How to Read the Sullivan’s Crossing Series
If you are looking to escape into a world of towering pines, crisp mountain air, and a welcoming community where second chances are always on the table, Robyn Carr’s Sullivan’s Crossing series is the perfect destination. Set at the scenic crossroads of the Colorado and Continental Divide Trails, the series revolves around a rustic campground and general store run by the beloved patriarch Harry "Sully" Sullivan. It is a sanctuary where individuals fleeing professional burnout, personal tragedy, or emotional baggage find the space to heal and build new lives.
For the best experience, readers should follow the series in its official order of publication. Because the community grows, relationships evolve, and recurring characters transition from central protagonists to supporting roles, reading the books chronologically preserves the series' natural flow and emotional continuity.
- What We Find (Published: April 2016)
- Any Day Now (Published: April 2017)
- The Family Gathering (Published: April 2018)
- The Best of Us (Published: January 2019)
- The Country Guesthouse (Published: January 2020)
Deep Dive into the Sullivan’s Crossing Books
Each novel in the series shifts focus to a new couple while maintaining a strong sense of place and keeping the beloved camp community in the background. Here is a breakdown of the story arcs that make up this small-town saga:
1. What We Find (2016)
The series opens with the story of Maggie Sullivan, a highly accomplished Denver neurosurgeon facing immense personal and professional crisis. Under the weight of a malpractice suit and a sudden miscarriage of her relationship, Maggie suffers from severe burnout and collapses. To recover, she retreats to Sullivan's Crossing, the campground owned by her eccentric father, Sully, with whom she has a complex, somewhat distant relationship. There, she meets Cal Jones, a quiet, mysterious hiker who is renting a cabin. As Cal helps around the campground and supports Maggie through a family emergency when Sully suffers a heart attack, the two form an unexpected bond. Both characters are forced to confront their past hurts to discover a shared path forward.
2. Any Day Now (2017)
The second installment shifts the spotlight to Cal's younger sister, Sierra Jones. Sierra is a recovering alcoholic who has hit rock bottom and is determined to put her life back together. Seeking a fresh start away from the temptations and bad influences of her past, she moves to Sullivan's Crossing. Sierra's journey is one of hard work, self-forgiveness, and vulnerability. She finds support in Conrad Wyst, a dedicated local firefighter who is dealing with his own emotional boundaries. With Conrad's patient encouragement and the unconditional love of a rescue puppy, Sierra slowly rebuilds her self-worth and learns that she is deserving of a stable, happy future.
3. The Family Gathering (2018)
The Jones family saga continues in the third book, which centers on Dakota Jones. As a former military man who has recently left active duty, Dakota is struggling to transition back to civilian life and find his purpose. He arrives at Sullivan's Crossing to visit his siblings, Cal and Sierra, hoping the peaceful wilderness will help him process his experiences. While working on local construction projects, he crosses paths with Sid Logan, a resilient bartender who has recently moved to the area to escape her own troubled history. As they navigate their mutual trust issues and family secrets, Dakota and Sid find that their shared scars make them uniquely suited to help one another heal.
4. The Best of Us (2019)
The fourth book expands the universe slightly, focusing on the nearby town of Timberlake, Colorado. Dr. Leigh Culver is a dedicated physician who has moved from a fast-paced Chicago life to run the local urgent care clinic. Though she loves her new community, Leigh feels a lingering sense of isolation until she meets Rob Shandon. Rob is a widowed local pub owner, contractor, and devoted father of two teenage boys who has spent years putting his own desires on hold. Their mature, slow-burn romance is contrasted beautifully with the unexpected connection between Leigh's aunt Helen—a successful mystery writer visiting from Chicago—and Sully himself, proving that romance can find you at any stage of life.
5. The Country Guesthouse (2020)
The final book in the series introduces Hannah Russell, whose life changes overnight when her best friend passes away, leaving Hannah as the sole guardian of five-year-old Noah. Overwhelmed by sudden motherhood and deep grief, Hannah rents a secluded cabin at Sullivan’s Crossing for the summer to bond with the boy. The cabin belongs to Owen Abrams, a talented photographer who is also recovering from a profound personal loss and values his solitude. Drawn out of his shell by the sweet, quiet Noah and his interactions with a massive, clumsy Great Dane named Romeo, Owen finds himself falling for Hannah. Together, the trio begins to piece together a new definition of family.
Publication Order vs. Chronological Order
Fortunately for readers, there are no complicated timelines to navigate in Sullivan's Crossing. The order of publication matches the chronological sequence of events perfectly. While each book focuses on a different romantic pairing and resolves their primary conflict by the final page, the subplots surrounding the camp and Sully's life carry over from one book to the next. Skipping around will not prevent you from understanding the romance, but it will spoil major character developments, family resolutions, and community milestones from previous books.
Can the Books Be Read as Standalones?
Yes, Robyn Carr writes each novel so that it can be enjoyed as a standalone romance. The author provides enough context for new readers to understand who the returning characters are and how they fit into the broader community. However, because the main characters of later books are often introduced as minor background figures in earlier novels (such as Sierra in book one, and Dakota in book two), reading them out of order diminishes the joy of seeing these characters grow and find their own happiness. To fully appreciate the warmth of the community and the healing atmosphere of the campground, we highly recommend starting at the beginning with What We Find.
What to Know Before You Start: The Books vs. The TV Series
With the success of the television adaptation of Sullivan's Crossing, many viewers are curious about how the books compare to the screen version. While the TV series retains the emotional core of Robyn Carr's books, there are several key differences to keep in mind:
- The Setting: In Robyn Carr's novels, Sullivan's Crossing is nestled deep in the rugged, landlocked Colorado mountains. For the television adaptation, the setting was moved to the beautiful, lush coastal landscape of Nova Scotia, Canada, giving the show a distinct maritime aesthetic.
- Character Roles and Secrets: The TV series amplifies the drama and increases the complexity of the characters' secrets. While the books maintain a cozy, relatively low-stress contemporary romance tone, the show introduces more heightened drama, expanded backstories for supporting characters, and ongoing mysteries.
- The Pacing: The books resolve the main romance of each couple within their respective volume, while the TV series focuses heavily on Maggie and Cal's relationship over multiple seasons, weaving in elements from the other books as concurrent subplots.