| Series | Books (first publication year) | Planning use |
|---|---|---|
| Slammed | Slammed (2012), Point of Retreat (2012), This Girl (2013) | Read in numbered order. This Girl is the last of three and retells earlier events from Will Cooper’s perspective. |
| Hopeless | Hopeless (2012), Losing Hope (2013), Finding Cinderella (2013), Finding Perfect (2019) | Read in numbered order. Losing Hope retells Hopeless, so it works best as a second pass. Finding Cinderella is a novella. |
| It Ends With Us | It Ends with Us (2016), It Starts with Us (2022) | Read the original first. The sequel picks up where it leaves off. |
| Maybe Someday | Maybe Someday (2014), Maybe Not (2014), Maybe Now (2018) | Read in numbered order. Maybe Not is a novella that revisits characters from the first book. |
| Never Never (with Tarryn Fisher) | Parts 1-3 (2015–2016), republished as one book in 2022 | Read the parts in order, or pick up the single-volume edition. |
Years and book numbers follow The Literary Lifestyle’s Hoover reading list, with the Never Never dates and companion-novel descriptions from Fictionary’s Hoover guide.
The colleen hoover book series in order is simple: read each numbered series from its first book, and treat the remaining titles as standalones you can pick up anywhere, ideally sorted by publication year.
The same decision applies to any prolific writer, and our guide on which book to read first by an author covers it in general terms. The sections below apply it to Colleen Hoover, who has written more than 20 novels, from romance to psychological thrillers.
Choosing your first Hoover book
Start with It Ends With Us if you love emotional romance, and with Verity if you prefer a twisty thriller. Chapters Bookstore makes both recommendations and describes both as standalone stories, so neither requires earlier reading.
- Emotional romance readers: It Ends With Us, published in 2016 according to The Literary Lifestyle, is the usual entry point. It has a sequel, but you do not need to commit to it before you begin.
- Thriller readers: Verity (2018) follows Lowen Ashleigh, a writer who accepts a job ghostwriting for the injured author Verity Crawford. It sits outside every series, so it is the cleanest way to sample her darker side.
- Readers who want a long run in one world: Slammed opens a three-book series, and Hopeless opens a four-book series. Choose one of these if you would rather settle into recurring characters than sample single novels.
What reading out of order costs
Order matters mainly for the companion books, which retell or continue an earlier story, so reading them first spoils the book they build on.
- This Girl before Slammed: Fictionary describes This Girl as a companion novel that retells Slammed and Point of Retreat from Will Cooper’s perspective. Read it after both, so the retelling adds to what you know instead of replacing it.
- Losing Hope before Hopeless: the same guide says Losing Hope retells the events of Hopeless from Dean Holder’s perspective. It is a second look at the same story, not a next chapter.
- It Starts With Us before It Ends With Us: Chapters Bookstore says the sequel picks up where the original leaves off, and the sequel is told from Atlas’s point of view. Starting with it would reveal where the first book ends.
- Maybe Not before Maybe Someday: this novella revisits Warren and Bridgette from Maybe Someday, so it belongs after the first book.
None of these is a hard rule. If a title is a standalone, such as Verity, skipping around costs nothing. If it is a numbered entry or a companion, follow the sequence.
The connected series, one by one
Hoover’s connected books fall into four numbered groups plus one co-written set. Each reads best from its first title, and the dates below come from The Literary Lifestyle’s list unless another link is given.
Slammed
Slammed (2012) is book 1 of 3, followed by Point of Retreat (2012) and This Girl (2013). Because the third book is a companion retelling, treat the trilogy as two forward-moving books and one second perspective on them. Readers who enjoy that retelling format will get the most from This Girl after a gap, once the first two books have settled.
Hopeless
Hopeless (2012) opens a four-book run: Losing Hope (2013) is book 2, Finding Cinderella (2013) is book 3, and Finding Perfect (2019) is book 4. Finding Cinderella is a novella that Fictionary calls a standalone story within the Hopeless universe. If you want to keep momentum, read Hopeless and then Finding Cinderella, and return to Losing Hope when you want Holder’s side of the story. Following the printed numbering is also fine, and it is the safer default for a first read.
It Ends With Us
The duology pairs It Ends with Us (2016) with It Starts with Us (2022). The sequel picks up where It Ends with Us leaves off, so it is written for readers who already know the first book, so there is little point reading it cold.
Maybe Someday
Maybe Someday (2014) is book 1 of 3, Maybe Not (2014) is book 2, and Maybe Now (2018) is book 3. The middle book is a novella revisiting Warren and Bridgette, so it is quicker to read than the two full-length books around it.
Never Never
Never Never is the co-written set with Tarryn Fisher. Fictionary lists Part One in 2015, and The Literary Lifestyle notes that Parts 1-3 were republished as one book in 2022. Buy the combined edition if you want to avoid managing three separate parts.
Publication order across the whole catalogue
Publication order interleaves the series and standalones by year, while series-first reading finishes one world before moving on. Choose series-first if you want each set of characters to stay fresh. Choose publication order if you would like to see her move between romance and thriller as readers originally did.
Early in the sequence, 2012 brings Slammed, Point of Retreat and Hopeless, and 2013 brings This Girl, Losing Hope and Finding Cinderella. In 2014 Maybe Someday and Maybe Not appear alongside Ugly Love. A mixed approach also works well: read a series, then a standalone, so the tone resets between connected stories.
The standalone titles, in publication order from The Literary Lifestyle, are:
- 2014 to 2016: Ugly Love (2014), Confess (2015), November 9 (2015) and Too Late (2016).
- 2017 to 2019: Without Merit (2017), Verity (2018) and Regretting You (2019).
- 2020 onward: Heart Bones (2020), Layla (2020) and Reminders of Him (2022).
A few titles have later editions. Verity has a Collector’s Edition with a bonus chapter, published in 2022. Too Late has a Definitive Edition published in 2023. If you are buying new copies, check whether the edition you pick is the one you want, since the bonus material is tied to a specific printing.
Where to go after Hoover
If the romance appeals most, Black Romance Authors You Need To Read Now: A 2026 Guide To Love, Voice, And Representation points to other voices to try. If Verity’s darker pull is what you want more of, Authors Like Stephen King: 12 Must-Read Writers Who Deliver Big Scares And Bigger Heart (2026 Guide) is a natural next step.
Frequently asked questions
Is Verity part of a series?
No. Chapters Bookstore describes Verity as a standalone story, so you do not need to read anything first. The 2022 Collector’s Edition adds a bonus chapter to the same book.
How was Slammed first published?
Hoover self-published Slammed on Amazon before she signed a traditional publishing deal, according to Chapters Bookstore.
Is there a newer edition of Too Late?
The Literary Lifestyle lists a Definitive Edition of Too Late published in 2023 and calls it technically Hoover’s newest book. The original Too Late appeared in 2016.
Do these reading lists include every Hoover title?
No. The Literary Lifestyle’s list includes co-authored books such as Never Never but leaves out works that appear in collections or anthologies. Beyond the lists here, Hoover has written more than 20 novels.
