Waves Books in Order

The Waves books are where Ali Vali leans into fantasy romance, hidden history, and the pull between duty and desire. The series follows Kai Merlin and Vivien Palmer, two women whose lives are tied together by an encounter in childhood and by secrets neither fully understands at first. What begins as romance opens into something much larger, a story about legacy, belonging, and the cost of keeping an entire world hidden.

Kai is not simply a romantic lead. She is an heir, raised to protect her people and eventually rule them. Her responsibilities are enormous, and they shape every choice she makes. Vivien, by contrast, grows up with a strong feeling that something important sits just out of reach, especially in connection with the sea and the strange clues that have followed her family for years. When the two women reconnect, the attraction is immediate, but so is the sense that their lives were never going to stay ordinary.

The hidden world matters here.

In Beneath the Waves and Turbulent Waves, Vali builds a series that moves between New Orleans, the ocean, and the secret world tied to Kai's people. The fantasy elements are big enough to feel transporting, but the emotional center stays clear. Kai and Vivien have to figure out how love works when one woman carries the weight of a kingdom and the other is still learning where she belongs.

That balance gives the series its charm. There is royalty, ancient secrecy, family expectation, and the threat of enemies who would gladly destroy everything below the surface. At the same time, there is a very personal romance about two women trying to make room for each other inside lives that were mapped out long before they met again.

If you like fantasy that keeps one foot in emotional reality, Waves is a good fit. Start with Beneath the Waves and then move to Turbulent Waves. The books are best read in order, because the second one widens both the mythology and the stakes.