If I Break Books in Order

The If I Break series is the romantic-suspense story that introduced many readers to Portia Moore's work. At its center is Lauren Brooks, a young woman with a practical plan for her life: leave the small town she grew up in, finish college in Chicago, and build a future that does not depend on anyone else.

Then she meets Cal Scott. Cal is confident, charming, and impossible for Lauren to ignore, even though she can tell from the beginning that he keeps parts of himself hidden. Their relationship moves fast, and Lauren soon finds herself married to a man she loves deeply but cannot fully understand. When Cal disappears, the life she thought she had built starts to come apart.

The series is driven by questions Lauren cannot answer on her own. Why did Cal leave? What was he protecting her from? And what happens when the person you miss most is also the source of the secrets that hurt you?

It is an emotional ride.

The core reading path begins with If I Break, continues with Before I Break, Almost Broken, and Beautifully Broken. These books shift perspective and gradually widen the story beyond Lauren's first understanding of her marriage. They deal with memory, identity, family history, grief, and the difficult work of loving someone when trust has been badly damaged.

Later titles return to this world from different angles. Shattered Pieces revisits Lauren and Cal after the original arc, while Before Him looks back at Lauren's life before Cal. Books such as The Trouble With Before and What Happens After connect to the wider circle of characters and explore how other relationships are shaped by the same tangled history.

Expect a high-angst new-adult romance with secrets, shifting timelines, and major emotional consequences. The suspense grows from what Lauren does not know, so the first book is best approached with as little advance plot detail as possible. Start with If I Break, then continue in order to let the revelations and changing points of view land as intended.