Necromancer, Book 2
Heads Will Roll
by Lish McBride
2012Necromancer, Book 4
Necromancing the Stone
by Lish McBride
2012Necromancer, Book 3
Freaks & Other Family: Two Stories
by Lish McBride
2016Necromancer, Book 5
Necromancer books in chronological order
Standalone Lish McBride books
Author bio
Lish McBride grew up in the Pacific Northwest, a place she still seems fond of despite all the rain. Her books often carry that same damp, slightly offbeat atmosphere, then add ghosts, monsters, witches, magical crime bosses, or a suspiciously complicated family problem.
Her route into publishing ran through studying fiction. McBride spent three years at the University of New Orleans, where she earned an MFA in fiction and lived through Hurricane Katrina. She later returned to the Seattle area, bringing a love of horror movies, comics, weird creatures, and quick jokes to the page.
Her first novel, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, introduced Sam LaCroix, a fast-food worker who learns that the magical world has plans for him. The book mixes paranormal danger with a close-knit group of friends, deadpan humor, and a hero who would often rather be left alone. It was named an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, was a finalist for the William C. Morris Award, and won the Scandiuzzi Children’s Book Award.
That was a pretty good way to arrive.
McBride returned to that world in Necromancing the Stone, then built a separate but connected supernatural setting in Firebug and Pyromantic. Those books follow Ava, a young woman who can create fire with her mind and is trapped in a dangerous magical organization. Across both series, McBride keeps the action moving while giving real weight to friendship, loyalty, grief, and the messy work of deciding who deserves your trust.
Her later young adult novels show how wide that approach can stretch. Curses is a fairy-tale fantasy built around a cursed young woman and a charming swindler. Red in Tooth and Claw heads into a rough, magical Western world, where a teen girl hiding her identity is sent to an isolated settlement full of secrets. The settings change, but readers can expect capable young people, found family, sharp banter, and supernatural trouble that usually arrives at the worst possible time.
McBride also writes adult paranormal romance. In A Little Too Familiar and Rough Around the Hedges, magic is part of everyday life, from animal mages and familiars to hedge witches and werewolves. The romances are warm and funny, but the characters still have past hurts, family pressure, and real choices to work through.
She likes monsters, but she makes room for tenderness.
Outside her novels, McBride has published short fiction and worked as an indie bookseller and event host. She lives in Mountlake, Washington, with her family, cats, and a Chihuahua. Her public author notes also mention a preference for pie over cake, which feels entirely in keeping with the practical, funny people who populate her books.
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Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.














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