Books like “Before We Were Strangers”

What to read after “Before We Were Strangers” by Renée Carlino: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
Love and Other Words
Christina Lauren · 2018
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
As teenagers Macy and Elliot spent every weekend trading books in a closet and slowly falling in love, until one night tore them apart. Eleven years later they meet again in San Francisco, and the friendship and heartbreak they buried come rushing back as they decide whether to try once more.
2
One Day in December
Josie Silver · 2018
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Mutual Pining
- Friends to Lovers
Laurie locks eyes with a stranger through a bus window and spends a year searching for him, only to meet him again as her best friend's new boyfriend. Across ten years of friendship, missed chances and other relationships, the two circle a connection they are never free to act on.
3
Happy Place
Emily Henry · 2023
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Mutual Pining
- Second Chance Romance
Harriet and Wyn broke up months ago but still have not told the friends they spend every summer with. Sharing a room at the Maine cottage for one last week, they pretend to be the happy couple they used to be, hiding their split while old feelings refuse to stay buried.
4
Every Summer After
Carley Fortune · 2022
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
Every summer Persephone stayed at the lake and grew up alongside Sam, the boy next door, until one mistake ended everything. Twelve years later she returns for a funeral and finds Sam again, reopening the past they both buried.
5
People We Meet on Vacation
Emily Henry · 2021
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Mutual Pining
- Friends to Lovers
Poppy and Alex have been best friends for years, spending one week of every summer travelling together, until one trip ends in a falling-out. Two years later Poppy suggests one more holiday to repair things, and a week of shared rooms and old memories forces them to face what they never say.
6
Funny Feelings
Tarah DeWitt · 2022
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Mutual Pining
- Friends to Lovers
Stand-up comic Farley and her grumpy manager Meyer have been best friends and secret crushes for years. When a television opportunity requires a stable image, they fake a relationship, and the line between performance and real love disappears.
7
The Cheat Sheet
Sarah Adams · 2021
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Mutual Pining
- Friends to Lovers
Ballet dancer Bree has been secretly in love with her best friend Nathan, a football star, for years. When a publicity plan calls for Nathan to have a girlfriend, Bree agrees to play the role, risking the friendship she cannot imagine losing.
8
It Ends with Us
Colleen Hoover · 2016
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Second Chance Romance
- Friends to Lovers
Lily moves to Boston, opens a flower shop and falls for Ryle, a confident neurosurgeon. Their relationship seems perfect until she notices patterns she recognises from the house she grew up in, and the return of her first love, Atlas, makes her question what she is willing to accept.
9
Normal People
Sally Rooney · 2018
Similar plot moves: “Mutual Pining” and “Second Chance Romance”
Connell and Marianne are drawn together in a small Irish town, then meet again at university in Dublin. Over the years they keep circling each other, hurting and rescuing one another, unable to say plainly what they feel or where they belong.
10
The Wedding Date
Jasmine Guillory · 2018
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Mutual Pining
Stuck in a hotel elevator together at a wedding, Alexa agrees to be Drew's date for the weekend to avoid awkward questions. The pretend couple keeps meeting up in their two cities, and what began as a convenient arrangement becomes something they are both afraid to name.
11
The Kiss Quotient
Helen Hoang · 2018
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Friends to Lovers
Stella, a successful econometrician with autism, finds dating and physical touch bewildering, so she hires escort Michael to tutor her in intimacy. The arrangement is meant to stay businesslike, but their lessons turn into genuine feeling, and both must work through the past before they can trust it.
12
The Love Hypothesis
Ali Hazelwood · 2021
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Mutual Pining
Olive, a third-year biology PhD student, kisses the first man she sees to convince her friend that her dating life is fine, and it turns out to be the famously severe Professor Adam Carlsen. To keep the story convincing, the two agree to fake a relationship, and their staged arrangement slowly becomes real.