Tessa Bailey writes contemporary romance across multiple separate series worlds, plus a long list of standalones. Inside a series world, characters and friendships recur, so order protects surprises. Between series worlds, you can jump freely.

If you only want one dependable rule: finish the series you start before hopping to the next.
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The quickest way to choose a starting book
Start here if you want a bingeable sports romance: Fangirl Down (Big Shots #1)
Start here if you want small-town siblings + cozy coastal energy: It Happened One Summer (Bellinger Sisters #1)
Start here if you want rom-com construction chaos: Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered #1)
Start here if you want a one-book tryout: My Killer Vacation (standalone)
What’s connected (and what isn’t)
- Connected: books within the same named series (they reference earlier couples).
- Not connected: different series worlds from each other, plus most standalones.
- Best “in order” method: publication order inside each series.
Big Shots (Read in Order)
- Fangirl Down: A burned-out pro golfer hires his one loyal supporter, and the boss/employee line gets blurry fast.
- The Au Pair Affair: A veteran hockey player and single dad brings a live-in nanny into his home, and into the center of his life.
- Dream Girl Drama: A spark with a stranger turns complicated when family ties make “off-limits” unavoidable.
- Pitcher Perfect: A charming rookie meets the one athlete who won’t fall for the routine, then gets pulled into her plan anyway.
- Catch Her If You Can: A high-energy romance built around pursuit, public pressure, and feelings that refuse to stay convenient.
Bellinger Sisters (Read in Order)
- It Happened One Summer: A cut-off It Girl is sent to a small fishing town and collides with a man who doesn’t buy the act.
- Hook, Line, and Sinker: A flirt with a reputation falls for his best friend while trying to help her chase someone else.
Hot & Hammered (Read in Order)
- Fix Her Up: A party-clown heroine and a retired athlete fake-date to change perceptions, and end up changing each other instead.
- Love Her or Lose Her: A married couple tries to rebuild what they used to have, one uncomfortable truth at a time.
- Tools of Engagement: A perfectionist designer competes on a renovation show with a man who specializes in pushing every button.
A Vine Mess (Read in Order)
- Secretly Yours: A buttoned-up professor meets a neighbor who decides he needs a little chaos, starting with her.
- Unfortunately Yours: A Napa heiress proposes a practical marriage plan that quickly stops feeling practical.
The Girl (Read in Order)
- Getaway Girl: A bride bolts on her wedding day, and the escape ride becomes the start of something neither expected.
- Runaway Girl: A woman walks away from the life she “should” want, then finds freedom where she least planned to look.
The Academy (Read in Order)
- Disorderly Conduct: A driven recruit and a complicated past collide inside a training environment built on discipline.
- Indecent Exposure: A cop who lives by the rules meets a woman who makes those rules feel optional.
- Disturbing His Peace: A case, a reunion, and old feelings collide until pretending becomes impossible.
Romancing the Clarksons (Read in Order)
- Too Hot to Handle: A stranded road trip forces a capable heroine and a tempting rescuer into the same messy orbit.
- Too Wild to Tame: A polished public image cracks when desire shows up in the worst possible place.
- Too Hard to Forget: A long-held attraction finally gets its chance, and immediately raises the stakes.
- Too Beautiful to Break: A guarded heart faces the one person who can see straight through the defenses.
Note: Some listings also place a related novella among these titles. If you’re collecting every piece, follow the order shown on the series listing where you buy/track books.
Made in Jersey (Read in Order)
- Crashed Out: A returning rock star and the woman he never got over test whether time actually healed anything.
- Rough Rhythm: A second-chance setup forces two people to face the past instead of rewriting it.
- Thrown Down: A marriage-of-convenience deal heats up until it stops feeling like a deal.
- Wound Tight: A powerful businessman and his protector find out control is easier than trust, until it isn’t.
- Worked Up: A hard-edged boss meets the one person who won’t be intimidated, even when it would be safer.
Beach Kingdom (Read in Order)
- Mouth to Mouth: A tough man with a record keeps saving the same sweet woman and starts wanting more than safety for her.
- Heat Stroke: Two men drawn together in secret have to decide what they’re willing to risk in daylight.
- Sink or Swim: A lifelong pining situation boils over when two friends finally stop denying what they want.
Broke and Beautiful (Read in Order)
- Chase Me: An aspiring actress takes odd jobs to survive and runs straight into a rich guy who isn’t as effortless as he looks.
- Need Me: A relationship built on intense chemistry has to prove it can survive real emotional needs.
- Make Me: A long-simmering connection finally breaks the surface, demanding honesty instead of avoidance.
Line of Duty (Read in Order)
- Protecting What’s His: A woman on the run collides with a cop who takes “protect” personally.
- Protecting What’s Theirs (novella): The relationship deepens while danger and control issues sharpen at the edges.
- His Risk to Take: A forbidden attraction tests discipline, loyalty, and how far someone will bend for love.
- Officer Off Limits: A cop who doesn’t compromise meets a woman who forces him to renegotiate everything.
- Asking for Trouble: Chemistry and consequences collide until the characters have to choose what they can live with.
Crossing the Line (Read in Order)
- Riskier Business (novella): A fast, risky connection sets the tone for a world where danger and desire overlap.
- Risking It All: An undercover mission turns personal when attraction threatens to disrupt the plan.
- Up in Smoke: A spark in a high-pressure situation becomes impossible to contain safely.
- Boiling Point: A con man and a hacker push each other past the point of “professional distance.”
- Raw Redemption: A final romance where trust has to be earned the hard way.
Phenomenal Fate (Read in Order)
- Reborn Yesterday: A funeral-home encounter cracks open a supernatural truth, and an attachment that shouldn’t exist.
- This Time Tomorrow: Fate keeps pushing two people together until they stop fighting what they already feel.
- Today Tomorrow and Always: A love story shaped by past choices finally demands a forward-looking decision.
Serve (Read in Order)
- Owned by Fate: A journalist investigating a private club runs into the one man who can rewrite her certainty.
- Exposed by Fate: Secrets spill into the open, and the relationship has to survive being truly seen.
- Driven by Fate: Desire, power, and trust collide until the characters stop pretending it’s only physical.
Note: Some tracking sites list additional connected entries under this umbrella. If you want a complete, completionist list, tell me whether you want only the main novels or every novella and bonus story too, and I’ll format it cleanly.
Standalones (Pick-any-time)
These do not require a series world.
- My Killer Vacation: A sunny vacation turns into a murder investigation, and the grumpy professional on the case becomes the main complication.
- Window Shopping: A holiday job, a second chance, and a boss who’s paying close attention create an unexpectedly tender romance.
(There are many more standalones and shorter works in Bailey’s backlist; the ones above are common entry points.)
Recommended order that keeps everything tidy
If you want a guided path without reading 60+ books in strict career order:
- Big Shots (Book 1 → 5)
- Bellinger Sisters (Book 1 → 2)
- Hot & Hammered (Book 1 → 3)
- A Vine Mess (Book 1 → 2)
- Then choose any older series world that matches your mood (Beach Kingdom, The Girl, The Academy, etc.)
Latest status
Newest confirmed release in the checked lists: Catch Her If You Can (Big Shots #5), released January 2026.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.

