Not-Hoth, Not-Lost: Navigating the Ruby Dixon Universe Without Losing Your Mind

Less confusion, more blue alien cuddles.

If you’ve been hanging out in Alien Romance and/or Monster Romance, you’re more likely than not to come across Ruby Dixon. She is a prolific author who went viral in 2021 and is known for her expansive Sci-Fi universe and somewhat less known for her equally fantastic Fantasy worlds. Her series are sometimes interconnected, and her backlog is so vast that figuring out where to start reading can be intimidating. So below is an overview of most of her most notable series, including brief descriptions and notes.

💙 Ice Planet Barbarians (a.k.a. IPB)

• Books: 22 main titles, including Ice Planet Barbarians, Barbarian Alien, Barbarian Lover, and ends with Barbarian’s Bride.

• Premise Sketch: A group of human women crash-land on the icy planet Not-Hoth and encounter the blue-skinned, blue-eyed, horned Sa-khui aliens. Each book focuses on a different couple’s survival in the icy wilderness and their romance.

• Notes: The series gained viral popularity on TikTok in 2021, leading to an explosion of Dixon’s popularity and re-publication of IPB by Berkley Books.

• Can I start here? Totally. I started here, too. No other backstory is needed to dive right into the series that launched a thousand blue, spurred sex toys.

❄️ Icehome

• Books: 17 titles, starting with Lauren’s Barbarian and ending with Flor’s Fiasco.

• Premise Sketch: A spin-off from IPB, this series follows new characters stranded on a tropical island on Not-Hoth, exploring fresh dynamics and relationships.

• Notes: Features a diverse cast and delves deeper into the planet’s lore.

• Can I start here? You’d be much more grounded in what was happening if you at least got to Barbarian’s Tease in the IPB series.

👯‍♂️ Ice Planet Clones

• Books: Kicks off with R’jaal’s Resonance, Surviving Skarr, and, most recently, Romancing Rem’eb. This series is ongoing.

• Premise Sketch: Focuses on cloned Sa-khui warriors and their journeys to find love and identity.

• Notes: Expands the IPB universe by introducing themes of cloning and self-discovery.

• Can I start here? No. Make your way through to Flor’s Fiasco in the Icehome series before diving in here to fully appreciate what is happening.

🌾 Risdaverse

• Books: Over 15 titles, including Pretty Human (the technically first one), When She’s Ready, When She Purrs, and When She’s Common. This series is ongoing.

• Premise Sketch: Set on Risda III, a human colony where women find romance with various alien species, notably the Mesakkah, and Praxiians, but there are some clones and splices running around, too.

• Notes: This series is known for its stand-alone stories that can be read in any order.

• Can I start here? Yes! This is one of my favorite characteristics of this series. There is a cannon order, but it is not required to enjoy yourself.

⛓️‍💥 Risdaverse Stand-Alones

• Books: Currently includes Prison Planet Barbarian, The Alien’s Mail Order Bride, Bad Guy, and Worse Guy.

• Premise Sketch: All set in the Risdaverse, these novels explore an especially dark side of the Risdaverse where gladiators fight, and slaves are kept to serve their masters’ whims.

• Notes: These would be good options to dip a toe into Ruby’s world. They are all self-contained, and there is no background lore you must know to read any of them. However, there is a cannon order if that matters to you. I have them listed here in the order they are in.

• Can I start here? Have at it. These are called “stand-alone” for a reason.

🏴‍☠️ Corsairs & Corsair Brothers

• Books: Includes The Corsair’s Captive, Enticed by the Corsair, and Corsairs: Adiron.

• Premise Sketch: Space pirates adventure across the galaxy, falling in love with feisty women and getting into an impressive amount of trouble. It’s often a family affair.

• Notes: Introduces a broader galactic setting, connecting with the Risdaverse series. Expect lots of themes around family connected by both bond and blood.

• Can I start here? For sure. This series intertwines a bit with Risdaverse, but you don’t miss out on anything by choosing this one over the other.

🐉 Fireblood Dragons

• Books: 10 titles, starting with Fire in His Blood and concluding with Dark Fire.

• Premise Sketch: On a post-apocalyptic Earth, dragon shifters invade from space, leading to intense human-dragon pairings.

• Notes: This series is very, very loosely connected to the Risdaverse. The dragon shifters are the same as other dragon shifters that emerge in the Risdaverse and Ice Home. The focus, though, is on combining dystopian elements with paranormal romance.

• Can I start here? Definitely. The series is self-contained, and no outside lore is needed to fully appreciate what is happening.

⚓️ Aspect and Anchor

• Books: Start with Bound to the Battle God and then go to books including Sworn to the Shadow God and Wed to the Wild God. This series is ongoing.

• Premise Sketch: These fantasy romances start with scenarios where mortals are bound to powerful deities and must navigate divine drama and somehow survive.

• Notes: The themes here can be heavy. Destiny, power, sacrifice—when you find yourself among the gods, stuff can get intense.

• Can I start here? Jump in! Start with Bound to the Battle God and get ready to watch Ruby tell a story in Fantasy as well as she does in Sci-Fi.

🐂 Royal Artifactual Guild

• Books: Currently includes Bull Moon Rising and By the Horns, later in 2025. This is an ongoing series.

• Premise Sketch: Set in a world where adventurers retrieve magical artifacts, unique pairings like a runaway noblewoman and a minotaur team up to succeed in a world that is sometimes hostile to them.

• Notes: The Royal Artifactual Guide blends traditional fantasy tropes with unconventional and hot romance in a world that would make for a kickass tabletop game.

• Can I start here? Yes, and you are doing a good act by buying this series and elevating the reputation of indie authors in the traditional publishing space.

Ruby’s got your back!

Ruby fans can be assured your woman’s got your back. She keeps a comprehensive reading order PDF of her intertwining series, detailing reading orders and series connections.

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