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Susan Elizabeth Phillips Books in Order

This page collects all Susan Elizabeth Phillips books in order, with series lists, summaries, and tips on where to start with Chicago Stars and Wynette, Texas.

Last updated: January 12, 2026

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27 books

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And the Crowd Went Wild

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2026

After a viral humiliation, former sex symbol Dancy Flynn hides out at the secluded lake house of her earnest high school boyfriend, now Chicago Stars quarterback Clint Garrett. Banished to a converted caboose yet impossible to ignore, she keeps colliding with his tightly controlled life, stirring up old hurts, local drama, and a second chance at love.

Simply the Best

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2024

Artisan chocolatier Rory Garrett is barely staying afloat when her NFL star brother's glamorous ex turns up dead and suspicion lands close to home. Forced to partner with Brett Rivers, her brother's polished sports agent and the man who once mistook her for a paid escort, she dives into a twisty investigation that melts their mutual distrust into something much sweeter.

When Stars Collide

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2021

Backup quarterback Thad Owens and demanding opera star Olivia Shore are paired on a glitzy nationwide tour to promote a luxury watch, and they agree on only one thing: they cannot stand each other. As threatening messages and real danger shadow the trip, their sharp banter and grudging respect deepen into a high profile romance neither planned.

Dance Away with Me

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2020

Still shattered by her husband's death, midwife Tess Hartsong escapes to a remote cabin on Runaway Mountain, hoping solitude and wild dancing will quiet her grief. Instead she collides with infamous street artist Ian North and his pregnant partner, then is pulled into a fragile newborn's future, small town conflicts, and a hard won new love.

First Star I See Tonight

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2016

Rookie private investigator Piper Dove's first big assignment is to shadow retired Chicago Stars legend Cooper Graham and see if he is hiding anything from a potential investor. When Coop catches her, he hires his not so stealthy stalker to uncover sabotage at his nightclub, turning their wary partnership into something much more dangerous to their hearts.

Heroes Are My Weakness

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2014

Flat broke actress and puppeteer Annie Hewitt trudges through a Maine snowstorm to the bleak cottage she has inherited, only to find brooding novelist Theo Harp in the looming mansion up the hill. Years after she believed he tried to kill her, mysterious threats and an unwanted attraction make it hard to know whom to trust.

The Great Escape

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2012

Runaway bride Lucy Jorik flees her high profile wedding and jumps on the back of a stranger's motorcycle, trading political royalty for a gruff loner nicknamed Panda. Their uneasy road trip lands her in a shabby lakeside community where she must build a real life and decide whether he belongs in it.

Call Me Irresistible

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2010

Free spirited Meg Koranda arrives in Wynette, Texas to stand up in her best friend's wedding to golden boy Ted Beaudine, then realizes the match is all wrong. When the bride bolts, the furious town makes Meg their scapegoat, trapping her in dead end jobs and a slow burn battle of wills with the man she tried to save.

What I Did for Love

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2009

Former sitcom sweetheart Georgie York is reeling from a tabloid divorce when a wild night in Las Vegas ends with her accidentally married to despised ex costar Bram Shepard. To rescue both their careers, they fake a perfect union, but living together exposes old grudges, buried attraction, and a chance to rewrite their story.

Natural Born Charmer

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2007

On a lonely Colorado highway, Chicago Stars quarterback Dean Robillard brakes for a furious woman in a bedraggled beaver costume. Taking runaway artist Blue Bailey along on his road trip leads them to a Tennessee farmhouse, an eccentric makeshift family, and a romance neither commitment phobe saw coming.

Match Me If You Can

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2005

Determined to save her late grandmother's struggling matchmaking agency, quirky Annabelle Granger vows to land high powered sports agent Heath Champion as a client. As she parades Chicago's most polished women in front of him, their sparring turns playful and Annabelle begins to look like his most unlikely perfect match.

Ain't She Sweet?

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2004

Once the spoiled princess of Parrish, Mississippi, Sugar Beth Carey comes home broke and humbled to the town she tormented. Her former teacher Colin Byrne, now a famous novelist and owner of her old house, wants revenge, but proximity forces them to confront old wounds and the possibility of forgiveness.

Breathing Room

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2002

America's favorite self help guru Dr. Isabel Favor loses her money, fiancé, and reputation in one spectacular crash, then retreats to a crumbling farmhouse in the Tuscan hills. There she collides with movie villain Ren Gage, a jaded star hiding from his own life, and together they relearn how to trust and start over.

This Heart of Mine

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2001

Children's book creator Molly Somerville has always secretly adored Chicago Stars quarterback Kevin Tucker, her sister's star player. One reckless night upends both their lives and sends them to a remote lakeside camp, where a fragile marriage of convenience slowly turns into the partnership they never planned.

First Lady

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2000

Tired of life on a pedestal, the widowed First Lady of the United States slips away from her security detail, trading designer suits for a thrift store disguise. On the run with a guarded stranger and two orphaned girls, she discovers ordinary roadside America and a chance to fall in love on her own terms.

Lady Be Good

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

1999

Proper English headmistress Lady Emma Wells Finch has two weeks in Texas to ruin her spotless reputation and escape an unwanted duke. Suspended golf star Kenny Traveler needs to look respectable to save his career, yet ends up chauffeuring Emma through honky tonks, bad decisions, and a wildly inconvenient attraction.

Dream a Little Dream

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

1998

Down to her last dollars, widowed Rachel Stone limps back to Salvation, North Carolina, the town that despises her late televangelist husband. A job at grim widower Gabe Bonner's failing drive in gives her and her young son a precarious foothold and offers Gabe a second chance at faith and love.

Nobody's Baby But Mine

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

1997

Brilliant physicist Jane Darlington wants a baby but fears passing on her isolating genius, so she targets seemingly dim Chicago Stars quarterback Cal Bonner as the perfect father. Her outrageous deception sparks a shotgun marriage, a custody battle, and a tender love between two stubborn opposites.

Kiss an Angel

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

1996

Flighty socialite Daisy Devreaux can either go to jail or enter an arranged marriage with grim circus manager Alex Markov. Dragged into a rough traveling show, she learns to care for neglected animals, confronts long buried family secrets, and falls for a man who believes he cannot love.

Heaven, Texas

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

1995

Buttoned up organizer Gracie Snow has one job: deliver legendary ex wide receiver Bobby Tom Denton home to Heaven, Texas for his first movie role. Instead she ends up remaking his chaotic life, challenging his playboy image, and discovering that a small town can change them both.

It Had to Be You

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

1994

After her domineering father dies, flamboyant heiress Phoebe Somerville unexpectedly inherits the Chicago Stars football team with one brutal condition: win or lose it. To survive the season she must battle stubborn head coach Dan Calebow, the game she hates, and the risk of trusting love again.

Honey Moon

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

1993

Orphaned Honey Jane Moon claws her way from a rundown South Carolina amusement park to child stardom on a hit Western TV show. Torn between cowboy legend Dash Coogan and tormented actor Eric Dillon, she fights for the real family and lasting love fame has never given her.

Hot Shot

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

1991

In 1970s California, heiress Susannah Faulconer abandons her safe wedding to ride off with rebel Sam Gamble and brilliant engineer Yank Yankowski, backing their scrappy microcomputer start up. As the company rockets toward success, love, power, and betrayal collide in ways none of them foresee.

Fancy Pants

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

1989

When pampered British socialite Francesca Day limps down a Texas back road in a ruined ball gown, her glamorous life has just exploded. Rescued by golf pro Dallie Beaudine, she tumbles into small town Texas, years of second chances, and a love story neither of them expected.

Glitter Baby

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

1987

Fleur Savagar is the most beautiful woman in the world, yet she sees only her awkward body and a past full of secrets. As Hollywood and Paris remake her into a star, playwright Jake Koranda is the one man who pushes her to claim her own identity and heart.

Just Imagine

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

1984

In Reconstruction era America, fiery Southern orphan Kit Weston rides to New York disguised as a boy to kill Baron Cain, the Union hero who controls her beloved plantation. Hired as his stable hand and revealed as his ward, she trades revenge for a stormy, slow burn love.

The Copeland Bride

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

1983

London pickpocket Noelle Dorian is mistaken for a notorious temptress when American shipping heir Quinn Copeland forces her into marriage. From city alleys to New World frontiers, pride, revenge, and a fierce attraction tangle as she fights for both independence and love.

Where should I start?

If you want her classic football romances: It Had to Be YouHeaven, TexasNobody's Baby But MineDream a Little Dream.
If you like small town Texas settings: Fancy PantsLady Be GoodFirst LadyCall Me Irresistible.
If you prefer intense, character driven standalones: Kiss an AngelBreathing RoomAin't She Sweet?Dance Away with Me.
If you are looking for her recent work: First Star I See TonightWhen Stars CollideSimply the BestAnd the Crowd Went Wild.

Author bio

Susan Elizabeth Phillips was born on December 11, 1944, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in a Midwestern world of school plays, library books, and daydreams. Theater grabbed her early, and she carried that love of stories to Ohio University, where she earned a B.F.A. in theater arts.

After college she married Bill Phillips and traded the stage for a classroom, teaching drama, speech, and English at a local high school. She loved watching shy teenagers step into the light in school productions, but when her first son was born she chose to stay home, read widely, and figure out what might come next.

In 1976 the family moved from Ohio to New Jersey, and a talkative, book loving neighbor changed everything. Susan and Claire Lefkowitz spent evenings discussing the novels they devoured, then decided to try writing one themselves. Working at Claire’s kitchen table, they produced the historical romance The Copeland Bride, which was published in 1983 under the joint pen name Justine Cole. The experience convinced Susan that she had found her own second act.

When Claire moved away, Susan kept writing on her own. Her early solo novels were big, dramatic contemporary romances like Glitter Baby, Fancy Pants, Hot Shot, and Honey Moon that mixed Hollywood glamour, rock and roll, emerging technology, and complicated families. Those books let her play on a wide canvas, following ambitious women and flawed men through careers, betrayals, and hard won happy endings.

A passing “what if” changed her direction again: what if a woman who knew nothing about football inherited a professional team? That question became It Had to Be You and launched the Chicago Stars novels, the series that helped define modern sports romance. Across books about coaches, quarterbacks, agents, and the women who upend their lives, she uses locker rooms and stadiums as backdrops for stories about identity, trust, and found family.

At the same time she kept returning to Texas in the Wynette books, where jet setting heroines and powerful politicians collide with a fiercely loyal small town. Stories like Fancy Pants, Lady Be Good, First Lady, What I Did for Love, Call Me Irresistible, and The Great Escape let her mix big public scandals with intimate friendships, nosy neighbors, and second chances.

Beyond those two core worlds are standalones that show how restless she is as a storyteller. Kiss an Angel sends an unlikely bride on the road with a struggling circus. Breathing Room strands a burned out self help diva and a cynical movie star in the hills of Tuscany. Ain't She Sweet? asks whether the mean girl of a small Southern town can ever really make amends. Later novels like Heroes Are My Weakness and Dance Away with Me lean into gothic atmosphere, grief, and reinvention while still delivering the sharp dialogue and emotional payoff readers expect.

Her peers have recognized that mix of heart and humor. She is the only five time winner of Romance Writers of America’s Favorite Book of the Year award and has been inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame, as well as receiving its Lifetime Achievement Award. Her novels have been translated into more than thirty languages and have appeared on major bestseller lists in the United States and abroad.

Today Susan lives in the Chicago area with Bill, the college blind date who turned into a long running love story. They have two grown sons and grandchildren who keep family life lively. She likes to describe herself as a passionate reader, enthusiastic hiker, terrible singer, lazy gardener, passable cook, and full time storyteller, still dreaming up new ways to bring readers back to the worlds of the Chicago Stars and Wynette, Texas.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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All 27 Susan Elizabeth Phillips Books in Order (2026)