Jo Goodman Books in Order
Browse Jo Goodman books in order, with short summaries, series guides, background on each world, and easy suggestions for where to start.
Last updated: July 3, 2026
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).
Publication Order
43 books
The Captain's Lady
by Jo Goodman
1984
Alexis Danty wants revenge for her family's ruin, not protection from Captain Tanner Cloud. But sea danger, shifting loyalties, and her own daring choices turn their clash into a sweeping wartime romance.
Crystal Passion
by Jo Goodman
1985
Ashley Lynne escapes a cruel guardian only to wake in the room of Salem McClellan, who quickly realizes she needs saving. Their journey from England to Virginia unfolds against family scandal and Revolutionary unrest.
Seaswept Abandon
by Jo Goodman
1986
Rae McClellan becomes a courier for the colonies and lands in deadly trouble after one risky mission. Jericho Smith saves her life, but the war, their secrets, and their growing feelings make safety hard to hold.
Velvet Night
by Jo Goodman
1987
After abduction and terror in England, Kenna Dunne escapes with Rhys Canning and reaches Boston under his protection. Peace does not last long, and the truth behind a murder soon threatens them both.
Violet Fire
by Jo Goodman
1987
Shannon Kilmartin flees a cruel stepfather and nearly drowns before Brandon Fleming rescues her. Both have reasons to distrust love, which only makes their fierce attraction more dangerous.
Scarlet Lies
by Jo Goodman
1988
Con artist Brooklyn Hancock thinks she can stay one step ahead of trouble until Ryland North corners her. Revenge, desire, and a battle of wits make this riverboat romance move fast.
Midnight Princess / Her Defiant Heart
by Jo Goodman
1989
Christian Marshall agrees to help a mysterious young woman escape a New York asylum and soon finds her in his own house. Jenny Holland brings secrets, danger, and the possibility of healing neither expected.
Tempting Torment
by Jo Goodman
1989
A practical marriage of convenience becomes far more complicated once duty gives way to intimacy. Goodman folds family loyalty, danger, and slow-building passion into the final main arc of the McClellan saga.
Passion's Sweet Revenge / His Heart's Revenge
by Jo Goodman
1990
A woman driven by vengeance crosses paths with a Marshall brother carrying wounds of his own. Their uneasy alliance grows hotter and riskier as old wrongs demand a reckoning.
Sweet Fire
by Jo Goodman
1991
Lydia Chadwick wakes up married to a man she does not remember and desperate to learn what happened. Nathan Hunter has reasons to keep her looking forward, but the truth of her past will not stay quiet.
Tidewater Promise
by Jo Goodman
1991
Courtney McClellan thinks happily-ever-after is behind her, until a childhood friendship takes on new life. In a short, gentle coda to the McClellan world, old affection deepens into lasting love.
Wild Sweet Ecstasy / Only My Love
by Jo Goodman
1992
Newspaperwoman Mary Michael Dennehy heads west in search of a story and finds much more than she bargained for. Trouble on the journey throws her together with Ethan Stone, and sparks fly almost immediately.
Rogue's Mistress / My Heart's Desire
by Jo Goodman
1993
Mary Renee Dennehy is not looking for protection, but Jerret Sullivan is hired to watch over her all the same. Their battle of wills turns personal as danger, family secrets, and desire close in.
Forever in My Heart
by Jo Goodman
1994
Maggie Dennehy wakes with missing memories and only fragments of a night she cannot explain. An arranged marriage to Connor Holiday should solve one problem, but it uncovers many more, including a passion neither can ignore.
Always In My Dreams
by Jo Goodman
1995
Skye Dennehy has money, nerve, and a mind of her own, which makes her a magnet for trouble. When danger and desire arrive together, she has to decide whether freedom matters more than finally trusting her heart.
My Steadfast Heart
by Jo Goodman
1997
Colin Thorne comes to England bent on revenge and finds Mercedes Leydon standing between him and the estate he claims. Desire complicates everything, especially when both are hiding wounds that run deep.
Only In My Arms
by Jo Goodman
1997
Mary Dennehy leaves the convent in search of a different life and ends up the hostage of Ryder McKay, a man condemned for a crime he did not commit. Their flight west tests her faith and both their hearts.
My Reckless Heart
by Jo Goodman
1998
Decker Thorne works for shipping magnate Jonna Remington until danger makes their partnership far more personal. A sea voyage, a hidden enemy, and mounting desire leave neither of them much room to stay guarded.
With All My Heart
by Jo Goodman
1999
Grey Janeway has built a life in San Francisco without a clear past to anchor him. When Berkeley Shaw arrives searching for a missing man, her gift and Grey's buried history pull them toward a life-changing reckoning.
More Than You Know
by Jo Goodman
2000
Rand Hamilton is chasing a lost treasure and the future of his family's estate. Claire Bancroft joins the search with secrets and questions of her own, and together they follow riddles toward both truth and love.
More Than You Wished
by Jo Goodman
2001
Bria Hamilton wants her family's Carolina plantation back and hires Luke Kincaid to help her get it. He has reasons of his own for staying close, and their marriage of convenience soon becomes far more dangerous than planned.
Let Me Be The One
by Jo Goodman
2002
Brendan Hampton and Libby Penrose are drawn together by a jewel thief, a stolen kiss, and a scandal that leaves them married. Love is the easy part. Trusting what the other is hiding is much harder.
All I Ever Needed
by Jo Goodman
2003
Lady Sophia Colley is trapped by greedy cousins when Gabriel Whitney arrives to correct a rumor and ends up proposing on the spot. Their growing attraction is shadowed by a mystery that puts them both at risk.
Everything I Ever Wanted
by Jo Goodman
2003
Actress India Parr has plenty of admirers, but Matthew Forrester sees danger behind the glamour. As he follows a trail of murder and treachery, he finds himself falling for the very woman he should not trust.
Beyond a Wicked Kiss
by Jo Goodman
2004
Evan Marchman inherits a title, a fortune, and a mystery when headmistress Ria Ashby asks for his help finding a missing girl. Their search leads into a secretive world where power and seduction go hand in hand.
A Season to Be Sinful
by Jo Goodman
2005
Alexander Grantham takes in an injured young woman and discovers that Lily is no common thief. As her past catches up with her, protection turns into passion, and both become harder to resist.
One Forbidden Evening
by Jo Goodman
2006
One impulsive night at a masked ball should have ended with daylight. Instead, Cybelline Caldwell and Christopher Hollings are thrown together by danger, desire, and secrets that refuse to stay hidden.
If His Kiss Is Wicked
by Jo Goodman
2007
Emma Hathaway thinks someone wants her dead, but no one seems willing to believe her. Restell Gardner agrees to help, and their search for the truth pulls them into scandal, danger, and an attraction neither can dismiss.
The Price Of Desire
by Jo Goodman
2008
Olivia Cole is handed over to settle her brother's debts and lands in a world of gamblers, rogues, and risk. Griffin Wright-Jones wants her badly, but both know desire is the easiest part of their trouble.
Never Love A Lawman
by Jo Goodman
2009
Rachel Bailey can inherit Reidsville's rail line only if she marries Sheriff Wyatt Cooper. Their arrangement is supposed to save the town, but Rachel's past is closing in, and the marriage starts feeling dangerously real.
Marry Me
by Jo Goodman
2010
Doctor Cole Monroe takes in the fiercely guarded Rhyne Abbott when illness leaves her with nowhere else to go. He wants marriage, she wants safety, and trust may be the hardest thing either of them has to learn.
A Place Called Home
by Jo Goodman
2011
When Thea Wyndham and Mitchell Baker are named joint guardians of three children, they are barely polite acquaintances. Shared grief, family chaos, and unexpected laughter slowly turn obligation into something much deeper.
Kissing Comfort
by Jo Goodman
2011
Bode DeLong knows his brother's engagement to Comfort Kennedy is a mistake, so he steps in to protect her. What he does not expect is to want her for himself, and to mean it.
The Last Renegade
by Jo Goodman
2012
Lorraine Berry hires a dangerous man to help protect Bitter Springs from a violent local clan. Kellen Coltrane means to do a job, not fall in love, but the town and its fiery hotel owner change the terms fast.
True to the Law
by Jo Goodman
2013
Private detective Cobb Bridger comes to Bitter Springs hunting a missing woman and finds schoolteacher Tru Morrow instead. The closer he gets to the truth, the harder it is to separate his case from his heart.
In Want of a Wife
by Jo Goodman
2014
Jane Middlebourne answers an ad for a mail-order bride and heads west with little left to lose. Rancher Morgan Longstreet wants a practical partner, but both are carrying secrets that could ruin their fragile new start.
This Gun for Hire
by Jo Goodman
2015
Quill McKenna is drawn into a dangerous job that puts him close to Calico Nash and even closer to trouble. What begins as protection becomes a harder bargain when trust, desire, and frontier violence collide.
The Devil You Know
by Jo Goodman
2016
On the Colorado frontier, old trouble catches up with a McKenna brother just as a wary woman enters his life. Their uneasy alliance turns personal when family loyalties, hidden history, and real danger refuse to stay buried.
A Touch of Frost
by Jo Goodman
2017
After a train robbery leaves a woman missing, Remington Frost sets out to find Phoebe Apple and bring her home alive. Back at the ranch, attraction grows fast, but so do the secrets circling them both.
A Touch of Flame
by Jo Goodman
2018
Ridley Woodhouse arrives in Frost Falls to prove a woman can be the town doctor, while Sheriff Ben Madison tries to keep her safe. Their growing bond is tested when one of Ridley's patients brings danger straight to her door.
A Touch of Forever
by Jo Goodman
2019
Widow Lily Salt wants independence, not another man making decisions for her. Railroad engineer Roen Shepard offers a marriage of convenience to protect them both, but the closer they get, the riskier pretending becomes.
Ramsey Rules
by Jo Goodman
2020
Ramsey Masters keeps shoplifters in line and her own past under wraps, until a speeding ticket puts her in Sullivan Day's sights. Their flirtation turns serious when trouble at the outlet mall spills into real danger.
Stages of the Heart
by Jo Goodman
2020
Laurel Morrison runs a stage station in frontier Colorado and does not plan to hand her future to any passing man. But after a robbery and a brush with the coming railroad, McCall Landry becomes impossible to ignore.
Where should I start?
If you want Colorado frontier romance: A Touch of Frost → A Touch of Flame → A Touch of Forever
If you want Western towns with mystery and heart: The Last Renegade → True to the Law → In Want of a Wife
If you want Regency intrigue: Let Me Be The One → Everything I Ever Wanted → All I Ever Needed → Beyond a Wicked Kiss
If you want a big family saga: Wild Sweet Ecstasy / Only My Love → Rogue's Mistress / My Heart's Desire → Forever in My Heart → Only In My Arms
If you want something contemporary: A Place Called Home → Ramsey Rules
Author bio
Jo Goodman has spent most of her working life listening closely to people, which helps explain why her novels feel so interested in motive, memory, and the things characters do not say out loud.
For years she worked as a licensed professional counselor with children and families in West Virginia's Northern Panhandle. Long before many readers knew her as a romance novelist, she was doing demanding day to day work with young people and their families, hearing hard stories and helping people find steadier ground.
She came to writing early in that professional life. By her own account, she loved happily-ever-afters and started writing romance when she realized the only life script she could fully control was the one she put on the page.
That mix of realism and hope runs through her books.
Goodman did not set out to write romance in a straight line. She studied biology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, with a minor in chemistry, and once thought marine research might be her future. Seasickness, which has ruined many a neat plan, sent her in another direction. She later earned a master's degree in counseling from West Virginia University and began work as a childcare worker and therapist.
She had been making up stories even earlier. As a child she clipped catalog models to help imagine characters, and by seventh grade she was already writing melodramas. Her first published novel was Passion's Bride, later reissued as The Captain's Lady, and it helped launch a long career in historical romance.
Most readers find her through the Westerns and stay for the intelligence and slow-burn pull of the relationships. Books like The Last Renegade, True to the Law, and In Want of a Wife show how well she uses small frontier towns, hidden histories, and marriages made under pressure. Her Regency novels, especially the Compass Club and Grantham books, lean more toward drawing rooms, secrets, and social traps, but they carry the same interest in trust, family, and survival.
She has range, too.
Over the years she has written stories set in Regency England, the American West, Revolutionary America, and the early republic. She also stepped outside historical romance with the contemporary novels A Place Called Home and Ramsey Rules. Even when the settings change, certain things keep showing up: damaged families, people living under assumed versions of themselves, and love stories that ask for patience rather than instant certainty.
Her own comments about writing are refreshingly plain. She has said that writing helps her manage the emotional weight that can come with counseling work, and that feels like a useful key to her fiction. The books often make room for grief, shame, fear, and old trauma, but they never stay there for long without also reaching for humor, tenderness, or stubborn decency.
Now based in Colliers, West Virginia, Goodman still sounds like someone who values home, privacy, and a good story told well. That steadiness suits her books. They can get dark, twisty, or dangerous, but they keep faith with the idea that people can tell the truth, do better, and choose one another.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.




























































Comments
Did we miss something? Have feedback?
Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts