Chronological order
The Hades x Persephone Saga is best read in chronological order, with the paired perspective novels placed beside the events they cover, by following this sequence:[3-10]
| Order | Cover | Title | First published | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
A Touch of Darkness | 2019[11] | Introduces Persephone, Hades, the contract, and the Underworld. |
| 2 |
|
A Game of Fate | 2020[12] | Retells the opening arc from Hades’s perspective. |
| 3 |
|
A Touch of Ruin | 2020[13] | Continues Persephone’s story after the first romance arc. |
| 4 |
|
A Game of Retribution | 2022[14] | Covers the same broad period through Hades’s parallel conflicts. |
| 5 |
|
A Touch of Malice | 2021[15] | Advances the engagement, divine politics, and open conflict. |
| 6 |
|
A Game of Gods | 2023[16] | Runs alongside the war-era events from Hades and wider perspectives. |
| 7 |
|
A Touch of Chaos | 2024[17] | Continues from the major cliffhanger and resolves the war arc. |
| 8 |
|
A Christmas of Chaos | 2025[18] | Follows the main conflict with a later Underworld-set aftermath. |
Publication order
The publication order follows the order in which Scarlett St. Clair released the books and preserves the original reading experience. Therefore, as an alternative, the Hades x Persephone Saga books may be read in publication order, by following this sequence:[1-2]
| Order | Cover | Title | First published | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
A Touch of Darkness | 2019[11] | The original starting point that introduces the world, characters, and central romance. |
| 2 |
|
A Touch of Ruin | 2020[13] | Continues Persephone’s story and advances the main narrative. |
| 3 |
|
A Game of Fate | 2020[12] | Revisits the events of A Touch of Darkness from Hades’s perspective. |
| 4 |
|
A Touch of Malice | 2021[15] | Escalates the stakes with engagement drama, divine politics, and conflict. |
| 5 |
|
A Game of Retribution | 2022[14] | Companion novel covering overlapping events from Hades’s viewpoint. |
| 6 |
|
A Touch of Chaos | 2024[17] | Advances and resolves the central war storyline. |
| 7 |
|
A Game of Gods | 2023[16] | Expands the war-era events and broader cast through Hades’s perspective. |
| 8 |
|
A Christmas of Chaos | 2025[18] | A post-war holiday novella set after the main events of the saga. |
Works in sequence
The core reading experience consists of the main story arc, including the Hades-perspective companion novels that expand key events and character motivations. Together, these books establish the relationship, develop the Underworld setting, and carry the divine conflict through its main resolution.[3-9]
A Christmas of Chaos is best treated as supplementary for first-time readers because it follows the main conflict and focuses on later domestic, holiday, and aftermath material. It still belongs to the broader saga and contains continuing character material, but it should be read after the main sequence rather than included in the first essential path.[10]
Readers who want the fullest coverage of the world and relationships should include the supplementary work after completing the main saga.[3-10]
1. A Touch of Darkness
A Touch of Darkness (2019)[11] establishes the saga’s central framework: Persephone living secretly as a mortal student in New Athens, Hades ruling the Underworld, and a binding contract that draws her into his realm. It introduces the principal settings, the divine society, and Persephone’s conflict with Demeter.[3]
This novel also lays the romantic and magical foundations for the later books.[3]
2. A Game of Fate
A Game of Fate (2020)[12] returns to the opening span of the saga from Hades’s side of the story. It follows his bargain with Aphrodite, his discovery of Persephone, and the pressures surrounding divine law, Fate, and the Underworld.[4]
Because it overlaps substantially with A Touch of Darkness, it reads best afterward, adding context rather than replacing the original entry point.[4]
3. A Touch of Ruin
A Touch of Ruin (2020)[13] moves Persephone and Hades beyond their initial bargain into the consequences of public attention, divine interference, and Persephone’s growing power. This book depends on the established relationship and continues several personal and political threads introduced earlier.[5]
It also broadens the saga’s treatment of divine law, mortal vulnerability, and Persephone’s place beside Hades.[5]
4. A Game of Retribution
A Game of Retribution (2022)[14] follows the same general phase as A Touch of Ruin, but from Hades’s perspective and with additional attention to his obligations, Hera’s demands, criminal networks, and wider divine threats. As a companion continuation, it clarifies what Hades is facing while Persephone’s story is unfolding.[6]
This novel also expands plot threads that influence the broader conflict across the series.[6]
5. A Touch of Malice
A Touch of Malice (2021)[15] carries the main sequence into a more openly dangerous stage. Persephone and Hades face resistance to their union, escalating attacks in New Athens, and mounting conflict among gods, demigods, and anti-god forces.[7]
This book draws on the emotional and political developments of earlier installments.[7]
6. A Game of Gods
A Game of Gods (2023)[16] runs alongside the war-era material of A Touch of Malice while widening the viewpoint beyond Persephone alone. Hades remains central, but Dionysus, Ariadne, Theseus, and the larger divine conflict take on greater importance.[8]
This book is most useful when read after A Touch of Malice, since it expands the same stage of the saga’s escalating crisis.[8]
7. A Touch of Chaos
A Touch of Chaos (2024)[17] continues from the upheaval at the end of the preceding war arc and follows Persephone and Hades through the consequences of the Titans’ release, Hades’s captivity, and the conflict with Theseus and Cronos. It is the culminating main-story volume.[9]
This novel relies on the characters, alliances, enemies, and divine tensions established across the earlier books.[9]
8. A Christmas of Chaos
A Christmas of Chaos (2025)[18] takes place after the principal war arc and follows Hades, Persephone, and their circle during a later Christmas and Ascension celebration in the Underworld. It includes several ongoing relationships and aftermath details from the main saga, so it is not the best starting point.[10]
Its function is closer to a post-conflict continuation than to a separate introduction.[10]
References
- A Touch of Darkness. Scarlett St. Clair.
- A Christmas of Chaos. Scarlett St. Clair.
- A Touch of Darkness. Bloom Books. ISBN: 9781728258454.
- A Game of Fate. Bloom Books. ISBN: 9781728260730.
- A Touch of Ruin. Bloom Books. ISBN: 9781728258461.
- A Game of Retribution. Bloom Books. ISBN: 9781728259604.
- A Touch of Malice. Bloom Books. ISBN: 9781728258478.
- A Game of Gods. Bloom Books. ISBN: 9781728259710.
- A Touch of Chaos. Bloom Books. ISBN: 9781728259734.
- A Christmas of Chaos. Bloom Books. ISBN: 9781628864861.
- A Touch of Darkness. Bloom Books. Copyright page. ISBN: 9781728258454.
- A Game of Fate. Bloom Books.
- A Touch of Ruin. Bloom Books. Copyright page. ISBN: 9781728258461.
- A Game of Retribution. Bloom Books.
- A Touch of Malice. Bloom Books.
- A Game of Gods. Bloom Books.
- A Touch of Chaos. Bloom Books.
- A Christmas of Chaos eBook: St. Clair, Scarlett: Kindle Store. Amazon.com.