Mona Kasten

Mona Kasten is a German author known primarily for New Adult romance novels written for young adult and adult readers. She was born in 1992, and her work is associated with contemporary German romance publishing rather than fantasy or crime. Her books have been published by LYX Verlag, an imprint especially prominent in German-language romance fiction. Kasten first attracted broad attention with Begin Again, published in 2016, the opening novel of the Again series. It follows Allie Harper after she leaves her family’s home and starts at Woodshill University, where she meets Kaden White. The series continues with Trust Again and Feel Again, followed by Hope Again and Dream Again.

In 2018, Kasten began the Maxton Hall trilogy with Save Me, followed by Save You and Save Us. The books center on Ruby Bell, a scholarship student at the elite Maxton Hall private school, and James Beaufort, heir to a wealthy family. Ruby witnesses something that could damage the Beaufort family’s reputation, bringing her into conflict and eventual intimacy with James. Unlike the Woodshill novels, this trilogy uses an elite-school setting and places social class, ambition, and family pressure at the center. Save Me became source material for Maxton Hall, a television adaptation released on Amazon Prime Video in 2024.

The adaptation stars Harriet Herbig-Matten as Ruby and Damian Hardung as James. Its first season was produced by UFA Fiction and became one of Prime Video’s prominent German-language launches in that year. Kasten’s role is not limited to one series. Her Again novels are set around students and young adults dealing with friendship, grief, romance, and decisions about independence. Lonely Heart, published in 2022, and Fragile Heart, published in 2023, form another connected romance story. These titles shifted attention toward a relationship between Rosie and Adam, whose connection develops through messages and emotional vulnerability. Her work has German audiobook editions.

Kasten has described writing stories in which characters face recognizable emotional conflicts rather than extraordinary worlds. That approach is visible in Begin Again, where Allie’s move to university becomes a test of boundaries and self determination. In Save Me, Ruby’s academic ambition clashes with the expectations attached to James’s surname and wealth. The books’ recurring settings—campuses, residences, and private schools—make social surroundings important to the plot. Kasten’s popularity is reflected in the continued expansion of her novels through print, digital, audiobook, and screen formats. Her bibliography spans several formats.