Are you looking forward to reading the Kristin Hannah books in order? Kristin Hannah writes immersive, emotional, and excellent fiction.
Kristin Hannah is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 books, so there is plenty available for you to read.
As well, Firefly Lane, starring Sarah Chalke and Katherine Heigl, is a top watched series on Netflix adapted from Kristin’s books. Fans of the Firefly Lane adaptation have all the more reason to add Kristin Hannah’s books to their reading list.
Kristin Hannah Books in Order
There are two ways to read the Kristin Hannah books in order. The first way is to just pick any random book and read it. All of Kristin Hannah’s books, with the exception of the Firefly Lane series, are standalones.
But to make it easier for you, I’ve listed the Kristin Hannah books in order of publication below.
Who is Kristin Hannah?
Before Kristin Hannah became a bestselling author, while she was in her third year of law school, her mother foretold that Hannah would be a writer. At the time her mother was terminally ill with advanced breast cancer, but together they began to write a historical romance during Hannah’s daily visits after class.
After her mother died Hannah didn’t immediately pursue writing as a career. She became a lawyer and it wasn’t until she was on bed rest while pregnant that Hannah put pen to paper to tell a story once again. She hasn’t looked back since.
While Hannah says she does not miss practicing law, the discipline from her days as a lawyer influence how she approaches a new writing project. In the beginning of her writing career, she would prepare lengthy character biographies and a strict outline. However, Hannah now favors writing with a loose plan for the story after a few months of research.
She also still writes all of her books long-hand with a pen and paper.
During the past 30 years, Hannah has won many awards for her writing, including the Golden Heart, the Maggie, and the National Reader’s Choice Award.
Kristin Hannah Books in Order – Standalones
The books on Kristin Hannah’s website are broken into two categories. Her primary works and her earlier books. The first set below, marked as her earlier books, are out of print. You may still be able to find them used, and we will link to them, but it’s possible for them to be sold out or there will be no option for Kindle.
Earlier Works
- A Handful of Heaven (1991)
- The Enchantment (1992)
- Once in Every Life (1992)
- If You Believe (1993)
- When Lightning Strikes (1994)
- Waiting for the Moon (1995)
Primary Books
- Home Again (1996)
- On Mystic Lake (1999)
- Angel Falls (2000)
- Summer Island (2001)
- Distant Shores (2002)
- Between Sisters (2003)
- The Things We Do for Love (2004)
- Comfort and Joy (2005)
- Magic Hour (2006)
- True Colors (2009)
- Winter Garden (2010)
- Night Road (2011)
- Home Front (2012)
- The Nightingale (2015)
- The Great Alone (2018)
- The Four Winds (2021)
- The Women (2024)
Kristin Hannah Books in Order – Firefly Lane Series
- Firefly Lane (2008)
- Fly Away (2013)
Are There Any Kristin Hannah Adaptations?
There have been many adaptations of Kristin Hannah’s books. As mentioned, Firefly Lane is one such adaptation with two popular seasons. As well, Home Front, The Great Alone, and The Nightingale have also been optioned for films.
Unfortunately, after a bumpy road, another release date for Kristin Hannah’s popular 2015 novel, The Nightingale, has come and gone. The rights were first acquired by Sony TriStar Pictures back in 2015, but the years since have seen the creative team change multiple times over. The film has had several release dates over the years, dating back to August 2018, but the latest release date was December 23, 2022.
Rumors are circling about a 2023 release.
The adaptation, which bears the same name as the novel, will star real-life sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning as siblings Vianne Mauriac and Isabelle Rossignol respectively. This will be the first time that the Fanning sisters appear on screen alongside one another.
The Nightingale takes place in France at the outset of the Second World War. It is a story of two sisters — different in ideals, experiences, and circumstances — as they embark on their own journey of survival amidst the war.
Vianne, the eldest, is a school teacher in a small town when her husband is drafted to the frontlines. Almost disbelievingly, Vianne and her daughter intimately experience the German occupation of France, with the requisition of their home.
Meanwhile, Vianne’s younger sister Isabelle is a rebellious eighteen-year-old at the start of the Second World War. When she is betrayed by a man she thought she loved, Isabelle joins the French Resistance and risks her life to save others.
The Nightingale is a New York Times bestseller. In addition to being published in 45 languages, it has sold more than three million copies in the US alone.
Summary of Kristin Hannah’s Books
1. A Handful of Heaven
Yukon Territory is a gold miner’s heaven, and Devon O’Shea comes to claim her share. But instead of a thriving store in a boomtown, Devon discovers that she partly owns a filthy, disorganized tent with many gold diggers and a mean partner: Stone Man McKenna.
In sheer determination, she takes a mop and pail and vows to make this post the best place in Yukon Territory. Stone Man doesn’t scare her anymore. However, his kiss trying to convince her that Yukon is no place for a lady leaves her feeling feminine and alive for the first time in her life.
2. The Enchantment
Emmaline Harris was a beautiful and brilliant Wall Street financier in the 19th Century until the crash of 1893 wipes her out completely. Without her family, friends, or money, she takes a risk and joins Dr. Larence Digby in his search for the treasure-filled city of Cibola.
Emmaline does things her own way, but Larence has ideas of his own. Larence is pursued by a deep secret that he has not shared with anyone. In addition, Emmaline is contemptuous of Larence’s ideas and despises him for revealing her weakness.
Somehow, in a world full of enchantment, each of them will have to learn to believe. They will have to learn to trust each other with their lives, secrets, and hearts.
3. Once in Every Life
Tess Gregory’s brilliant career as a research scientist hides her longings for husband and child. Though deaf, she is a free-spirited woman full of love and life. Unfortunately, she is struck down all too soon.
But for Tess, a new life begins at her death, in post-Civil War America.
She is now Amarylis Rafferty, wife and mother of three, and alas, she can hear. Shocked and disoriented by her new surroundings, she is drawn into the savage heartache burdening the family, especially her husband Jack, a man who fears himself capable of anything.
4. If You Believe
Mariah Throckmorton was hiding from a past filled with scandal. Mad Dog Stone was a drifter looking for a few days’ work. He walked into her life, threatening Mariah’s peace of mind and stirring emotions she tried to hide.
Their love was born against all odds, challenging to count on, impossible to hold. Together they would learn the bittersweet truth — that love only exists if you believe.
5. When Lightning Strikes
Romance writer Alaina Costanza has given up on fairy tales and dreams. Then one stormy night, without notice, she is plunged back in time to the wild: The Western world of her newest novel. Disoriented and suspicious, she is kidnapped by her character, a ruthless outlaw known as Killian.
However, this “dream” is all too real. Alaina is now a mother desperate to return to the child she left behind, a hundred years into the future. Yet Alaina and Killian discover a love too magnificent to last a single lifetime. For the sake of Alaina’s child, they must risk it all and fight for a future that depends on lightning striking…twice.
6. Waiting for the Moon
She can’t remember who she is or how she got to the mansion on the isolated Maine coast. Lost in a strange world filled with even more unfamiliar faces, Selena finds comfort in a man whose eyes reflect her loneliness. Ian Carrick is the new man who is a brilliant physician turned recluse.
He hides from life in the anonymity of this small sanctuary, haunted by a telepathic gift that has destroyed his desire to heal. Selena learns that she is the only person he’s ever met who is immune to his psychic powers.
A mesmerizing innocent, she turns his life upside down, bringing light into the darkness and laughter into the silence. Ian begins to believe in himself and life again. Unfortunately, a mysterious figure from the past arrives and threatens to destroy their love and the fantasy world they have created together.
7. Home Again
Madelaine Hillyard is a brilliant heart surgeon who is at the top of her game. But her personal life is far less successful. She is a loving but overworked single mom who finds herself constantly at odds with her confused and angry daughter, Lina. Lina is a teenage rebel desperate to find her father, who she has never known.
Complicating matters for Madelaine are the vastly different DeMarco brothers. While priest Francis DeMarco is always ready to lend a helping hand, his brother, Angel, long ago took on the role of bad boy. Years earlier Angel abandoned Madelaine — and fatherhood — to go in search of fame and fortune.
His departure left Madelaine devastated, but now he reappears and seeks help from the very people he betrayed — as a patient in dire need.
8. On Mystic Lake
The only child of Annie Colwater leaves home for school abroad. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he’s in love with another much younger woman. Lonely and afraid, she returns to Mystic, a small Washington town where she grew up. There she rekindles with her first love, Nick Delacroix, a recent widower who cannot cope with his silent, emotionally-scarred six-year-old daughter, Izzie.
Together, the three begin to heal. And, at last, Annie learns that she can love again without losing herself. However, when she has just found a second chance at happiness, her life turns upside down, and Annie must make a choice that no woman should have to make.
9. Angel Falls
When Mikaela Campbell, beloved wife and mother, falls into a coma, it is up to her husband, Liam, to hold the family together and care for their grieving, frightened children. Doctors tell him not to expect a recovery, but he believes that love can accomplish what medical science cannot. Daily he sits at her bedside, telling her stories of the precious life they have built together, hoping against hope that she will wake up.
But then he discovers evidence of his wife’s secret past: A hidden first marriage to movie star Julian True. Desperate to bring Mikaela back at any cost, Liam knows he must turn to Julian for help. But will that choice cost Liam his wife, his family, and everything he holds dear?
10. Summer Island
Years ago, Nora Bridge walked out on her marriage and left her daughters behind. Now she is a famous talk show host. Her daughter Ruby is a struggling comedienne. The two haven’t spoken in more than a decade.
Then a scandal from Nora’s past is exposed, and Ruby is offered a fortune to write a tell-all about her mother. Reluctantly, she returns to the family house on Summer Island, a home filled with frayed memories of joy and heartache.
Confronting a past that includes a never-forgotten love, a sick best friend, and a mother who has harbored terrible family secrets, Ruby finally begins to understand the complex ties that bind a mother and daughter — and the healing that comes with forgiveness.
Conclusion
Have you read the Kristin Hannah books in order? Or are you reading them without following a particular order?
Either way, the fact remains you are reading; however, the publication order helps you follow the her growth as an author without feeling lost. All the best as you read Kristin Hannah’s books!
Looking for more books in order?
You might also like the Bridgerton Books in Order by Julia Quinn.
2 thoughts on “All 20+ Kristin Hannah Books in Order | Ultimate Guide”
Did she write a book named “ Glass Case “
Yes! It was a short story she offered for free to newsletter subscribers back in 2011.