The Recommended Reading Order for Hope Town
To fully experience the emotional depth and tight-knit community of Hope Town, the recommended path is to read the books in their official publication order. Because each story features returning characters, family cameos, and chronological progression, reading them sequence-by-sequence delivers the best payoff. Here is the recommended reading order:
- Unexpected Fate (2015) – Centers on Dani Reid and Cohen Cage.
- Bleeding Love (2015) – Centers on Liam Beckett and Megan.
- When I'm With You (2016) – Centers on Nate Reid and Emberlyn Locke.
- Drunk on You (2017) – Centers on Shane Kingston and Nikki Clark.
What to Know Before You Start: The Corps Security Connection
Before diving into the Hope Town series, it is crucial to understand its origins. The series is a direct spin-off of Harper Sloan's bestselling Corps Security series. While Corps Security focuses on a group of former alpha military men who start a security firm in Atlanta, Hope Town fast-forwards to follow their grown children, who are navigating their own adult lives, careers, and love interests in a fictional small Georgia town.
While you can read Hope Town as a standalone series, you will miss out on the rich history, inside jokes, and protective protective-father dynamics that carry over from the parent series. Reading the original Corps Security novels first—starting with Axel and continuing through Cage, Beck, Cooper, and Locke—highly enhances the experience, making the cameos and parental interference in Hope Town feel incredibly earned and heartwarming.
The Hope Town Series in Detail
1. Unexpected Fate (2015)
The series kicks off with the story of Dani Reid (daughter of Axel and Izzy from Corps Security) and Cohen Cage (son of Greg Cage). As childhood best friends, their path to love has been long and fraught with distance, military deployments, and protective families. Cohen is determined to claim the woman he has loved for years, but external threats and long-standing emotional walls test their bond. This book sets the tone for the series, balancing high-heat romance with intense family loyalty and cameos from the original alpha heroes.
2. Bleeding Love (2015)
Moving from lifelong friends to healing hearts, the second book focuses on Liam Beckett (son of John "Beck" Beckett) and Megan. Megan is a young widow and single mother to her daughter, Molly. Struggling with the grief of losing her husband years prior, she has shut down any possibility of finding love again. Liam, a patient and deeply devoted man, has waited years for Megan to be ready. This emotional story explores the pain of moving past grief, building trust, and learning that finding happiness again is not a betrayal of the past.
3. When I'm With You (2016)
The third installment brings an age-gap, friends-to-lovers dynamic to the forefront with Nate Reid (Axel's son and Dani's brother) and Emberlyn Locke (daughter of Maddox Locke). Emberlyn has held a flame for Nate for years, but a past rejection created deep tension and years of avoidance between them. As Emberlyn comes into her own, Nate can no longer deny the magnetic attraction between them, despite their age gap and the close protective watch of their families. It is an emotional, high-stakes romance with suspenseful elements.
4. Drunk on You (2017)
The fourth book shifts focus slightly to characters who are not directly the children of the Corps Security team, though they are beloved extensions of the family. The story features Nikki Clark (Emberlyn's best friend and school teacher) and Shane Kingston (Nate's best friend and co-owner of the Dirty Dog club). To ward off their respective harassing ex-partners, Nikki and Shane agree to a fake relationship. The arrangement quickly becomes complicated as their long-standing mutual attraction erupts into genuine passion, featuring steamy alpha romance and light dominant/submissive elements.
Chronological vs. Publication Order Caveats
Because the Hope Town books follow a linear timeline, publication order matches chronological order perfectly. Events in Unexpected Fate set the stage for the status of the characters in Bleeding Love, and the timeline flows forward through When I'm With You and Drunk on You. Readers who attempt to read the series out of order will encounter minor spoilers regarding which couples have happily-ever-afters and how their children or friends are integrated into the family group.
Practical Reader Advice
- Best Starting Point: If you want the full generational experience, start with Axel (Corps Security Book 1). If you only want to read the second-generation romance, start with Unexpected Fate.
- Standalone Readability: Each book is written as a complete romance with a resolved ending (no cliffhangers for the main couple). However, the background plotlines, community events, and family gatherings are highly interconnected.
- Spin-offs & Related Works: Harper Sloan's broader universe is massive. Aside from Corps Security, look out for crossover energy with her other contemporary romance series, as many of her alpha heroes interact in the same shared universe.