Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Holiday Hoax | 2022 | Maggie Cole | Buy |
| 2 | Holiday Hire | 2024 | Maggie Cole | Buy |
| 3 | Holiday Rider | 2025 | Maggie Cole | Buy |
The Cartwright Family gives Maggie Cole a chance to write in a lighter register than her mafia and dark romance series. Holiday Hoax (2022), Holiday Hire (2024), and Holiday Rider (2025) are seasonal stories tied to the same family, spread out over a few years rather than released in a single burst.
Holiday romances occupy a specific niche – warm, fun, with a built-in deadline of the holiday season driving the story forward. The Hoax/Hire/Rider naming pattern suggests each book puts the central couple in a scenario with a built-in complication that needs to resolve before the holidays end.
For readers who know Cole from her darker series and want something with a different feel, The Cartwright Family is the clearest alternative she offers. The three-book run is short enough to finish quickly and cheerful enough to serve as a palate cleanser between heavier reads.