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Carrie Elks writes contemporary romance in distinct story worlds. Some are true series with ongoing friendships and recurring faces, while others are built as “each book = one couple” but still reward reading in order.

If you want the lowest-spoiler experience: pick one set below, read it straight through, then move on.
A quick way to choose your first book
- Want small-town coastal romance with a long runway? Start with Let Me Burn (Angel Sands).
- Want holiday small-town comfort? Start with Welcome to Winterville (Winterville).
- Want small-town brothers romance? Start with Take Me Home (The Heartbreak Brothers).
- Want office/workplace tension? Start with Strictly Business (The Salinger Brothers).
- Want a single, self-contained early read? Start with Fix You (standalone).
Angel Sands (read in order)
- Let Me Burn: A small-town spark catches fast when two people realize “safe” isn’t the same as “happy.”
- She’s Like the Wind: A guarded heroine meets a man who won’t be scared off by her stop-and-start trust.
- Sweet Little Lies: A secret that felt harmless turns costly when real feelings demand honesty.
- Just a Kiss: One kiss rewrites the rules for a couple who thought they were only playing.
- Baby I’m Yours: A baby-shaped surprise forces two adults to decide what kind of family they’re willing to become.
- Pieces of Us: A broken connection gets another chance, but only if the past stops steering the present.
- Chasing the Sun: A fresh start in a familiar place becomes romance when hope shows up disguised as trouble.
- Heart and Soul: A relationship turns serious when the one person who “doesn’t do commitment” starts caring too much.
- Lost in Him: Attraction becomes a slow unraveling as two people stop pretending they’re fine on their own.
The Heartbreak Brothers (read in order)
- Take Me Home: A small-town pull turns irresistible when a forbidden connection refuses to stay quiet.
- Still the One: Love arrives at an inconvenient time, and staying brave becomes the real conflict.
- A Better Man: A man trying to change meets the one person who makes accountability non-negotiable.
- Somebody Like You: A chance encounter forces two people from different worlds to admit what they want.
- When We Touch: A long-simmering attraction finally gets its moment, and the fallout is worth it.
The Heartbreak Brothers Next Generation (read in order)
- That One Regret: One mistake echoes for years until the only option left is to face it together.
- That One Touch: A single dad discovers that the right person doesn’t fit his plans, and that’s the point.
- That One Heartbreak: A single mom tries to keep life steady while love insists on being messy.
- That One Night: One night that should’ve been simple turns into the start of something that won’t let go.
Winterville (read in order)
- Welcome to Winterville: A holiday landing spot becomes a new beginning when two strangers stop staying strangers.
- Hearts in Winter: A winter romance grows in the space between comfort and the fear of wanting more.
- Leave Me Breathless: Best friend’s little sister turns into the one temptation a hero can’t rationalize away.
- Memories of Mistletoe: A “no relationships” rule collapses when the heart doesn’t accept policies.
- Every Shade of Winter: A gruff, closed-off hero meets the one woman who won’t be charmed by the act.
- Mine for the Winter: A festive second chance forces two people to decide if “too late” is real, or just convenient.
The Salinger Brothers (read in order)
- Strictly Business: Workplace rivalry flips into something riskier when a practical decision gets personal.
- Strictly Pleasure: Enemies-to-lovers heat turns complicated when the feelings arrive first and the logic arrives last.
- Strictly for Now: A hockey hero and a heroine with zero patience for sports drama collide, and keep colliding.
- Strictly Not Yours: A relationship built on assumptions breaks open when the truth stops cooperating.
- Strictly the Worst: The “wrong” person becomes the most right when both leads drop the performance.
- Strictly Pretend: A pretend relationship starts as a solution and ends as the realest thing they’ve had.
The Fitzgeralds (read in order)
- Must Have Been Love: A connection that should’ve been temporary becomes the one thing neither can forget.
- In Case You Didn’t Know: A long-held truth finally surfaces, and it changes every “just friends” moment retroactively.
The Shakespeare Sisters (read in order)
- Summer’s Lease: A summer arrangement meant to stay uncomplicated becomes emotionally expensive.
- A Winter’s Tale: Cold weather, close quarters, and old feelings create a romance that won’t stay polite.
- Absent in the Spring: Time apart doesn’t erase love, it just makes the reunion sharper.
- By Virtue Fall: A careful life tips over when desire meets the one boundary that matters.
Love in London (read in order)
- Coming Down: A marriage in trouble faces distance, pride, and the question of whether love is still a choice.
- Broken Chords: Music, ambition, and attraction collide, forcing both leads to decide what gets sacrificed.
- Canada Square: A high-chemistry connection comes with consequences when keeping it private stops being possible.
Standalone
- Fix You: Two damaged people try to build something steady without pretending the past didn’t happen.
The “best simple plan”
If you want a single, clean route that shows what Carrie Elks does best: start with Angel Sands (Let Me Burn) and read forward. When you finish, switch to Winterville if you want cozy seasonal romance, or The Heartbreak Brothers if you want a family-and-friendship small-town binge.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.

