Jaqueline Snowe writes contemporary and new adult romance, with a strong focus on college athletes, professional players, workplace tension, and close-knit friend groups. Baseball, football, and hockey appear throughout her catalog, alongside holiday romances and shorter contemporary stories.
Her books fall into several distinct groups rather than one universal reading order. The Central State novels form her largest connected world, while Cleat Chasers, Out of the Park, Rampage Football, and her holiday books can be approached separately.
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Start Here, Based on What You Want to Read
The safest complete starting point is Holdout, which opens the original Central State sequence.
Choose a different entry point when one of these routes suits you better:
- First Meet Foul, for Central State football
- Through the Ice, for Central State hockey
- Challenge Accepted, for an earlier college baseball series
- Evening the Score, for professional baseball
- Game Stopper, for professional football
- Snowed In for Christmas, for a self-contained holiday romance
Readers interested only in one sport do not need to complete every Jaqueline Snowe series.
The Central State Reading Route
Central State is the main continuity that requires the most explanation. It begins with a mixed college sports series, then separates into football and hockey branches.
The most spoiler-conscious sequence is:
- Central State
- Central State Football
- Central State Hockey
Each book follows a different couple, but friends, athletes, roommates, coaches, and established relationships return. Publication order protects those developments better than choosing books randomly.
Central State Books in Order
The original Central State books move among hockey, dance, football, and other parts of campus life. They introduce the university and the social circle later expanded in the football and hockey spin-offs.
1. Holdout
Holdout (2021): A guarded hockey player and his new roommate are pushed into close proximity, where clashing personalities gradually expose the vulnerabilities both have been hiding.
This novel was also released as part of the multi-author Moo U Hockey project. It functions as the opening of Snowe’s Central State continuity.
2. The Puck Drop
The Puck Drop (2021): Longtime friends risk changing their relationship when attraction enters a bond that once felt safe, while college hockey raises the pressure around them.
The book continues the campus network introduced in Holdout but gives a new couple the central role.
3. From the Top
From the Top (2022): A college athlete falls for a dance captain whose ambitions, schedule, and personality place her outside the world he usually understands.
This opposites-attract romance expands Central State beyond the rink and gives the performing arts side of campus more importance.
4. Take the Lead
Take the Lead (2022): A fake relationship between students becomes difficult to control when public affection begins revealing feelings neither person included in the arrangement.
Recurring friends make this more rewarding after the first three books, although the romance has its own ending.
5. Off the Ice
Off the Ice (2022): A cheerful heroine becomes involved with a guarded, difficult hockey player whose life away from the sport is more complicated than his reputation suggests.
This book closes the original Central State sequence before the continuity divides into more sport-specific branches.
Central State Football Books in Order
Central State Football follows players attached to the university’s football program. The series takes place in the world established by the original Central State novels.
A reader can begin with First Meet Foul, but earlier couples and friendships may already be settled in the background.
1. First Meet Foul
First Meet Foul (2023): A grumpy football player becomes involved with his best friend’s sister, creating a romance shaped by loyalty, family boundaries, and mutual irritation.
The brother’s-best-friend conflict makes the relationship risky before either character is willing to admit that the attraction is serious.
2. The Summer Playbook
The Summer Playbook (2024): A college football romance unfolds during a summer of shifting plans, growing attraction, and decisions that could affect more than the upcoming season.
The story continues the team environment while moving a different player and relationship into focus.
3. Scoring Forever
Scoring Forever (2024): Two longtime friends face the possibility of a permanent relationship when familiar affection becomes impossible to dismiss as purely platonic.
This friends-to-lovers story is closely tied to the Central State community and works best after the earlier football books.
Central State Hockey Books in Order
Central State Hockey returns to the university’s rink with a dedicated three-book sequence. It can be read after Central State Football or directly after the original Central State novels.
The football and hockey spin-offs share a broader campus world, but their central romantic plots remain separate.
1. Through the Ice
Through the Ice (2024): A workplace rivalry brings two hockey-connected characters into repeated conflict, where hostility begins concealing a more dangerous attraction.
This enemies-to-lovers romance opens the dedicated hockey branch while retaining connections to the earlier university books.
2. Under the Ice
Under the Ice (2025): Friends and roommates agree to a fake relationship, only to discover that performing intimacy exposes feelings already developing beneath the surface.
The novel uses several overlapping romance devices, but its main continuity value comes from returning Central State players and friends.
3. Breaking the Ice
Breaking the Ice (2025): Another member of the Central State hockey circle confronts a relationship that challenges personal defenses and changes the balance within the established group.
This is the third confirmed Central State Hockey novel and the current endpoint of that branch.
Do You Need Every Central State Book?
Not necessarily.
Read all eleven novels when recurring friendships and campus continuity matter to you. Begin with the first book of a spin-off when you mainly want football or hockey.
The three possible approaches are:
Complete Continuity
Start with Holdout, finish the original Central State books, then read Central State Football and Central State Hockey.
Football Only
Start with First Meet Foul.
You will understand the central romance, but supporting characters may have history from the earlier books.
Hockey Only
Start with Through the Ice for the dedicated spin-off, or with Holdout for every hockey-related Central State relationship.
Cleat Chasers Books in Order
Cleat Chasers is an earlier new adult romance series following college students and baseball players. It is separate from Central State.
The four main books develop one connected group of friends, so their emotional progression works best in order.
1. Challenge Accepted
Challenge Accepted (2017): A friendship changes when Callie accepts a challenge involving the baseball player she already knows too well, forcing both of them to reconsider familiar boundaries.
The book introduces the main Cleat Chasers circle and the college baseball environment around them.
2. The Game Changer
The Game Changer (2019): A fake relationship creates unexpected consequences when public appearances begin altering the private connection between its central couple.
This installment expands the original friend group while using an arrangement neither participant expects to become real.
3. Best Player
Best Player (2020): A woman develops feelings for her brother’s best friend while shared living arrangements make distance, secrecy, and emotional caution increasingly difficult.
The brother’s-best-friend and roommates setup ties the romance closely to the established Cleat Chasers cast.
4. No Easy Catch
No Easy Catch (2020): An antagonistic relationship develops into romance as two people connected to baseball discover that winning an argument is easier than controlling their attraction.
Read this after Best Player because earlier couples and group relationships are already established.
Out of the Park Books in Order
Out of the Park centers on professional baseball romances. The books are commonly listed as a trilogy, although the author’s current website separates the first title from the later two in its navigation.
The stable reading order remains:
1. Evening the Score
Evening the Score (2019): Professional baseball creates the setting for an enemies-to-lovers romance in which competition and personal frustration keep intensifying the attraction.
The book establishes the sports world associated with the later baseball romances.
2. Sliding Home
Sliding Home (2020): Former lovers receive another chance when unresolved history brings them back together in the professional baseball world.
This second-chance romance carries forward the series setting while concentrating on a new central relationship.
3. Rounding the Bases
Rounding the Bases (2021): Forced proximity brings together two sharply different people whose assumptions about each other begin changing as they share more of their lives.
The opposites-attract story completes the commonly listed Out of the Park trilogy.
Rampage Football Books in Order
Rampage Football follows professional football players associated with the Chicago Rampage. It is a separate series from Central State Football.
The series began in 2026 and currently has two published novels, with a third announced for 2027.
1. Game Stopper
Game Stopper (2026): A professional football player falls for a longtime friend whose personality and expectations challenge the life he has built around the sport.
This friends-to-lovers romance introduces the Chicago Rampage team and the people surrounding it.
2. Side Lined
Side Lined (2026): A second-chance workplace romance forces former lovers into close proximity, where unfinished feelings become harder to ignore than the reasons they separated.
Read it after Game Stopper for the team introductions and returning supporting cast.
3. Fumbled Feelings
Fumbled Feelings (Expected 2027): A soccer and football romance will bring together athletes from different sporting worlds in the third Chicago Rampage story.
The title is currently announced for January 2027. Because it remains forthcoming, its publication details may change.
Isaac’s Bar Books in Order
Isaac’s Bar currently contains one confirmed novel.
1. Let Life Happen
Let Life Happen (2017): Two friends face a shift in their relationship while the familiar setting of Isaac’s Bar keeps their personal lives and shared social circle closely connected.
The book can be read independently. No second published Isaac’s Bar novel has been confirmed.
Shut Up and Kiss Me Books in Order
Shut Up and Kiss Me is a romantic comedy series built around workplace friction, forced interaction, and characters who find attraction in inconvenient places.
This series is not currently highlighted on the author’s main book page, but the three titles remain commonly cataloged together.
1. Internship with the Devil
Internship with the Devil (2020): An intern finds herself working for a difficult man whose behavior makes the workplace hostile long before attraction complicates it further.
The enemies-to-lovers setup introduces the tone of the series and its focus on professional boundaries.
2. Teaching with the Enemy
Teaching with the Enemy (2021): Two educators forced into the same professional environment discover that conflict in the classroom is concealing a more personal connection.
This workplace romance follows a different couple and can be understood alone, although the series order remains preferable.
3. Next Door Nightmare
Next Door Nightmare (2021): A difficult neighbor becomes an unavoidable romantic possibility when repeated encounters break down the hostility between the central couple.
The third book moves the conflict out of the workplace and into a close residential setting.
Jaqueline Snowe’s Holiday Romances
Snowe’s recent Christmas novels are separate standalones rather than a numbered series. They share seasonal themes but not a required storyline.
They can be read in any order.
Snowed In for Christmas
Snowed In for Christmas (2023): Former lovers become trapped together during the holidays, giving a grumpy hero and a more optimistic heroine little chance to avoid their unresolved history.
Forced proximity drives the second-chance romance, but no previous Snowe book is required.
Christmas Sweater Weather
Christmas Sweater Weather (2024): A woman reconnects with someone from her past as holiday gatherings and family expectations make old feelings increasingly difficult to ignore.
The book is a self-contained Christmas romance with a complete central relationship.
Date Night in December
Date Night in December (2025): Laney returns to Cherrywood Creek after heartbreak and becomes involved in a holiday romance shaped by homecoming, healing, and the familiarity of a small town.
This is another standalone seasonal story rather than a sequel to the two earlier Christmas books.
Standalone Novels
These books do not require a full series reading plan.
Take a Chance on Me
Take a Chance on Me (2018): Two friends confront the possibility of romance when shared history and forced proximity make their existing relationship difficult to preserve.
It is a self-contained contemporary romance.
Sliding Home
Sliding Home (2020): A professional baseball player reconnects with a former love, creating a second chance shadowed by the reasons their earlier relationship failed.
Although the author’s present website places it with standalones, other catalogs list it as Out of the Park book two. Reading it after Evening the Score is the more continuity-conscious choice.
Rounding the Bases
Rounding the Bases (2021): Two opposites are brought into close quarters, where their conflicting habits and assumptions give way to a more serious connection.
This is commonly listed as Out of the Park book three and should follow Sliding Home for readers treating the books as a series.
Swing and a Kiss
Swing and a Kiss (Expected September 29, 2026): Cassidy agrees to fake-date a baseball player she cannot stand after grief and unwanted public attention make her private life difficult to protect.
The book is an enemies-to-lovers professional baseball romance about emotional recovery. It is currently presented as a standalone rather than a numbered Out of the Park installment.
Novellas and Shorter Books
The following stories are shorter than Snowe’s main novels and can be selected independently.
The Weekend Deal
The Weekend Deal (2020): A woman spends a weekend in close quarters with her brother’s best friend, turning a temporary arrangement into a test of long-suppressed attraction.
This novella is separate from Cleat Chasers despite using a similar romantic boundary.
Made to Be Mine
Made to Be Mine (2021): Two contrasting personalities form an unexpected connection in a compact romance about recognizing compatibility where neither person expected it.
The story can be read without any related novel.
Just One Tent
Just One Tent (2022): A camping problem leaves two people sharing one tent, where physical closeness rapidly disrupts their attempts to keep emotional distance.
This forced-proximity novella is a complete standalone.
Whiskey Surprises
Whiskey Surprises (2019): A one-night encounter creates unexpected personal consequences inside a romance associated with the Classic Curves project.
Some catalogs label this as Classic Curves book one, but no continuing Snowe sequence has been firmly established.
Shared-World and Collection Titles
Holdout and Moo U Hockey
Holdout (2021): A college hockey player and his roommate move from mutual frustration toward romance while navigating the pressures of university life.
The novel is both a Central State title and Snowe’s contribution to the multi-author Moo U Hockey series.
Readers following Jaqueline Snowe should place it first in Central State. They do not need the other Moo U books, which were written by different authors.
Friends to Lovers
Friends to Lovers (2021): This collection gathers romance stories built around friendships that develop into love, with participating authors contributing separate material.
It is not another numbered Jaqueline Snowe novel and should not be inserted into one of her main series.
A Publication Timeline of Jaqueline Snowe’s Books
This condensed timeline shows how the major titles developed without forcing unrelated series into one continuity.
2017
- Let Life Happen (2017): Friends face a romantic turning point around the community of Isaac’s Bar.
- Challenge Accepted (2017): A challenge changes the relationship between friends connected to college baseball.
2018
- Take a Chance on Me (2018): Familiarity and forced proximity push two friends toward romance.
2019
- The Game Changer (2019): A false relationship begins creating genuine feelings.
- Evening the Score (2019): Conflict and attraction collide in professional baseball.
- Whiskey Surprises (2019): A one-night connection produces an unexpected romantic complication.
2020
- Best Player (2020): A woman falls for her brother’s best friend while sharing close quarters.
- No Easy Catch (2020): Baseball and antagonism drive an enemies-to-lovers romance.
- Sliding Home (2020): Former lovers meet again in a professional sports setting.
- Internship with the Devil (2020): An intern becomes attracted to the difficult man controlling her work environment.
- The Weekend Deal (2020): One weekend with a forbidden man changes a carefully contained attraction.
2021
- Holdout (2021): A grumpy hockey player and his roommate begin the Central State continuity.
- The Puck Drop (2021): Friendship turns romantic within the university hockey circle.
- Rounding the Bases (2021): Opposites are drawn together through forced proximity.
- Teaching with the Enemy (2021): Workplace rivals confront attraction in an academic setting.
- Next Door Nightmare (2021): A hostile neighbor becomes an unexpected romantic possibility.
- Made to Be Mine (2021): Two different personalities find an unexpectedly convincing match.
2022
- From the Top (2022): A college athlete falls for a driven dance captain.
- Take the Lead (2022): Fake dating transforms a university relationship.
- Off the Ice (2022): A cheerful heroine challenges a guarded hockey player.
- Just One Tent (2022): A camping trip creates unavoidable closeness.
2023
- First Meet Foul (2023): A football player falls for his best friend’s sister.
- Snowed In for Christmas (2023): Former lovers are trapped together during the holidays.
2024
- The Summer Playbook (2024): A summer football romance changes the plans of its central couple.
- Scoring Forever (2024): Longtime friends consider a permanent future together.
- Through the Ice (2024): Workplace hostility turns into attraction inside the Central State hockey world.
- Christmas Sweater Weather (2024): A holiday homecoming revives an earlier emotional connection.
2025
- Under the Ice (2025): Friends and roommates enter a fake relationship.
- Breaking the Ice (2025): Another Central State hockey player faces an emotionally disruptive romance.
- Date Night in December (2025): A heartbroken woman returns home for a healing small-town Christmas.
2026
- Game Stopper (2026): Friends-to-lovers romance opens the Chicago Rampage football series.
- Side Lined (2026): Former lovers become coworkers and are forced back into close proximity.
- Swing and a Kiss (Expected 2026): A grieving woman fake-dates an infuriating professional baseball player.
2027
- Fumbled Feelings (Expected 2027): Soccer and professional football will intersect in the third Rampage romance.
Does Jaqueline Snowe Have a Chronological Reading Order?
A separate chronological order is not necessary.
The Central State books already move forward naturally through publication order. Her other series occupy independent settings, so combining Cleat Chasers, Out of the Park, Rampage Football, and the holiday novels into a single timeline would create an artificial sequence.
Chronological rearrangement would also offer no clear advantage. There are no confirmed prequel novels that need to be moved ahead of their publication positions.
Recommended Order for a New Reader
Rather than beginning with Snowe’s earliest release, choose one of these reading plans.
The Complete College Sports Plan
- Holdout
- The Puck Drop
- From the Top
- Take the Lead
- Off the Ice
- First Meet Foul
- The Summer Playbook
- Scoring Forever
- Through the Ice
- Under the Ice
- Breaking the Ice
This keeps the Central State campus and recurring relationships together.
The Baseball Plan
- Challenge Accepted
- The Game Changer
- Best Player
- No Easy Catch
- Evening the Score
- Sliding Home
- Rounding the Bases
- Swing and a Kiss
Cleat Chasers and Out of the Park are separate continuities, so finishing one before beginning the other is cleaner than alternating between them.
The Football Plan
- First Meet Foul
- The Summer Playbook
- Scoring Forever
- Game Stopper
- Side Lined
- Fumbled Feelings
Central State Football covers college athletes, while Rampage Football follows professionals. The two series do not need to be treated as one continuous story.
The Holiday Plan
- Snowed In for Christmas
- Christmas Sweater Weather
- Date Night in December
These books are independent. The order above simply follows their publication dates.
Latest Jaqueline Snowe Book
As of August 4, 2026, Jaqueline Snowe’s latest confirmed published novel is Side Lined (2026), the second Chicago Rampage Football romance.
Her next scheduled release is Swing and a Kiss, expected on September 29, 2026. It is a professional baseball romance involving fake dating, enemies-to-lovers tension, grief, and emotional healing.
Fumbled Feelings, the third Rampage Football book, is currently announced for January 2027.
Upcoming dates can change, so unreleased books should remain outside the completed reading order until publication.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Author’s Name Jaqueline or Jacqueline Snowe?
The correct published spelling is Jaqueline Snowe.
Her first name does not include a second “c.”
What Was Jaqueline Snowe’s First Book?
Let Life Happen and Challenge Accepted were both published in 2017 and are among her earliest confirmed releases.
Challenge Accepted begins Cleat Chasers, while Let Life Happen is the only confirmed Isaac’s Bar novel.
What Is Jaqueline Snowe’s Best Starting Point?
Start with Holdout for her largest connected college sports world.
Choose Challenge Accepted for baseball, Game Stopper for professional football, or Snowed In for Christmas for a standalone holiday romance.
Are All the Central State Books Connected?
Yes. The original Central State novels, Central State Football, and Central State Hockey share the same wider university setting.
Different couples lead each book, but friends and established relationships recur.
Should Central State Football Be Read Before Central State Hockey?
That is the safest sequence because the football trilogy was completed before the dedicated hockey trilogy.
However, the two spin-offs focus on different groups, so readers interested only in hockey can begin with Through the Ice.
Is Holdout Part of Two Series?
Yes. It was released within the multi-author Moo U Hockey project and also functions as the first Central State novel.
For a Jaqueline Snowe reading order, place it at the beginning of Central State.
Are Sliding Home and Rounding the Bases Standalones?
The author’s current website places them in its standalone section, while established bibliography sources commonly list them as the second and third Out of the Park books.
The safest approach is to read Evening the Score, Sliding Home, and Rounding the Bases in that order.
Do the Holiday Books Connect?
No confirmed continuing plot links Snowed In for Christmas, Christmas Sweater Weather, and Date Night in December.
They are separate holiday romances and can be read independently.
Is Swing and a Kiss Part of Out of the Park?
It is another professional baseball romance, but it is currently presented as a standalone rather than a numbered Out of the Park novel.
No earlier Snowe book is required before it.
Are the Novellas Required?
No. The Weekend Deal, Made to Be Mine, Just One Tent, and Whiskey Surprises are optional shorter reads.
They do not fill essential gaps in Central State, Cleat Chasers, or Rampage Football.
What Is the Best Order for Every Jaqueline Snowe Book?
Complete one series at a time.
Begin with Central State for the broadest connected experience, then choose Cleat Chasers, Out of the Park, Shut Up and Kiss Me, Rampage Football, the holiday standalones, and the remaining shorter books in their individual publication orders.
Conclusion
The clearest Jaqueline Snowe reading order starts with Holdout and follows the Central State books through their football and hockey spin-offs. That route provides the strongest continuity, since the university, friendships, and earlier couples continue across multiple series.
Readers seeking a smaller commitment can begin with Challenge Accepted, Evening the Score, Game Stopper, or Snowed In for Christmas. These books open separate reading paths without requiring the entire Central State catalog.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.