Love by Design (Dana Mentink) Books in Order

Love by Design is Dana Mentink’s decorating-and-second-chances contemporary series. The books follow siblings Rosa and Cy Franco, who run a budget-minded design business and keep landing projects that are just a little too messy, too public, or too personal to stay simple.

Return to Pelican Inn brings them back to a seaside inn with a makeover contest and old memories waiting to be stirred up. Sailing in Style moves the action onto a paddlewheel steamboat, where Cy is trying to fix a disaster and avoid another emotional one in the form of a woman from his past. The design jobs give the books their structure, but the heart of the series is really about people rebuilding things, rooms, relationships, and plans for the future.

If you want Dana Mentink without murder or manhunts, this is a nice lane to try. The stories are warm, lightly comic, and full of practical details that make the settings feel lived in.