How to Read the Colleen Hoover Books in Order
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If BookTok is doing its job right, you’ve heard of Colleen Hoover many, many times over. The bestselling author is the reigning queen of the young adult romance genre, with hits like Verity and It Ends With Us. The latter is currently being adapted into a feature film starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni—but production is currently on hold due to the writer’s strike. Solidarity, hooray!
Over the last 10 years, Hoover has presumably gotten very little sleep and is quite possibly suffering from a case of carpal tunnel—she's written 24 novels and novellas since 2012. The pillars of Hoover literature? Tasteful smut, secrets and “dark pasts,” unusual names, and sequels. Hoover has gained notoriety for both her standalone novels and her series, and she's known to keep readers on their toes, often publishing a new standalone novel in between series installments, so chronological order won't work for this book club. Here is a reader's guide to every Colleen Hoover book, in the order you should read them.
Not Looking for a Series? Here Are Hoover’s Standalone Books
Ugly Love (2014)
This novel begins with an unlikely attraction between a nurse named Tate Collins and an airline pilot, Miles Archer. Balancing busy schedules, total disdain for each other, and an undeniable physical attraction, the two decide to spark up a sex-only arrangement with two basic rules—don’t ask about the past, and don’t expect a future.
Confess (2015)
Twenty-one-year-old Auburn Reed’s life is shattered. With a plan to rebuild from nothing, she takes a job at a Dallas art studio where she, naturally, meets a mysterious artist, Owen Gentry. The two connect and Auburn learns that Owen is hiding a secret past that threatens to destroy everything she has left, which isn’t much.
November 9 (2015)
A love story between writer and muse, November 9 follows Fallon, a girl with a plan to move across the country, who meets Ben, an aspiring novelist. The pair spends Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and vow to return to each other each year on, you guessed it, November 9th.
Too Late (2016)
Darker and edgier than Hoover’s usual work, Too Late follows a girl named Sloan who finds herself entangled with a notorious drug trafficker, Asa Jackson. When she becomes increasingly reliant on him, emotionally and financially, his affinity for her turns into a dark and twisted obsession. All the while, Sloan is finding herself attracted to Carter, an undercover DEA agent investigating Asa.
Never Never (2016)
This mystery romance follows a lifelong couple, Charlie and Silas, who have been in love basically since birth, but wake up one day with absolutely no memory of each other. Together, they must work to unravel the truth of what happened to them and why they fell in love in the first place.
Without Merit (2017)
This novel follows the little-bit-strange Voss family, who live in a repurposed church, through the eyes of Merit Voss, the youngest Voss child. Her mother, having recovered from cancer, lives in the basement while her father lives upstairs with his new wife, her mother’s former nurse. When Merit meets the witty Sagan at an antique shop, she is pushed to reveal her family’s dark secrets and choose herself.
Verity (2018)
Verity follows a struggling writer who accepts an unusual gig: to live in the home of a bestselling author and her husband, tasked with finishing that author's outstanding novels because the famous writer is injured and unable to write. As she rifles through Verity’s office, Lowen Ashleigh finds an unfinished autobiography that reveals a dark family secret.
Regretting You (2019)
Regretting You follows a young mother, Morgan, and her teenage daughter Clara. Morgan is determined to keep Clara from making the same mistakes she did, getting married and pregnant far too young, and Clara basically thinks her mom is lame. The two must learn to coexist when Chris, their husband and father respectively, suddenly and mysteriously dies.
Heart Bones (2020)
Beyah Grim is a high school graduate who receives a full ride scholarship to Penn State, allowing her an escape from her life of poverty and neglect, but before she heads off to school, an unexpected death leaves her homeless and completely alone. Beyah goes to live with her estranged father in Texas, where she meets a wealthy and mysterious guy named Samson. With college plans on opposite coasts, the pair agree to a no-feelings summer fling, which of course doesn’t work out as planned.
Layla (2020)
A tragic love story, Layla follows a young couple, Layla and Leeds, whose love is interrupted by a tragic accident that leaves Layla fighting for her life. Soon, Layla recovers physically, but the mental scars remain. The couple visit the bed and breakfast where their love began, but Layla’s strange behavior puts a strain on their relationship, pushing Leeds into the arms of another guest. Love triangles ahead!
Reminders of Him (2022)
Reminders of Him follows a young mother who, after spending five years in prison, returns to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. Forced to rebuild relationships with people who want nothing to do with her, Kenna Rowan must reconcile her past, forming a relationship with the only person in town who will speak with her: a local bar owner.
A Guide to Hoover's Series
The Slammed Trilogy
Slammed (2012)
Hoover’s first series begins with Slammed, which follows an 18-year-old girl who, reeling from the sudden death of her father, falls for her poet neighbor. Their honeymoon phase ends quickly when the young lovers happen upon a shocking discovery that threatens to tear their relationship apart.
Point of Retreat (2012)
The second novel in the Slammed trilogy, Point of Retreat continues the love story of the first novel’s Layken and Will, pushing the pair to ask how long they are willing to hold onto their love, despite a shocking revelation from Will’s past.
This Girl (2013)
The third and final installment in the Slammed trilogy, This Girl takes the familiar story and turns it on its head, with the story unfolding from Will’s perspective, rather than Layken’s. The couple continues to struggle with the shadows of Will’s past, balancing the weight of that with the hope of their future.
The Hopeless Saga
Hopeless (2012)
Hopeless follows two young lovers with dark pasts and secrets, who explore first love and ghosts of the past. Sky, a home-schooled and adopted 17-year-old girl, convinces her mother to let her attend public school for her final year, where she reunites with Dean, a childhood friend turned promiscuous popular guy.
Losing Hope (2013)
The sequel to Hopeless, Losing Hope unravels Dean’s guilt-ridden past, and his early childhood encounters with a troubled Sky.
Finding Cinderella (2013)
A continuation of the Hopeless saga, this free novella begins with a chance encounter between two teenagers who pretend to fall in love, but only for one hour. When the hour is up, one of the pretend lovers is left to wonder if those moments of fake love were real. Fast forward one year, Daniel meets a strange girl named Six who forces him to believe in love-at-first-sight.
All Your Perfects (2018)
Sick of reading about teenagers? All Your Perfects follows Quinn and Graham, a married couple whose unaddressed issues and pasts return to tear their relationship apart. Some people do read this as a standalone, but it's kind of part of this series, too. Because...
Finding Perfect (2019)
Think of Finding Perfect as a thread that ties multiple Hoover titles together. A sequel novella to Finding Cinderella, a continuation of the All Your Perfects story, and the final iteration of the Hopeless series, Finding Perfect revives the story from the perspective of Daniel, following his relationship with Six and their eventual heartbreak.
The Maybe Trilogy
Maybe Someday (2014)
The first installment of the Maybe trilogy, Maybe Someday follows a 22-year-old college student who, after discovering her boyfriend is cheating on her, finds herself interested in her mysterious, guitar-playing neighbor Ridge.
Maybe Not (2014)
This novella follows Maybe Someday, and focuses specifically on the first novel’s fan favorite side character, Warren. In Maybe Not, Warren finds himself living with a cold and calculating female roommate, Bridgette. This enemies-to-lovers fable forces readers to ask, will Warren and Bridgette fall in love or tear each other apart?
Maybe Now (2018)
The third installment in the Maybe trilogy, Maybe Now begins with two solid relationships, the first novel’s Ridge and Sydney and the second book’s Warren and Bridgette. The focus of this third novel is mostly on Maggie who, grappling with her illness, happens upon an old bucket list and decides to live her life to the fullest.
It Ends (and Starts) With Us
It Ends With Us (2016)
One of Hoover’s most popular titles and the subject of the forthcoming movie starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, It Ends With Us follows Lily, a hardworking business owner who meets a too-good-to-be-true neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid. The two fall dangerously in love, but Lily is left thinking of her first love, Atlas Corrigan, who suddenly reappears in her life, threatening her relationship with Ryle.
It Starts With Us (2022)
The sequel to It Ends With Us, this novel picks up exactly where the first book ends, exploring the history of Atlas and Lily, switching perspectives between the two.
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