Cathy Yardley Books in Order

Where to Start Reading Cathy Yardley

If you are new to Cathy Yardley’s delightful, inclusive, and unapologetically nerdy contemporary romances, you have two excellent entry points depending on whether you want to dive into a series or try a standalone first:

• For Series Readers: Start with Level Up (2016). It is the official first full-length novel in the fan-favorite Fandom Hearts series and the perfect introduction to her signature style of combining office romance, tech-world struggles, and geek culture.
• For Standalone Readers: Pick up Role Playing (2023). This widely acclaimed novel features two introverted, middle-aged protagonists who meet online in an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game). It highlights Yardley’s talent for writing mature, slow-burn, and emotionally resonant romances without requiring any prior series context.

Fandom Hearts: The Definitive Reading Order

The Fandom Hearts series is Cathy Yardley’s most popular collection, focusing on a diverse, tight-knit group of geeky friends finding love in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. While each book focuses on a different couple and can be enjoyed as a standalone, reading them in order allows you to follow the characters' evolving friendships and careers.

We recommend following the publication order to get the best experience:

1. Hooked (2015) – A prequel novella introducing the group.
2. Level Up (2016) – Book 1 (First full-length novel, following video game developer Tessa and her roommate Adam).
3. One True Pairing (2017) – Book 2 (A Hollywood-meets-geek-culture romance).
4. Game of Hearts (2018) – Book 3 (Cosplay, motorcycles, and a brother's-best-friend romance).
5. What Happens at Con (2018) – Book 4 (A fun convention-set romance).
6. Ms. Behave (2018) – Novella (Focuses on the tech industry's workplace dynamics).
7. Playing Doctor (2019) – Book 5 (A charming romance featuring a brilliant pediatrician).
8. Ship of Fools (2019) – Book 6 (A second-chance romance at sea).

Ponto Beach Reunion Series

This heartwarming contemporary romance trilogy centers on a group of high school friends known as the "Nerd Herd" who reunite in their hometown of Ponto Beach, California. The books are best read in order of release:

1. Love, Comment, Subscribe (2021) – Features a beauty influencer and a professional gamer finding love.
2. Gouda Friends (2022) – A charming romance featuring childhood best friends.
3. Ex Appeal (2022) – A second-chance romance starring a hacker and a corporate fixer.

The Player's Club Trilogy

Published in 2011 and 2012, this older trilogy is a classic contemporary romance series following three men who are members of an ultra-secret consortium of urban adventurers in San Francisco. Read them in this order:

1. Scott (2011)
2. Lincoln (2012)
3. Finn (2012)

Untangling Collaborative Worlds and Multi-Author Series

Cathy Yardley has contributed to several multi-author series. This often leads to confusion on book catalog sites where she is sometimes credited with books written by other authors. Here is what you need to know to navigate these shared universes:

The Green Valley Chronicles / Green Valley Library

The Green Valley Library is a collaborative series set in Penny Reid's Smartypants Romance universe. While listings might display up to eleven books in the series (including titles like Love in Due Time by L.B. Dunbar or Crime and Periodicals by Nora Everly), Cathy Yardley only wrote one book in this series:

• Prose Before Bros (2019) – Book 3 in the Green Valley Library series. It is a standalone rom-com about a librarian named Thuy Nguyen who visits Green Valley and falls for a local biker. You do not need to read the other books in the universe to enjoy it.

Harlequin Blaze / Blush Books

Similarly, the Blush series was a multi-author line published by Harlequin Blaze in the late 2000s. Although catalog lists show titles like Primal Instincts (written by Jill Monroe) and Does She Dare? (written by Tawny Weber) under her name on some database platforms, Cathy Yardley's sole contribution to this set is:

• Baby, It's Cold Outside (2007)

Standalone Novels and Writing Guides

If you want to read Yardley's standalone contemporary romances, they can be picked up in any order. Aside from Role Playing (2023), her standout contemporary works include Do Me a Favor (2024), Turning Japanese (2009), L.A. Woman (2002), and Ember (2022).

For aspiring authors, Cathy Yardley has also written excellent non-fiction books on the craft of writing. Her guide Will Write for Shoes: How to Write a Chick Lit Novel (2006) remains a popular craft handbook, and she has published a series of short instructional guides under the Rock Your Writing banner (including Rock Your Plot, Rock Your Revisions, and Painless Promotion).