Below is the complete list of James Patterson’s BookShots Flames books in order. For this series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
Publication Order of BookShots: Flames Books
- Learning to Ride (2016)
(With Erin Knightley)
Learning to Ride was published in 2016 and is listed as book #1 in the BookShots Flames series. - Sacking the Quarterback (2016)
(With Samantha Towle)
Published in 2016, Sacking the Quarterback is listed as book #2 in the BookShots Flames series. - The Mating Season (2016)
(With Laurie Horowitz)
The Mating Season is a 2016 release and appears as book #3 in the BookShots Flames series. - The Return (2016)
(By Erin Knightley)
In the BookShots Flames series, The Return is book #4 and was published in 2016. - Dazzling (2016)
(By Elizabeth Hayley)
Dazzling was first published in 2016; within the BookShots Flames series, it is listed as book #5. - Bodyguard (2016)
(By Jessica Linden)
Bodyguard was published in 2016 and is listed as book #6 in the BookShots Flames series. - Hot Winter Nights (2016)
(With Codi Gary)
Published in 2016, Hot Winter Nights is listed as book #7 in the BookShots Flames series. - Radiant (2016)
(By Elizabeth Hayley)
Radiant is a 2016 release and appears as book #8 in the BookShots Flames series. - Exquisite (2017)
(By Elizabeth Hayley)
In the BookShots Flames series, Exquisite is book #9 and was published in 2017. - Seducing Shakespeare (2017)
(By Tabitha Ross)
Seducing Shakespeare was first published in 2017; within the BookShots Flames series, it is listed as book #10. - Bedding the Highlander (2017)
(By Sabrina York)
Bedding the Highlander was published in 2017 and is listed as book #11 in the BookShots Flames series. - Sabotage (2017)
(By Jessica Linden)
Published in 2017, Sabotage is listed as book #12 in the BookShots Flames series. - 50 Hidden Desires (2017)
(With Jessica Lemmon)
50 Hidden Desires is a 2017 release and appears as book #13 in the BookShots Flames series. - Sexy Summer Flings (2017)
(With Codi Gary)
In the BookShots Flames series, Sexy Summer Flings is book #14 and was published in 2017. - Love Me Tender (2017)
(With Laurie Horowitz)
Love Me Tender was first published in 2017; within the BookShots Flames series, it is listed as book #15. - The Experiment (2017)
(By HelenKay Dimon)
The Experiment was published in 2017 and is listed as book #16 in the BookShots Flames series. - The Weekend Wife (2017)
(By Beth Ciotta)
Published in 2017, The Weekend Wife is listed as book #17 in the BookShots Flames series. - Dawn’s Early Light (2017)
(By Jessica Scott)
Dawn's Early Light is a 2017 release and appears as book #18 in the BookShots Flames series. - Christmas Sanctuary (2017)
(By Lauren Hawkeye)
In the BookShots Flames series, Christmas Sanctuary is book #19 and was published in 2017. - Shopping for Love (2018)
(By Renee Carlino)
Shopping for Love was first published in 2018; within the BookShots Flames series, it is listed as book #20. - Once Upon a Kiss (2018)
(By Sara Jane Stone)
Once Upon a Kiss was published in 2018 and is listed as book #21 in the BookShots Flames series.
About BookShots: Flames
BookShots Flames is not a conventional James Patterson “series” in the sense of one recurring protagonist or one continuous storyline. It is better understood as a branded romance line: short, fast-reading novels by a range of romance writers, presented under the BookShots model and tied together by format, tone, and publishing concept rather than by shared plot. Patterson’s official site groups the titles under a dedicated BookShots Flames page, and publisher pages describe them as “original romances” meant to be read in just a few hours. That framing is the most important thing to understand before reading the list above, because it explains why the books can sit together on one page while still feeling so different from one another.
That publishing model shaped the identity of the line. The wider BookShots concept was built around very short commercial fiction designed for speed and accessibility, and BookShots Flames applied that approach specifically to romance. These books were not trying to become sprawling emotional sagas or deeply interconnected series fiction. They were designed to deliver a strong romantic hook, a quick emotional payoff, and a high level of readability in a compressed format. In practice, that means the line works more like a shelf of themed romance novellas than like a narrative sequence. A reader moving through the books in order is following a publishing program, not one evolving fictional world.
The variety of authors is a major part of that identity. Publisher pages for individual titles show contributions from writers such as Sara Jane Stone, Erin Knightley, Jessica Linden, Elizabeth Hayley, Samantha Towle, and Jen McLaughlin, among others. That range matters because it keeps the line from feeling mechanically uniform. Even though the books share the same BookShots Flames branding and the same short-form promise, each writer brings a slightly different romantic texture. Some titles lean toward contemporary small-town feeling, others toward glamour, second chances, sports romance, or high-heat attraction under pressure. The common thread is pace and immediate emotional access, not one fixed narrative voice.
That is why BookShots Flames fits into Patterson’s bibliography in a very particular way. It sits alongside the broader BookShots experiment rather than alongside his detective franchises like Alex Cross or Private. The appeal here is not recurring character investment over many installments, but the ability to pick up a short romance that promises momentum and finish it quickly. In that sense, the line says as much about publishing strategy as it does about story. It reflects a period when Patterson’s brand was being extended across multiple genres through compact, highly marketable formats designed for instant consumption. BookShots Flames simply gave that strategy a romance label.
The books also tend to share a certain kind of emotional directness. Because they are short, they cannot spend long stretches on elaborate worldbuilding or slow-burn complexity. They rely on immediate chemistry, clean setups, and recognizable romance frameworks that can take hold quickly. That does not make them interchangeable, but it does mean they are built to hit fast and clearly. A title like Once Upon a Kiss openly pitches itself through a one-night encounter that becomes something more, while books such as Learning to Ride, Bodyguard, Radiant, Sacking the Quarterback, and The Return show how the line moved easily through popular romance subtypes without losing its overall branding.
So the most useful way to read the BookShots Flames titles is not as one story developing over time, but as a curated romance lane within the larger Patterson publishing machine. The list above gives the order of release, but the real reward comes from seeing how one branded concept could hold many different kinds of romantic storytelling in a single, recognizable format. That makes BookShots Flames less a series in the usual literary sense and more a snapshot of a publishing experiment aimed at readers who wanted romance with speed, heat, and very little delay between premise and payoff.