The Drakes of California Books in Order

The Drakes of California follows a close, well-established Black family whose roots in Northern California reach through business, property, wine, and the town of Paradise Cove. The books are contemporary romances, but the family is the steady center. Each installment gives another Drake relative, or someone drawn into the family circle, a chance to find love while dealing with work, history, and the expectations that come with the Drake name.

The series begins with Diamond Dreams, which introduces the family through Diamond Drake and the construction executive working on a major expansion at the Drake vineyard. From there, the books move through cousins, siblings, and younger relatives. The setting expands from vineyards and resort projects to ranches, city offices, political campaigns, youth programs, fashion work, and, in one book, the Alaskan wilderness.

Paradise Cove matters here. It is more than a pretty backdrop for wealthy characters. The town is where the Drakes do business, raise families, run for office, mentor young people, and run into people who remember the past. A disagreement over land, a hometown campaign, or an old family grudge can turn personal feelings into a much bigger problem. The stories keep one foot in romance and the other in the practical concerns of a family whose choices affect a whole community.

The Drakes are comfortable with success, but money does not solve everything.

Several books get their energy from contrast. In Solid Gold Seduction, rancher Warren Drake falls for a neighbor whose family has long disliked the Drakes. Secret Silver Nights pits political rivals Nico Drake and Monique Slater against each other in a mayoral race. Sapphire Attraction matches orderly real-estate mogul Ike Drake Jr. with unpredictable Quinn Taylor after a car accident forces them into close contact. The pairings are often built around different temperaments, careers, and ideas about what a future should look like.

The later books widen the family world. Crystal Caress sends Teresa Drake to Alaska, where her reporting work puts her at odds with Atka Sinclair and the fight to protect his community's heritage. Silken Embrace follows Terrell Drake, a businessman committed to mentoring boys at a local youth center, and Aliyah Robinson, a single mother and anesthesiologist. Lavish Loving brings fashion model London Drake home, where a former love is hard to avoid. The final book, Decadent Desire, returns to Paradise Cove for psychologist Julian Drake and Broadway dancer Nicki Long.

Expect heat, family involvement, career obstacles, and plenty of second thoughts before the couples get to the point. Each romance has its own ending, so the books can work individually, but reading in publication order gives the fullest picture of the family relationships and the changing life of Paradise Cove. Start with Diamond Dreams if you want to meet the Drakes from the beginning.