Coda: Which book do I read first?

Do the Coda books have to be read in order?  Not necessarily.  You can start with any couple, but I’d recommend reading each couple’s stories in order.

Did that even make sense?

You should read Promises before you read the short story The Promise or Putting Out Fires. And you should definitely read A to Z before The Letter Z and/or Paris A to Z. But you can read A to Z without reading Promises first, although you’ll probably enjoy the last half of the book more if you already know who Matt and Jared are. And Strawberries for Dessert is only tangentially connected to the other two and can definitely be read on its own.

If you really want to read them in order, then go in the order they were written, which is:

1. Promises
2. A to Z
3. The Promise and The Letter Z (doesn’t matter which one you read first – they take place at the same time)
4. Strawberries for Dessert and Putting Out Fires (also take place at the same time)
5. Paris A to Z
6. Fear, Hope, and Bread Pudding

For details about the exact timeline, see here.

The Scooby story is more of a joke than anything. If you haven’t read the Coda books, you probably won’t find it funny. Even if you have read them, you might not find it funny.

Breakdown, in order, by couple:

Matt and Jared:

1. Promises
2. The Promise (free short story on my website)
3. Putting Out Fires (available only from Dreamspinner Press)

Zach and Angelo:

1. A to Z
2. The Letter Z
3. Paris A to Z

Cole and Jon:

1. Strawberries for Dessert
2. Fear, Hope, and Bread Pudding

(Please note that although Paris A to Z is ostensibly about Jon and Cole’s wedding, the book really isn’t about them. It’s Zach and Angelo’s book. If you read it expecting to see a lot of Jon and Cole, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.)

 

I hope that cleared it up, and didn’t just create more confusion.  :-)