Colleen Hoover — "CoHo" to her millions of readers — is the #1 New York Times bestselling author who, more than anyone, turned BookTok into a bestseller machine. If you're staring at her catalog wondering where to begin, here's the good news: most of her books are standalones you can read in any order. Only a handful belong to connected series. This guide sorts out exactly which is which, answers the question everyone asks first, and tells you where to start.
It Ends With Us (Amazon) or It Starts With Us (Amazon) — Which Comes First?
This is the most-asked Colleen Hoover question, and the symmetrical titles are genuinely confusing. The answer: read It Ends With Us first, then It Starts With Us. It Ends With Us (2016) is the original novel — florist Lily Bloom, her surgeon husband Ryle, and her first love Atlas. It Starts With Us (2022) is the direct sequel, picking up right where the first book ends and continuing Lily and Atlas's story. That's the whole "series" — a two-book duology.
You can see both on the It Ends With Us series page, or start with the It Ends With Us novel itself.
How to Read Colleen Hoover
The simple rule: her standalones can be read in any order, but her series should be read in sequence, because later books quietly confirm earlier outcomes. If you want a starting point, most readers begin with one of three — It Ends With Us for her most famous love story, Ugly Love (Amazon) for the classic emotional romance, or Verity (Amazon) if you'd rather start with a twisty thriller. From there, pick by mood.
The Connected Series, In Order
Four of Hoover's series benefit from reading in order. Here they are, each from the beginning.
It Ends With Us
1. It Ends With Us (2016) · 2. It Starts With Us (2022). Her signature story, and the one the 2024 film adaptation put in front of the whole world. See the series page.
Slammed
1. Slammed (Amazon) (2012) · 2. Point of Retreat (Amazon) (2012) · 3. This Girl (Amazon) (2013). Hoover's debut series — intense, emotional new-adult romance built around slam poetry. Browse the Slammed series page.
Hopeless
1. Hopeless (Amazon) (2012) · 2. Losing Hope (Amazon) (2013, Holder's POV) · then the companion novellas Finding Cinderella (Amazon) (2013) and Finding Perfect (Amazon) (2019). A darker emotional arc with a major secret at its center. See the Hopeless series page.
Maybe Someday
1. Maybe Someday (Amazon) (2014) · 2. Maybe Not (Amazon) (2014, novella) · 3. Maybe Now (Amazon) (2018). A music-driven friends-to-more romance — the original even came with an accompanying soundtrack. See the Maybe Someday series page.
Never Never
Co-written with Tarryn Fisher, Never Never (Amazon) is a mystery-driven story of two teens who wake with no memory of each other. Originally released in three parts, it was re-released in 2023 as a single complete volume — which is the easiest way to read it now.
The Essential Standalones
This is the bulk of her catalog, and none of it requires reading anything else first. Grouped by the kind of book you're in the mood for:
If you want the big emotional romance
Ugly Love (Amazon) (2014), November 9 (Amazon) (2015), Confess (Amazon) (2015), and Reminders of Him (Amazon) (2022) — the ones that built her reputation for romances that wreck you in the best way.
If you want family drama and heartache
Regretting You (Amazon) (2019), a mother-daughter story, All Your Perfects (Amazon) (2018) on a marriage in crisis, Without Merit (Amazon) (2017), and Heart Bones (Amazon) (2020).
If you want the darker, twistier side
Verity (Amazon) (2018) — her most famous thriller and a frequent "best CoHo book" pick — plus Layla (Amazon) (2020), Too Late (Amazon) (2023, her grittiest), and her newest, Woman Down (Amazon) (2026), in which a novelist hiding out at a lake cabin discovers the danger in her thriller may be real.
Where to Start
If you want her most talked-about love story, start with It Ends With Us. If you want the quintessential CoHo emotional romance, start with Ugly Love. If you'd rather be gripped by a twist than moved to tears, start with Verity. Whichever you pick, the standalones let you wander freely — and when you're ready for a series, read it straight through. You can browse her full catalog on the Colleen Hoover author page.