Julie Garwood Books in Order: All 35 Titles
Julie Elizabeth Garwood (26 December 1944 - 8 June 2023) was an American romance novelist from Kansas City, Missouri. She published her first adult novel, Gentle Warrior, in 1985 and wrote medieval, Scottish Highland and Regency-era historical romance for the next fifteen years before switching almost entirely to contemporary romantic suspense with Heartbreaker in 2000. She won the 1990 RITA Award for Single Title Historical Romance for The Bride, and had more than 35 million copies of her books in print and at least 24 New York Times bestsellers. Her 1995 novel For the Roses was adapted as the Hallmark Hall of Fame television film Rose Hill (1997). She died at her home in Leawood, Kansas, aged 78.
Do you have to read Julie Garwood in order?
Almost all of Garwood's historicals stand alone, so you can start anywhere in the medieval and Regency books. The two places order matters are the Claybornes (read For the Roses first, then the three Rose novellas, then Come the Spring) and the Highlands' Lairds (read The Secret before Ransom, because Ransom's hero and heroine from the earlier book reappear). The contemporary Buchanan-Renard series has by far the most crossover and should be read from Heartbreaker forward. If you only want the historical romance, stop at Ransom (1999) and add Shadow Music (2007).
Genres and eras: Historical romance from 1985 to 1999 - medieval England, 12th-13th century Scotland, Regency England and one American-West-set family saga - then contemporary romantic suspense from Heartbreaker (2000) onward. The single exception after 1999 is Shadow Music (2007), a late return to the Highlands' Lairds series. Only the pre-2000 titles plus Shadow Music are relevant to a historical romance reading list.
Pen names: Emily Chase — House pseudonym shared by several writers on Scholastic's Girls of Canby Hall young-adult series. Garwood wrote one entry, What's a Girl to Do? (1985), her first published book. Young adult, not romance; excluded from the counts below.
Crown's Spies in order (1988-1993)
Regency-era England, loosely linked by a circle of aristocratic agents of the Crown. Connections are light; each book is a self-contained romance.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Lion's Lady | 1988 |
| 2 | Guardian Angel | 1990 |
| 3 | The Gift | 1991 |
| 4 | Castles | 1993 |
Lairds' Brides in order (1989-1996)
Also catalogued as Lairds' Fiancees. Two Scottish medieval romances about English brides sent north; The Wedding is set a generation apart from The Bride and shares the Kincaid/Buchanan world rather than the same couple.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Bride | 1989 |
| 2 | The Wedding | 1996 |
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Highlands' Lairds in order (1992-2007)
Medieval Scotland. Ransom brings back Iain and Judith from The Secret as secondary characters, so The Secret is best read first. Shadow Music arrived eight years after Ransom and is only loosely attached.
More on the Highlands' Lairds series →
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Secret | 1992 |
| 2 | Ransom | 1999 |
| 3 | Shadow Music | 2007 |
Claybornes' Brides (Rose Hill) in order (1995-1997)
American West / Montana family saga about four orphaned brothers and their adopted sister Mary Rose. For the Roses is the anchor novel; the three Rose titles are short novellas, one per brother, and Come the Spring is a full novel giving the fourth brother, Cole, his story.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | For the Roses | 1995 |
| 2 | One Pink Rose novella | 1997 |
| 3 | One White Rose novella | 1997 |
| 4 | One Red Rose novella | 1997 |
| 5 | Come the Spring | 1997 |
Buchanan-Renard (Buchanan / FBI) in order (2000-2022)
Contemporary romantic suspense, not historical. Heavy crossover of recurring characters (the Buchanan family, FBI agent Alec Buchanan, Dr. Sophie Rose and others), so this is the one Garwood series that genuinely rewards reading in order.
| Book | Title | First published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heartbreaker | 2000 |
| 2 | Mercy | 2001 |
| 3 | Killjoy | 2002 |
| 4 | Murder List | 2004 |
| 5 | Slow Burn | 2005 |
| 6 | Shadow Dance | 2006 |
| 7 | Fire and Ice | 2008 |
| 8 | Sizzle | 2009 |
| 9 | The Ideal Man | 2011 |
| 10 | Sweet Talk | 2012 |
| 11 | Hotshot | 2013 |
| 12 | Fast Track | 2014 |
| 13 | Wired | 2017 |
| 14 | Grace Under Fire | 2022 |
Julie Garwood: standalone novels
These sit outside the numbered series and can be read in any order.
| Title | First published | |
|---|---|---|
| — | Gentle Warrior | 1985 |
| — | Rebellious Desire | 1986 |
| — | A Girl Named Summer | 1986 |
| — | Honor's Splendour | 1987 |
| — | The Prize | 1991 |
| — | Saving Grace | 1993 |
| — | Prince Charming | 1994 |
Where to start with Julie Garwood
The Bride
Her RITA-winning Scottish medieval and the book most readers name as the best entry point to her voice.
The Secret
The strongest of the Highland books and the correct first step into the Highlands' Lairds series.
For the Roses
Best entry if you prefer the American West family saga side of her work; it anchors the whole Clayborne sequence.
Heartbreaker
The place to begin if you want her contemporary romantic suspense rather than her historicals.
Frequently asked questions
Do Julie Garwood's books need to be read in order?
Mostly no. Her historical romances were written as stand-alone stories and the series links are light. The exceptions are the Claybornes (For the Roses before the Rose novellas and Come the Spring), the Highlands' Lairds (The Secret before Ransom) and the contemporary Buchanan-Renard books, which carry recurring characters forward from Heartbreaker.
How many books did Julie Garwood write?
Thirty-five titles under her own name: 31 full-length adult novels, three Clayborne novellas and one young-adult novel. She also wrote one Girls of Canby Hall book, What's a Girl to Do? (1985), under the shared house name Emily Chase. Her last published novel was Grace Under Fire in 2022.
What was Julie Garwood's first book?
Her first published book was the young-adult title What's a Girl to Do? (1985), written as Emily Chase for Scholastic's Girls of Canby Hall series. Her first book under her own name, and her first romance, was the medieval Gentle Warrior, also 1985.
Which Julie Garwood book should I read first?
The Bride (1989) is the usual recommendation. It won the 1990 RITA Award for Single Title Historical Romance, needs no prior reading, and is representative of the humour and Highland setting she is best known for.
Did Julie Garwood stop writing historical romance?
Effectively yes. Ransom (1999) was her last historical of the original run, and from Heartbreaker (2000) she wrote contemporary romantic suspense. She returned to the past once, with Shadow Music in 2007, and then stayed contemporary for the rest of her career.
What order do the Clayborne Brides books go in?
For the Roses (1995), then the three novellas One Pink Rose, One White Rose and One Red Rose (all 1997), then Come the Spring (1997). The three novellas are also sold together as the omnibus The Clayborne Brides, so buying that plus the two novels gives you the complete sequence.
Is there a new Julie Garwood book coming out?
Julie Garwood died in June 2023. In September 2025 Severn House announced it had acquired The Swan, a romantic suspense novel she left unfinished and which her son Bryan Garwood completed. No confirmed publication date had been announced at the time of writing.
How this list was counted
This guide lists 35 titles — 28 across 5 series and 7 outside them. 35 titles published under the name Julie Garwood: 31 full-length adult novels (17 historical, 14 contemporary romantic suspense), 3 historical novellas (the 1997 Clayborne Rose trilogy) and 1 young-adult novel (A Girl Named Summer, 1986). Excludes What's a Girl to Do? (1985), written as Emily Chase; excludes the omnibus The Clayborne Brides, which reprints the three Rose novellas already counted; excludes the announced posthumous novel The Swan, unpublished as of this check.
Publication years are taken from the Wikipedia bibliography and cross-checked against Simon & Schuster and bookseriesinorder.com. One source disagreement worth flagging: bookseriesinorder.com dates Honor's Splendour to 1991, but the Pocket Books first edition and Simon & Schuster's own page date it to 1987, which is what is recorded here. Series naming also varies by source - the two-book Bride/Wedding pairing appears as 'Lairds' Brides' on Wikipedia and 'Lairds' Fiancees' on several list sites, and the Clayborne books appear as 'Claybornes' Brides', 'Clayborne Brides' and 'Rose Hill'. The omnibus The Clayborne Brides is deliberately not listed as a separate work because it only reprints the three 1997 novellas. A Girl Named Summer is listed under standalones for convenience; it is Wildfire #79, a Scholastic teen-romance imprint number rather than a true series position, and it is not historical romance. The Swan, announced by Severn House in September 2025 and completed by Bryan Garwood, is deliberately excluded from total_titles because no published edition could be verified. Several aggregator sites claim the contemporary Buchanan family descends from the Scottish Buchanans of Ransom; that link could not be verified from Garwood or her publishers and is not asserted here.