Delaneys Books in Order

The Delaneys brings together Iris Johansen's contributions to a larger romance project about one adventurous family. Created with Kay Hooper and Fayrene Preston, the wider sequence spans different branches of the Delaneys and different periods in their history. Johansen's stories move between contemporary romance and historical adventure, so the shared family name matters more than a single setting or one continuing couple. Love often arrives alongside a journey, a risky ambition, or a past that is difficult to leave behind.

These are people who rarely choose a quiet life.

In York, The Renegade, York Delaney returns home after seven years of traveling. He expects his connection to the land to settle his restless spirit, but Sierra Smith changes those plans. She arrives in a storm looking for a place where her traveling troupe can perform. Sierra wants somewhere to belong, yet she doesn't intend to surrender her independence simply because York thinks she needs his protection. Hell's Bluff gives their romance a rough mining-town backdrop.

Matilda, the Adventuress takes the family connection to Australia and another mining community, Deadman's Ridge. Matilda Delaney is searching for the legendary Black Flame opal, while filmmaker Roman Gallagher is there to make a movie. Her appetite for risk clashes with his reluctance to trust powerful feelings after earlier heartbreak. The treasure hunt and the town's violence give them practical dangers to face, but the personal gamble of falling in love is just as central to their story.

The historical side of the family appears in This Fierce Splendor, the prequel within the larger Delaney project, and Satin Ice. In the latter, Silver Delaney has married a Russian prince and traveled to the court of Tsar Alexander. Her new surroundings include a palace on a private island outside St. Petersburg, but grandeur doesn't protect her from loneliness or intrigue. A marriage that should promise happiness instead places her in a world where affection and trust have to contend with deceit.

The changing settings give these romances different kinds of pressure. A traveling performer must think about where she belongs, a treasure seeker weighs discovery against danger, and a new bride has to navigate an unfamiliar court. Each story centers on people with their own plans, making the arrival of romance an interruption as well as an opportunity. Their family connection allows the books to feel related without asking every couple to repeat the same experience.

The series offers romance with adventure, strong personalities, and emotionally charged disagreements. Readers following Johansen's contributions can expect changes of time and place rather than a continuous thriller investigation. The broader family history adds context, while the individual novels give particular Delaneys their own conflicts and relationships to explore.