This is a feature about Jonathan Anthony Burkett, founder of Upstormed Inc, the parent company of Upstormed News.
Some book series follow a hero from adventure to adventure. Jonathan Anthony Burkett’s Friends 2 Lovers follows a family, and the question that keeps coming back across its ten planned books is a simple one: what actually makes a family?
Earlier this week we looked at his memoir in Neglected But Undefeated: Jonathan Anthony Burkett’s story of faith and endurance, and our Book Spotlight walked through his full 18-title catalog. Today’s feature zooms in on one part of that shelf: the family saga, and the themes its published descriptions point to.
A friendship tested by tragedy
According to the books page on jonathanburkett.com, the series begins with The Unthinkable, in which best friends Claude and Kelly go through tragedy together and face the question of whether their friendship can grow into lasting love. The site describes the whole lineup with one shared idea: every book is about what people do when life knocks them down.
The next two books keep the pressure on the couple. In Closed Doors Open, old relationships and a haunting past put their new life at risk. In Unexpected Consequences, new crises test whether Claude and Kelly can stay true to each other. Those first three books are listed as available now.
From romance to the meaning of family
The seven books listed as coming soon, each with a preview on the site, widen the story from a couple to a family, and the descriptions keep circling the same idea:
- Hidden in Plain Sight opens on a joyful day, the couple’s daughter’s first birthday, when an unexpected photo arrives.
- The Ones We Chose asks a question many adoptive and blended families know well: when two families love the same little girl, who gets to decide what makes a family?
- The Sins of the Father brings a Father’s Day discovery, as Claude learns that the man who raised him is not his biological father.
- A Seat at the Table gathers the family for a Father’s Day dinner on Key Biscayne while the search for the truth continues.
- Flesh and Blood asks what should define a family when biology and legal papers disagree.
- The Whole Truth brings a stunning return: a mother Anthony was told had died is alive and sitting at his table.
- In This One Life, the final book, promises one sealed letter and no more secrets.
Read together, the titles move from secrets toward honesty, and from blood ties toward the people we choose. It is a story about love, but also about forgiveness, belonging and finally telling the truth.
Why family is the thread
Family is never far from Burkett’s writing. His memoir is subtitled, in its shop listing, as the life of a boy who never knew a mother’s love, and his website describes his work as focused on faith, resilience and the idea that people are not defined by where they start. In the saga, those themes take fictional form, with characters forced to decide who they are once the past comes out.
One of the quotes featured on his website could almost serve as the series’ motto:
“Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond who you were.”
Jonathan Anthony Burkett, jonathanburkett.com
Where the saga fits on his shelf
Friends 2 Lovers sits alongside the memoir Neglected But Undefeated, the boxing novel Fighting To Become Champions, and a set of upcoming life-lesson books, several of which share titles with his songs released through Upstormed Records. Burkett’s site links each title to its page on the Upstormed Shop, and Upstormed Inc’s own site says new titles will be announced as they are released.
Why it matters for families
- Stories can open hard conversations. Questions like “who decides what makes a family?” are ones many adoptive, blended and reunited families live with every day.
- Honesty is a theme worth sharing. The series’ path from secrets to truth can spark talks about why trust matters at home.
- Check fit before you share. Parents may want to read the free previews on the author’s site first to decide which books suit their teens.
Read more: Where to Start Reading Jonathan Anthony Burkett: A Guide to His Five Books
Which do you think makes a family: blood, paperwork or the people who show up? Tell us in the comments.
Learn more at jonathanburkett.com
Sources: Jonathan Anthony Burkett, “Books by Jonathan Anthony Burkett”; jonathanburkett.com, home page and quotes; Upstormed Inc, “Upstormed Publishing: the books of Jonathan Anthony Burkett” (October 31, 2026)
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