Which do I read first?

Do the Coda books have to be read in order? No, they really don't. For what it's worth, I never thought of these books as a series. I always thought of each couple as their own unit. A to Z is not book 2 of Promises. A to Z is the first book of its own series, as is Strawberries for Dessert. Shotgun is a stand-alone novel that just happens to have guest appearances by some old friends.

But over the last 13 years, I've learned to accept that this mindset doesn't match how most readers think of the books. It also doesn't fit well into Amazon's current numbering system for a series. Hence, this overly wordy explanation.

There are two ways you can read Coda. You can either read them in the order they were written — which also corresponds with the timeline — or you can start with any couple. (Although I do recommend reading each couple's series in order.)

In chronological order:

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

But if you don’t want to read the whole series, or you’re only interested in a specific couple, that’s fine too. The earlier couples often make guest appearances in the later books, but you won’t be lost if you choose to skip around. It's completely fine to read Strawberries for Dessert or Shotgun without ever reading any of the other books, and yes, if you've just finished reading Strawberries for Dessert and are dying to see that last line realized, you can absolutely jump right to Fear, Hope, and Bread Pudding without reading Paris A to Z first, I promise.

Breakdown, in order, by couple:

Matt and Jared:

  1. Promises
  2. The Promise (free short story on my website)
  3. Putting Out Fires

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

Dominic and Lamar:

  1. Shotgun

The Coda prequel, Meant to Be can fit in just about anywhere.

*(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 it to be all about Jon and Cole, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.)

For details about the exact timeline, see here.