The Hunted Books in Order
Part ofIvy Smoak Books in OrderSee The Hunted books by Ivy Smoak in order, with quick summaries, character notes, and where to start with Penny and James.
Last updated: July 1, 2026
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Publication Order
9 books
Addiction
by Ivy Smoak
2015
Addiction
by Ivy Smoak
2015
Penny tries to move on after her affair with Professor Hunter crashes and burns. James has other ideas, and their connection only gets messier, hotter, and harder to escape.
Temptation
by Ivy Smoak
2015
Shy student Penny Taylor has a forbidden crush on Professor James Hunter, and the attraction is clearly mutual. Their affair starts hot, but James is hiding a darker life that could ruin them both.
Devotion
by Ivy Smoak
2016
With only a day left before the wedding, Penny and James are still dodging enemies, secrets, and last-minute chaos. The question is no longer whether they love each other, but whether they can actually make it to the altar.
Eruption
by Ivy Smoak
2016
New York should be Penny and James's clean start, but old secrets, an ex, and hostile family make that impossible. As the wedding gets closer, Penny realizes she may not know her fiance as well as she thought.
The Light to My Darkness
by Ivy Smoak
2017
James and Penny should be settled into family life, but fame and danger refuse to leave them alone. A new threat turns their hard-won happiness into something frighteningly fragile.
A Whirlwind of Color
by Ivy Smoak
2018
Penny wakes up with the perfect husband, family, and life, except she remembers none of it. James must help her navigate seven missing years before that blank space destroys them.
This Is Love
by Ivy Smoak
2019
James and Penny have found their way back to each other, but the cost has been high. This final chapter asks whether love can survive heartbreak, danger, and the damage left behind.
Seduction
by Ivy Smoak
2022
Penny is pregnant and determined to make the months before the baby unforgettable for James. It is a playful, extra-steamy bridge story with family stakes still waiting in the background.
Series background & context
The Hunted is the series that put Ivy Smoak on a lot of readers' radars, and it starts with one very simple bad idea. Penny Taylor is a shy, rule-following college student. James Hunter is her professor. They are immediately drawn to each other, and the books know that crossing that line will cost them.
That is the engine.
The early books lean hard into forbidden romance, but they are not only about sneaking around campus. James is carrying a whole hidden life with him, including money, family history, old wounds, and secrets that do not stay buried for long. Penny starts out looking like the safer, quieter half of the pair, but part of the fun of the series is watching her push back, make reckless choices of her own, and refuse to settle for half-truths.
The setting matters a lot here. The first stretch has that new adult college feel, classrooms, dorms, friends in and out of each other's business, and the constant pressure of being watched. Then the series widens out. By the time you get deeper into the arc, the story has moved past campus scandal and into adult problems, old enemies, New York complications, engagement drama, and the question of whether love can survive when trust keeps cracking under pressure.
It gets messy fast.
If you like romance that is smooth, tidy, and easygoing, this probably is not the series for you. The Hunted runs on tension, secrecy, obsession, and emotional whiplash. The books are sexy, angsty, and often built to make you say just one more chapter even when you know sleep would be the smarter move. Penny and James are not a calm couple, and Smoak never really pretends otherwise.
What keeps the series working is that it is not only hot. It is also deeply invested in how these two people change each other. Penny forces James out of the locked room he has built around himself. James pushes Penny toward a bigger, riskier version of her life. Around them, friends and family create a wider connected world that later spins into other series, but Penny and James are the center.
If you are deciding where to start with Ivy Smoak, this is the clearest answer. Begin with Temptation, expect cliffhangers, and expect the stakes to keep getting bigger as the romance turns into a full-blown saga.
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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