Erin Nicholas Books in Order, Updated July 24, 2026

Erin Nicholas writes contemporary romance built around close families, workplace friendships, small towns, first responders, and interconnected Louisiana communities. She has also published royal romance under the name Erin Nicolle.

Her bibliography is easier to navigate by fictional world than by publication year. Several series connect loosely, particularly the Louisiana Bayou books, while older series have been reissued under completely different titles.

The most important duplicate warning involves the Why You Should Never books. They are retitled editions of the Bradfords and Counting on Love romances, not ten additional novels.

Where Should You Start?

• For the broadest introduction to Erin Nicholas, begin with Getting Out of Hand, the first Sapphire Falls novel.
• Readers mainly interested in her Louisiana setting should start with Going Down Easy. It opens Boys of the Big Easy, the earliest full series in the connected Louisiana Bayou world.
• For her newest books, begin with Just Don’t Call It Love, Bayou Blades book one.

Readers who want a short completed trilogy can start with Diamonds and Dirt Roads, Twisted Up, or Completely Yours.

The Main Continuity Rule

Erin Nicholas’s books fall into three practical groups:

1. The Louisiana Bayou world contains several loosely connected series.
2. Sapphire Falls has an original generation and a later next-generation series.
3. Her remaining series can generally be read independently of one another.

Each romance usually follows a different couple. Even so, publication order protects earlier relationship outcomes, marriages, pregnancies, friendships, and family developments.

Louisiana Bayou World Reading Order

The Louisiana books are connected through families, friends, communities, and recurring characters. The individual series can be read separately, but readers seeking the fullest continuity should follow the series sequence below.

Boys of the Big Easy Books in Order

1. Easy Going (2018), prequel
2. Going Down Easy (2018)
3. Taking It Easy (2018)
4. Eggnog Makes Her Easy (2018)
5. Nice and Easy (2019)
6. Getting Off Easy (2020)

Is Easy Going Required?

Easy Going introduces Gabe and Addison before their full-length story in Going Down Easy. It is useful background but not essential.

The safest complete order places it first. Readers who prefer to begin with a full novel can start with Going Down Easy.

Eggnog Makes Her Easy Alternate Edition

Eggnog Makes Her Easy has also appeared in the collection Eggnog and Alligators. Do not count the collected version as another installment.

Boys of the Bayou Books in Order

1. My Best Friend’s Mardi Gras Wedding (2019)
2. Sweet Home Louisiana (2019)
3. Beauty and the Bayou (2019)
4. Crazy Rich Cajuns (2019)
5. Must Love Alligators (2019)
6. Four Weddings and a Swamp Boat Tour (2021)

This six-book sequence is the central Boys of the Bayou series.

Some third-party lists add later bayou books to this numbering. That approach combines separate spin-off series. Keep the original six books together, then continue with Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild.

Hot Cakes Books in Order

1. Sugarcoated (2020)
2. Forking Around (2020)
3. Making Whoopie (2020)
4. Semi-Sweet on You (2020)
5. Oh, Fudge (2020)
6. Gimme S’more (2021)

Optional Hot Cakes Prequel

Sugar Rush is a short prequel associated with the Hot Cakes series.

Read it before Sugarcoated when available. It is optional and not a replacement for book one.

Is Hot Cakes Part of the Bayou World?

Hot Cakes is only loosely connected to the Louisiana books. Readers can complete the six novels without reading Boys of the Big Easy or Boys of the Bayou.

For an expanded continuity route, place Hot Cakes after the original Boys of the Bayou series and before Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild.

Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild Books in Order

1. Otterly Irresistible (2021)
2. Heavy Petting (2021)
3. Flipping Love You (2021)
4. Sealed with a Kiss (2021)
5. Head Over Hooves (2021)
6. Say It Like You Mane It (2022)
7. Kiss My Giraffe (2022)
8. Better Safe Than Safari (2025)

Optional Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild Story

Otterly into You (2022) is commonly placed between Say It Like You Mane It and Kiss My Giraffe.

It is a shorter companion story. Include it for completion, but the main numbered novels remain understandable without it.

A Note About Books Five and Six

Head Over Hooves was published before Say It Like You Mane It. Some catalogs reverse their series numbers, while current consolidated listings may display Say It Like You Mane It first.

The safest practical order follows publication:

1. Head Over Hooves
2. Say It Like You Mane It

Both should be read before Kiss My Giraffe.

Bad Boys of the Bayou Books in Order

1. The Best Bad Boy (2022)
2. Bad Medicine (2022)
3. Bad Influence (2022)
4. Bad Taste in Men (2022)
5. Not Such a Bad Guy (2022)
6. Return of the Bad Boy (2022)
7. Bad Behavior (2022)
8. Got It Bad (2022)

All eight books were reissued together in 2022 as part of the Louisiana catalog.

The first six are sometimes listed as the complete Bad Boys of the Bayou series, with Bad Behavior and Got It Bad placed under the original Boys of the Bayou heading. Current author-supported reading material groups all eight within the broader Bad Boys sequence.

For readers, the stable solution is to read the eight titles in the order above.

Badges of the Bayou Books in Order

1. Bayou Tonight (2022), prequel
2. Gotta Be Bayou (2022)
3. Bayou with Benefits (2022)
4. Rocked Bayou (2023)
5. Red, White and Bayou (2023)

Bayou Tonight is optional introductory material. Begin with Gotta Be Bayou when following only the full-length novels.

Red, White and Bayou is a later connected story. Some catalogs leave it unnumbered, but it belongs after Rocked Bayou.

Always Stuck Bayou Books in Order

1. Always Bayou (2023)
2. Stuck Bayou (2023)

This duet can be read independently, although it belongs to the larger Louisiana setting.

Bayou Blades Books in Order

1. Merry Mayhem (2025), prequel or introductory holiday story
2. Just Don’t Call It Love (2026)
3. My Husband Problem (2026)

Just Don’t Call It Love is the first numbered Bayou Blades novel. Merry Mayhem provides earlier seasonal material and is best placed before it.

My Husband Problem was released in July 2026 and continues the series with a new central couple.

Best Complete Louisiana Reading Sequence

Readers who want the recurring characters and references in the most natural order should use this route:

1. Boys of the Big Easy
2. Boys of the Bayou
3. Hot Cakes
4. Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild
5. Bad Boys of the Bayou
6. Badges of the Bayou
7. Always Stuck Bayou
8. Bayou Blades

The series are not one uninterrupted plot. A reader may skip a group without losing the central romance in the next one, but some returning characters will arrive without introduction.

Sapphire Falls Books in Order

Sapphire Falls is one of Nicholas’s largest small-town continuities. Its publication history includes merged stories and multiple retitled books.

1. Getting Out of Hand (2014)
2. Getting Worked Up (2014)
3. Getting Dirty (2014)
4. Getting Wrapped Up (2014)
5. Getting It All (2015)
6. Getting Lucky (2015)
7. Getting Over It (2015)
8. Getting His Way (2016)
9. Getting Into Trouble (2017)
10. Getting It Right (2017)
11. Getting All Riled Up (2018)

Getting Wrapped Up Alternate Versions

Getting Wrapped Up combines material previously issued as:

• Getting in the Spirit
• Getting in the Mood

Those earlier titles may still appear separately in audio or older digital editions. The current combined edition replaces both in a streamlined reading order.

Do not read Getting Wrapped Up and then count both earlier titles again as new stories.

Later Sapphire Falls Retitles

Three later books originally appeared under different names:

• Getting Into Trouble was After All.
• Getting It Right was After You.
• Getting All Riled Up was After Tonight.

Each pair represents one novel.

Sapphire Falls Novellas and Companion Stories

The following shorter works belong around the main series:

1. Getting to Her (2015), commonly placed after Getting Over It
2. Getting to the Church on Time (2015), ensemble wedding novella
3. Getting Wound Up (2016), written with Jennifer Bernard
4. Naughty & Nice in Sapphire Falls (2017), collection or connected holiday material

Recommended Placement

Use this expanded order:

1. Read through Getting Over It.
2. Read Getting to Her.
3. Read Getting to the Church on Time.
4. Read Getting His Way.
5. Read Getting Wound Up.
6. Continue with the three retitled later novels.

The companion books are optional for readers following only the central full-length romances.

Sapphire Falls Next Generation Books in Order

1. Make Her Mine (2025)
2. Making It Up (2025)
3. Making It Happen (2026)

These books return to Sapphire Falls with a younger generation.

Must the Original Sapphire Falls Series Be Read First?

It is strongly recommended.

The new romances can be followed individually, but the setting, family relationships, and returning characters have greater meaning after the original sequence. Starting with Make Her Mine may also reveal where earlier couples eventually settled.

For complete continuity, finish the original Sapphire Falls books before beginning the next generation.

The Retitled Why You Should Never Series

The ten Why You Should Never books are revised branding for two earlier connected series: the Bradfords and Counting on Love.

The stories themselves did not change.

Why You Should Never Books in Order

1. Why You Should Never Kiss Your Boss
2. Why You Should Never Kiss Your Blind Date
3. Why You Should Never Kiss a Grump
4. Why You Should Never Kiss Your Fake Boyfriend
5. Why You Should Never Kiss Your Ex-Husband
6. Why You Should Never Kiss Your Brother’s Best Friend
7. Why You Should Never Kiss Your Ex
8. Why You Should Never Kiss Your Enemy
9. Why You Should Never Kiss Your Best Friend
10. Why You Should Never Kiss Your Roommate

This is the cleanest current reading order.

Original Bradfords Titles

The first five books were previously published as:

1. Just Right
2. Just Like That
3. Just My Type
4. Just for Fun
5. Just a Kiss

Bradfords Companion Story

Just What I Need is a shorter connected story, commonly placed after Just a Kiss.

It has not been replaced by a separately numbered Why You Should Never novel.

Original Counting on Love Titles

The second group was previously published as:

1. She’s the One
2. It Takes Two
3. Best of Three
4. Going for Four
5. Up by Five

Counting on Love Prequel

Just Count on Me is an introductory novella or companion story associated with Counting on Love.

Read it before She’s the One when following the original editions. It is optional in the current ten-book retitled sequence.

Complete Title Conversion Guide

• Just Right became Why You Should Never Kiss Your Boss.
• Just Like That became Why You Should Never Kiss Your Blind Date.
• Just My Type became Why You Should Never Kiss a Grump.
• Just for Fun became Why You Should Never Kiss Your Fake Boyfriend.
• Just a Kiss became Why You Should Never Kiss Your Ex-Husband.
• She’s the One became Why You Should Never Kiss Your Brother’s Best Friend.
• It Takes Two became Why You Should Never Kiss Your Ex.
• Best of Three became Why You Should Never Kiss Your Enemy.
• Going for Four became Why You Should Never Kiss Your Best Friend.
• Up by Five became Why You Should Never Kiss Your Roommate.

Readers should choose either the original editions or the current editions. Buying both versions creates ten duplicates.

Billionaire Bargains Books in Order

1. No Matter What (2009)
2. What Matters Most (2014)
3. All That Matters (2015)

The five-year gap between books one and two does not change the order.

Each installment has its own couple, but later books build on the business and personal relationships introduced in No Matter What.

Anything and Everything Books in Order

1. Anything You Want (2012)
2. Everything You’ve Got (2013)

This is a completed duet. Read the books in publication order.

Taking Chances Books in Order

1. Twisted Up (2016)
2. Tangled Up (2017)
3. Turned Up (2017)

The trilogy follows connected characters in Chance, Nebraska. Each book completes one romance, but later couples are introduced through the shared community.

Opposites Attract Books in Order

1. Completely Yours (2016)
2. Forever Mine (2017)
3. Totally His (2017)

The books form a completed trilogy and should remain in publication order.

Billionaires in Blue Jeans Books in Order

1. Diamonds and Dirt Roads (2018)
2. High Heels and Haystacks (2018)
3. Cashmere and Camo (2018)

This series follows three sisters who inherit a pie company and must adapt to a different life.

The series is complete. Each sister receives one central romance, but the inheritance story continues across all three books.

Royals Gone Rogue Books in Order

Published as Erin Nicolle.

1. Reluctantly Royal (2024)
2. Reluctantly Rogue (2024)
3. Rags to Royals (2024)
4. Recklessly Rogue (2025)

These royal romances form a separate series, although Reluctantly Royal has a loose connection to Nicholas’s Louisiana world.

The books are written under the Erin Nicolle variation of her name and use first-person narration. They should not be inserted into the middle of Boys of the Bayou.

Read the four royal books together in their own order.

Shared-World and Multi-Author Books

Erin Nicholas has contributed installments to several projects involving other authors.

Promise Harbor Wedding

The complete multi-author sequence is:

1. Jilted by Kelly Jamieson
2. Bolted by Meg Benjamin
3. Busted by Sydney Somers
4. Hitched by Erin Nicholas

Hitched is Erin Nicholas’s contribution and works as the fourth book in the shared wedding sequence.

For full crossover continuity, read all four books. Readers following only Nicholas’s bibliography may read Hitched separately, although some shared events will have begun elsewhere.

Boys of Fall Contributions

Erin Nicholas contributed the following books to the multi-author Boys of Fall project:

1. Out of Bounds (2015)
2. Illegal Motion (2015)
3. Full Coverage (2017)

These stories belong to the broader Boys of Fall setting and should remain separate from Boys of the Bayou.

Finding Chris Evans Contribution

Finding Chris Evans: The 9-1-1 Edition (2016) is Nicholas’s contribution to the multi-author Finding Chris Evans project.

It is not connected to her Just Everyday Heroes books despite its emergency-services theme.

Erin Nicholas Standalone Novel

• Hotblooded (2012)

Hotblooded is the principal full-length standalone in Nicholas’s catalog. It does not require another book before or after it.

Shorter Standalone Work

Inconveniently Bayou (2023) is a short Louisiana-set romance.

Its title and setting connect it thematically to the bayou catalog, but it is not consistently assigned a numbered position within one main series. Treat it as optional bayou-world material rather than inserting it into a fixed sequence.

Collections and Bundles

Collections repackage stories already listed elsewhere. They do not create additional novels.

Known examples include:

1. Eggnog and Alligators
2. Like a TV Christmas Movie…That’s Rated R
3. All I Want for Christmas, with Erin McCarthy
4. The Wedding Season: An Erin Nicholas Collection
5. Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild Bundle: Books 1-4
6. Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild Bundle: Books 5-8

Check the included titles before buying a bundle, especially when you already own the individual ebooks.

Is There One Chronological Order for Every Erin Nicholas Book?

No.

The Louisiana series share loose continuity, and Sapphire Falls has a clear generational progression. The other series occupy separate settings and should not be forced into one timeline.

Use chronology only where it adds clarity:

Louisiana Chronology

Follow the series sequence from Boys of the Big Easy through Bayou Blades.

Sapphire Falls Chronology

Read the original series before Sapphire Falls Next Generation.

Why You Should Never Chronology

Read all ten current titles in order, but do not add their original-title editions.

Remaining Series

Publication order within each named series is sufficient.

Recommended Erin Nicholas Reading Order

For a New Reader

1. Getting Out of Hand
2. Continue through the original Sapphire Falls sequence.
3. Read Sapphire Falls Next Generation.
4. Move to Going Down Easy.
5. Continue through the Louisiana series in world order.

This route begins with a central small-town series, then moves into Nicholas’s largest group of connected books.

For Louisiana Romance Readers

1. Easy Going
2. Going Down Easy
3. Complete Boys of the Big Easy.
4. Complete Boys of the Bayou.
5. Read Hot Cakes.
6. Complete Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild.
7. Continue through Bad Boys, Badges, Always Stuck, and Bayou Blades.

The prequels and shorter stories may be skipped, but the full novels should remain in series order.

For Readers Avoiding Long Series

Choose one completed trilogy:

• Diamonds and Dirt Roads, Billionaires in Blue Jeans
• Twisted Up, Taking Chances
• Completely Yours, Opposites Attract
• No Matter What, Billionaire Bargains

Each provides a complete connected reading path without requiring the larger bayou or Sapphire Falls catalogs.

For Readers Using Current Titles Only

1. Begin the Why You Should Never series with Why You Should Never Kiss Your Boss.
2. Continue through Why You Should Never Kiss Your Roommate.
3. Ignore listings for Just Right, Counting on Love, and the other original titles unless collecting older editions.

This is the easiest way to avoid duplicate purchases.

Latest Erin Nicholas Book

As of July 24, 2026, the newest confirmed Erin Nicholas release is My Husband Problem, Bayou Blades book two, published in July 2026.

It should be read after Just Don’t Call It Love. Readers following every related story may begin with the earlier holiday introduction Merry Mayhem.

Other Recent Erin Nicholas Books

The author’s recent sequence includes:

1. Better Safe Than Safari (2025)
2. Make Her Mine (2025)
3. Making It Up (2025)
4. Merry Mayhem (2025)
5. Just Don’t Call It Love (2026)
6. Making It Happen (2026)
7. My Husband Problem (2026)

These titles belong to three different continuities: Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild, Sapphire Falls Next Generation, and Bayou Blades.

They should not be read as one seven-book series.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was Erin Nicholas’s first book?

No Matter What was published in 2009 and begins the Billionaire Bargains series.

Some current editions display a 2010 date. That difference reflects publication or edition records and does not alter its position as the first Billionaire Bargains novel.

What is Erin Nicholas’s most useful starting point?

Getting Out of Hand is the strongest general entry. It begins Sapphire Falls and introduces one of her central small-town settings.

Choose Going Down Easy instead when the Louisiana Bayou world is the main attraction.

Are all Erin Nicholas books connected?

No. The Louisiana books share a broad world, and the two Sapphire Falls generations connect directly.

Billionaire Bargains, Taking Chances, Opposites Attract, Billionaires in Blue Jeans, and several other projects remain separate.

What order should the Louisiana series be read in?

Read Boys of the Big Easy first, followed by Boys of the Bayou, Hot Cakes, Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild, Bad Boys of the Bayou, Badges of the Bayou, Always Stuck Bayou, and Bayou Blades.

This is the safest expanded order, although each subseries can stand on its own.

Are the Why You Should Never books new stories?

No. They are retitled editions of the Bradfords and Counting on Love books.

For example, Why You Should Never Kiss Your Boss is the same story as Just Right.

Can I read Sapphire Falls Next Generation first?

The new romances are understandable, but the original Sapphire Falls books should be read first when avoiding family and relationship spoilers.

Is Getting Wrapped Up a new book?

It combines material previously issued as Getting in the Spirit and Getting in the Mood.

Readers using the combined edition should not count the two earlier versions again.

Is After All still part of Sapphire Falls?

Yes. It was retitled Getting Into Trouble.

Is After You still part of Sapphire Falls?

Yes. Its current title is Getting It Right.

Is After Tonight a separate Sapphire Falls book?

No. It was retitled Getting All Riled Up.

Does Hot Cakes connect to Boys of the Bayou?

Only loosely. It can be read independently, but placing it between Boys of the Bayou and Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild gives the broadest continuity.

Are the Erin Nicolle books separate?

The Royals Gone Rogue books are published as Erin Nicolle and form their own royal-romance series.

The first book has a loose Louisiana connection, but the series should be read separately.

Is My Husband Problem a standalone?

It is Bayou Blades book two. Read Just Don’t Call It Love first.

Where does Merry Mayhem belong?

Place it before Just Don’t Call It Love. It is introductory holiday material for Bayou Blades rather than the first numbered novel.

Final Recommendation

Do not arrange Erin Nicholas’s entire bibliography by date. That method jumps between unrelated series and makes the many retitled editions harder to identify.

Begin with Getting Out of Hand for Sapphire Falls or Going Down Easy for the Louisiana world. Follow publication order inside each series, read the original Sapphire Falls books before the next generation, and choose either the original Bradfords and Counting on Love titles or the replacement Why You Should Never titles, never both.