Drakes of California Books In Order

Publication Order of The Drakes of California Books

Zuri Day is the national bestselling author of more than 24 novels and a winner of EMMA and AALAS Best Fiction awards. Her work has been featured in many major publications, including USA Today. She has a diverse writing portfolio, with Drakes of California is her largest set of books with ten novels each over two hundred pages long. Zuri Day’s other series include the series Blue Collar Lover, The Morgan Men romance trilogy, and six individual titles. All of these titles focus on finding true love at last. Her largest series, Drakes of California, has turned into a popular romantic getaway for many readers. With a total of 10 books to choose from, lets get a taste by exploring some of the titles below.

The book series starts off by introducing its main character Diamond Drake in Diamond Dreams–a first of many fiery romance tales. The story shows us the Drake’s expansive California vineyard that allows them to live such comfortable, lavish lifestyles. Diamond, though, is no pampered rich woman. She wants to get her fingers dirty working on the family business every day. In her personal life, however, she feels scorned by her past dating experiences and gives up on love. Instead, she focuses all her time and energy on the family business. Then, construction millionaire Jack Wright makes a stunning entrance into her life. Very smooth and passionately intense, is he different than her past lovers? Or are all his large romantic gestures just a cover up for some larger problems? The book takes many emotional twists and turns and really makes you care for the main character. In the end, we feel what she feels, want the best for her, and take a roller coaster ride by her side.

The series then takes a dip into the romantic adventures of the other Drake family members, including the stories of all of the wine dynasty’s siblings. The second book in the series, Champagne Kisses, details the changing love life of Drake Vineyard’s heir, Donovan. He is more in tune with what we would expect from a richer family–fancy cars and a fast lifestyle. No stranger to dating multiple women at once, he shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Quickly, though, he is singing a different tune. When he meets one of his new employees, sparks fly and he must set out to change his ways–if he can! These first two books show the basic writing style of Zuri Day and showcases her creativity in love stories, but the next turns up the heat and shows her ability to write with true passion in each and every word.

The third book is called Platinum kisses. It again focuses on the mix between luxury and love while introducing the next Drake family member, Dexter. He runs the family resort and spa, turning it into a major cash cow that allows him to lead a hedonistic lifestyle. Spending money on the finer things in life, Zuri writes about the power of a man with money, especially in the matters of dating. Often being with many women at once, he is surprised when he finds himself falling for a young doctor staying at the vineyard’s hotel named Faye. She has a much more practical and serious approach to life, having dedicated all her professional time to helping people. He is ready to go all in and settle down with this one, but can he convince her he is serious?

After these first three books lay out the common themes and basic landscape of the series, the novels really branch out into some very colorful backstories. Some of these backstories are described below.

In Solid Gold Seduction, gold is found on the Drake’s property and the middle son, Warren, is unsure what he will even do with all of the extra income this will bring his family. He lives in a more rural area, where he can be left alone on the family’s ranch. He soon might be free of the loneliness he finds on the ranch after he meets his neighbor, Charli. An elegant horserider, he finds her can-do attitude irresistible. She’s a woman who knows what she wants, and makes her intentions with him clear, but there’s a problem–she’s the daughter of the Drake’s enemy family. Her relatives intensely despise the Drakes and she tries to resist Warren for the sake of her family’s feelings. Despite their family differences, he is determined to be with her. The tensions are rising when yet another complication arrives on the scene–robbery of the gold. This turn could bring them together, or drive them apart as Warren directs all his energy to chasing his family’s stolen fortune.

Another interesting plotline in the series is found in Secret Silver Nights. In this story about the third brother’s love life, he tries his hand at local politics, running for the local mayor. His campaign goes smoothly and he feels as though he’s moving towards his life goal of eventually becoming governor. However, he soon suddenly finds himself falling in love with his rival candidate, tossing a wrench in his previous plans. Entrenched in a relationship headed for some serious hurdles, these two candidates are targeted together by a third, unknown party. They must face this rival together, while still remaining at odds with each other in the race. This complex story has extreme highs and lows while also giving readers a moral dilemma to face.

The final series we will go over is Crystal Caresses. This book comes right after Secret Silver nights and takes us to a more exotic location–Alaska! This Drake daughter has turned away from the luxury lifestyle in the other stories and decided to hike it up north. She goes up to the snow covered shelter to be alone, but soon finds herself heating things up with a local business man who saves her in a storm. She learned to fight her way through the cold environment, but can she take the heat? This book is a great example of how interesting the backstories and environments can be in this ten book series.

The first three books in this series lay out the “world” of the wealthy California Drakes–the land they own, family dynamics, and types of people they associate with. The rest of the ten book series, however, takes a deep dive into a diverse set of topics and plotlines. The characters are interesting with unique backgrounds. Zuri Day really makes you engaged in the character’s individual stories with creative, passionate writing taken to new heights. The snapshots outlined above are a good example of the excitement and enjoyment you will find in the California Drakes series.