The Recommended Reading Order for Have a Hart
For the best reading experience, it is highly recommended to read the Have a Hart series in its publication order. Because the books follow the tightly knit Hart family of San Francisco, characters grow, marry, and face life changes that carry over from one book to the next. Reading them in order allows you to watch the family dynamics evolve naturally without spoiling major milestones like weddings or new arrivals.
Here is the recommended reading path for the series:
- Christmas Lovebirds (2015)
- Valentine Hound Dog (2015)
- Spring Fling Kitty (2016)
- Blue Chow Christmas (2017)
- Valentine Wedding Hound (2017)
- Summer Love Puppy (2017)
- Dog Days of Love (2017)
- Valentine Puppies and Kisses (2018)
- Happy Goose Year: The Hart Family (2020)
Detailed Breakdown of the Books
1. Christmas Lovebirds (2015)
The series kicks off with a festive holiday romance. Melisa Hart, the youngest sister, gets mixed up in a pet store mix-up involving lovebirds during a Christmas Toy Drive. This accident reunites her with Dr. Rob Reed, a veterinarian who happens to be the former best friend of her protective brother, Connor. Despite past family friction and mistrust, the holiday spirit and a pair of matchmaking birds push Melisa and Rob together.
2. Valentine Hound Dog (2015)
In this modern-day Beauty and the Beast retelling, readers are introduced to Larry Davison, a former firefighter living a reclusive life due to severe burn scars. Working as an elementary school custodian, Larry’s quiet routine is disrupted when he finds a lost basset hound named Little Treat behind a dumpster. The dog belongs to Jenna Hart, a vibrant fashion designer in town for a charity fashion show. When Larry returns the dog, Jenna convinces him to step into the spotlight for her show, sparking a deep connection that helps both heal from their respective emotional and physical scars.
3. Spring Fling Kitty (2016)
Connor Hart, a young and highly dedicated San Francisco fire chief, is planning to marry Dr. Elaine Woo, the woman who previously betrayed him. Enter Elaine’s cast-off half-sister, Nadine Woo, an artist and poet struggling to find her footing. When a mischievous grey cat named Greyheart and a Dalmatian named Cinder cause chaos, Connor and Nadine are thrown together. As secrets unravel, Connor is forced to decide between the obligation of his past and the chance for true, unconditional love.
4. Blue Chow Christmas (2017)
This emotional holiday story focuses on Cait Hart and her husband of twelve years, Brian Wonder. What started as a marriage of convenience has slowly drifted into emotional estrangement. Their quiet lives are shaken when two blue chow chow sisters, Sierra and Malia, arrive at Brian’s mountain cabin. This arrival forces Brian to share a massive secret: he believes he is the father of a young boy whose mother recently passed away. When the boy goes missing, Cait and Brian must work together through their doubts, grief, and external suspicions to salvage their marriage and build a true family.
5. Valentine Wedding Hound (2017)
Continuing the story arc of Jenna Hart and Larry Davison, this sequel details the chaotic path to their wedding. What was meant to be an intimate ceremony spirals out of control when their upcoming nuptials are turned into a media-covered reality television special. Jenna and Larry must fight to keep their love grounded amid the cameras, family interference, and the antics of their beloved basset hounds.
6. Summer Love Puppy (2017)
Grady Hart is a wildland firefighter trying to rebuild his life after facing personal setbacks. When he crosses paths with Linx Colson, a former smokejumper now dedicated to rescuing stray dogs, old wounds are reopened. Linx is harboring deep secrets and has a stray puppy she is desperate to keep hidden. When a dangerous enemy threatens Linx's family, the two must collaborate to protect a young girl and decide if they can forgive past mistakes to build a future together.
7. Dog Days of Love (2017)
Dr. Vanessa Ransom is a highly successful professional who has no time for a social life and is looking for a man who meets her strict standards of perfection. Instead, she finds Dale Hart, a relaxed college dropout whom she hires to walk her dogs and keep her house clean. While Vanessa attempts to push Dale toward his potential, she finds herself falling for the very man who seems completely wrong on paper.
8. Valentine Puppies and Kisses (2018)
This installment revisits Jenna and Larry Davison around their first wedding anniversary. While they are busy building their dream home, Larry is privately battling PTSD and harboring anxiety about their future. Jenna hopes a surprise arrival of a litter of puppies can show Larry that a bustling, noisy family life is exactly what they need to heal together.
9. Happy Goose Year: The Hart Family (2020)
Following the wedding of Dale and Vanessa, family empty-nesters Pete and Kim Hart find themselves alone in a quiet house. In an effort to bring back the spark to their long marriage, Pete decides to cook a festive goose for their New Year's getaway. What follows is a series of comical mishaps and goose chases that test their patience, ultimately reminding them of why they fell in love in the first place.
Chronological Caveats and Subseries
While the publication order is straightforward, readers should pay close attention to the character pairings, as some couples receive multi-book story arcs. In particular, Jenna and Larry’s romance spans three distinct novels: Valentine Hound Dog (where they meet), Valentine Wedding Hound (where they marry), and Valentine Puppies and Kisses (where they navigate married life, PTSD, and a new home). If you skip any of these, you will miss crucial updates on their relationship.
Additionally, the events of Dog Days of Love directly set up the status quo for Happy Goose Year, as the wedding of Dale and Vanessa leaves Pete and Kim Hart as empty-nesters. Reading these two back-to-back provides a seamless transition.
What to Know Before You Start
Rachelle Ayala's Have a Hart series is widely known for its sweet, clean tone. It features PG-rated contemporary romances with plenty of emotional depth, family dynamics, and lighthearted humor, but all intimate scenes are closed-door. Animal lovers will find a lot to enjoy here, as every single book features a prominent animal companion—from lovebirds to chow chows—playing a pivotal role in matchmaking or healing the characters. The series is set against the backdrop of San Francisco, grounding the stories in the community, courage, and daily struggles of first responders.