Ruby Lionsdrake Books in Order
Browse Ruby Lionsdrake books in order, with quick summaries, pen-name background, series guides, and easy help choosing where to start reading.
Last updated: June 10, 2026
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Publication Order
18 books
Mercenary Instinct
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2014
Entrepreneur and archaeologist Ankari Markovich is hunting valuable samples when Captain Viktor Mandrake captures her for a bounty. Stranded amid ruins, rival hunters, and rising danger, the two keep finding reasons not to let the other go.
The Assassin's Salvation
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2014
Jamie Flipkens never expected life aboard a mercenary ship to get more complicated than unwanted attention from the crew. Then assassin Sergei Zharkov appears, and Jamie must decide whether the dangerous man she wants is there to help or to kill.
The Ruins of Karzelek
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2014
Treasure hunter Kalish hires Mandrake Company to help save her kidnapped father and search for a legendary alien artifact. Between jungle hazards, ruthless enemies, and charming intelligence officer Sedgwick Thomlin, trust becomes the hardest thing to find.
Trial and Temptation
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2014
Val Calendula joins a mercenary outfit to save her brother from prison, only to find her old academy instructor judging her fitness for the job. A brutal mission forces Val and Gregor Thatcher to reconsider everything they thought they knew about each other.
Frost Station Alpha: The Complete Series
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2015
This omnibus gathers the full Frost Station Alpha story. Lieutenant Tamryn Pavlenko arrives at a notorious research outpost expecting pirate trouble and instead collides with deadly secrets, surviving superhumans, and an enemy she cannot stop wanting.
Mercenary Courage
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2015
Viktor Mandrake wants a quiet stop on Midway 5 with Ankari, but the Fleet has other plans. A quarantine, old grudges, and no easy path back to the ship force them to fight for their future together.
Stars Across Time
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2015
Air Force pilot Andromeda Kim dreams of space travel, not being dragged into a ruined future by time-traveling slavers. Colonel Mace Theron is undercover among them, but protecting Andie may wreck both his mission and her only chance to get home.
The Pirate Captain's Daughter
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2015
Marat Azarov thinks he is rescuing a helpless slave woman and winds up deeply in over his head. Pirates, androids, and one reckless plan after another turn his attempt at heroism into a very messy adventure.
Dragon Bond
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2016
General Zala Shaylinor has spent years fighting dragons, so trusting one feels absurd. But when a magically bound dragon in human form offers a chance to change the war, she has to decide whether desire is clouding her judgment.
The Tracker's Dilemma
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2016
Sergeant Heath Hawthorn signs up for microbiologist Lauren Keys's research study in hopes of finally getting her attention. Instead, he starts hearing thoughts, seeing danger coming, and stumbling into a mission where romance could get them both killed.
Ariston
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2017
Former Marine Michelle Saunders takes a transport job to a planet full of ancient ruins and finds herself on the wrong side of galactic law. Undercover Star Guardian Ariston should arrest her, yet survival quickly matters more than procedure.
Hierax
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2017
Programmer Indi Smith is stranded far from Earth with no easy way home. When a dead planet starts sending a mysterious transmission, she and brilliant chief engineer Hierax must work together to decode it before their whole crew runs out of options.
Orion
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2017
Juanita is kidnapped from Earth by alien slavers and rescued by a fierce man who may be her best hope of survival. Undercover bounty hunter Orion needs to keep his cover intact, even if that means risking the woman he wants to protect.
Sagitta
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2017
Dr. Tala Matapang is grateful to be alive, but that does not make Captain Sagitta any less infuriating. While he defies his government to take the kidnapped Earth women home, pursuit and attraction keep pushing them into closer quarters.
Treyjon
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2017
Angela never planned on leaving Earth, much less falling for the Star Guardian who trains lethal alien predators. Treyjon knows the rescued human women are off limits, but Angela's calm way with his beasts makes forgetting her impossible.
Zakota
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2017
Former Navy pilot Katie Saunders is tired of being cargo while the Star Guardians fight to get everyone home. Helmsman Zakota may be the one person willing to see her worth, but a major battle is coming before either of them has time to hesitate.
Unchained
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2018
Neuroscientist Skylar Russo heads to an asteroid prison to study cyborg inmates and gets swept into a breakout instead. Diego and Jerick need her help if they are going to free their people, but siding with them could cost Skylar everything.
Mandrake Company
by Ruby Lionsdrake
2020
This full-series collection follows Captain Viktor Mandrake's crew through bounties, treasure hunts, pirate fights, and government traps. It is the easiest way to read the complete run of these connected space mercenary romances in one sweep.
Where should I start?
If you want the core space-mercenary series: Mercenary Instinct → Trial and Temptation → The Assassin's Salvation
If you want one continuous space-station arc: Frost Station Alpha: The Complete Series
If you want kidnapped-from-Earth adventure romance: Orion → Treyjon → Sagitta
If you want fantasy instead of space opera: Dragon Bond
Author bio
Ruby Lionsdrake is the science fiction romance pen name of Lindsay Buroker, an independent author who has spent years building a loyal readership in fantasy and science fiction. She was born in Seattle in 1977, and she has said she grew up as a huge reader who loved telling stories long before writing became her full-time work.
The road to publishing was not especially direct. Before fiction took over, Buroker worked a string of regular jobs, including lifeguard, fast-food worker, network administrator, and soldier in the U.S. Army. Later she spent years working from home as a blogger and affiliate marketer. It paid the bills, but it was not the same as making up worlds, crews, and impossible missions.
Around 2009, she decided to get serious about finishing novels instead of leaving them half done.
That push led to the books that made her name. Under Lindsay Buroker, readers often start with The Emperor's Edge, a fantasy adventure series with a scrappy heroine, a deadly ally, and a wonderfully odd crew. Other fans head for Dragon Blood for dragons and wartime stakes, Fallen Empire for space opera, or Death Before Dragons for urban fantasy in Seattle. The common thread is easy to spot: capable leads, lively banter, action that keeps moving, and romance that grows alongside the plot instead of replacing it.
Ruby Lionsdrake is where she leaned harder into the romance. The pen name covers her steamier science fiction and fantasy romances, including the Mandrake Company books, the Star Guardians novels, and the stand-alone fantasy romance Dragon Bond. If the Lindsay Buroker books are usually a slower burn, the Ruby Lionsdrake stories tend to put the attraction closer to the front while still keeping the fights, escapes, ruins, and space trouble coming.
She writes a lot, and that matters.
Buroker has spoken openly about becoming a full-time independent author after self-publishing early novels and discovering that readers were showing up for the ride. She had enough background in blogging and online marketing to handle the business side, but the real draw has always been the stories. Her catalog now stretches across dozens of books, and even when the setting changes from dragons to spaceships to magical detectives, the feel stays familiar in a good way.
Readers usually come to her for momentum and stay for the people. Her heroes can be stoic, socially awkward, dangerous, or a little too fond of plans. Her heroines are often practical, funny, and fully capable of saving themselves, even if they occasionally let someone help. Crews matter. Teams matter. Found family matters. There is usually some poor soul trying very hard to stay focused on the mission while feelings get in the way.
These days, she continues to write and publish independently. She has also mentioned hobbies such as tennis, hiking, and dogs, which fits the grounded, workmanlike feel of her career. There is nothing especially mysterious about the path, really. A lifelong reader decided to finish the stories she had been carrying around for years, and then she kept going.
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