All Adriana Trigiani Books in Order – Reading Guide

Adriana Trigiani writes funny, heartwarming, and hopeful stories and she has racked up quite a collection. If you are interested in getting more familiar with her novels, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve listed all of her novels in order so you can start reading in no time.

All Adriana Trigiani Books in Order - Reading Guide

About Adriana Trigiani

Adriana Trigiani is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels have been published in 38 languages around the world. Not only does Trigiani write amazing books, but she’s also created plays and television films. In fact, Trigiani was the writer and producer of the movies based on her novels Big Stone Gap and Very Valentine.

Trigiani grew up in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, with her big Italian family. She got her first job in writing as a news reporter for radio when she was 15 years old. As much as Trigiani loved the job, she says it made her realize that she preferred more creative writing, where the facts can be whatever you want.

Now, Trigiani has written over 20 novels and made many accomplishments in the world of television. She wrote pilots for 15 shows and was the writer and producer of The Cosby Show and A Different World, along with many more.

Trigiani’s novels are mainly fiction but she has a few nonfiction ones as well. Her stories focus on Italian-American families, sometimes in present-day and other times historical. Her first book was written in 2000 and she has failed to disappoint since.

All Adriana Trigiani Books in Order

Big Stone Gap (2000)

Big Stone Gap: A Novel

Taking place in 1978, Big Stone Gap follows 35-year-old Ave Maria Mulligan. She is a pharmacist, part of the town rescue squad, and the director of the town’s Outdoor Drama. 

Ave Maria is happy with her life, but when she discovers a secret from her past, everything changes. Suddenly Ave Maria is thrust into a new world of marriage proposals, a trip to Italy, and determination to claim her inheritance.

Big Cherry Holler (2001)

Big Cherry Holler: A Big Stone Gap Novel

It’s been 8 years since Ave Maria Mulligan got married and moved into the hills. Ave Maria has made good friends in her small town, and they all seem to have advice when her marriage is at a crossroads.

Big Cherry Holler follows Ave Maria as she takes her daughter on a trip to Italy, where she forms a connection with a stranger that will test the strength of her marriage.

Milk Glass Moon (2002)

Milk Glass Moon: A Big Stone Gap Novel

When a fortune teller tells Ave Maria that she should be “redreaming” her life, Ave Maria begins to think that it’s not such a bad idea. Her daughter is getting older, and Ave Maria knows that she needs to come up with a plan for her inevitable teenage rebellion.

Milk Glass Moon is a story of love, challenges, and hope, bringing in themes of parenting and marriage as well as some surprising twists throughout.  

Lucia, Lucia (2003)

Lucia, Lucia: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Taking place in 1950, Lucia, Lucia is about the 25-year-old daughter of an Italian grocer in New York City. Lucia Sartori is talented and knows what she wants, and she is an apprentice to a designer who is on the rise.

Lucia is engaged to her childhood sweetheart and thinks she has it all planned out, but when she meets a handsome guy who promises the luxurious life that Lucia has always dreamed of, she finds herself in the midst of a scandal.

Cooking With My Sisters (2004)

Cooking with My Sisters: One Hundred Years of Family Recipes, from Italy to Big Stone Gap

This book is written by Adriana Trigiani and her sister, Mary Yolanda Trigiani, and they dive into family stories while also including over 80 family recipes for you to make at home.

Cooking With My Sisters has recipes from Bari, the Veneto, the Italian Alps, and the sisters’ hometown in Virginia, some dating back over 150 years. The book tells heartwarming and inspiring stories that will push you to not just make food but to celebrate it.

Queen Of The Big Time (2004)

The Queen of the Big Time: A Novel (Trigiani, Adriana)

Queen of The Big Time is about Nella, the middle daughter out of 5 siblings. Her family is originally from a small town in Italy but now lives on a farm in Pennsylvania, though Nella wants to live a life in town, away from the farm.

When Nella meets a poet named Renato, she instantly falls in love with him. But then Renato disappears and Nella is crushed, not knowing why he left.

Four years later, Nella is about to get married when Renato shows up again. She is shaken, and it seems as though fate has made them work together for the rest of their days in Pennsylvania. 

Rococo (2005)

Rococo: A Novel

Bartolomeo is an interior decorator in New Jersey, and though he’s traveled all around the world, he is focused on bringing sophistication and class to his hometown. When the local church needs to be renovated, Bartolomeo jumps on the project immediately.

Rococo is a hilarious and lighthearted story of hope, challenges, and love.

Home to Big Stone Gap (2006)

Home to Big Stone Gap: A Novel

Now that Ave Maria Mulligan’s daughter has grown up and left the house, Ave Maria knows it’s time to follow new dreams. But right when she starts helping out with the town musical, Ave Maria’s life plummets into chaos.

When a mysterious stranger arrives in town to tell a secret, a lifelong friendship is ruined. An old love comes back and threatens Ave Maria’s marriage. A health crisis causes strain on her family.

Home to Big Stone Gap is the last of the Big Stone Gap series, and it’s an unforgettable story that goes out with a bang.

Very Valentine (2009)

Very Valentine: A Novel (Valentine Trilogy Book 1)

Valentine is a determined woman who wants to design the perfect shoes. Valentine and her grandmother run a family shoe company, but it’s in danger of going under. 

Very Valentine follows Valentine as she goes to Italy with her grandmother in an attempt to get inspired and save the company, trying to balance her romantic relationship with a chef and her duty to her family and herself.

Viola in Reel Life (2009)

Viola in Reel Life (Viola series Book 1)

Viola in Reel Life follows Viola, a girl whose home is in Brooklyn, New York, but somehow she’s found herself at an all-girl boarding school in South Bend, Indiana. Viola doesn’t know how she’ll survive the year.

Viola doesn’t have her best friend Andrew anymore, and she doesn’t understand why her 3 new roommates like the school. Viola finds herself using her video camera to hide, but eventually realizes that the year might be good after all, if she can just muster the courage to put her camera to the side.

Viola in the Spotlight (2010)

Viola in the Spotlight (Viola series Book 2)

We continue the story of Viola in Viola in the Spotlight when she’s gone back home to Brooklyn. But things aren’t how Viola remembers them…her best friend Andrew is acting strange, and her friend Caitlin has a new boyfriend who’s taking up all of her time.

Viola gets an internship on a Broadway show, which seems to be the only thing that is good in Brooklyn. When Viola’s roommates from boarding school come to visit, she begins to wonder if Brooklyn is even where she belongs after all.

Brava, Valentine (2010)

Brava, Valentine: A Novel (Valentine Trilogy Book 2)

The second in the Valentine series, Brava, Valentine follows Valentine through life after she gets an amazing business opportunity. But when she uncovers a family secret that has been long hidden, Valentine is suddenly torn between the past and future.

Don’t Sing At The Table (2010)

Don't Sing at the Table: Life Lessons from My Grandmothers

Don’t Sing At The Table is a collection of stories and guidance from Trigiani’s grandmothers. It talks about a woman’s life from childhood to her golden years, offering advice and anecdotes about loving and living.

The Wisdom of My Grandmothers (2012)

The Wisdom of My Grandmothers

In The Wisdom of My Grandmothers, Trigiani explores the lives of her two grandmothers, Lucia and Viola. These were working women who also balanced marriage and children through the 20th century. Trigiani goes back to the past, telling stories and trying to find the answers to challenges that women continue to face today.

The Shoemaker’s Wife (2012)

The Shoemaker's Wife: A Novel

Enza and Ciro are teenagers when they meet in the Italian Alps, and they are separated when Ciro gets banished from his village and has to hide in New York. Eventually Enza’s family ends up in America too, so Enza and Ciro are reunited. But they are separated again when Ciro has to serve in World War I. 

The Shoemaker’s Wife is a historical tale of love, loss, family, and fate.

The Supreme Macaroni Company (2013)

The Supreme Macaroni Company: A Novel (Valentine Trilogy Book 3)

In yet another book about Valentine Roncalli, The Supreme Macaroni Company follows her as she falls in love with a tanner named Gianluca. 

Soon, Valentine is juggling her shoe business with her new family, and she is having a hard time doing it all. But she is determined to fight to keep everything she has, because she loves it all and doesn’t want to lose any of it.

All The Stars in The Heavens (2015)

All the Stars in the Heavens: A Novel

In 1935, Loretta Young meets Clark Gable on a movie set. Even though Clark is married, he finds himself falling for Loretta. 

In another town, Sister Alda Ducci has to leave her convent. She ends up becoming Loretta’s secretary, and the book follows their journey over decades as they go through scandals and form an unbreakable bond.

All The Stars in The Heavens is based on a true story and is filled with drama, romance, love, and adventure.

Kiss Carlo (2017)

Kiss Carlo: A Novel

Kiss Carlo takes place in Southern Philadelphia in 1949, where business is booming at the cab company that Dominic owns with his 3 sons. But Dominic has been in a feud with his brother for decades, and it might be time to come back to it.

When a telegram from Italy changes things for Dominic’s nephew, Nicky, he decides he wants more in life. Nicky admits to his fiancée that he’s been moonlighting at the local Shakespeare theater, and he finds himself choosing between the life his family expects him to have and the life that he is drawn to.

Tony’s Wife (2018)

Tony's Wife: A Novel

Chi Chi and Saverio meet and fall in love in an instant. They both have a dream of becoming singers and once the couple is married, they find their careers skyrocketing. But soon it is obvious that they have to choose between starting a family or nursing their careers and ambitions.

Set in the 1940s just before World War II, Tony’s Wife is a multilayered story that offers a look into the life of a traditional Italian family. It’s funny, loveable, and truly unforgettable.

The House of Love (2021)

The House of Love

When Mia wakes up on Valentine’s Day, she is excited to spend the day with her mother. Together they bake, decorate, and make valentines for all of Mia’s siblings, but when it comes time to give them out, Mia realizes she doesn’t have a valentine. How could her mother have forgotten about her?

The House of Love is a children’s book that is great for parents and children alike. It is sweet and heartwarming, focusing on family and love.

The Good Left Undone (2022)

The Good Left Undone: A Novel

Matelda is nearing the end of her life, and she is ready to share the secret about her mother’s love story after keeping it hidden for all this time.

In the past, Domenica had a great life in her hometown of Viareggio. But when Italy got too close to World War II, Domenica had to leave and go to Scotland, where there was danger from wartime Liverpool. 

The Good Left Undone is heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once, telling the story of Domenica and her daughter and granddaughter in two different timelines that weave together. 

FAQs

Do you have to read Adriana Trigiani’s books in order?

You don’t have to read all of Adriana Trigiani’s books in order, but you should read all of her series in order. Trigiani wrote the Big Stone Gap series and the Valentine series, which should be read in the order of their publishing dates.

What kinds of books does Adriana Trigiani write?

Adriana Trigiani mainly writes fiction and nonfiction focusing on Italian-American families. She is also known for writing historical fiction.

Where is Adriana Trigiani from?

Adriana Trigiani is from Big Stone Gap, a town in Virginia that also happens to be the name of her first and one of her most popular books.

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Freya Cook