Montgomery/Taggert Books in Order

The Starting Line: Where to Begin the Montgomery/Taggert Saga

Spanning multiple centuries, continents, and generations, Jude Deveraux’s Montgomery/Taggert series is one of the most successful and enduring family sagas in historical romance. Because the books jump back and forth through time, readers often find themselves at a crossroads: should they follow the order in which the books were published, or should they trace the family tree chronologically? For first-time readers, the safest and most recommended approach is Publication Order. This allows you to experience the world-building, recurring characters, and family secrets exactly as Deveraux introduced them to the public, preventing spoilers for ancestral romances that were written later.

Option 1: Publication Order

Reading in publication order allows you to see Jude Deveraux's writing style evolve from her early medieval historical romances of the 1980s to her paranormal-tinged contemporary works in the 2000s and 2010s. The publishing sequence runs as follows:

1. The Black Lyon (1980)
2. The Velvet Promise / Judith (1981)
3. Highland Velvet (1982)
4. Velvet Angel (1983)
5. Velvet Song (1983)
6. Twin of Ice (1985)
7. Twin of Fire (1985)
8. The Temptress (1986)
9. The Princess (1987)
10. The Raider (1987)
11. The Awakening (1988)
12. The Maiden (1988)
13. A Knight in Shining Armor (1989)
14. Wishes (1989)
15. Mountain Laurel (1990)
16. The Duchess (1991)
17. Eternity (1992)
18. Sweet Liar (1992)
19. The Invitation (1994)
20. A Holiday of Love (1994)
21. The Heiress (1995)
22. Someone to Love (1997)
23. Simple Gifts (1998)
24. High Tide (1999)
25. Forever... (2002)
26. Forever and Always (2003)
27. Holly (2003)
28. Always (2004)

Option 2: Chronological Order

If you prefer to follow the sweep of history from the early Middle Ages to modern-day settings, you can read the books in chronological order based on the periods in which they are set. This order takes you from 13th-century England all the way to modern Nantucket:

1. The Black Lyon (Set in 1275)
2. The Maiden (Set in 1299)
3. The Velvet Promise / Judith (Set in 1501)
4. Highland Velvet (Set in 1501)
5. Velvet Song (Set in 1502)
6. Velvet Angel (Set in 1502)
7. The Heiress (Set in 1572)
8. The Raider (Set in 1766)
9. Mountain Laurel (Set in 1859)
10. Eternity (Set in 1865)
11. The Duchess (Set in 1883)
12. Twin of Ice (Set in 1892)
13. Twin of Fire (Set in 1892)
14. The Temptress (Set in 1896)
15. Wishes (Set in 1896)
16. The Awakening (Set in 1913)
17. The Invitation (Set in 1934)
18. The Princess (Set in 1942)
19. A Knight in Shining Armor (Modern setting, with 16th-century time travel elements)
20. Sweet Liar (Modern setting)
21. A Holiday of Love (Modern setting)
22. Simple Gifts (Modern setting)
23. High Tide (Modern setting)
24. Holly (Modern setting)
25. Someone to Love (Modern setting)
26. Forever... (Modern setting)
27. Forever and Always (Modern setting)
28. Always (Modern setting)

Major Subseries and Collections

To make the long list of novels easier to digest, it helps to understand how Jude Deveraux grouped certain sets of books within the Montgomery/Taggert family tree.

The Velvet Series (The Montgomery Annuals)

The Velvet books are a beloved tetralogy focusing on the four Montgomery brothers in the early 16th century: Gavin, Stephen, Raine, and Miles. It is highly recommended to read these four books consecutively, either as the start of your journey or when you reach them in publication order. They establish the strong, headstrong family dynamics that define the Montgomery lineage for centuries to come.

The Taggert Family Integration

The Taggert family officially joins the saga in the companion novels Twin of Ice and Twin of Fire. These books follow the Chandler twins in late 19th-century Colorado, introducing Kane Taggert and establishing the second primary family. From this point forward, the Taggerts and Montgomerys intermarry, making it impossible to separate the two family trees in later historical and contemporary books.

The Nantucket Brides Trilogy

Published between 2013 and 2015, the Nantucket Brides trilogy (consisting of True Love, For All Time, and Ever After) functions as a modern sequel series. These contemporary novels follow the modern-day descendants of both families—such as Jared Montgomery and Jamie Taggert—on the picturesque island of Nantucket. They combine classic romance with generational history and minor paranormal connections.

The Forever Trilogy

The trio of books Forever..., Forever and Always, and Always centers on Darci Monroe, a young woman with psychic abilities, and Adam Montgomery. This subseries leans heavily into supernatural elements, mystery, and past-life connections, while keeping the family legacy at its heart.

Chronological Caveats and Reading Disagreements

While chronological order is popular among reread lists, it presents several continuity hurdles for new readers. For example, A Knight in Shining Armor features a time-travel narrative where modern-day Dougless Montgomery meets Nicholas Stafford, an earl from 1564. Reading this chronologically in the 1980s section spoils some of the fun, as the emotional impact relies on the reader being grounded in the modern era first. Additionally, because the books were written decades apart, minor historical details, family tree branches, and character lineages occasionally conflict. Fan lists sometimes disagree on the exact sequence of the modern books because their timelines overlap or are left ambiguous by the author. When in doubt, default to publication order to avoid confusion.

What to Know Before You Start

The Montgomery/Taggert universe is vast, and you should keep a few things in mind before diving in. First, the tone of the series shifts significantly. The earlier historical books are classic, dramatic, and sometimes intense romance novels of the 1980s, while the contemporary novels and later trilogies feature lighter comedy, mystery, and paranormal elements like ghosts and psychic powers. Second, because of the interconnected nature of the characters, you will frequently see cameos of characters from previous books. While almost all of the novels can be enjoyed as standalones, the reading experience is vastly enriched when you recognize the ancestors and family jokes mentioned by the modern-day characters.