The Problem Books in Order

The Problem series takes a neighborhood setup and turns it into three connected romances built around the Hayes brothers and the women who move into their orbit. Compared with some of M.E. Clayton's darker worlds, this one is more grounded and domestic, but it still has plenty of heat, stubborn heroes, and emotional complications.

The basic hook is simple. New neighbors arrive, and the brothers get much more than they bargained for. In The Problem with Fire, Sayer and Monroe bring together age-gap tension, post-divorce vulnerability, and the awkward reality of living right next door to someone you absolutely should not want. The Problem with Sports adds a warmer family angle through Andrea, her son, and retired athlete Nathan. Then The Problem with Dating turns funny first impressions into something much more serious.

Close quarters do a lot of work here.

Because the books are built around neighbors, the romances feel immediate. People keep running into each other. Private problems stop staying private. Help is hard to avoid, even when someone insists they do not need it. That gives the series a nice balance of familiarity and pressure.

The Hayes brothers are confident and protective in a way that will feel familiar to Clayton readers, but the overall tone is softer than in series like The Enemy or The Holy Trinity. Serious baggage still shows up, especially around trust and safety, yet the books keep one foot in playful chemistry and community.

If you like contemporary romance with everyday settings, interconnected siblings, and heroines who find themselves pulled into a close-knit little world whether they meant to or not, The Problem series is an easy place to start. It feels lived in, warm around the edges, and still plenty dramatic when it needs to be.