You may know Kristin Hannah for being a regular fixture on the New York Times bestseller list, or you may know her for being the author of the novel Firefly Lane which was adapted into a smash hit Netflix series starring Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke.
But there is no doubt that Kristin Hannah is a seriously prolific author, with over 20 books to her name. She is also praised by fans and critics alike for her emotional and immersive fiction.
Want to read Kristin Hannah’s books in order but don’t know where to start? Well, there is no better place to start than the beginning!
Here are all 24 of Kristin Hannah’s books in order, from her early works to the Firefly Lane novels.
Below you will also find the pros and cons of each of Hannah’s works, so you can decide if her books are right for you. Let’s get started!
About Kristin Hannah’s Books
There is a common consensus among Kristin Hannah fans that there are two ways to enjoy her works.
The first way is simply to pick up a random Kristin Hannah book that takes your fancy and read it, as most of Kristin Hannah’s books are standalones – with the Firefly Lane series being the exception.
Or, you can read her earliest works first. But in this article, I have listed Kristin Hannah’s works in chronological order.
Yukon Territory is heaven for a gold miner, and Devon O’Shea has journeyed to Yukon Territory to get her own slice of paradise.
But rather than a successful store in a boomtown, Devon finds that she’s the partial owner of a messy, dirty tent with a lot of gold diggers and a less-than-friendly partner – Stone Man McKenna.
But with a mop and pail, Devon is determined to make this post the best in Yukon Territory.
She’s no longer scared of Stone Man either, instead, he makes her feel more alive and wanted than she ever has in her life.
Pros
Vivid characters.
Intriguing setting.
It has a slow-burn romance that is a pleasure to watch unfold.
Cons
As this is Kristin Hannah’s first novel, some readers consider it to not be her best work.
Emmaline Harris was a brilliant and beautiful Wall Street financier in the 19th Century until the 1893 crash destroyed her.
With no money, family, or friends, she takes a risk and accompanies Dr. Larence Digby on his search for the bountiful city of Cibola.
Emmaline likes things her own way, but Larence has his own motivations.
Emmaline resents Larence’s ideas and his patronizing attitude, but in an enchanting world, both of them will have to open up their minds and let go of their skepticism. Not just to the enchantment, but to each other.
Pros
Compelling, well-written female protagonist.
Enthralling narrative style.
The enjoyable dynamic between Emmaline and Larence.
Tess Gregory is a brilliant research scientist, but it’s all a cover for her search for her child and husband.
Tess is also hearing impaired, but she doesn’t let that hold her back from being a free, independent woman with a heart full of love.
However, Tess’ life is cut short and she is reincarnated in post-Civil War America.
She is reborn as Amarylis Rafferty, a married mother of three with – to her surprise – perfect hearing.
Disoriented by her new surroundings, she is nonetheless compelled by the brutal heartbreak tearing the family apart, especially concerning her husband Jack.
Pros
Great portrayal of the effects of PTSD on individuals and those around him.
Alaina Costanza is a romance writer who has stopped believing in fairy tales.
But during a stormy night, she is sent back in time to the Wild West – the setting of her latest novel. Confused and suspicious, she is abducted by a ruthless outlaw named Killian.
Alaina’s Western home is no fairytale. She is now a mother trying to get back to the child she has left behind a hundred years into the future, but Alaina and Killian develop a bond too powerful to be contained in one lifetime.
To get back to Alain’s child, they must risk it all and fight for a future that is dependent on lightning striking twice.
Lost in a strange world with faces she doesn’t recognize, Selena has no memory of who she is or how she wound up in a mansion on the lonely Maine Coast. But she finds comfort in a man who has a familiar loneliness in his eyes.
Ian Carrick is a new arrival on the coast, and while he was once an amazing physician, he has now become a recluse.
He shuts himself away from the world, anonymous in his small sanctuary but he’s plagued by a telepathic gift. However, Selena is the only person who is immune to his psychic powers.
Innocent and mesmerizing, Selena turns his life upside down and brings lightness into his life that causes him to believe in life – and himself – once more.
But then a mysterious figure from the past arrives, threatening to destroy the sanctuary and love they’ve built together.
Pros
The book has an amazing final half.
Full of twists and turns.
Well-researched.
Cons
Descriptions of injuries may be too graphic for some readers.
Madelaine Hillyard is an incredible heart surgeon, and while she excels at work her personal life is a different story.
She is a loving but overstretched single mother who is in a constant battle with her angry and confused daughter, Lina.
Lina is a rebellious teen who is on a desperate search for the father she never knew.
The DeMarco brothers just make matters more complicated for Madelaine. While priest Francis DeMarco always provides a helping hand, his brother Angel is your typical bad boy.
Angel abandoned Madelaine – and Lina – years ago to pursue fame, leaving her devastated. But now he is back in Madeline’s life as a patient in need of serious help.
Pros
Inspirational, compelling characters.
Beautifully written to convey the emotions of the characters.
Annie Colwalter’s only child leaves home to attend school abroad on the same day that her husband who she has been married to for 20 years confesses he’s in love with another woman.
Scared and alone, she returns to Mystic, her Washington hometown.
In Mystic, she rekindles an old flame, Nick Delacroix, a widower who is struggling to connect to his mute, traumatized 6-year-old daughter, Izzie.
The three start to heal together, and Annie discovers that she can love again. But just when she finds her second chance at happiness, her life is turned upside down and she is faced with an impossible decision.
When Mikaela Campbell falls into a coma, her husband Liam is now left to keep their family together and care for their scared, grief-stricken children.
Doctors tell him to prepare for the worst, but he believes that love can achieve things that science cannot.
He sits at her bedside every day, telling her stories of the life they have created together, hoping desperately she will wake up and return to him.
But he then discovers evidence of his wife’s secret past, namely a first marriage to movie star Julian True. Desperate to bring Mikaela back to him, Liam must turn to Julian for help.
Pros
A plot that unfolds smoothly and masterfully.
Readers have called the characterizations ‘exquisite.’
Years earlier, Nora Bridge escaped her marriage but left her daughters behind. She is now a famous talk show host, and her estranged daughter Ruby is a comedian struggling to get her big break.
But when a scandal from Nora’s past is made public, Ruby is offered bags of money to write a tell-all book about her mother.
She reluctantly returns to her family home on Summer Island, which is now home to memories of heartache and joy.
Confronting her past includes a sick best friend, a love that Ruby has never forgotten, and a mother who is haunted by terrible family secrets, Ruby, at last, begins to understand the complicated ties that bind her and her mother together, and how important forgiveness is to healing.
Pros
Celebrates the theme that families don’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.
Explores the idea of maturity in a very nuanced way.
You can really feel the emotions of every character.
Cons
Some readers found the book took a while to get started.
Jackson and Elizabeth Shore married young and raised two girls, and while their lives look picture-perfect when their daughters fly the nest, Elizabeth and Jack gradually grow apart.
When Jack accepts the job of a lifetime, Elizabeth puts her own wants aside to join him on a cross-country move.
Then Elizabeth’s world is turned upside down by tragedy, and she starts to question her life as a whole – the choices she has made, her marriage to Jack, and the dreams she has shelved.
Pros
Brilliantly paced.
Enjoyable dialogue.
Will resonate with those in long-term relationships.
Years previously, Meghann Dontess made a decision that cost her everything, particularly her relationship with her sister, Claire.
Meghann is now a successful attorney who has serious issues with intimacy until she meets the one man who might just be able to change her mind.
Claire Cavenaugh, meanwhile, is experiencing romantic love for the first time. As her wedding day draws near, she prepares to reunite with her strong-willed older sister.
Reunited after over twenty years apart, Meghann and Claire – who seem poles apart from each other – will have to try to be a family again.
Bittersweet, funny, and moving, Between Sisters masterfully explores the ups and downs of relationships between sisters, wrong choices made out of love, and the theme of redemption.
Pros
Dialogue that is enjoyable to read.
Prose that allows you inside the characters’ heads.
After years of unsuccessful attempts to conceive a child, Angie DeSaria is feeling totally disheartened.
Following a messy divorce, she returns to her small Pacific Northwest hometown and takes on the responsibility of managing her family’s restaurant.
But Angie’s fortunes are going to dramatically change once more when she meets and develops a bond with Lauren Ribido, a troubled young woman.
When Lauren’s mother abandons her, Angie gives her a place to stay, but she couldn’t have foreseen the far-reaching consequences of her act of kindness.
Pros
Hannah really gets into the characters’ mindsets and motivations.
Christmas was once Joy Candellaro’s favorite time of year, but as the festive season approaches once more Joy finds her life at a crossroads.
She is alone and newly divorced, and she’s just not motivated to celebrate the holiday.
So she makes an impulsive trip to the Pacific Northwest, but when a surprising detour takes her deep into the rainforest of Olympia, she makes the bold decision to leave her old life behind, and begin an adventure she couldn’t have ever imagined.
In a small town named Rain Valley, six-year-old Bobby O’Shea is about to experience his first Christmas without a mother.
Struggling with the loss, Bobby has shut himself off from the world, and only talks to his imaginary friend.
His father Daniel is distraught and desperate to help his son. But when Bobby meets Joy, these two unlikely friends form a deep, strong bond. Joy finds herself again by helping Daniel and Bobby heal.
But Rain Valley isn’t what it seems, and soon Joy’s world is torn apart and her heart broken. On a magical Christmas Eve, Joy has to rediscover her belief in love and family.
Pros
One of the more suspenseful of Hannah’s books.
A great book to read during the holiday season.
Charming characters and settings.
Cons
Some people found the unpredictability of the plot difficult to believe.
The Pacific Northwest is home to the Olympic National Forest, at almost a million acres, it is breathtakingly beautiful but also incredibly dark and easy to get lost in.
But from deep within the rainforest, a 6-year-old girl emerges. Alone and speechless, she provides no clues about who she is.
Child psychiatrist Julia Cates is now a recluse in her western Washington hometown after a scandal destroyed her career, but is now determined to rescue the extraordinary girl she names Alice from isolation and fear.
But to reach her, Julia has to uncover the truth of Alice’s past with the help of her sister, a local police officer who she is estranged from. But what they discover about Alice puts Julia’s faith to the test.
Following the death of their mother, the Grey sisters could only rely on each other.
Their strict father deprives them of attention, much to the dismay of the eldest Grey sister, Winona, who has never felt at home on the large horse ranch that her family has owned for three generations.
It’s up to Aurora, the middle daughter, to keep the peace while the youngest sister – Vivi Ann – is undoubtedly the favorite.
Life just seems to come so easily to her. But when Vivi Ann decides to follow her heart rather than follow the path of a dutiful daughter, events are set in motion that will put the loyalty and love of the sisters to the test, and they will be pitted against each other in unimaginable ways.
True Colors is not just a novel about sisters, but about betrayal, jealousy, vengeance, and the meaning of family.
Pros
Loveable characters you can’t help but root for.
Perfect for those who enjoy novels exploring sibling relationships.
Beautifully written.
Cons
Some readers found elements of the novel misogynistic.
Mesmerizing from beginning to end, Winter Garden tells the epic, heartbreaking story of love, loss, and redemption in World War II Russia, as well as an intimate tale of contemporary daughters and mothers who stood at a crossroads in their lives.
In 1941, Leningrad was a city now ravaged by war, trapped under snow with no aid in sight. The city is full of women desperate to save their families.
Meanwhile, in the year 2000, old age and loss have taken a toll on Anya Whitson, and she decides it’s time to reach out to her estranged daughters, Meredith and Nina, and tell them the story of a beautiful Russian girl who once called Leningrad home.
Meredith and Nina sit fascinated at Anya’s beside them, listening to a story that unfolds over 60 years, starting from war-torn Leningrad to modern-day Alaska.
But when the sisters try to find out the truth about the story, they discover a secret so shocking they can hardly believe it, and that will certainly rock their family to the core.
Jude Farraday has prioritized her children’s needs for 18 years, and this has resulted in her twins – Zach and Mia – being happy, bright teenagers.
Jude welcomes a new arrival to town – Lexi Baill – with open arms. Lexi was once a foster child with a dark past and soon becomes best friends with Mia. But then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the trio becomes inseparable.
Jude does everything she can to keep her kids safe, but their senior year of high school puts them all to the test. It’s a wild, dangerous season of drinking and partying.
But on a summer night, one bad decision is made, tearing the Farraday family apart and costing Lexi everything.
In the following years, everyone must confront the consequences of that fateful night and either find a way to forget or the strength to forgive.
Vibrant and emotionally complex, Night Road is a nonetheless universal story that asks poignant questions about forgiveness, identity, love, and motherhood.
Pros
A deeply impactful book that is sure to stay with you.
Jolene and Michael Zarkades are no strangers to the pressures of modern life – bills, careers, children, and chores – but their marriage of 12 years is disintegrating.
Then a deployment puts Jolene in a seriously dangerous situation, leaving defense attorney Michael at home, virtually casting him in a single-parent role to their two daughters.
It pains Jolene to leave her family behind, but being a soldier means she is familiar with the true definition of duty.
When she writes letters home, she downplays the horrors of the frontlines to protect her family from the truth.
But war will have an unimaginable impact on Jolene. When tragedy strikes, Michael must confront his darkest fear and fight his own battle.
Home Front tells the story of heroism, honor, loss, love, and – crucially – hope, and paints a true picture of modern marriages and the struggles of military families.
Pros
Complex characters and an emotionally charged plot.
Beautifully written account of life for women in the military.
The tough subject matter is handled sensitively.
Cons
Some readers found the child characters less convincing.
In 1939, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he leaves for the Front.
Vianne is skeptical that the Nazis will invade France, but they soon descend on the quiet French village Vianne calls home, bringing with them marching soldiers, tanks, trucks, and planes that crowd the skies and drop bombs indiscriminately.
When a German captain takes over Vianne’s home, she and her daughter have no choice but to live with the enemy.
With no food, money, or hope and with danger escalating all around them, she must make impossible choices to ensure her family survives.
Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is an 18-year-old rebel who is trying to find her way in the world.
While thousands of Parisians march into the unimaginable horrors of war she meets Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis, and she falls in love with him completely.
However, when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance, risking her life to protect others.
The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, who are separated by circumstance, experience, ideals, and passion, each taking their own dangerous path towards freedom, love, and survival in German-occupied France ravaged by war.
Ernt Allbright returns home from the Vietnam War volatile and changed. When he loses his job, he makes the impulsive decision to move his family to Alaska where they will live off the grid.
His wife, Cora, will do anything for him, even following him into the mysterious wilds of Alaska.
Meanwhile, their 13-year-old daughter, Leni is caught in the middle of her parents’ turbulent relationship and is forced to go along, hoping this move will make them a happy family again.
In a wild, isolated corner of Alaska, the family discovers a strongly independent community of resilient men and women.
The long days filled with sunlight and the generosity of the local families make up for the Allbright’s depleting resources and lack of preparation.
But as winter looms and the days get darker, Ernt’s frail mental health disintegrates, and soon the perils of the Alaskan wilderness are nothing compared to the domestic storms within.
Pros
Well-researched.
A great read for those who enjoyed novels like ‘Where The Crawdads Sing.’
Readers have praised the beautiful writing.
Cons
The subject matter may be too dark for some readers.
Texas in 1921 is a fantastic place to live. The Great War is over, the land is bountiful, and America is on the cusp of a newly optimistic age.
But Elsa Wolcott is struggling to see the bright side. She is considered too old to marry when women’s options are limited, and her future seems bleak. But then she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to take control of her life.
With her reputation in tatters, she can only do one thing: marry a man she hardly knows.
In 1934 the world changed. Millions of people are unemployed and living in poverty, and the Great Plains have been devastated by drought.
Farmers are working hard to keep their land and livelihoods as the water dries up, the earth splits open, and their crops fail.
Constant dust storms descend on the Plains, and everything on the Martinelli farm is dying. Elsa and Rafe’s marriage is no exception.
In this dangerous and predictable time, Elsa – and many women like her – must make a difficult choice, fight for the land she loves or pursue a better life in California.
Pros
More powerful, immersive writing.
Would be a great companion piece to The Grapes Of Wrath.
In the wild summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has resigned herself to the fact that she’s not the most popular girl in class, so she is amazed when the ‘coolest girl in the world’ becomes her neighbor and befriends her.
Tully Hart appears to have it all – she’s ambitious, beautiful, and intelligent.
On the surface, Kate and Tully are total opposites. Kate can never see herself being cool, with an embarrassing family who nonetheless love her to death.
Tully, meanwhile, is glamorous and mysterious but with a secret that is eating her up.
The pair have promised to be best friends forever, and by the end of the summer, they’ve become inseparable, known as TullyandKate.
Taking place over three decades with the evolving Pacific Northwest as a backdrop, Firefly Lane is the powerful, poignant story of two women and the friendship that comes to define their lives.
Pros
A beautiful story about friendship that spans from childhood to middle age.
You really feel the highs and lows of the main characters.
Cons
Some readers found the author’s note at the beginning spoils the plot.
Tully Hart has always been larger than life, driven by big dreams but also painful memories.
She believes she can do anything with her best friend by her side, but that is all ripped away from her.
She tries to make good on a promise she made to Kate – to be there for Kate’s children – but Tully has no clue about motherhood.
16-year-old Marah Ryan is grief-stricken, and while her father Johnny is trying his best to keep everything together, he finds it hard to reach Marah.
It seems like nothing and no one matters to her until she falls in love with a boy who makes her smile but introduces her to a dark, dangerous world.
Dorothy Hart – aka ‘Cloud’ – is at the core of Tully’s tragic past. She consistently abandoned Tully as a child, but she has now returned when Tully is feeling utterly alone.
Finally, Dorothy has to confront her darkest fear. But only when she reveals the painful secrets of her past can she be there for her daughter.
One tragic choice and a late-night phone call will bring Tully, Marah, and Dorothy together and set them on a powerful, profound journey of redemption.
Pros
Many readers appreciated the multiple POVs.
A fitting sequel for Firefly Lane.
An insightful story about family and grief.
Cons
Some readers found the plot predictable.
Conclusion
Kristin Hannah is known for her immersive, emotional stories that pivot between historical fiction and contemporary novels set in the Pacific Northwest.
No matter where you start your journey with Kristin Hannah’s work, reading her books in chronological order is a great way to see her development as a writer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Is The Best Kristin Hannah Book?
While it is all subjective, many Kristin Hannah fans believe The Nightingale – the story of two sisters in German-occupied France – to be the best of her books.
Are There Any Kristin Hannah Adaptations?
As well as the Netflix adaptation of Firefly Lane, movie adaptations of The Nightingale, The Great Alone, and Home Front is also believed to be in the works.
Hi, my name is Anna Davis and I have been working with books for five years now. I got a job at my local library, so I could be closer to all of the books! I created this website in the hopes of inspiring others to start reading again. Who knows, maybe you’ll find your new favorite book from my site!
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