The Recommended Reading Path: Where to Start
If you are diving into the bright, pop-culture-infused world of Christine Riccio, you might wonder if her books should be read in a specific order. Technically, all of Riccio's novels are standalone contemporary romances featuring their own self-contained romantic arcs. However, they exist within a single, carefully structured shared universe. Characters from earlier stories pop up in subtle cameos and major side roles in the later books. Because of these fun Easter eggs and recurring faces, the absolute best way to experience her stories is in publication order.
Starting with her debut novel ensures that you will spot the returning characters and appreciate the natural progression of her writing style. If you prefer to jump around based on premise alone, you won't be lost, but you will miss out on the satisfying universe-building that connects her cast of characters across different states, countries, and even reality television sets.
Christine Riccio Books in Publication Order
If you choose to read her books in the order they were released, follow this list:
- Again, But Better (May 2019) – Debut contemporary novel with a magical time-travel twist.
- Better Together (June 2021) – Sisterhood-focused contemporary romance with a magical body-swap element.
- Attached at the Hip (May 2024) – A reality-TV romance containing major character cameos from the first two books.
- Thirty, Flirty, and Forever Alone (November 2025) – A contemporary romance following a columnist navigating her thirties and long-distance love.
Additionally, before publishing her debut novel, Riccio contributed to the 2017 Young Adult anthology Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy. In this collection, she served as a creative partner to author Renée Ahdieh, providing the prompt for the story "The Blood of Imuriv" and writing an accompanying essay on the allure of villains. While it is not part of her contemporary fiction universe, it is an essential piece of her bibliography for completionists.
The Shared Universe: Cameos and Chronology
While the magical realism elements in Riccio's books operate on localized, "glitter-magic" rules, the social world of her characters is tightly knit. This is especially true in her third novel, Attached at the Hip, which serves as a major crossover hub for her first two books.
In Attached at the Hip, the main character Orie Lennox joins a wilderness-based dating and survival reality show. The producer of this reality show is none other than James George Federov, a key supporting character from Better Together. Furthermore, readers will spot a notable appearance by Shane Primaveri, the beloved protagonist of Again, But Better. Because these characters have already completed their respective journeys from the previous books, reading Attached at the Hip first will inadvertently spoil where those characters ended up at the conclusion of their own stories.
Detailed Breakdown of the Novels
Again, But Better (2019)
Shane Primaveri is a college student who has spent her first three years doing everything "wrong"—studying pre-med to make her parents happy, hiding her passion for creative writing, and failing to make close friends or experience romance. Desperate for a reset, she signs up for a semester abroad in London. The first half of the book plays out as a classic study-abroad contemporary romance. However, the novel takes a sharp turn into magical realism midway through when Shane receives a magical do-over, letting her travel back in time to fix her past mistakes and pursue her true love, Pilot.
Better Together (2021)
This novel shifts the spotlight to sisters Siri and Jamie, who were separated as kids due to their parents' bitter divorce. Jamie grew up with their father in California dreaming of stand-up comedy, while Siri lived with their mother in New Jersey training to be a professional ballerina. When they unexpectedly cross paths at an off-the-grid self-discovery retreat in Colorado, they decide to swap lives to get to know their estranged parents. A sudden flash of unexplained magic makes the physical switch literal, forcing them to live each other's complicated lives, find romance, and attempt to heal their family's long-standing fractures.
Attached at the Hip (2024)
Twenty-three-year-old Orie Lennox is stuck in a rut. To break free from her comfort zone and prove she can make her own choices, she signs up for a reality TV show. Instead of a straightforward survival competition, she is thrust into a hybrid dating show in the South Pacific. Alongside nine other contestants, including her former high school crush Remy, Orie must deal with physical challenges, social strategy, and romantic spark-hunting in the wild. This story brings the shared universe together with crossovers from Riccio's prior novels.
Thirty, Flirty, and Forever Alone (2025)
Moving into the New Adult and Chick-Lit territory, this novel centers on Rikki Romona, an organized columnist and therapist turning thirty. At a themed wedding, she meets Reed Tyler, a charming podcast producer. The two hit it off immediately, but are quickly forced to navigate the realities of a long-distance relationship across the United States. Styled as a tribute to classic rom-coms like 27 Dresses and the musical humor of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, this novel brings Riccio's signature charm to adult relationship struggles.
What to Know Before You Start
Before reading, it is helpful to understand Christine Riccio's unique writing style. As a prominent BookTuber behind the channel polandbananasBOOKS, her books are written with an energetic, conversational tone. The prose is highly dialogue-heavy and filled with modern pop-culture references, ranging from Taylor Swift and Lost to reality TV tropes. Furthermore, while the books deal with very real themes such as anxiety, parental divorce, and career changes, they frequently employ light magical realism or serendipitous plot devices to drive the characters' growth. Readers looking for strict, gritty contemporary fiction should prepare for these whimsical twists.