Kristin Harmel Books in Order (Checked 2026-02-06)

Kristin Harmel’s career has a noticeable bend in it: she begins with lighter contemporary/romantic fiction, then shifts into the history-forward novels many readers know her for now. The books are not a single continuing series, so you’re never “required” to read in order for plot continuity.

Reading in publication order is still the most satisfying way to watch that shift happen, especially once you reach the WWII-era novels, where her themes and structure become more consistent.

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A quick starting pick that matches your mood

• You want the modern, history-forward Harmel most readers talk about: start with The Winemaker’s Wife or The Book of Lost Names.
• You want the earliest, lighter era first: start with How to Sleep with a Movie Star.
• You want a single recent standalone with her current scope: start with The Paris Daughter or The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau.

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Kristin Harmel books in publication order

(One clean line per book, written fresh for this guide.)

1. How to Sleep with a Movie Star (2006): A woman’s close call with celebrity culture turns into a lesson in what real intimacy costs.
2. The Blonde Theory (2007): Reinvention looks easy until confidence and consequence show up in the same room.
3. The Art of French Kissing (2007): A Paris detour pushes a woman to choose between a safe life and a braver one.
4. When You Wish (2008): A young woman’s longing for change collides with the reality that wishes don’t come without strings.
5. Italian for Beginners (2009): A fresh start abroad becomes a crash course in desire, independence, and miscommunication.
6. After (2010): A teenager navigates love and identity while grief keeps rewriting what “normal” should be.
7. The Sweetness of Forgetting (2012): A baker’s search for family history leads to Paris and a secret shaped by war.
8. The Life Intended (2014): A widow’s grief opens into a second life she never planned, and can’t fully control.
9. When We Meet Again (2016): A granddaughter follows a trail of lost love that crosses wartime America and Europe.
10. The Room on Rue Amélie (2018): In occupied Paris, survival becomes a daily negotiation between fear and courage.
11. The Winemaker’s Wife (2019): A vineyard, a marriage, and the Resistance tangle into choices no one can undo cleanly.
12. The Book of Lost Names (2020): A forger risks everything to protect children whose identities are being erased.
13. The Forest of Vanishing Stars (2021): A woman raised in isolation is forced to protect strangers hiding in the woods during war.
14. The Paris Daughter (2023): Two mothers in wartime Paris face a single catastrophic moment that changes what “family” means.
15. The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau (2025): A jewel thief’s wartime past and a modern search collide around a vanished treasure and a buried crime.

• Also published in some markets as: All the Diamonds in Paris

16. Meet Me in Paris (2026, announced): Interwoven love stories unfold across one pivotal week, with Paris as both setting and pressure cooker.

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Shorter fiction and contributions

(Optional, and separate from the novels.)

• The Snow Globe (2012, short work): A small holiday object becomes the trigger for a big emotional choice.
• How to Save a Life (2016, novella): A relationship hits a crossroads where timing matters as much as love does.
• The Road Home (2023, anthology contribution): A return journey forces someone to face what they tried to leave behind.

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Notes that help you avoid confusion

• Updated editions exist: The Sweetness of Forgetting and When We Meet Again have been reissued in updated editions (same stories, refreshed presentation).
• No shared-universe rule: the WWII-era novels may feel thematically linked, but they don’t require a strict continuity order.

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A calm, practical reading route

If you want a smooth “this is what Kristin Harmel does best” path without backtracking:

1. The Winemaker’s Wife
2. The Book of Lost Names
3. The Forest of Vanishing Stars
4. The Paris Daughter
5. The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau
6. Circle back to The Room on Rue Amélie and When We Meet Again if you want more in the same lane.

If you’d rather watch the whole career shift, start at How to Sleep with a Movie Star and read straight down the publication list.

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FAQs

Do I have to read these in order?
No. The novels stand alone. Order mainly affects how you experience her evolution from contemporary romance to historical fiction.

Is After connected to the later historical novels?
No. It’s a separate YA novel and doesn’t tie into the WWII-era books.

What’s the newest confirmed title?
Meet Me in Paris is announced for 2026, following The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau in 2025.