Where to Start Reading Alina Jacobs
If you are looking for laugh-out-loud, steamy contemporary romance filled with chaotic heroines, grumpy-meets-sunshine dynamics, and endless pastry references, Alina Jacobs is your go-to author. With a bibliography spanning small-town settings, Manhattan skyscrapers, and even fantasy realms, deciding where to start can feel daunting. Fortunately, her books are highly organized around interconnected families and friend groups.
For the absolute best introduction to her signature style, start with Bridezillas and Billionaires, the first book in her popular Weddings in the City series. It features a chaotic wedding planner, a grumpy billionaire, and the trademark ridiculous situations that Jacobs is famous for. If you prefer cozy, small-town settings with a heavy dose of family banter, start with After His Peonies, which kicks off the beloved Svensson Brothers saga set in the fictional town of Harrogate.
For readers who enjoy classic, high-stakes billionaire drama, The Successor, the opening novel of The Holbrook Cousins Saga, offers a slightly more traditional contemporary romance vibe while still retaining Jacobs's witty, humorous touch.
The Svensson Family Saga: Harrogate vs. Manhattan
The Svenssons are Alina Jacobs's most famous and sprawling family universe. To navigate this massive family tree, it helps to understand that the saga is divided into two primary subseries, which share characters and locations but focus on different branches of the family.
The Svensson Brothers (Harrogate Branch)
Set in the cozy town of Harrogate, this series focuses on a large, chaotic group of brothers navigating small-town life, local businesses, and unexpected love. This series is best read in publication order to appreciate the recurring characters and evolving family dynamics:
- After His Peonies (2019)
- In Her Candy Jar (2019)
- On His Paintbrush (2019)
- In Her Pumpkin Patch (2019)
- Between Her Biscuits (2020)
- After Her Fake Fiancé (2020)
- In Her Jam Jar (2020)
- After Her Flower Petals (2021)
The collection In His Shorts (2021) contains short stories and extra scenes featuring the Harrogate brothers and is best read after completing the main series.
The Manhattan Svenssons (City Cousins)
For readers who prefer high-society drama, skyscraper offices, and enemies-to-lovers office romances, the Manhattan branch of the family takes center stage. These books feature the wealthy city cousins and are packed with banter and hilarious dating disasters:
- The Hate Date (2021) - A prequel novella that introduces the tone of the series.
- I Hate, I Bake, and I Don’t Date! (2021)
- Hating and Dating Your Boss with Style! (2021)
- Yeah, I Hate-Ate Your Cupcake! (2022)
- Love, Hate, and Terrible Dates (2022)
- The Worst Dates Bring Chocolate Cake (2022)
- Dates I Love to Hate (2023)
Like the Harrogate series, this branch has its own companion collection, Hate and Short Dates (2023), which gathers short stories and bonus epilogs for the Manhattan crew.
Weddings in the City Series
The Weddings in the City series is a six-book contemporary romance sequence that follows a close-knit group of wedding industry professionals in New York City. From wedding planners and dress designers to caterers and florists, each book focuses on a different professional finding their own happily-ever-after while dealing with demanding brides and handsome, stubborn billionaires. The recommended reading order is:
- Bridezillas and Billionaires (2020)
- Wedding Bells and Wall Street Bros (2020)
- Marriage in a Minute (2021)
- Flowers and Financiers (2021)
- Pastries and Proposals (2022)
- Marriage and Mimosas (2023)
The Frost Brothers Series
For readers who love holiday-themed romances, the Frost Brothers series is a festive delight. Packed with Christmas cheer, baking competitions, and cozy winter settings, this series follows the romantic exploits of the Frost siblings. While these books can be enjoyed during any season, they are perfect winter reads:
- Eating Her Christmas Cookies (2018)
- Tasting Her Christmas Cookies (2019)
- Frosting Her Christmas Cookies (2020)
- Licking Her Christmas Cookies (2021)
- Resting Grinch Face (2022)
The Holbrook Cousins Saga
Before the Svenssons took over, Jacobs introduced readers to the wealthy, high-powered Holbrook family. The Holbrook Cousins Saga is a tight, three-book billionaire romance trilogy that should be read in order due to overlapping family business subplots:
- The Successor (2018)
- The Screwup (2018)
- The Scion (2018)
Genre Experiments: Fantasy and Sci-Fi Romance
While Alina Jacobs is primarily celebrated for contemporary romantic comedies, she has also experimented with other genres early in her career and as fun side projects. These series are separate from her main contemporary romance universe:
Black Tower Books
Jacobs's earliest published works are actually in the fantasy romance genre. The Black Tower duology follows mages navigating power struggles, dangerous magic, and romantic tension in a fantasy world:
- Mage Rising (2016)
- War Mage Rising (2018)
Smart Girls Love Aliens
In 2022, Jacobs released a short sci-fi comedy romance series featuring human women and alien love interests. Packed with her trademark humor, these books are a fun departure for readers who want sci-fi tropes mixed with laugh-out-loud comedy:
- Smart Girls Don’t Kiss Aliens (2022)
- Rocket Girls Love Aliens (2022)
Reading Advice and Chronological Caveats
One of the most common questions readers have is whether they need to read Alina Jacobs's books in a strict order. The short answer is: no, but you will enjoy them much more if you do.
Almost all of her contemporary romance novels (the Svenssons, Frosts, Holbrooks, and Weddings in the City) take place in a shared universe. Characters from Harrogate regularly cross paths with the Manhattan billionaires, and characters from the wedding planning industry coordinate events for the major families. Reading them in order prevents mild spoilers regarding who ends up with whom and helps you catch the fun cameos that Jacobs frequently writes for her fans.
If you want the ultimate interconnected experience, you can read the books in chronological order of their publication, transitioning between the small-town charm of Harrogate and the fast-paced lifestyle of New York City as the stories were released.