Crossroads (Karen Ann Hopkins) Books in Order

Crossroads is set in the same larger world as Serenity's Plain Secrets, but its priorities are different. These books lean toward romance rather than murder, and they slow down long enough to ask what it would really cost two people from different worlds to build a life together. The focus is on CJ West, an aspiring artist trying to recover from trauma, and Joshua Miller, an Amish widower raising children on his farm.

Their relationship starts with distance on every front. CJ is an outsider carrying pain and uncertainty. Joshua is tied to his family, his faith, his children, and a way of life that does not easily bend. The attraction between them is strong right away, but the series is less interested in a quick fantasy than in the practical problems that follow. Where would they live? Who gives up what? What happens to Joshua's children? What does love look like when it asks for more than passion?

Blood Rock matters here too. Because the books sit beside the Serenity world, the setting already carries a sense of small-town watchfulness and old expectations. People notice who is visiting whom, what choices are being made, and whether those choices fit the community's rules. The Amish setting shapes everything, not just because of romance taboo, but because daily life is organized around duty, family work, reputation, and faith.

There is also a strong healing thread in these books. Both CJ and Joshua are carrying grief, fear, or damage from earlier chapters of their lives. That gives the series a quieter emotional pull. The conflict is not only whether they love each other. It is whether they can trust that love enough to build something lasting without losing themselves in the process.

By the time Sweet Regrets picks up their story, the pressure has only grown. CJ is not just falling for Amish life from a safe distance anymore. She is close enough to feel what it demands. That makes the second book less about the thrill of forbidden romance and more about endurance, sacrifice, and the difference between wanting a life and being able to live it.

If you like Amish-set stories but want more emotional relationship focus than crime plotting, Crossroads is a good lane to follow. It is intimate, tense, and heartfelt, with enough connection to the larger Blood Rock world to give it texture without turning it into a mystery series.