Next Time Around Books in Order

Next Time Around is contemporary romance built around reinvention after divorce. The setup is simple and strong, three college friends in their forties decide to help one another start over, and that shared history gives the series much of its warmth.

Friendship comes first here.

McDonald wrote these books around women who are no longer at the beginning of adult life. They have already married, already been hurt, already learned some expensive lessons, and now have to decide what the next version of happiness might look like. That gives the series a steady emotional realism, even when the banter gets broad and the attraction turns the temperature up.

The opening situation brings the women together for a restorative getaway at an upscale California hotel and spa, and the setting matters. There is a sense of breathing room in these books, of characters stepping away from wreckage long enough to notice who they still are. Laguna Beach and the luxury-resort atmosphere add a little fantasy, but the emotional beats stay grounded in body image, self-worth, aging, friendship, and the strange challenge of dating again when you know too much.

Next Song I Sing introduces Chloe, newly divorced and badly bruised by the way her marriage ended, then throws her into the orbit of hotel owner Jasper Wade. Next Game I Play carries the friend group forward and shifts focus to Taylor, whose no-dating-athletes rule runs straight into Max Wade. Each book works as a romance, but the larger pleasure is watching the women keep showing up for one another.

These are not twenty-something finding-yourself stories. They are forty-something rebuilding-yourself stories, which is part of why the series feels distinct. McDonald lets the heroines be funny, insecure, sensual, and practical all at once. The men are appealing, but the books do not act as if romance alone solves everything.

If you like contemporary romances with strong female friendship, confident midlife heroines, and a sunny California reset vibe, Next Time Around is a good bet. It is sexy and upbeat, but it also has an honest streak about what it takes to trust again.