Where to Start Reading Cathy Gillen Thacker
With over a hundred contemporary romance novels to her name, Cathy Gillen Thacker has built a sprawling romance empire centered on warm family ties, small-town humor, and rugged cowboys. For newcomers, the sheer volume of her work can be overwhelming. However, her books are highly organized around specific families and settings. The absolute best place to start is the fictional town of Laramie, Texas, which serves as the backdrop for her most famous interconnected sagas.
We highly recommend starting with the family that started it all: The McCabes of Texas. Alternatively, if you want a complete, self-contained journey focused on foster-adoption and sibling bonds, the Lockharts Lost & Found series is a perfect modern entry point.
The McCabe Family Saga: Chronological and Series Order
The McCabe family is the crown jewel of Thacker's Laramie, Texas universe. Spanning multiple decades and generations, the McCabe stories are divided into several distinct subseries. While the author notes that each book is written as a standalone, reading them in order prevents spoilers about who marries whom and how the town's history unfolds.
1. The McCabes of Texas (The Core Series)
This is the foundation of the McCabe family legacy. Start here to get acquainted with the original generation of brothers:
- A Cowboy Kind of Daddy (1999)
- A Cowboy's Woman (1999)
- Dr. Cowboy (1999)
- Wildcat Cowboy (1999)
- The Dad Next Door (2020)
2. The McCabes: Next Generation
This series follows the children of the original McCabes as they navigate love and careers:
- Christmas Lullaby (2005)
- Blame It on Texas (2006)
- A Texas Wedding Vow (2006)
- A Laramie, Texas Christmas (2006)
- From Texas, with Love (2007)
- The Ultimate Texas Bachelor (2012)
3. McCabe Family & Homecoming
This collection follows the five sons of Josie and Wade McCabe as they return home to Laramie:
- Texas Vows (2001)
- The Seven-Year Proposal (2012)
- The Long, Hot Texas Summer (2013)
- The Texas Christmas Gift (2013)
- The Texas Lawman's Woman (2013)
- The Texas Wildcatter's Baby (2014)
4. McCabe Multiples
This delightful subseries centers on the six daughters (including triplets and twins) of Drs. Jackson and Lacey Buchanon-McCabe:
- Runaway Lone Star Bride (2014)
- Lone Star Christmas (2014)
- Lone Star Valentine (2015)
- Lone Star Daddy (2015)
- Lone Star Baby (2015)
- Lone Star Twins (2015)
5. Texas Legacies & Legends: The McCabes
These books continue to expand the branches of the McCabe family tree with high-stakes romance, sudden babies, and second chances:
- A Cowboy Under the Mistletoe (2010)
- The Triplet's First Thanksgiving (2010)
- A Cowboy to Marry (2011)
- Her Cowboy Daddy (2011)
- One Wild Cowboy (2011)
- The Texas Cowboy's Baby Rescue (2018)
- The Texas Cowboy's Triplets (2018)
- The Texas Cowboy's Quadruplets (2018)
- His Baby Bargain (2019)
- Their Inherited Triplets (2019)
- A Tale of Two Christmas Letters (2019)
The Lockhart Family Universe
The Lockharts are another cornerstone of Laramie, Texas, and their stories frequently cross paths with members of the McCabe family. If you want to follow their timeline, read them in these groups:
1. The Lockharts of Texas
The original four-book series focusing on the romantic trials of the Lockhart sisters:
- The Bride Said, "I Did?" (2000)
- The Bride Said, Finally! (2000)
- The Bride Said, "Surprise!" (2001)
- The Virgin Bride Said, "Wow!" (2001)
2. Texas Legacies: The Lockharts
A spin-off series set in Laramie that bridges the older generation with new family arrivals:
- A Texas Soldier's Family (2016)
- A Texas Cowboy's Christmas (2016)
- The Texas Valentine Twins (2017)
- Wanted: Texas Daddy (2017)
3. Lockharts Lost & Found
One of Thacker's most popular modern series, this follows eight foster-adopted siblings who were taken in by Robert and Carol Lockhart:
- His Plan For The Quintuplets (2020)
- Four Christmas Matchmakers (2020)
- The Twin Proposal (2021)
- Their Texas Triplets (2021)
- Their Texas Christmas Gift (2021)
- The Triplets' Secret Wish (2022)
- Their Texas Christmas Match (2022)
- A Temporary Texas Arrangement (2023)
Other Major Small-Town Series
When you are ready to venture outside of Laramie, Texas, Cathy Gillen Thacker has several other highly entertaining series waiting for you:
The Brides of Holly Springs
Set in North Carolina, this series shifts away from ranch life to focus on a cozy East Coast town and The Wedding Inn, run by Helen Hart:
- The Virgin's Secret Marriage (2003)
- The Secret Seduction (2004)
- The Secret Wedding Wish (2004)
- Plain Jane's Secret Life (2004)
- Her Secret Valentine (2005)
The Deveraux Legacy
This six-book family drama series is filled with corporate intrigue, secret identities, and sudden babies:
- His Marriage Bonus (2002)
- My Secret Wife (2002)
- Their Instant Baby (2002)
- Her Bachelor Challenge (2002)
- The Heiress (2003)
- Taking Over the Tycoon (2003)
Shared and Multi-Author Universes
Thacker has regularly contributed to multi-author Harlequin series. While you do not need to read the entire multi-author run to enjoy her contributions, she wrote key volumes in these shared worlds:
- Forrester Square: Thacker contributed Twice and for Always (2003) to this collaborative project.
- Crystal Creek / Return to Crystal Creek: She wrote the novella Made for Loving You (2002) for this beloved multi-author setting.
- Men in Uniform & Western Lovers: These massive Harlequin thematic series feature standalone titles by Thacker, allowing her to write across a wide variety of military and Western tropes.
Reader Advice: Standalones vs. Continuity
Because Cathy Gillen Thacker writes contemporary series romances, each book wraps up with a complete happy ending and zero cliffhangers. You can absolutely pick up a book like A Baby in the Bunkhouse or Dr. Cowboy on its own and enjoy it. However, because characters guest-star in subsequent novels and the family trees are incredibly detailed, reading by subseries in publication order will give you the most rewarding reading experience as you see the town of Laramie grow.