The Complete List of Colleen Hoover Books, Ranked

Publication date: August 2016

Of all the Colleen Hoover books ranked, It Ends with Us remains at the very top of the list. With more than 3.5 million ratings on Goodreads and 130 weeks (and counting) on The New York Times bestseller list, the book that helped launch Hoover into the spotlight is still fans’ favorite. No wonder there’s a 2024 film adaptation starring Blake Lively. The story infuses themes of jealousy and generational trauma into a classic love triangle. Lily is falling in love with Ryle. But no sooner has she realized this than her first love, Atlas, returns to her life. The endnote from the author reveals that themes from this stand-alone romance come from her own life.

“Like many readers, I was glued to the pages of It Ends with Us,” says Julianne Buonocore, president of the Literary Lifestyle, a virtual reading community for women. “I actually got engaged on the beach while reading it, and because I was so utterly engrossed in this book, I missed all the blatant signs of what was about to happen in my real life!”

Publication date: December 2018

Readers, be warned: Verity has a dark side. This seamless blend of romance and thriller follows writer Lowen Ashleigh into the home of bestselling author Verity Crawford. Lowen is invited to ghostwrite Verity’s latest book, but the house is full of secrets—and Lowen’s future is on the line in ways she would never have imagined. This psychological thriller has themes of abuse, violence and grief, but the mature content hasn’t stopped Verity from becoming one of the most popular stand-alone books by Hoover.

“I read it in just one sitting, and when I turned the final page, my jaw was on the floor,” says Buonocore. “Initially self-published, Hoover pushed a lot of boundaries in this book. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s guaranteed to take you on a wild ride!”

Publication date: August 2014

Is this the saddest book Hoover has ever written? Quite possibly. As one reader wryly put it, Ugly Love is about sad people being sad together, and it’s one of those contemporary romance novels that would make a perfect indie film. Neither Tate Collins nor Miles Archer wants love. They both agree to cash in on their mutual attraction with no strings attached—and that includes no conversations about the past. As fans of happy-for-now (HFN) romances might predict, the arrangement goes south when hearts teeter dangerously close to entanglement.

Publication date: October 2022

While sequels can be hit or miss, the follow-up to It Ends with Us became another viral sensation and has made it into the top five on our list of Colleen Hoover books ranked. In fact, It Starts with Us became the most preordered novel in the history of the Simon & Schuster publishing company! The story picks up where It Ends with Us left off, and this time, the story is told from the perspectives of both Lily and Atlas as they try to navigate a second chance at true love. And of course, it’s still infused with the author’s trademark wit, touching romance and heartbreaking revelations.

Publication date: January 2022

Kenna Rowan has finally been released from jail. Life should feel like a breeze after what she’s been through, but friends and family have moved on. And worst of all, they’re determined to keep Kenna from her young daughter. Desperate for understanding and companionship, Kenna turns to Ledger Ward, a local bartender with troubles of his own. Pulsing with the twin themes of grief and forgiveness, Reminders of Him boasts almost 1.3 million ratings on Goodreads.

“Colleen Hoover’s characters always feel so real, like they’re about to walk in the door,” says Zibby Owens, host of the Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books podcast and the bestselling author of Blank. “I fell in love with Kenna, even though she’s a really flawed character and leaves prison at the start of the book. And her relationship with Ledger was hot and heavy. Sheesh!”

Publication date: November 2015

Craving a juicy read infused with serendipity and slow-burning love? Then pick up November 9. Built from a one-day-a-year romance trope, the book follows Fallon and Ben as they live completely separate lives—except on Nov. 9 each year. The premise is intriguing on its own, but it’s the book’s final plot twist that keeps readers clamoring for more.

Publication date: December 2019

Regretting You is considered one of the best Colleen Hoover books for the poignant way it captures family drama—the complicated nature of mother-daughter relationships and the different ways each generation navigates grief. Shot through with themes of redemption and second chances, the book follows Morgan Grant and her teenage daughter, Clara, after a tragic accident that threatens to rip them apart forever.

Publication date: May 2013

While most readers who stumble across Hoover’s work on TikTok think of her as a contemporary romance writer, she has also written a number of young adult novels. Hopeless is one of her best. The story unfolds with 17-year-old Sky Davis falling for Dean Holder, a classic bad boy with secrets. Except one of his secrets relates to her past. Suffice it to say, this romance—the first in the Hopeless YA book series—takes a turn that shocked many readers. (Trigger warning: child abuse.)

Publication date: July 2018

Hoover isn’t one to shy away from difficult topics, and All Your Perfects is no exception. Quinn and Graham’s marriage is on the brink. Somewhere along the way, their perfect love story veered off track. And though troubled relationships are common, that doesn’t make them any less difficult. This gut punch of a story has garnered more than 168,000 ratings and nearly 20,500 reviews on Goodreads. Most fans rave about it while warning that it covers themes of infertility and betrayal.

“I’ve read a number of Colleen Hoover books, and this one has continued to top the list,” says romance BookTokker Ashley Beenen. “It is simultaneously heartbreaking and beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever cried as hard as I did reading this book, but it was well worth the experience. The characters and the story felt so real and relatable. This was one I finished in a day—I couldn’t put it down and needed to know how the story was going to end.”

Publication date: August 2020

Though Heart Bones is often marketed as YA or NA (new adult) fiction, the coming-of-age story feels timeless. The author explores the tender, sometimes painful transition to adulthood through protagonist Beyah Grim. After a tragic death, Beyah is forced to spend the summer in Texas with her estranged father. While there, she meets Sampson. And filthy rich, privileged Sampson shows her another way to live. The two decide to indulge in a summer fling—but this is Colleen Hoover, so prepare for some twists and tears.

Publication date: March 2014

Lies. Betrayal. A tangled web of love and lust. Maybe Someday polarizes Goodreads reviewers with its themes of infidelity and restless dissatisfaction. When protagonist Sydney finds out her boyfriend has cheated on her with her best friend, she heads straight out the door and into a friend’s apartment. That friend is talented songwriter Ridge, and the apartment is the one he shares with his girlfriend, Maggie. As Ridge and Sydney grow closer, she finds herself trying to avoid being a part of the same kind of betrayal that mangled her heart so badly. Maybe someday she’ll know if she made the right choice. (Or maybe you’ll find out in one of the book’s sequels; this is the first book in the Maybe book series.)

Publication date: March 2015

Maybe you already saw the Confess TV series from Verizon’s now-defunct Go90 TV app. But even if you did, isn’t the book always better than the TV show or movie? (The answer is yes, always.) As emotionally charged as every other Hoover book, Confess tells the story of a type-A heroine who falls head over heels for a moody artist. Meet Auburn Reed and Owen Gentry. At first, their steamy romance unfolds in the usual fashion. But soon enough, Auburn realizes that if she doesn’t want to lose everything she holds dear, she must bar Owen—and his dark secrets—from her life forever.

Publication date: December 2020

This bestselling paranormal romance covers themes of eternal love and the afterlife. In the story, Leeds and Layla escape to a remote bed-and-breakfast to try to reconnect after an accident has traumatized Layla. Leeds knows that something has unsettled his lover, but he’s unsure how to reach her. That’s when he meets fellow guest Willow, who encapsulates everything Layla used to be. So who will he choose? And what is truly wrong with Layla?

“While Verity is CoHo’s most popular creepy book, this one has always stuck with me just as much,” says BookTokker Beenen. “This was a crazy roller coaster ride—and highly entertaining. It is a great toe dip into the water of paranormal romance for anyone who has read contemporary romance and wants to start branching out.”

Publication date: September 2012

Most readers flock to Colleen Hoover books in search of an adult love story. But her first book, Slammed, centered on the thrilling romance of an 18-year-old girl, Layken. Just as Layken is left reeling from her father’s death, she meets Will Cooper. Spark fly. But will their irresistible attraction survive the aftermath of a devastating secret? Readers should be ready for wild emotions with this book of young love—yes, it’s sad, but it’s also beautiful. And it kicks off a trilogy about the pair.

Publication date: November 2016

Anyone enamored by the gripping romance in Hoover’s other books might be surprised by Too Late. Like Verity, it drags readers down a deep, dark plot riddled with controversial topics. Psychological abuse, substance abuse and mental illness, anyone? For readers unfazed by graphic content, this story about a college girl clawing her way out of a hellish relationship with her drug-addicted boyfriend often appeals.

Publication date: September 2012

Perhaps this quote from the second book in the Slammed series best captures the emotion-packed story: “Love is the most beautiful thing in the world. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the hardest things in the world to hold on to and one of the easiest things to throw away.” Point of Retreat continues Layken and Will’s love story, but this time, Will’s past shakes their foundation.

As in the first book, Hoover integrates slam poetry into the narrative, proving rhythm and rhyme don’t have to be solely confined to poetry books.

Publication date: October 2017

You may find yourself clutching your pearls with this one. At times funny, at times heartwrenching and shocking, Without Merit is a family drama that does not shy away from issues like infidelity, homophobia, mental illness and more. This standalone novel follows angsty Merit Voss and her very messy, very dysfunctional family members, all of whom harbor several dark secrets. Like many of Hoover’s characters, Merit is flawed, but you can’t help but root for her to find happiness and a sense of belonging.

Publication date: October 2013

In Hopeless, readers followed Skye as she fell desperately in love with Dean. In Losing Hope, the second installment in the Hopeless series, fans get a peek into Dean’s fraught past—along with the thoughts and feelings he experienced during the first book’s timeline. As all sequels go, Losing Hope was written to be read after the first book. The plot unfolds with thought-provoking themes of healing and redemption, but this follow-up is just as scintillating and sexy as the first.

Publication date: November 2014

This 160-page novella offers the best of Colleen Hoover for readers short on time. The Maybe romance series works so well because the books include a familiar cast of characters with stories robust enough to be read as stand-alones. In Maybe Not—read it after Maybe Someday—the delightful and hilarious Warren takes on a female roommate, Bridgette. For him, there’s immediate sexual tension. But she’s more interested in giving him the cold shoulder than considering an amicable friendship.

Dripping with wit and an enemies-to-lovers theme, Maybe Not has captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands of Goodreads readers.

Publication date: October 2013

Dean and Skye are back, but this time, they’re minor characters. Finding Cinderella is part of the Hopeless series, and this novella is meant to be read after Losing Hope. It has a slightly more YA perspective, chronicling the steamy high school love story of Dean and Skye’s friends, Daniel and Six. Some Goodreads reviewers note that the plot includes very mature themes, considering the age of the characters, which is why this Colleen Hoover book falls somewhere between adult and young adult material.

Publication date: November 2018

In this sometimes heartwarming, sometimes saccharine sequel to Maybe Someday and Maybe Not, the spurned Maggie gets her moment in the spotlight. Maybe Now asks important questions like “Can you be friends with an ex?” and “How can lovers make romance last beyond the honeymoon stage?”

Despite solid themes of friendship and love, many readers say that Maybe Now ends on a supremely cheesy note. Pick up a copy to judge for yourself!

Publication date: April 2013

Sequels told from the male love interest’s perspective are often tricky, as these books can sometimes feel like they’re retelling the same exact story as their predecessors. However, This Girl isn’t just “Slammed from Will’s point of view.” Layken and Will are now married and seem to have found their happily ever after, but in order to protect their future, Will must reconcile his painful past. By sharing his side of the story with powerful new scenes, Hoover enriches the Slammed universe and proves that This Girl is more than a cash grab.

Publication date: July 2016

Hoover’s co-written Never Never is distinct in more ways than one:

• The three-part series, originally separate books, is now packaged together in one binding.
• The story is YA rather than adult contemporary romance.
• Tarryn Fisher co-authors it.

It is also widely considered one of the greatest Colleen Hoover books. The romantic thriller follows two teens, Charlie Wynwood and Silas Nash, whose memories vanished suddenly in the middle of class one day. The two sudden strangers stick together to uncover the truth about what happened to them. Readers gush about the light paranormal themes and didn’t-see-it-coming plot twists.

Publication date: November 2019

Last but not least in our list of Colleen Hoover books ranked, Finding Perfect is a novella that takes place in the Hopeless series. Read this one after Finding Cinderella and All Your Perfects, as it’s told from Daniel’s point of view and continues his love story with Six. But this is more than a retelling; it will have you crying both sad tears and happy tears. And don’t let the ranking fool you: Finding Perfect still boasts nearly 80,000 ratings on Goodreads and an average rating of over four out of five stars, so you know it will be worth your time.

At just 128 pages, this is the perfect short book for times when you need a quick read but still want all the feels.