Of Shadows and Fire Books in Order
Part ofMeg Xuemei X Books in OrderSee the Of Shadows and Fire books by Meg Xuemei X in order, with quick summaries, series background, and a clear suggestion for where to start.
Last updated: January 14, 2026
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Publication Order
3 books
The Fall of the Underworld
by Meg Xuemei X
2020
Ayanna’s climb to power has consequences, and the Underworld wants payment. With her mates and her crown in jeopardy, she faces the fallout of curses and wars she never meant to start, fighting to keep the realm from falling into chaos.
The Rise of the Underworld
by Meg Xuemei X
2019
Now known as Calamity, Ayanna must endure the Underworld’s trials long enough to claim her own power. With curses, rival factions, and fierce mates at her side, she fights to rise from captive to queen without losing herself.
The Burn of the Underworld
by Meg Xuemei X
2019
Princess Ayanna is pulled into the Underworld and thrown into brutal fights where survival is the only currency. Surrounded by dangerous men who speak of mating bonds, she must learn the rules of a realm built on power and punishment.
Series background & context
Of Shadows and Fire is a reverse-harem fantasy romance series that drops its heroine into the Underworld and dares her to survive long enough to matter. It’s a mix of brutal action, curses with rules, and relationships that start under pressure and only get more intense.
Ayanna enters the story as a princess with a past she’s running from, and the Underworld is not interested in giving her a gentle landing. She’s thrown into danger fast, including violent contests and power struggles where entertainment and punishment blur together.
The Underworld doesn’t care if you’re royalty.
Surviving means changing, and Ayanna does. Over the series she’s known by more than one name, including Calamity and the Queen of the Underworld, a shift that reflects how quickly she’s forced to step into power. She’s not just trying to escape, she’s trying to figure out what kind of ruler she’d be if she stops running.
As she fights for her life, Ayanna is pulled toward a group of fierce, possessive men who believe she’s tied to them by fate. They’re not a tidy set of love interests, they come with their own species, loyalties, and dark histories, and the series leans into the tension of wanting someone you don’t fully trust yet.
Magic is everywhere in this world, and it’s rarely kind. Curses, demigods, dark fae, vampires, shifters, and other fallen powers move around the edges of the plot, turning Ayanna into a piece on a board she never agreed to play. Over time, she starts making her own moves, even when the only choices available are bad ones.
The romance stays front and center, with very adult heat, but the books also keep raising the external stakes, battles, betrayals, and the fight for who gets to rule, and who gets to live. If you like stories where a heroine builds power the hard way, and love is both a weakness and a weapon, this series fits.
Read the books in order, starting with The Burn of the Underworld, then The Rise of the Underworld, and finally The Fall of the Underworld for the full arc of Ayanna’s climb and the cost that comes with it.
Edited by
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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