Once Upon a Funeral (Sheryl Lister) Books in Order

Once Upon a Funeral uses a striking setup for romance, grief and goodbye as the catalyst for emotional truth. That may sound heavy, and sometimes it is, but the series understands something romance often does well: loss strips people down fast. It removes distractions, reorders priorities, and leaves old wounds with nowhere to hide.

That is where love walks in.

Sheryl Lister's Tempting Hunter brings second-chance energy to that framework. Hunter Prescott and Michaela Saunders are not strangers fumbling toward attraction. They are people with history, unfinished feeling, and pain that has not gone quiet just because time has passed. Set against family obligations and the emotional fallout that comes with saying goodbye, the story asks whether love can be rebuilt when the old fracture lines are still visible.

The funeral premise matters because it creates honesty by force. Characters who might otherwise keep moving, postponing, or pretending are suddenly made to stop. In romance, that can be powerful. The past becomes immediate. So does regret. That gives the series a more emotional, reflective tone than something built around a party or vacation.

At the same time, the books still promise hope. The title may begin with a funeral, but the destination is not despair. It is clarity, healing, and the possibility that love can emerge even in the middle of grief. In Tempting Hunter, that means forgiveness matters as much as desire. The chemistry is there, but so is the work of deciding whether two people can truly meet each other where they are now.

If you like romance with a little more ache in it, Once Upon a Funeral is likely to work for you. The series lets grief and love occupy the same space, which can make the happy ending feel especially earned. Lister's installment fits readers who enjoy second chances, emotional honesty, and couples who have to do more than admit attraction. They have to face the things that once pulled them apart and decide whether this time will be different.