Lindsey became a romance author in the 1970s and continued writing bestseller-after-bestseller right up until her death in 2019. The Johanna Lindsey books in order often feature themes of abduction and seduction between her romantic pairings.
Her books also feature other favorite romance tropes like marriages of convenience and beloved settings of Regency England, the Scottish Highlands, the American Frontier, and more. Lindsey also wrote in a variety of romance subgenres including medieval, Viking, and futuristic sci-fi.
Jump to:
- Johanna Lindsey Standalone Books in Order
- Johanna Lindsey Books in Order by Series
- About Johanna Lindsey
Johanna Lindsey Standalone Books in Order
Our list of the Johanna Lindsey books in order begins with her standalones, which features her debut novel. This is a great place to begin reading her bibliography. It will follow the trends and tropes that she frequently used in her writing throughout her career.
- Captive Bride (1977)
- A Pirate’s Love (1978)
- Paradise Wild (1982)
- So Speaks the Heart (1983)
- A Gentle Feuding (1984)
- Tender Is the Storm (1985)
- When Love Awaits (1986)
- Secret Fire (1987)
- Silver Angel (1988)
- Prisoner of My Desire (1991)
- Until Forever (1995)
- Home for the Holidays (2000)
- A Man to Call My Own (2003)
- Marriage Most Scandalous (2005)
- When Passion Rules (2011)
- Make Me Love You (2016)
- Temptation’s Darling (2019)
Johanna Lindsey Books in Order by Series
Viking Haardrad Family Books
The first series that Johanna Lindsey wrote follows different members of the Haardrad family, who are a Viking clan. As with most historical romance series, the characters from all books appear throughout the series in some capacity. So, if you wish to avoid spoilers and follow the chronological order, it is best to follow the publication order of these books.
The first book follows Lady Brenna who has been abducted by Vikings and swears no barbarian will enslave her Celtic heart. But Gerrick Haardrad is the son of the Viking chieftain and he ignites a fiery passion within her. The next book follows Kristen Haardrad, while the third and final book follows Selig Haardrad.
- Fires of Winter (1980)
- Hearts Aflame (1987)
- Surrender My Love (1994)
Southern Books
Next, Lindsey wrote a duology that takes place in the U.S. South. The first book in the series follows the daughter of a poor Alabama farmer, Angela Sherrington, who dreams of loving the heir to Golden Oaks, Bradford Maitland. Meanwhile, the second book follows the fiery Samantha Kingsley and the insolvent outlaw Hank Chavez.
- Glorious Angel (1982)
- Heart of Thunder (1983)
Wyoming Books
As you might imagine, the Wyoming trilogy by Johanna Lindsey takes place on the Wyoming frontier. The first book follows Jessie Blair and Chase Summers through a refusal of marriage, land-hungry villains, and a fierce passion. The next book follows a lady from London society who escapes to the American West and headfirst into an affair with Colt Thunder.
Finally, the last book features a decades-long feud between families that Cassie Stuart only ends up making worse. That is why she needs the protection of Angel, even if she does not want his help. But Angel won’t back down.
- Brave the Wild Wing (1984)
- Savage Thunder (1989)
- Angel (1992)
Malory-Anderson Family Books
For the next Johanna Lindsey books in order, she returned to a family saga with each book following a new pairing. This series takes place in regency England, but does cross over the Atlantic during the course of the books. It begins when the rake Nicholas Eden kidnaps Regina Ashton and ruins her good name and reputation, which leads her to vow that she will marry him.
This is Lindsey’s longest series and the other books feature marriages of convenience, rogues, and much more from within the Malory and Anderson families that spans two generations.
- Love Only Once (1985)
- Tender Rebel (1988)
- Gentle Rogue (1990)
- The Magic of You (1993)
- Say You Love Me (1996)
- The Present (1998)
- A Loving Scoundrel (2004)
- Captive of My Desires (2006)
- No Choice But Seduction (2008)
- That Perfect Someone (2010)
- Stormy Persuasion (2014)
- Beautiful Tempest (2017)
Straton Family Books
With her next family series, Lindsey returned to the American Western frontier.
The first book follows Courtney Harte who is searching for her father. In her trek through the unfamiliar country, she hires Chandos, who is as wild and unpredictable as the land. They have no choice but to trust each other and along their treacherous path, only love will tame their passion.
The sequel, All I Need Is You, follows the next generation as East and West collide once again.
- A Heart So Wild (1986)
- All I Need Is You (1997)
Shefford’s Knights Books
This duology is a medieval historical romance. In the first book Reina has been kidnapped by the knight Ranulf to be taken to the loathed Lord Rothwell’s bed. Instead, she offers herself to Ranulf instead to avoid such a horrible fate and promises to make him a lord, but Ranulf wants much more: He wants her heart.
The next book features an arranged marriage between Milisant Crispin and the future Earl of Shefford, Wulfric. Milisant desperately searches for a way out of the betrothal as Wulfric falls deeper under her spell.
- Defy Not the Heart (1989)
- Joining (1999)
Ly-San-Ter Family Books
With the next series on our list of the Johanna Lindsey books in order, Lindsey jumps into the future with these science fiction romance reads. It begins in 2139 when Tedra De Arr flies to Crad Ce Moerr to rescue her planet of Krystran from its tyrannical rule. She does not expect to find a bronzed barbarian, Challen Ly-San-Ter, who ignites passionate desires like no man has ever done before.
The next book follows Shanelle Ly-San-Ter in search of a true and gentle love, who flees her arranged lifemate Falon Vanyer. The final book follows Shanelle’s twin brother who travels to Earth and falls hard for a strong, independent woman.
- Warrior’s Woman (1990)
- Keeper of the Heart (1993)
- Heart of a Warrior (2001)
Cardinia’s Royalty Books
Another historical romance series from Johanna Lindsey, Cardinia’s Royalty begins in a Mississippi tavern with a princess in exile. She has become a dancer in her plight, but then a bold and brazen prince, Stefan Barany, crosses an ocean to find his promised wife.
The second book in the duology also follows an arranged marriage between Alexandra Rubilov and Count Vasili Petroff. It is a ruse by her father to tame her wild ways, but with neither of them wanting to be married, they each decide to try and disgust the other. Except the deception does not go as planned, and love begins to blossom instead.
- Once a Princess (1991)
- You Belong to Me (1995)
Sherring Cross Books
This is another historical romance series that takes place in Regency England. It begins as Megan Penworthy sets her sights on Ambrose St. James for marriage. Even though she has never met him, no other suitor will do, not even the handsome horse breeder Devlin Jefferys.
Except Sir Ambrose is posing as the lowborn Jefferys and vows to seduce Megan, never imagining that it would soon be his own heart on the line. The other two books feature new pairings and passionate affairs.
- Man of My Dreams (1993)
- Love Me Forever (1995)
- The Pursuit (2002)
Reid Family / Locke Family Books
This next series is also a family saga that takes place in Regency England. Similar to the Sherring Cross books, it also features handsome Scottish men and London society. Each book in this series follows a new pairing. However, main characters from later books do appear in earlier ones, and vice versa, so it is best to read these books in order of publication if you intend to read them all.
- The Heir (2000)
- The Devil Who Tamed Her (2007)
- A Rogue of My Own (2009)
- Let Love Find You (2012)
Callahan-Warren Books
Finally, the last series on our list of the Johanna Lindsey books in order are the Callahan-Warren books. Each book in the trilogy follows a new pairing against the background of America in the late-1800s.
It begins with an arranged marriage to end a family feud between the Callahans and Warrens. The other two books in the series then follow minor characters from the background on their own journey towards true love.
- One Heart to Win (2013)
- Wildfire In His Arms (2015)
- Marry Me By Sundown (2018)
About Johanna Lindsey
Johanna Lindsey wrote her first book on a whim. However, that whim lead to a career that spanned more than 40 years. Throughout that time, Lindsey wrote more than 50 additional books and sold at least 60 million copies.
Writing in the 1980s, Lindsey said that she was a romantic ever since she was old enough to appreciate a good novel. More than anything she enjoyed reading happily-ever-afters.
That is not to say that the path to the happily-ever-afters in her novels was straight-forward. As you will see throughout the Johanna Lindsey books in order, many of her heroes and heroines must first navigate a path of deception before love can prevail.
Particularly in her books from the first few decades of her career, her writing follows the themes and tropes of the larger historical romance genre at that time. This means that those earlier works feature strong themes of abduction, seduction, and surrender, which at times includes rape.
Other themes that she wrote about include revenge and marriages of conveniences. Lindsey favors strong heroines and roguish male leads in her books, but her frequent kidnapping trope also flips the expected gender roles in a few instances.
Lindsey wrote most of her books in the setting of 19th-century England, but also wrote about the American frontier, the Caribbean, and a fictional planet. She wrote science fiction romances along with medieval and Viking romances alongside her Western and Regency novels.
So, regardless of which subgenre of romance you prefer, there should absolutely be a Johanna Lindsey book which captures your attention in the list of all her books below.
Looking for more books in order?
If you want more romance authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Romance Books in Order index.
One thought on “Johanna Lindsey Books in Order: Ultimate Guide”
I would love to have Books 1&2 of Ly-San-Ter series on audible.