Country Roads Books In Order

Publication Order of Country Roads Books

Born in Florida, Shannon Richard’s upbringing was that of someone destined to go into writing. Raised by a mother who professed the joys of reading and a father who inspired the art of being a wordsmith through his love of music, Shannon Richard was bound to end up in a field which required a knack for words. This led to Shannon receiving a degree in English literature from Florida State University in Florida’s capital, Tallahassee. Shannon still finds a home in Tallahassee, a base from where she considers modern love and writes about the various elements associated with contemporary romance. Life in the South plays a part in her writing pursuits as her Country Roads series finds a base in the fictional setting of Mirabelle, Florida. Her draw to penning romance novels can be attributed to the fantastic depiction of a Southern gentleman in Fitzwilliam Darcy, from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Throughout her novelistic debut series, Country Roads, she finds her characters and situations in the everyday lives of people in the South. The Country Roads series having played out the lives of a number of characters across its eight-book run finds its closing in the final instalment, Untold, set to be release on September 5th.

Book Information

The Country Roads series by Shannon Richard is a blend of romance and coming-of-age novels in a contemporary context. Inspired by her Florida upbringing, author Shannon Richard uses the cultural norms and ideals she experienced growing up as the basis upon which the romance of the series is based. The Country Roads series depicts the nuances of dating in modern times through a myriad of stories which both beautifully and agonizingly portray the human condition. The series directs its attention on a number of female protagonists throughout the eight books. The books play across a number of story lines each intersecting at the crossroads of love and the struggles associated with finding love in our modern era. Shannon Richard writes these stories in the context of the fictional town of Mirabelle, Florida. Through the series, she unpacks the nuances of daily life in a small town in the South. The Country Roads series explores a variety of characters which are explored in a variety of circumstances and situations which showcase the best and worst of everyday life. Through the Country Roads series, the reader will encounter a number of female protagonists who unpack the highs and lows of finding romance amongst the ongoing daily life of a small town. Undone was Shannon Richard’s first release in her Country Roads series, publishing this tale of contemporary romance in July 2013.

The Country Roads series begins its foray into modern love with Undone, the tale of Paige Morrison moving from the big city life of Philadelphia to Mirabelle, Florida. Following a series of mishaps and unfortunate events, Paige is forced to move back to her home town where her parents reside. The small town of Mirabelle, population five thousand, is a far cry from the urban experience of inner city Philadelphia for Paige. While it may seem that everything is going wrong for Paige, like most small towns, Mirabelle has some magic to it. As Paige comes to terms with her changing circumstances, she meets the town auto mechanic, Brendan. Brendan is the Southern hunk Paige could not account for and suddenly, her life is thrust into limbo as she tries to adjust to the burgeoning new romance. Brendan and Paige’s romance allows Paige to find her place within the fabric of Mirabelle and slowly become accustomed to small town living again. With Brendan, Paige is able to begin working again as she finds employment in Mirabelle. Her growth continues as the relationship brings new friends into her life and with that a stability she was not expecting to find in her childhood town. Paige, through these changes, is most importantly able to restore a level of happiness which she had lost in the transition from Philadelphia to Mirabelle. However, things are not always perfect. The romance between Brendan and Paige while strong from the outset, encounters problems which we, as humans, are prone to facing. Paige must come to grips with the reality that love and romance are not always as perfect as we could hope. In this, she grows as a person. The acts of self-growth through the highs and lows of love seen throughout the book are examples Shannon Richard’s wonderful explorations of the human condition. This shines throughout the Country Roads series.

Following from Undone, Shannon Richard’s second novel in the Country Roads series is Undeniable. Mirabelle once again plays centre stage to the joys and pains of romance in this contemporary take on modern love. Richard King, the town’s auto mechanic, has found love in the return of Paige Morrison to her childhood town. Richard’s sister, Grace King, joins Paige as a strong, female protagonist in the Country Roads series as she is the star of Undeniable. Grace King is your typical Southern belle; blonde hair, blue eyes, the lot. The pull of small-town romance attracts Grace as the town sheriff, Jaxson Anderson, catches her eye and her heart. The love is no one-sided affair as Jaxson sees the beauty that is Grace and has to come to terms with fancying his best friend’s little sister. However, Jaxson, as the town sheriff, plays an important role in the social fabric of Mirabelle. He is required to remain a moral and ethical role model which the town residents can associate with. However, the pull of love is strong, and the allure of Grace’s beauty is not one easy to ignore. Jaxson’s feelings lie at the crossroads between running the rumor mill of a small, Southern town and losing out on being with the enigma that is Grace King. In Grace’s eyes, the decision needs to made as to whether Jaxson is going to devote his love to her or maintain an arm’s distance in order to remain favorable in the eyes of the town. Undeniable looks at the idea of a forbidden love and how a contemporary context can change notions surrounding this idea. Shannon Richard toys with readers’ heart as she plays between the ideals of love and romance while considering the ramifications love has on a broader community. Through these moments, the author offers new ways of thinking when understanding social roles and how social roles in a small town are created. Undeniable also provides an element of mystery as Sheriff Jaxson is forced to do some detective work into a string of break-ins which have affected the generally well-to-do town of Mirabelle.