Kate Clayborn writes contemporary romance with two clear lanes: a three-book friend-group trilogy (plus a holiday novella), and a run of standalone novels where each story begins and ends in one book.

Order only matters in the trilogy. Everything else is choose-by-mood.
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At a glance
- Safest first read for most people: Love Lettering
- If you want the only “read in order” set: start with Beginner’s Luck
- If you want the newest release path: The Other Side of Disappearing → then watch for The Paris Match
- If you’re spoiler-sensitive: don’t start with Missing Christmas before the trilogy
The books that are connected
Chance of a Lifetime (read in order)
This is the only part of her catalog where reading order pays off, because the same friend group and their life changes carry through.
- Beginner’s Luck (2017): Three friends make a small, impulsive choice that reshapes one woman’s love life in unexpected ways.
- Luck of the Draw (2018): A driven heroine faces a relationship that challenges how she thinks “support” should look.
- Best of Luck (2018): A long-held attraction finally gets its chance, and the timing makes it complicated.
- Missing Christmas (2019, novella): A holiday trip stirs up feelings that land best once you already know the friend group.
Included / Optional note: The first three are the core trilogy. Missing Christmas is a bonus story that fits after book 3.
Standalone novels in publication order
These do not share an ongoing timeline. You can read any of them first without confusion.
- Love Lettering (2019): A lettering artist who reads signs for a living meets the one man whose signals she can’t decode.
- Love at First (2021): A near-stranger becomes a daily presence, and ordinary routines turn into something intimate.
- Georgie, All Along (2023): A woman returns to her hometown to restart her life and discovers she’s not the only one rebuilding.
- The Other Side of Disappearing (2024): A missing-person mystery becomes a road trip where grief, hope, and new love share the same backseat.
- The Paris Match (announced for 2026): A recently divorced woman heads to a Paris wedding and finds her composure tested by the gruff best man and old memories.
Chronological order
There isn’t a meaningful “timeline order” across the standalones, because they aren’t connected.
For practical purposes:
- Chance of a Lifetime: follow the series order above
- Standalones: publication order is the closest thing to a chronological sequence
Recommended reading orders
If you want the least complicated start
- Love Lettering
- Georgie, All Along
- Love at First
- The Other Side of Disappearing
- The Paris Match (when available)
If you want the only connected arc first
- Beginner’s Luck
- Luck of the Draw
- Best of Luck
- Missing Christmas (optional, best here)
- Then pick any standalone based on mood
Novellas and collections
- Missing Christmas: best treated as an optional follow-up to the Chance of a Lifetime trilogy.
- Some editions also list a multi-author holiday collection that includes Clayborn’s holiday work; treat that as separate packaging, not a separate continuity.
Latest release status
- Most recent published novel: The Other Side of Disappearing (2024).
- Next confirmed novel: The Paris Match (announced for 2026).
FAQs
Do the standalones spoil each other?
No. They’re independent stories with separate characters and settings.
Can I read Missing Christmas by itself?
You can, but it’s more satisfying after the trilogy because it assumes you already care about the friend group.
What if I only want one book to test her style?
Start with Love Lettering for a focused, character-forward romance, or Georgie, All Along if you want more small-town reset energy.
Best simple plan
If you want a single, dependable answer: read Love Lettering first, then either move through the standalones in publication order or switch over to the Chance of a Lifetime trilogy when you’re in the mood for a connected friend-group run.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.

