Last checked: 31 October 2026. Part of LRR’s sapphic romance reading orders.
Haley Cass self-published her first book in March 2020, a 564-page slow burn about a closeted deputy mayor and a grad student, and word of mouth did the rest: it’s closing in on 28,000 Goodreads ratings, which is a lot for a self-published sapphic romance. Six years and fourteen books later she has a trade deal with Atria, and her backlist has turned into a small tangle of novellas, spin-offs and one alternate-universe retelling.
That tangle is why this page exists. Cass’s books are long (most run 440 to 560 pages, or 16 to 21 hours on audio), explicit, and they stick with you. Lori Prince narrates almost all of them, and plenty of readers will tell you the audio is the best way in.
Start here: Those Who Wait. Short on time? When You Least Expect It, at 248 pages, is the usual alternative.
Every book in publication order
| # | Book | Year | Series | Couple | Heat | Ending | Eikna |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Those Who Wait | Mar 2020 | Those Who Wait #1 | Sutton & Charlotte | L4 (V) | HEA | 4.0 |
| 2 | When You Least Expect It | Nov 2020 | WYLEI #1 | Caroline & Hannah | L3 (V) | HEA | 4.5 |
| 3 | Forever and a Day (novella) | 2020 | Those Who Wait #1.5 | Sutton & Charlotte | L4 (E) | HEA | 4.1p |
| 4 | In the Long Run | Nov 2021 | Standalone | Taylor & Brooke | L4 (E) | HEA | 4.0p |
| 5 | Down to a Science (novella) | Jun 2022 | On the Same Page companion | Ellie & Mia | L4 (E) | HEA (confirm) | 3.9p |
| 6 | Better Than Expected (novella) | Oct 2022 | WYLEI #2 | Hannah & Caroline | L2 to L3 (E) | HEA | 4.0p |
| 7 | On the Same Page | Oct 2023 | On the Same Page #1 | Riley & Gianna | L4 (V) | HEA | 4.4 |
| 8 | The Next Chapters (novella) | Sep 2024 | On the Same Page | Riley & Gianna | L3 (E) | HEA | 4.0p |
| 9 | The Snowball Effect | Oct 2024 | Those Who Wait #2 | Regan & Emma | L4 (V) | HEA | 4.1 |
| 10 | Midnight Rain | Mar 2025 | Those Who Wait #3 (alternate universe) | Charlotte & Sutton | L4 (V) | HEA | 4.3 |
| 11 | The Whole Truth | 2026 | The Whole Truth #1 | Juliet & Darcy | not confirmed | not confirmed | 4.3p |
| 12 | The B Side (novella) | 2026 | The Whole Truth #1.5 | Juliet & Darcy | not confirmed | n/a | 4.3p |
| 13 | Between the Lines | 16 Feb 2027 | Standalone (Atria) | Alyssa & Whitney | n/a | n/a | Forthcoming |
Heat runs from L1 (kisses only) to L5 (very explicit). V = from an LRR review, A = the author’s own label, E = our estimate. Bold scores come from LRR reviews; a “p” score is provisional (Goodreads average minus 0.2) until we review the book.
“p” = provisional score (Goodreads average minus 0.2) until LRR reviews the book. A “Those Who Wait: Bonus Content” collection of outtakes (2022) also exists and is optional.
The Those Who Wait universe, untangled
This is the part people get wrong, so here it is plainly:
- Those Who Wait (Sutton and Charlotte meet and fall in love)
- Forever and a Day, a novella epilogue for the same couple
- The Snowball Effect, a new couple: Regan, Sutton’s best friend, and Emma
- Midnight Rain, the same couple as book 1 in an alternate timeline, where Charlotte never came out and the two meet again a decade later
Read Those Who Wait first, no exceptions. Midnight Rain only works as a “what if” against the original.
Those Who Wait (2020). Charlotte Thompson, New York’s 28-year-old deputy mayor, is running for Congress and keeps her love life out of sight. Sutton Spencer, 25, is a hopeless romantic in grad school. They match on a dating app, agree to be friends, and fail at it. – Tropes: dating-app meet, friends to lovers, friends with benefits, slow burn, closeted politician, opposites attract, experienced and inexperienced – Heat: L4 (romance.io 4/5), frequent and explicit – Content notes: a non-consensual outing, a month-long separation, miscommunication, a bullying sibling, a power imbalance – Rep: lesbian leads – Eikna 4.0 (LRR review). Goodreads 4.35 from 27,983, her most-read book
The Snowball Effect (2024). With Sutton away in Rome, Regan needs a roommate, and the only option is Emma, who has disliked her for two years. When Emma’s estranged mother shows up and assumes they’re together, Regan cheerfully plays along. – Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, one-sided enemies to lovers, fake dating, roommates, slow burn, no big miscommunication – Heat: L4 – Content notes: parental neglect and estrangement, an anaphylaxis and hospital scene – Rep: ADHD lead (diagnosed as an adult) – Eikna 4.1 (LRR review). Goodreads 4.36 from about 12,500. Readers flag typos
Midnight Rain (2025). Charlotte is now a 40-year-old senator, quietly out. Sutton is a tenured literature professor, divorced, with a kid. More than ten years after their affair ended, they’re thrown back together. – Tropes: second chance, reunion, alternate universe, politician, single mom, slow burn – Heat: L4, including a semi-public scene – Eikna 4.3 (LRR review). Goodreads 4.61, her highest average. The most common complaint: about 150 pages too long
When You Least Expect It (two books, one couple)
When You Least Expect It (2020). Caroline, a Boston divorce attorney who hates Christmas, meets Hannah on Christmas Eve, then finds out Hannah is married to her professional rival. Months later she’s handling Hannah’s divorce, and falling for a woman she’s sure is straight. – Tropes: slow burn, lawyer and client, later-in-life discovery, single mom, holiday, only one bed – Heat: L3, brief scenes. Her mildest novel – POV: Caroline only – Eikna 4.5 (LRR review), the highest LRR score in this whole cluster. Goodreads 4.25 from about 20,900
Better Than Expected (2022) retells the romance from Hannah’s side and carries on past the ending. Read it second.
On the Same Page (plus two novellas)
On the Same Page (2023). Riley and Gianna have been best friends, and occasional bedmates, since college. Gianna doesn’t do relationships. A mix-up at a holiday party forces Riley to figure out what she actually wants. – Tropes: best friends to lovers, friends with benefits, roommates, dual timeline (college and present), later-in-life realization, pining – Heat: L4 – Content notes: past parental death, brief biphobia, alcohol, a positive coming out – Rep: bisexual and queer leads – Eikna 4.4 (LRR review). Goodreads 4.31 from about 17,900
Down to a Science (2022) follows Riley’s sister Ellie and can be read before or after. The Next Chapters (2024) is Riley and Gianna’s married life.
The standalone and the new books
In the Long Run (2021). Taylor, a 44-year-old travel blogger, comes home to small-town Tennessee and can’t stop needling Brooke, the city manager who’s known her forever. Sapphic women in their forties, a one-night stand, a grudging partnership. – Tropes: small town, prodigal returns, grumpy/sunshine, one-night stand to lovers, slow burn, minor age gap – Heat: about L4 per reviews. Narrated by Anastasia Watley, her only book not voiced by Lori Prince – Goodreads 4.22 from 8,625
The Whole Truth (2026). Two country music stars, polished Juliet and bold newcomer Darcy, are public rivals forced into a collaboration. It turns into a secret affair with rules. The B Side follows them going public. – Tropes: rivals to lovers, music industry, secret relationship, forced proximity – Audio: Lori Prince and Bailey Carr (dual narration) – Goodreads 4.50 from 3,622
Between the Lines (16 February 2027, Atria). Alyssa sleeps with a stranger days before starting a new faculty job in upstate New York. The stranger is Dr. Whitney Hart: her assigned mentor, mid-divorce from the man whose job Alyssa just took. – Tropes: academia, workplace, one-night stand to lovers, mentor and mentee, slow burn, divorcée – 464 pages, trade paperback
Kindle Unlimited
Readers regularly report reading Cass’s self-published books on Kindle Unlimited, but KU enrollment changes. Check the Amazon listing on the day you publish and give the date. See LRR’s sapphic Kindle Unlimited ranking.
FAQs
What order should I read Haley Cass’s books in? Start with Those Who Wait, then Forever and a Day, The Snowball Effect and Midnight Rain. Her other series (When You Least Expect It, On the Same Page, The Whole Truth) are separate and can be read any time.
Is Midnight Rain a sequel to Those Who Wait? No. It’s an alternate-universe version of the same couple, asking what would have happened if Charlotte never came out. Read Those Who Wait first.
Is Something to Talk About by Haley Cass? No, it’s by Meryl Wilsner (2020). They’re often recommended together.
Are Haley Cass’s books spicy? Yes. Most sit at L4 (explicit open door). When You Least Expect It is the gentlest at L3.
What is Haley Cass’s new book? The Whole Truth came out in 2026. Her first traditionally published novel, Between the Lines, comes from Atria on 16 February 2027.
Related on LRR
Books Like Those Who Wait and When You Least Expect It. Sibling guides: Lee Winter, Jae, Ashley Herring Blake.