Sarah Morgenthaler Books in Order

Sarah Morgenthaler writes contemporary romance and romantic comedy set in places where the outdoors matters as much as the meet-cute. Her stories bring together small towns, big landscapes, oddball animals, and people trying to find a place that feels like home. Her best-known fictional stop is Moose Springs, Alaska.

She is also a geologist and a lifelong science nerd. That comes through in her fondness for rocks, rugged terrain, and the practical details of being outside when the weather has other plans. Away from the page, she has described herself as a chocolate chip cookie supporter and spends time with her rescue pit bull, Sammy.

Climbing and hiking are part of the picture, too.

Morgenthaler’s first published novel, The Tourist Attraction, launched the Moose Springs, Alaska series in 2020. It introduces Graham Barnett, a diner owner who has had it with resort visitors, and Zoey Caldwell, a traveler finally taking her long-saved-for dream trip. Their grumpy-sunshine setup lets the town’s tension between locals and tourists become part of the romance, along with a diner called the Tourist Trap and plenty of wildlife trouble.

The next Moose Springs book, Mistletoe and Mr. Right, turns toward Christmas. Lana Montgomery arrives with money, business plans, and a real wish to help the town, but Moose Springs is not eager to trust her. Her growing connection with quiet local Rick Harding unfolds alongside the chase for a destructive Santa Moose. It is a holiday romance with a playful, slightly chaotic streak.

In Enjoy the View, the setting gets steeper. Former actor River Lane comes to Moose Springs hoping to build a new career behind the camera, while mountaineer Easton Lockett knows exactly how dangerous the surrounding wilderness can be. The book mixes a film crew, a mountain climb, and two people whose plans keep colliding.

Her 2024 novel The Christmas You Found Me begins the Heart of the Wilderness series and shifts the action to Idaho. Sienna Naples, a rancher dealing with the end of her marriage, meets Guy Maple, a single father desperate to secure medical coverage for his young daughter. Their marriage-of-convenience premise gives the story more emotional weight, while still making room for snowy country, family, and a slow-building relationship.

Morgenthaler has been a two-time Golden Heart finalist and received the NOLA STARS Suzannah Award for romantic fiction. She travels and hikes national parks with her husband when she is not writing, climbing, or looking for the next trail.

Her books tend to start with a messy situation, a strong sense of place, and people who are not quite ready to admit what they need. The jokes land, but the characters also have to deal with loneliness, belonging, and the work of letting someone in. That balance is a big part of the appeal.