Welcome to our Romance Rewind series! In this series we reminisce about older completed series we love and think people should give a try. We are getting a bit magical with this series, it’s Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas. It’s a beautiful series of books, heart warming, emotional and all with a hint of magic.
Updated February 2023
Dip your toe in some magic with Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas
It’s no secret that we are massive fans of Lisa Kleypas here at Under the Covers. However, we usually like to rave about her historical romances. But, Kleypas’ skills aren’t limited to just that genre. She has also brought out a fantastic contemporary romance series with a twist of magical realism: the Friday Harbor series.
The Friday Harbor series is a unique and charming where each book has a hint of magic. Not to the extent that you think you’ve entered the paranormal romance series. But, with a light magical touch that makes the every day seem fantastical. Kleypas’ infusion of the mystical really added to the atmosphere of the books and enhanced each of the love stories. But, it isn’t the magic or even the adorable small town setting that sets this series out from the crowd: it’s Kleypas’ expert hand at crafting relationships and love stories. No matter what the genre her writing and character development are second to none, it’s impossible not to fall in love with her heroes and heroines.
So, if you haven’t tried Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas, give it a go! It’s uplifting and poignant stories are perfect for all times of the year, but they seem particularly special during the holiday season.
If you like this, you may want to check out some of these:
Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas reading order
Friday Harbor #1
Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor
by Lisa Kleypas
Christmas Eve at Friday Habor was a book that warmed my heart. I loved it. Kleypas’ cunning wit and endearing characters jump out of the pages and settles in your heart
publisher’s synopsis
One rain-slicked night, six-year-old Holly lost the only parent she knew, her beloved mother Victoria. And since that night, she has never again spoken a word.
The last thing Mark Nolan needs is a six-year-old girl in his life. But he soon realizes that he will do everything he can to make her life whole again. His sister’s will gives him the instructions: There’s no other choice but you. Just start by loving her. The rest will follow.
Maggie Collins doesn’t dare believe in love again, after losing her husband of one year. But she does believe in the magic of imagination. As the owner of a toy shop, she lives what she loves. And when she meets Holly Nolan, she sees a little girl in desperate need of a little magic.
Three lonely people. Three lives at the crossroads. Three people who are about to discover that Christmas is the time of year when anything is possible, and when wishes have a way of finding the path home.
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Friday Harbor #2
Rainshadow Road
by Lisa kleypas
Kleypas has a way to sneaking into one’s heart and settling in there with her words and characters. Rainshadow Road is no exception.
publisher’s synopsis
Lucy Marinn is a glass artist living in mystical, beautiful, Friday Harbor, Washington. She is stunned and blindsided by the most bitter kind of betrayal: her fiancé Kevin has left her. His new lover is Lucy’s own sister. Lucy’s bitterness over being dumped is multiplied by the fact that she has constantly made the wrong choices in her romantic life. Facing the severe disapproval of Lucy’s parents, Kevin asks his friend Sam Nolan, a local vineyard owner on San Juan Island, to “romance” Lucy and hopefully loosen her up and get her over her anger. Complications ensue when Sam and Lucy begin to fall in love, Kevin has second thoughts, and Lucy discovers that the new relationship in her life began under false pretenses.
Questions about love, loyalty, old patterns, mistakes, and new beginnings are explored as Lucy learns that some things in life—even after being broken—can be made into something new and beautiful.
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friday harbor #3
Dream Lake
by Lisa Kleypas
When I finished it, I had to put the book down, take a deep breath, wipe the tears from my eyes and then text everyone I know about this amazing book they just have to read!
publisher’s synopsis
They say that opposites attract. But what happens when one of them has been devastated by betrayal and the other is so damaged and jaded that his heart is made of stone?
Alex Nolan is about as bitter and cynical as they come. One of three Nolan brothers who call Friday Harbor home, he’s nothing like Sam or Mark. They actually believe in love; they think the risk of pain is worth the chance of happiness. But Alex battles his demons with the help of a whiskey bottle, and he lives in his own private hell. And then, a ghost shows up. Only Alex can see him. Has Alex finally crossed over the threshold to insanity?
Zoë Hoffman is as gentle and romantic as they come. When she meets the startlingly gorgeous Alex Nolan, all her instincts tell her to run. Even Alex tells her to run. But something in him calls to Zoë, and she forces him to take a look at his life with a clear eye and to open his mind to the possibility that love isn’t for the foolish.
The ghost has been existing in the half-light of this world for decades. He doesn’t know who he is, or why he is stuck in the Nolans’ Victorian house. All he knows is that he loved a girl once. And Alex and Zoë hold the key to unlocking a mystery that keeps him trapped here.
Zoë and Alex are oil and water, fire and ice, sunshine and shadow. But sometimes it takes only a glimmer of light to chase away the dark, and sometimes love can reach beyond time, space, and reason to take hold of hearts that yearn for it…
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friday harbor #4
Crystal Cove
by lisa kleypas
publisher’s synopsis
One woman who has been cursed never to find love . . .
One man without a soul who wants her more than life itself . . .
They meet in a small island town in the pacific northwest, where magic is in the air and fate is a force too powerful to defy. . . .
Justine Hoffman has made a comfortable life for herself on the island of Friday Harbor. She is the proprietor of a successful boutique hotel, and she has the safe, predictable life she has always wanted. Growing up with her flighty, nomadic mother, Marigold, has instilled in her a deep longing for stability. But in spite of everything Justine has achieved, there is still something missing. Love. And after years of waiting and dreaming, she is willing to do whatever it takes to change her destiny.
What Justine soon discovers is that someone cast a spell on her when she was born, with the result that she will never find her soul mate. Determined to change her fate, Justine finds a way to break the enchantment, never dreaming of the dangerous complications that will follow.
And when Justine meets the mysterious Jason Black, she accidentally unleashes a storm of desire and danger that threaten everything she holds dear . . . because Jason has secrets of his own, and he wants more from her than fate will ever allow.
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Ive not heard of this series but lisa kleypas is a hit or miss for me.
Thanks for the post. I haven’t tried this series.
I bought the first book last week, looking forward to reading it
Fabulous series!!! I love these books!!! This is one of my very favorite series and Lisa kleypas is a fabulous storyteller!! Shared on all my socials!??