I love nothing more than to binge read an interconnected series of books in the summer time.
To me, summer is so entangled in reading. I spent summers as a young girl curled up outside reading books with my neighbors, trying to claim every prize available at the library summer reading program. There is just something about the sun warming your skin getting lost in a fictional world. So in a hot Central Florida summer, why not apply that sunscreen, a cute swimsuit and snuggle up to a good book by the pool and drift off into a series of romance novels?
I love the sneak peeks into character’s lives after their formal story ends. My favorite series involve groups of close knit siblings or groups of friends who stick together to see the others into their happily ever afters. Whether it is on my Kindle or a physical book, I can get lost in a good functional world.
I’ve read all of the books I’m recommending below. I have divided them into two groups: spicy and sweet. Spicy books have one or more open door romance scenes with explicit language while the sweet books do not have more than fiery kisses with the suggestion of something more. Most of the books in these series can be read as a standalone novel, but the story is enhanced if you read them in the order that the author recommends. I will indicate which book I think you should start with in each series recommendation. And I am always happy to answer any questions you may have about heavy topics in these books.
Sweet Series:
Some Kind of Love by Jenny Proctor:
This series is was my introduction to Jenny Proctor’s work and I absolutely fell in love with her writing. I first listened to the audio book of “Love Unexpected” which is actually the second book in the series and starting here (instead of the first) did not impact my love for the book or characters at all. Third in the series is “Love Off Limits” which features Olivia Hawthorne whose brothers have their own series that I also love. “Love Redesigned” and “Love in Bloom” are the titles of the other books in this series. Each of these books gives the characters their happily ever after and is the first in my recommendations for a very mild spice series. The lack of spice does not impact the love these characters at all.
Hawthorne Brothers by Jenny Proctor:
This series follows brothers Brody (How to Kiss Your Best Friend), Perry (How to Kiss Your Grumpy Boss), Lennox (How to Kiss Your Enemy, scheduled to release on May 2, 2023) and Flint (title to be announced). I love that these are the brothers of Olivia from “Love Off Limits” because I love seeing her and Tyler happy in these books. Did I mention that I also love Jenny Proctor’s writing. Each book is laugh out loud funny and the endings are always epic. I have no problem recommending this series when two of the books aren’t out yet because I just know in my heart they will be amazing.
Love Cliches by Emma St. Clair:
Talk about an amazing group of girlfriends! This series follows best friends and roommates Abby, Zoey, Delilah, Harper and Sam on their journey to find love. I love seeing the girls from the first books happy in the later books (have I mentioned that before?!). I also adore the crossover with the Graham Brothers series with Harper’s story since she is Harper Graham. I read the Graham brother’s series first so I knew a little of her story, but reading it in depth made my heart so very happy. Again, each is a standalone, but reading in order makes the story even deeper, so I recommend starting with Abby and Zane’s story in “Fal ling for Your Best Friend’s Twin.”
Graham Brothers by Emma St. Clair:
I adore the town of Sheet Cake Texas. It is a run down place in need of some major updating and someone with deep pockets willing to infuse life back into the town. Enter the Graham patriarch, Tank. He buys the town and gets his boys (Harper’s brothers) in on the renovation action. Each brother plays a role in the town’s rebirth and their stories are all interconnected with more novels in the series yet to be published. But, I trust Emma, the books will all be amazing. Start with Lindy and Pat’s story in “The Buy-In” for the best reading experience.
Sweet Royal by Emma St. Clair:
This is a quick, two book series (at the moment) and it is a fun take on a modern monarchy. In the first book “Royally Rearrainged,” Serafina, a princess in her country, is set to marry the younger prince of Elsinore, Callum. But when he brings home an American girlfriend, Serafina sets out on a fake dating scheme with Callum’s enemy to make the prince jealous. As with any good romcom, that doesn’t go as planned and Serafina and Rafe fall for each other. The second book in the series is “Royal Gone Rogue” and it features Callum’s older brother and Crown Prince of Elsinore, Phillip and the woman a rubric has indicated is his perfect match, Alessia. Emma St. Clair is an amazing author (isn’t it obvious since three of her series made this list?!) and her books are all easy to binge read in a day.
Oakley Island by Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor:
I love Emma St. Clair’s books. I love Jenny Proctor’s books. So of course I adore books they collaborate on! Even more so when they are a series… When their grandmother passes away and leaves her Oakley Island home to her granddaughters, Eloise, Merritt and Sadie, return to the island for the first time in years. One of the girls must live on the property while the home goes under renovations in order for the girls to inherit the house or the profit from it’s sale. Eloise stays first, followed by Merritt. Sadie’s time on the island is coming, but her book has yet to be published. Again, these are interconnected stories best enjoyed in order, so start with Eloise! Sadie’s book is set to be published later in 2023!
The Selection by Kiera Cass:
This series is a fun twist on the Hunger Games. Only instead of the life and death stakes in the Hunger Games, this series focuses on the competition to win the heart of the Crown Prince of Illéa, Maxon. 35 girls are brought to the palace from the regions of Illéa to compete for his heart. America Singer is one of those girls. She comes from a low caste of family and the money she receives for being in the competition changes her family’s life. Before she left, she ended a relationship with her neighbor, Aspen. As the competition goes on, America challenges Maxon’s beliefs about the people he is set to rule one day. And when Aspen shows up at the palace as a guard, America is torn between her long standing feelings for him and her growing feelings for the prince. The first three books follow America’s time in the competition and the second two follow her daughter (if I tell you who her dad is, that would ruin the first books now wouldn’t it?!). You must start with the book entitled “The Selection” for any of the others to make sense.
Spicy Series:
Love, Me & the 303 by Kay Cove:
Noa (Paint me Perfect), Alder (Rewrite the Rules), Quinn (Owe Me One), Reese (Sing your Secrets) and Amani (title to be revealed still) are best friends. Follow their individual journeys to finding their happily ever afters. I love that each of the girl’s have their own story while being still so interconnected to their friends. Things that happen in one book, happen from another girl’s perspective in their book and seeing the increase dimension to a scene really sucks you into the story. There are two books still to be released in this series, but I am confident that they will be just as great as the first three. Each book is a standalone, but the added context and dimension reading them in order is amazing and I highly recommend starting with Chase and Noa’s story in “Paint Me Perfect.”
The Edens by Devney Perry:
This series follows the Eden siblings – Griffin (Indigo Ridge), Knox (Juniper Hill), Talia (Garnet Flats), Eloise (Jasper Vale), Lyla (Crimson River coming in 2023) and Matteo (to be announced). Each books focuses on one sibling and their partner and the book prior always ends with the beginning of the next siblings story. Because of the close knit nature of the Eden family, every book after Indigo Ridge gives you a look into the previous couple’s life together and I love reading about them being happy. These books are all stand alone, but again, they are best enjoyed in order. Start with Griffin and Winslow’s story in Indigo Ridge! It has a town mystery at the center and I flew through this book to find out what was happening.
Dirty Air by Lauren Asher:
Noah, Liam, Jax and Santiago are all F1 racers (and no, you do not need to be an F1 fan to enjoy this series) and this series follows their journeys to find love. Each of the women who captivate these strong personality men are amazing women and I love each of them. Some of the stories have some heavy topics like alcohol abuse, a deadly diagnosis and a devastating accident – I am happy to let you know which book contains these major triggers if you are interested. Starting with Throttled will give you the best introduction to all of these guys and the other books follow in chronological order.
Dreamland Billionaires by Lauren Asher:
Rowan (The Fine Print), Declan (Terms and Conditions) and Cal (Final Offer) are brothers set to takeover their grandfathers entertainment business upon his death. Each brother has a task to complete before he can take over his shares of the company. Combined their shares will equal 51% and the brothers will finally have full control over the company. Dreamland is basically Disney World and being a Central Florida girl, I loved this series. Again, this series covers some heavy topics including the death of a loved one and alcohol abuse – send me a message if you want me to go into detail about them. Start with Rowan and Zahra’s story in “The Fine Print” for the best reading experience.
Twisted by Ana Huang:
Follow along in this series as friends Ava (Twisted Love), Bridget (Twisted Games), Jules (Twisted Hate) and Stella (Twisted Lies) find love. Tropes in this series include brother’s best friend, bodyguard, enemies to lovers and forced proximity. This series can be read as standalone novels, but they really should be read in order so that you can appreciate the continuation of each couple’s story in the books the come after. Twisted Lies ends with an epic epilogue that flashes forward years after the last book ends and leaves every one in the most satisfying place. Start this series by reading about Alex and Ava’s story in “Twisted Love.”
Cane Brothers by Meghan Quinn:
Another set of billionaire brothers and I love each of them. Huxley (A Not So Meet Cute), JP (So Not Meant to Be), and Breaker (A Long Time Coming) are running the billion dollar family business, so they are living the fast life. But they are each without their special someone and in events that will make you laugh out loud, this series takes you along on their journeys to find their special someone. When I read about Huxley, I decided he was my newest book boyfriend… then I read JP’s story and he took over my heart… and then I met Breaker. He will live rent free in my mind for a long long time. Not even Rhysand (if you know the reference you know how hard this is to say… if you don’t understand the reference, don’t worry, the recommendation for Rhysand’s books are coming) can bet him out for the top spot of book boyfriends of all time. Again, each book is a stand alone, but starting with Huxley and Lottie in “A Not So Meet Cute” is best.
Getting Lucky by Meghan Quinn:
Another series about the sweetest brothers by Meghan Quinn follows brothers Griffin (That Second Chance), Rogan (That Forever Girl), Reid (That Secret Crush) and Brig (That Swoony Feeling) on their adventures to find love in the cute Maine town of Port Snow. The brother’s went to New Orleans for Brig’s 21st birthday where they believe they were all placed under a “love curse.” They return to Port Snow full of the story of the NOLA fortune teller who cursed their love for all time. The brothers begin to believe it when Griffin’s wife dies unexpectedly days after their return home. Each brother deals with the curse in a different way and that impacts their journey to love. While each book is a standalone novel, I recommend starting with Griffin and Wren’s story in “That Second Chance.”
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas:
This series is all over bookstagram right now and I was 100% influenced by my cousin to start the series. If you’ve been around for a while, you will know that the second book in this series, “A Court of Mist and Fury,” was my favorite book of 2022. Although, to be fair, I finalized the list in early December and I read three more books in the series that month. Feyre is a human woman, hunting wild animals to keep her family alive. One night, unknown to Feyre, she violates a treaty with the fairy continent when she kills a wolf in the forest. The wolf was actually a member of the Spring Court and the High Lord of Spring Court comes to take her to pay for her crime. She falls in love with the High Lord and is willing to go to great lengths to be with him. However, strange things start happening in Spring Court and across all of Pyranthian. Feyre must endure high stakes to survive Under the Mountain so she can return to Spring Court to live with her High Lord. However, everything is not as it seems in Spring Court and when Feyre goes to Night Court to pay a debt from her time Under the Mountain to Rhysand, High Lord of Night Court, Feyre must decide what sort of life she wants to live. This series consists of 5 books and you must start with A Court of Thorns and Roses – the subsequent books will not make any sense if you start anywhere else in the series. There is some debate as to if you can skip A Court of Frost and Starlight all together and still understand the entire series… you can, but ACOFS is a sweet, not at all high stakes story set between the drama of A Court of Wings and Ruin and A Court of Silver Flames that it gives your mind a nice little break. My favorite of the series is the second book, A Court of Mist and Fury, and I recommend reading it (even if ACOTAR seems slow) before you make up your mind about the series.
Calamity Montana Series by Devney Perry writing as Willa Nash:
This series is centered around a rural town in Montana and it’s residents. The first book, The Bribe, is a romantic suspense novel that I could not put down. The sheriff in town is stuck between his affection for the newest Calamity resident and his job as sheriff. Lucy wants him to keep her identity a secret because she is on the run from her life as a famous country music star. But when Lucy’s scary past arrives in Calamity, Duke has to take action to protect the woman he’s fallen in love with. The following book focuses on Lucy’s best friend who finds herself in town for a while. Each book does a great job of introducing the characters for the next book, but each could be read alone! I think I read this series in about 10 days. The next book in the series, The Brood, releases this summer.
Kings of Sin Series by Ana Huang:
It is no secret that I love Ana Huang’s writing. Her Twisted series is also on this list and is so easy to binge. This series expands on characters we met in the Twisted Series and promises to be 7 books long, each after the 7 deadly sins. King of Wrath and King of Pride have been released so far and King of Greed is coming later this year. King of Pride was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 because I fell in love with the female main character when she appeared in King of Wrath. King of Pride will easily be in my top 10 of this year because I adored it so much. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next books in this series.
Vancouver Agitators by Meghan Quinn:
Honestly, Meghan Quinn can do no wrong in my eyes. Her books are always laugh out loud funny with perfect amounts of spice in them. I don’t think a series of books has made me laugh more than this one! The Vancouver Agitators are a professional hockey team and their books follow a close group of 5 friends on their journeys to find love. I recently finished the third book in the series and I would recommend it to any one who loves a sports romance novel. Kiss and Don’t Tell starts off the series, so I suggest you start there!
Tattered & Torn by Catherine Cowles:
If you love romantic suspense novels, this series is a must read! It follows the Easton siblings on their paths to love. Each book is full of mystery and suspense that only makes you more invested in the main characters. My personal favorite of the series is Hidden Waters, Beckett and Addie’s story. Each book can be read as a standalone, but the back story of previous books only make the current book richer in detail and emotion. I love seeing the siblings from previous books making their lives with their significant other after their official story ended.
I would love to hear if you have read any of these books already or what you think of them when you do!
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