Marci Bolden Books in Order
Browse Marci Bolden books in order, with series lists, short summaries, and quick help on where to start with her romance, suspense, and women's fiction.
Last updated: July 4, 2026
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Publication Order
19 books
Friends Without Benefits
by Marci Bolden
2015
Dianna Friedman is barely holding things together after her husband leaves. When betrayed spouse Paul O'Connell shows up with a plan, friendship becomes their lifeline, and maybe something more.
The Forgotten Path
by Marci Bolden
2015
Annie O'Connell trusts no one more than herself, even as Marcus Callison has loved her for years. When tragedy shatters her carefully managed life, Marcus refuses to let her face the fallout alone.
The Road Leads Back
by Marci Bolden
2015
Artist Kara Martinson has built a life far from the town that cast her out. A surprise reunion with Harry Canton pulls her back toward old love, old pain, and a hometown she never meant to face again.
Jessica's Wish
by Marci Bolden
2016
Eleven-year-old Jessica wants one thing for her birthday, a mother. As her father Phil grows close to Mallory O'Connell, family pressure and old fears threaten the fragile happiness taking shape around them.
This Old Cafe
by Marci Bolden
2017
Jenna Reid is fighting to keep her struggling cafe afloat when Daniel Maguire enters her life at his own low point. Fixing the building turns into something more personal for them both.
California Can Wait
by Marci Bolden
2018
Reporter Andrea Davidson is headed for a new life when a motel break-in and a job at a struggling small-town paper derail her plans. Working with editor Graham Bradley brings fresh trouble and fresh hope.
A Life Without Water
by Marci Bolden
2019
On the eve of their daughter's thirtieth birthday, Carol Denman's ex-husband returns with a desperate request. A long-overdue road trip forces them back through grief, blame, and the history they never truly escaped.
Burning Hearts
by Marci Bolden
2019
A spycam in a gated community sends investigator Eva Thompson undercover as bait. Working as a fake married couple with her ex, Joshua Simmons, stirs old feelings while a voyeur grows bolder.
Forever Yours
by Marci Bolden
2019
Four years after Aiden broke her heart, Meg Tanaka wants nothing to do with him. His return to town reopens old hurt and raises one hard question, can a first love really earn a second chance?
Hidden Hearts
by Marci Bolden
2019
Former Army sergeant Holly Austin teams up with detective Jack Tarek when women start disappearing. As the investigation grows more urgent, their attraction becomes one more complication in a race against time.
Stolen Hearts
by Marci Bolden
2019
Alexa Rodriguez never got over her sister's disappearance, even after becoming a private investigator. When Dean Campbell hires HEARTS to find his missing sister, the case cuts painfully close to home.
The Rebound
by Marci Bolden
2019
Casi Hanson and Conner Bennett agree to a no-strings arrangement after heartbreak leaves them both wary. Exploring their chemistry seems simple enough, until the one forbidden thing starts to happen.
A Life Without Flowers
by Marci Bolden
2020
Carol Denman tries to mend her broken relationship with her mother after years of hurt. Their road trip into the past uncovers buried resentment and asks whether healing is still possible for either of them.
A Life Without Regrets
by Marci Bolden
2020
Widowed and still grieving, Carol Denman has done the hard work of facing much of her past. The one wound she cannot settle, losing Tobias, leaves her searching for a way to move forward.
Secret Hearts
by Marci Bolden
2020
Former federal agent Rene Schwartz is used to danger, not emotional fallout. Protecting Quinn Stanton and his young son after a murder and suspicious break-ins draws her into a case with nowhere safe to stand.
The Breaking Point
by Marci Bolden
2021
Taylor O'Shea heads to Arizona to face the mother who shaped her hardest years. A disappointing reunion and a newly discovered half-brother push her into a family mission that may change them both.
The Restarting Point
by Marci Bolden
2021
After cancer treatment, Jade Kelly heads alone to a lakeside cabin when her family vacation falls apart. Time away exposes cracks in her marriage and family, and new friendships help her imagine a different future.
The Selling Point
by Marci Bolden
2021
Darby Zamora reinvents her old bridal business with a consignment boutique that suddenly takes off. But when ghosts from her past resurface, success forces her to rethink both her work and herself.
Unforgettable You
by Marci Bolden
2021
Widowed Carrie Gable reopens her family's historic inn to a film crew out of financial necessity. A growing bond with fading star Will Walker offers a spark, but fame and caregiving pull in opposite directions.
Where should I start?
For emotional women's fiction: A Life Without Water → A Life Without Flowers → A Life Without Regrets
For friendship and fresh starts: The Restarting Point → The Selling Point → The Breaking Point
For small-town second chances: The Road Leads Back → Friends Without Benefits → Jessica's Wish
For romantic suspense: Hidden Hearts → Burning Hearts → Stolen Hearts → Secret Hearts
For standalones with relationship drama: California Can Wait → Unforgettable You → The Rebound
Author bio
Marci Bolden came to books young, but not through the usual path. As a teen, she skipped over young adult fiction and went straight to romance, women's fiction, and suspense. One early favorite, Patricia MacDonald's The Unforgiven, made such a strong impression that it helped nudge her toward writing stories of her own.
That emotional pull still seems to drive her work.
Bolden has described herself as a very sensitive writer, the kind who cries right along with her characters. That fits the books. Again and again, she starts with people who are bruised in some way, by grief, divorce, family strain, illness, or old secrets, and then follows them as they try to heal. She has also said she likes protagonists who are capable of real growth, not just surface change.
You can see that clearly in A Life Without Water, one of her best-known novels. It follows Carol Denman as a serious request from her ex-husband forces her back into the past, and the story digs deep into loss, regret, and forgiveness. Bolden has said it was one of the hardest books for her to write, which makes sense. It is heavy material, and she does not treat it lightly.
She can switch gears without losing that emotional core.
In the Stonehill books, beginning with The Road Leads Back, she leans into small-town ties, second chances, and complicated family history. She once said the whole Stonehill series came together easily after she found the town, and that ease shows in the connected cast. In The Restarting Point, she turns toward friendship and reinvention, following a woman whose life looks fine from the outside until it suddenly does not. Then in Hidden Hearts, she moves into romantic suspense, pairing an all-women investigative agency with missing-person cases, danger, and attraction that gets messy fast.
What links all of these books is not a rigid formula. It is her interest in adults with real baggage. Bolden writes widows, single parents, people facing money trouble, people trying to forgive a parent, and people who thought they had their future sorted out until life proved otherwise. Even when the setup sounds dramatic, the feelings stay close to ordinary life.
She also writes as Marci Wilson, which tells you something about how wide her storytelling lane has become. Across series and pen names, readers tend to come to her for heartfelt women's fiction, second-chance romance, and characters who have to work for their peace. Her books are usually not about perfect people meeting at the perfect time. They are about damaged people trying again.
Off the page, Bolden has shared that she lives in the Midwest with her husband, their children, and a lively collection of rescue pets. She likes crafting, cooking, and tending an ever-growing plant habit. She has also joked that cupcakes, wine, and self-help books remain part of the routine, which feels very in step with a writer whose stories can be intense but never lose their everyday warmth.
That mix is a big part of her appeal. Marci Bolden writes big feelings, but she grounds them in recognizable lives, practical problems, and the hope that even badly broken seasons do not have to be the end of the story.
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.





































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