Kristen Granata writes emotional contemporary romance, romantic comedy, and sports romance. Her stories often pair humor and strong romantic tension with grief, trauma, mental health, disability, or personal recovery.
Her catalog currently has three named series: Collision, East Coast, and Sideline. Collision begins with a two-book continuous story before changing couples. East Coast contains interconnected hockey romances. Sideline is a newer sports romance series that began in July 2026.
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The remaining books are standalones, novellas, collections, or anthology contributions. They do not need to be placed between the numbered series.
Three Rules That Prevent Reading Order Mistakes
First, read Collision and Avoidance together. Avoidance is a direct sequel, not a new standalone romance.
Second, read the East Coast hockey books in publication order. Each volume has its own central relationship, but teammates and earlier characters continue through the series.
Third, do not count special editions, boxed sets, or The Ugly Cry as additional original novels. Those editions repackage or collect material rather than extending a series.
Best Starting Points
The most representative starting point is Collision. It was Kristen Granata’s first published novel and opens her earliest connected series.
Readers primarily interested in hockey romance should start with Heart Trick. It introduces the East Coast series through a shorter fake-dating romance.
Readers who want her newest sports setting should begin with Sideline Rivals, a lacrosse romance about former high school rivals who become competing coaches.
For a complete standalone, Back to You, Someone You Love, or Bring Me Back can be read without any series background.
Collision Books in Order
The Collision series contains four books. The first two follow the same central relationship and must be read together. Books three and four change couples and provide complete romances within their own volumes.
The characters remain connected, so publication order is the strongest choice for the full series.
1. Collision
Collision (2018): A guarded woman and a man carrying his own emotional wounds are drawn into a slow-burn relationship, but a hidden truth threatens the fragile trust developing between them.
This is the beginning of a two-book arc. The relationship and major emotional conflict continue directly into Avoidance.
2. Avoidance
Avoidance (2018): Merritt faces the feelings and revelations left unresolved by Collision, while distance, buried history, and fear of confrontation place the relationship under further strain.
Do not begin here. The book assumes full knowledge of the first novel and serves as its conclusion.
3. The Other Brother
The Other Brother (2019): A grumpy man and a more hopeful woman form an opposites-attract relationship within the Collision world, shifting the series to a new central couple.
The romance is complete in one volume. Earlier characters may appear, but readers do not face another cliffhanger duet.
4. Against the Odds
Against the Odds (2019): A successful MMA fighter with a traumatic past becomes involved with his more controlled and professionally focused employee, forcing both of them to confront pain hidden beneath their public roles.
This book was originally associated with the title Fighting the Odds. Current editions generally use Against the Odds. They represent the same fourth Collision story, not two different novels.
The Collision Series Box Set
The Collision Series Box Set (collection): A combined edition containing the four Collision novels in their established reading order.
Readers who own the box set do not need to purchase the four individual books unless they prefer separate editions.
East Coast Hockey Books in Order
East Coast is a four-book hockey romance series. Each installment features a different relationship and provides its own romantic ending.
The series expands beyond traditional two-person pairings in later books. Odd Man Rush is an FFM polyamorous romance, while Ice Rivals is an MMF second-chance romance.
1. Heart Trick
Heart Trick (2023): A professional hockey player enters a fake relationship with a more guarded partner, using grumpy-sunshine tension and a public arrangement to begin the East Coast series.
This shorter hockey romance is the clearest introduction to the team and its connected social circle.
2. Odd Man Rush
Odd Man Rush (2023): Forced proximity brings three people into an FFM polyamorous relationship, expanding the hockey series beyond a conventional couple while keeping the East Coast setting.
The romance is self-contained, but reading Heart Trick first establishes the surrounding hockey world.
3. Puck Pact
Puck Pact (2024): A marriage of convenience places a hockey player and an unexpected spouse inside a practical agreement that becomes increasingly difficult to treat as temporary.
Previous East Coast characters remain part of the series, making the third book more rewarding after the first two.
4. Ice Rivals
Ice Rivals (2025): A second-chance MMF romance reunites people with unresolved history, forcing them to navigate past hurt, present attraction, and professional hockey pressures.
This is the fourth confirmed East Coast novel. No fifth book had been reliably announced as of August 4, 2026.
Do the East Coast Books Need to Be Read in Order?
Each East Coast book completes its featured relationship, so a reader can select a later volume based on preferred pairing or trope.
Publication order is still recommended:
- Heart Trick (2023): Opens the team world through fake dating.
- Odd Man Rush (2023): Continues the setting with an FFM relationship.
- Puck Pact (2024): Adds a marriage-of-convenience romance.
- Ice Rivals (2025): Builds a second-chance MMF story around established hockey connections.
Starting later may reveal which earlier relationships succeeded or how returning characters’ lives changed.
Sideline Books in Order
Sideline is Kristen Granata’s newest named series. It focuses on sports, coaching, professional rivalry, and interconnected standalone romances.
1. Sideline Rivals
Sideline Rivals (2026): Ainsley, the varsity lacrosse coach at her former school, is forced to work beside Landon, her high school rival and the new junior varsity coach, while an old conflict and a career-threatening scandal pull them back together.
The novel combines rivals to lovers, workplace proximity, second-chance tension, and competitive lacrosse. It was released on July 15, 2026.
The book is described as an interconnected standalone, which means its featured romance is complete. Future Sideline books may follow other characters from the same sports and school community.
Is the Sideline Series Complete?
No. Sideline Rivals is identified as the first Sideline novel.
No second title or confirmed publication date had been publicly established as of August 4, 2026. Readers should not treat unannounced character hints or social media speculation as confirmed books.
Kristen Granata Standalone Novels
The following books do not belong to Collision, East Coast, or Sideline. Each can be read independently.
Hating the Boss
Hating the Boss (2019): A teacher clashes with her principal in an enemies-to-lovers workplace romance where professional authority makes their growing attraction particularly difficult to manage.
This is a complete romantic comedy. It has no required sequel.
Back to You
Back to You (2020): Two teachers with a shared romantic history are brought back into one another’s lives, giving them a second chance to address why their original relationship failed.
The story stands alone and is one of Granata’s lighter workplace-centered romances.
Inevitable
Inevitable (2020): A forbidden relationship develops between people separated by family loyalties and protected by a bodyguard dynamic, creating a contemporary conflict modeled around opposing sides.
The novel is often described as a modern Romeo and Juliet romance. Its story is not connected to the Collision series.
What’s Left of Me
What’s Left of Me (2020): A woman escaping domestic abuse finds support and unexpected attraction with her best friend’s brother, while both characters carry grief that complicates recovery.
The book addresses child loss, domestic abuse, and infertility. Readers sensitive to those subjects should review the full content guidance before beginning.
Someone You Love
Someone You Love (2021): Forced proximity brings a guarded woman together with a disabled hero whose outward grumpiness hides vulnerability, creating a romance centered on trust and emotional healing.
The relationship is resolved within one novel. No previous Kristen Granata book is required.
Bring Me Back
Bring Me Back (2022): A woman becomes involved with the police officer living next door, but depression, suicide-related grief, and painful personal histories make the relationship inseparable from the characters’ attempts to heal.
The book contains significant mental health themes, including depression and suicide. It is separate from the author’s other police, workplace, and sports settings.
Trick or Truce
Trick or Truce (2023): A stolen Halloween candy bowl sparks a conflict between a woman and the single father across the street, turning a neighborhood prank war into an enemies-to-lovers age-gap romance.
The book began as a shorter seasonal work and is currently presented among Granata’s novellas or compact standalones. It does not belong to a numbered series.
Kristen Granata Novellas in Order
The novellas are separate stories rather than one continuing collection. They can be read in any order.
Dear Santa
Dear Santa (2020): A holiday fake-dating arrangement places a grumpy and more optimistic character in forced proximity, blurring the division between a practical performance and a real relationship.
This is a complete Christmas romance and requires no previous reading.
Trick or Truce
Trick or Truce (2023): A Halloween confrontation with a single father develops into a neighborhood rivalry and unexpected romance.
Some catalogs classify it as a standalone novel, while the author’s current book list places it with the novellas. Its classification does not affect the reading order.
The Ugly Cry Collection
The Ugly Cry (2026): A collection associated with Kristen Granata’s emotional contemporary romances rather than a new numbered installment in Collision, East Coast, or Sideline.
Current bibliographic records identify it as a collection, but its complete contents were not displayed consistently across reliable catalogs at the time of this update. Readers should check the edition’s contents before purchasing it alongside books they already own.
It should not be counted as a new standalone story unless the specific edition clearly identifies unpublished material.
Falling for the Enemy Anthology
Falling for the Enemy, Volume Two (2023): A multi-author enemies-to-lovers anthology containing a Kristen Granata contribution alongside stories by other romance writers.
The anthology is separate from her main series. Its contents should not be inserted into the Collision or East Coast sequence.
Special Editions
Kristen Granata has released special editions of several novels, including books from Collision and her standalone catalog.
Confirmed special-edition titles include:
Collision: Special Edition: A redesigned or expanded physical edition of the first Collision novel, not a separate book five.
Avoidance: Special Edition: A new edition of the direct sequel, containing the same central story as the original release.
The Other Brother: Special Edition: An alternate edition of Collision book three.
Against the Odds: Special Edition: A later presentation of the fourth Collision romance.
Hating the Boss: Special Edition: A special physical edition of the principal and teacher romance.
Back to You: Special Edition: A redesigned edition of the second-chance teacher romance.
Inevitable: Special Edition: A new edition of the forbidden bodyguard romance.
What’s Left of Me: Special Edition: A repackaged edition of the emotionally heavier best friend’s brother romance.
Someone You Love: Special Edition: A later edition of the forced-proximity romance with a disabled hero.
Bring Me Back: Special Edition: A redesigned edition of the next-door-neighbor police romance.
Special editions may contain new covers, sprayed edges, artwork, formatting, or bonus material. They do not create additional positions in the reading order.
Complete Kristen Granata Publication Order
This list includes the original novels and novellas by first publication year. Collections, boxed sets, special editions, and anthologies are listed separately to avoid counting the same material twice.
2018
- Collision (2018): A slow-burn romance between two guarded people begins the author’s first continuing relationship arc.
- Avoidance (2018): The emotional conflict and hidden truths from Collision reach their resolution.
2019
- The Other Brother (2019): A grumpy-sunshine couple takes over the Collision series in a complete standalone romance.
- Against the Odds (2019): An MMA fighter with a traumatic past falls for his employee in the fourth Collision book.
- Hating the Boss (2019): A teacher and principal move from workplace hostility toward romance.
2020
- Back to You (2020): Two teachers receive a second chance to repair their former relationship.
- Inevitable (2020): A bodyguard-centered forbidden romance places its couple on opposite sides of a family conflict.
- What’s Left of Me (2020): A survivor of domestic abuse connects with her best friend’s brother while both confront grief.
- Dear Santa (2020): Holiday fake dating and forced proximity lead to a complete novella romance.
2021
- Someone You Love (2021): A disabled hero and a woman sharing close quarters form an emotionally guarded relationship.
2022
- Bring Me Back (2022): A next-door-neighbor police romance explores depression, suicide-related grief, and recovery.
2023
- Heart Trick (2023): Fake dating opens the East Coast hockey series.
- Trick or Truce (2023): A Halloween prank conflict brings a woman and her single-father neighbor together.
- Odd Man Rush (2023): Forced proximity develops into an FFM polyamorous hockey romance.
2024
- Puck Pact (2024): A marriage-of-convenience arrangement becomes the third East Coast romance.
2025
- Ice Rivals (2025): A second-chance MMF relationship continues the East Coast hockey world.
2026
- Sideline Rivals (2026): Former lacrosse rivals become competing coaches and reluctant allies when a professional scandal threatens the heroine’s career.
The list contains seventeen original books and novellas. The Ugly Cry is excluded from that total because it is a collection, while Falling for the Enemy, Volume Two is excluded because it is a multi-author anthology.
Chronological Order Versus Publication Order
Kristen Granata’s bibliography does not require one chronology covering every book. Collision, East Coast, Sideline, and the standalones exist as separate reading paths.
The only strict story sequence is:
- Collision: Begins Merritt’s emotional and romantic conflict.
- Avoidance: Continues and resolves that same storyline.
The other Collision books follow new couples, while East Coast changes relationships in each volume. Publication order remains preferable because it preserves character introductions and avoids exposing established relationships too early.
No alternate chronological arrangement improves the East Coast or Sideline series.
Recommended Reading Route
A useful tour of Kristen Granata’s catalog can be divided into four phases.
Phase One: Read the Collision Series
- Collision (2018): Begin the original two-book relationship.
- Avoidance (2018): Complete that continuing story.
- The Other Brother (2019): Move to a new grumpy-sunshine couple.
- Against the Odds (2019): Finish the series with an MMA fighter and workplace romance.
This phase shows the transition from Granata’s original continuous story into interconnected standalones.
Phase Two: Move to the Emotional Standalones
- What’s Left of Me (2020): Read for a heavier story involving abuse, grief, and recovery.
- Someone You Love (2021): Continue with forced proximity and a disabled hero.
- Bring Me Back (2022): Finish the emotionally intense group with a police romance centered on mental health and loss.
These books are not formally connected. Grouping them together simply reflects their heavier emotional themes.
Phase Three: Add the Romantic Comedies
- Hating the Boss (2019): A principal and teacher clash at work.
- Back to You (2020): Former partners and fellow teachers receive another chance.
- Dear Santa (2020): Holiday fake dating creates a shorter seasonal detour.
- Trick or Truce (2023): A Halloween prank war develops into a single-dad romance.
Phase Four: Read the Sports Romances
- Heart Trick (2023): Begin East Coast.
- Odd Man Rush (2023): Continue with an FFM hockey relationship.
- Puck Pact (2024): Read the marriage-of-convenience installment.
- Ice Rivals (2025): Complete the currently published East Coast sequence.
- Sideline Rivals (2026): Move from professional hockey to school lacrosse coaching.
Sideline is a separate series, so it can also be read before the hockey books.
Latest Kristen Granata Book
Kristen Granata’s latest confirmed original release is Sideline Rivals, published on July 15, 2026.
Sideline Rivals (2026): Varsity lacrosse coach Ainsley must work beside Landon, the former high school rival now coaching the junior varsity team, while misogyny, unresolved history, and a damaging scandal threaten the career she fought to build.
The book begins the Sideline series and is written as an interconnected standalone.
Upcoming Kristen Granata Books
No additional Kristen Granata novel had a reliably confirmed title and publication date as of August 4, 2026.
Sideline is identified as a series, so later installments are possible. Until the author announces a title and date, Sideline Rivals should remain the only confirmed entry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Kristen Granata’s first book?
Collision was published in 2018.
Collision (2018): Two emotionally guarded characters begin a slow-burn relationship threatened by grief, vulnerability, and a hidden truth.
What Kristen Granata book should I read first?
Begin with Collision for her earliest connected series.
Begin with Heart Trick for hockey romance, or Sideline Rivals for lacrosse and workplace rivalry.
Are Kristen Granata’s books standalones?
Most are complete within one volume, but Collision is not.
Avoidance directly continues the first book. The remaining Collision novels and all East Coast books focus on different central relationships.
Does Collision end on a cliffhanger?
The central story remains unresolved at the end of Collision.
Readers should have Avoidance ready because it completes the same relationship and emotional arc.
Are The Other Brother and Against the Odds standalones?
Yes, within the connected Collision world.
Each book follows a new couple and provides a complete romantic ending, although characters from the earlier novels may return.
Are Fighting the Odds and Against the Odds different books?
No. Against the Odds has also been listed as Fighting the Odds.
They represent the same fourth Collision story. Readers do not need both versions.
Is Heart Trick a full-length novel?
The author describes Heart Trick as a hockey novella.
It still functions as East Coast book one and provides the intended introduction to the series.
Are the East Coast books about the same couple?
No. Each book follows a different relationship.
The pairings also vary, including a conventional couple, an FFM relationship, and an MMF relationship.
What do FFM and MMF mean in the East Coast series?
FFM describes a relationship involving two women and one man.
MMF describes a relationship involving two men and one woman. Readers should choose the later East Coast installments with those relationship structures in mind.
Is Puck Pact a standalone?
Yes, but it is connected to the East Coast hockey series.
Puck Pact (2024): A marriage-of-convenience agreement creates a complete central romance while returning to characters and connections from the previous hockey books.
Is Ice Rivals the final East Coast book?
It is the fourth and most recent confirmed East Coast book.
No fifth title had been reliably announced by August 4, 2026, but the absence of an announcement does not necessarily mean the series is formally closed.
What series is Sideline Rivals part of?
It is book one in the Sideline series.
The series is separate from East Coast and centers on lacrosse rather than hockey.
Is Sideline Rivals a second-chance romance?
It contains strong second-chance elements.
Ainsley and Landon were high school rivals with unresolved history, then meet again as varsity and junior varsity lacrosse coaches.
Is Trick or Truce a novel or novella?
Catalogs classify it differently.
Kristen Granata’s current official list places it among the novellas, while some bibliographic databases list it as a standalone novel. Either classification leads to the same reading advice: it is a complete, separate Halloween romance.
Does Bring Me Back contain sensitive themes?
Yes.
Bring Me Back addresses depression and suicide-related themes. The author’s catalog specifically flags those subjects for readers.
Does What’s Left of Me contain sensitive themes?
Yes.
The book includes domestic abuse, child loss, and infertility. Readers should consult detailed content guidance when those topics may be difficult.
What is The Ugly Cry?
The Ugly Cry is listed as a 2026 collection.
It should not be treated as a new series installment. Readers should inspect the edition contents to identify which previously published stories it contains.
How many original Kristen Granata books are there?
The stable catalog contains seventeen original novels and novellas through Sideline Rivals.
That count excludes boxed sets, special editions, collections, and multi-author anthologies because they would duplicate or repackage existing material.
Conclusion
Read Collision before Avoidance. That is the only pairing in Kristen Granata’s catalog where stopping after the first volume leaves the central romance incomplete.
Continue through The Other Brother and Against the Odds for the full Collision world. For hockey, follow Heart Trick, Odd Man Rush, Puck Pact, and Ice Rivals in publication order.
Sideline Rivals begins a separate lacrosse series and is the author’s newest confirmed release. Readers can start there without completing Collision or East Coast first.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.