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Guide to Sarah Addison Allen Books in Order (Including Her 2026 Release)
If you love a book that feels like magic is hiding just under the surface of an ordinary Southern town, Sarah Addison Allen is your author. She writes warm, magical realism novels where apple trees throw fruit at people who need it, wallpaper changes overnight, and food can carry a feeling straight into someone’s heart.
- Newest Novel
- All Sarah Addison Allen Books in Order
- Anthologies with Sarah Addison Allen Contributions
- Printable Sarah Addison Allen Book Tracker
- Do you need to read Sarah Addison Allen’s books in order?
- Are There Any Sarah Addison Allen Movies?
- About Sarah Addison Allen
- More Authors & Book Recommendations You’ll Love
After a long wait between books, she’s back with a new novel in 2026. We’ve seen questions about whether her books connect to each other, and which ones you need to read in order, so we’re here to answer all of that and give you a synopsis of each of her books in order of publication!
Newest Novel
Before we get to the full list of books in order, we wanted to briefly highlight Sarah Addison Allen’s latest novel.
Paper Ghosts was released in September of 2026. In the book, Bailey Wester returns to her small North Carolina hometown to reconnect with her estranged grandmother, Willamena, and make sense of the choices that shaped the women in her family. As the story moves between Willamena’s forbidden 1976 romance and Bailey’s present-day homecoming, old griefs and uncanny family secrets slowly rise to the surface.
All Sarah Addison Allen Books in Order
While her novels are almost all standalone, we’ll include details on which should be read in order. Keep in mind that even though the books are cozy and uplifting overall, several deal more directly with grief, family estrangement, and illness than you might expect from the covers.
Anthologies with Sarah Addison Allen Contributions
In addition to her full-length novels and the related short story included above, Sarah Addison Allen has also contributed stories to two installments of a humorous Southern anthology series edited by Deborah Smith.
- More Sweet Tea (2005)
- On Grandma’s Porch (2007)
Printable Sarah Addison Allen Book Tracker
Looking for a printable version of this Sarah Addison Allen book list? Our Buy Me a Coffee BFFs have access to a printable tracker featuring the covers of all her novels, including her 2026 release, Paper Ghosts. Join our membership site today for instant access to your copy, along with some other fun perks!
Do you need to read Sarah Addison Allen’s books in order?
The Sugar Queen, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, The Peach Keeper, Other Birds, and Paper Ghosts stand completely alone, but we’ve noted the books that work better in order below.
Garden Spells Before First Frost
Garden Spells and First Frost are the Waverley Family books, both set in Bascom, North Carolina, and First Frost returns to the same sisters roughly a decade on. While First Frost can stand alone, we recommend reading them in order for the best experience.
Additionally, if you’re planning on reading both Garden Spells and The Peach Keeper, pick up Garden Spells first. Some of those characters make a small appearance in The Peach Keeper.
Waking Kate & Lost Lake
Waking Kate is a short story prequel to Lost Lake, published a month before the novel. It introduces Kate Pheris, the widow at the center of Lost Lake, in a single afternoon’s conversation with an elderly neighbor over a cup of butter coffee. Lost Lake stands entirely on its own, but Walking Kate gives you a feel for who Kate was before the novel begins.
Where We’d Start
Garden Spells remains Sarah Addison Allen’s highest-rated book on Goodreads and would be our top pick for your first SAA read. Other Birds coming in a close second.
If you enjoy reading digital/Kindle books, picking up the free short story Walking Kate would also be a great choice, especially because you can continue on to Lost Lake if you enjoy it.
Are There Any Sarah Addison Allen Movies?
Not that we’ve been able to confirm, but we’d love to see a TV series based on the Waverly family!
About Sarah Addison Allen
Sarah Addison Allen was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, and the mountain South runs through everything she writes — the small towns, the food, the family histories that everyone in town already knows.
Her breakthrough came in 2007 with Garden Spells, a modern-day fairy tale about an enchanted apple tree and the family of North Carolina women who tend it. It became a New York Times bestseller and a Barnes & Noble Recommends selection.
After publishing four bestselling books in five years, Allen stepped back from writing when she was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer in 2011. She returned in 2014 with Lost Lake, and revisited the Waverley sisters the following year in First Frost. Other Birds followed in 2022, and Paper Ghosts arrives in September 2026.
More Authors & Book Recommendations You’ll Love
If you enjoy Sarah Addison Allen’s blend of Southern settings and everyday magic, we think you’ll also enjoy:
- Magical Realism Novels
- Wade Rouse and Viola Shipman Books
- Mary Kay Andrews Books in Order
- Books Set in North Carolina
