Colleen Hoover has quickly become one of the most popular authors for Gen Z readers. Yes, I’m talking about the author of all the books that are swarming your BookTok feeds like It Ends with Us and Reminders of Him. Hoover’s bibliography has gone viral on almost all platforms, and if you’re easily influenced like myself, I’m sure you have a book (or two) of Hoover’s on your to-read list. Whether you’re already read a few of her novels or are looking to delve into the Hoover-verse, you may be wondering: What order should I read Hoover’s books in? And luckily for you, I have that answer covered.
With such a vast portfolio like Hoover’s, many readers become stumped on which books they should dive in first from the author. While Hoover has written and published quite a few series in her time as an author, she also has many standalone books that don’t require prerequisite reading before.
Because of this, it’s all up to you where you decide to jump in! If you’re like me and kept on seeing endless content on Bookstagram about the interesting plot structure of November 9, I recommend purchasing the book and giving it a chance. Research each book beforehand and pick the story that resonates with you the most when trying to figure out what order to read Hoover’s standalone novels in.
Hoover’s standalone books include:
- Verity
- Reminders of Him
- November 9
- Ugly Love
- Heart Bones
- Regretting You
- All Your Perfects
- Confess
- Without Merit
- Layla
- Too Late
As for the series that Hoover has, you’re going to want to read these in order to understand the full extent of each book’s developing stories. Of the book sets, Hoover has five series that require pre-reading. However, it doesn’t matter what order you decide to read each series in, since they’re not connected to one another — just pick what speaks to you.
Never Never Series
- Never Never (Part 1)
- Never Never (Part 2)
- Never Never (Part 3)
The Never Never series is actually co-written by Hoover and Tarryn Fisher. The plotline follows the stories of best friends and lovers, Charlie Wynwood and Silas Nash, as they suddenly wake up one day and lose all of their memories of themselves and each other. Never Never was originally released in three parts, but you can now preorder and purchase it as a complete set in one novel, so there’s no confusion on which book is which.
Hopeless Series
- Hopeless
- Losing Hope
- Finding Cinderella
- All Your Perfects (optional)
- Finding Perfect
The reading structure of the Hopeless series is one that confuses many readers, but don’t worry, I’ll clear up all your questions. To start out, the first three books in the series (Hopeless, Losing Hope, and Finding Cinderella) should be read in that exact order. Hopeless starts with the story of Sky Davis meeting Dean Holder, a boy that draws her in. Both have gone through a lot, and they navigate their intense feelings for each other throughout the novel.
Next comes All Your Perfects which can or cannot be read before moving onto Finding Perfect. Why? Well, Hoover originally wrote All Your Perfects as a standalone novel, but the storyline does carry over into Finding Perfect, which is the companion novella that also ties in elements of the first three Hopeless books.
So, in short, if you want to make sure you’re keeping up with every single element of the story in Finding Perfect, being able to connect characters from all the books, read the series in this order.
Maybe Someday Series
- Maybe Someday
- Maybe Not
- Maybe Now
I can see why so many readers are confused about the structure to read Hoover’s books in, because these stories are getting a little complicated to keep up with. Hoover does describe Maybe Someday as a standalone book with Maybe Not being a “spin-off [that] can be read separately.” However, once again, the final book in the Maybe series, Maybe Now, should be read after reading both the first two books.
The story starts out with the spotlight on Sydney, the girl whose life seems to be going great. When she learns her boyfriend is actually cheating on her, she has to navigate where her life is going to go moving forward.
Slammed Series
- Slammed
- Point of Retreat
- This Girl
OK, now we’re back on steady ground. With no confusing loopholes or recommended reading patterns, the Slammed series must be read in precise order so that you’ll be able to pick up on the plotline that centers around main character Layken. After her father dies, Layken finds herself turning to poetry for solace when she starts building a connection with her neighbor, Will. Slammed was Hoover’s debut novel, so it’s a great book to start with to really see what this author is all about.
It Ends with Us Series
- It Ends with Us
- It Starts with Us
I’m sure this book is what you’re interested in — we have to talk about It Ends with Us. When Lily moves to Boston and starts her own business, she swiftly finds herself spending more time with neurosurgeon Ryle. However, she can’t seem to stop thinking about her first love from her teenage years, Atlas. When Atlas suddenly pops back up in Lily’s life, her world is thrown for a loop.
To fully understand why people are in love with the novel’s sequel that recently came out, It Starts with Us, you have to read It Ends with Us first. Really, there are no exceptions on this one, and you’ll thank me for letting you know that after you read the books. Oh yeah, and if you end up loving the first book as much as I do, get excited, because the book is being adapted into a movie! Yes: Production for the film is set to kick off, and we just found out who is going to be playing both main characters Lily and Ryle, and you may recognize them. None other than Blake Lively is set to star as Lily, with Justin Baldoni being cast as Ryle.
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