Books like “Birthday Girl”

What to read after “Birthday Girl” by Penelope Douglas: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
The Idea of You
Robinne Lee · 2017
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Age Gap Romance
- Forbidden Love
Los Angeles gallery owner Solène, thirty-nine, takes her daughter to a boy band meet-and-greet and catches the attention of Hayes, the band's twenty-year-old singer. Their secret relationship soon grows serious, but his fame and the age gap turn their private happiness into a public storm.
2
The Sweetest Oblivion
Danielle Lori · 2018
Similar plot moves: “Age Gap Romance” and “Forced Proximity”
Elena is the favoured, docile daughter of a mafia boss, expected to keep the family's reputation spotless. When her sister is arranged to marry Nicolas Russo, a feared Made Man from a rival family, Elena is drawn into his orbit against her better judgment. He is rude, dangerous and always near, and the attraction between them turns a family alliance into a scandal waiting to happen.
3
Part of Your World
Abby Jimenez · 2022
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Age Gap Romance
- Forbidden Love
ER doctor Alexis is thirty-seven and boxed in by her wealthy surgical family's plans for her. In the small town of Wakan she meets Daniel, a carpenter and mayor nine years younger, and a casual fling turns into a love that neither of their separate worlds seems willing to allow.
4
Funny Feelings
Tarah DeWitt · 2022
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Age Gap Romance
- Slow Burn
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.
5
Twice Shy
Sarah Hogle · 2021
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Forced Proximity
- Slow Burn
Maybell inherits her great-aunt's crumbling house in the Smoky Mountains, only to learn the grouchy groundskeeper Wesley is a co-inheritor with very different plans. Forced to renovate together, the dreamer and the shy, scowling loner slowly find in each other the safety they have always wanted.
6
Things We Never Got Over
Lucy Score · 2022
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Forced Proximity
- Slow Burn
Naomi arrives in the small town of Knockemout to help her estranged twin, who promptly robs her and leaves her stranded with the young niece she never knew she had. With no car, job, or home, she turns for help to Knox, the town's grumpy, bearded barber, who claims he wants nothing to do with anyone but keeps turning up as she starts over.
7
From Lukov with Love
Mariana Zapata · 2018
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Forced Proximity
- Slow Burn
Jasmine's pairs figure-skating career is nearly over when her former partner leaves. The only skater willing to take her on is Ivan Lukov, her longtime rival, and she has no choice but to accept. Months of gruelling shared training force them past years of resentment and into reluctant trust.
8
The Charm Offensive
Alison Cochrun · 2021
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Forced Proximity
- Forbidden Love
Anxious tech genius Charlie is the reluctant star of a reality dating show, and producer Dev is tasked with helping him connect with the contestants. Behind the cameras their unlikely friendship turns into a romance that neither can script.
9
Beach Read
Emily Henry · 2020
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Forced Proximity
- Slow Burn
Romance writer January and literary novelist Gus become summer neighbours in a lakeside town, both blocked and both skeptical of each other's genre. They make a bet to write in the other's style and slowly trade barbs for late-night talks, discovering the grief and hope behind their different worldviews.
10
The Simple Wild
K.A. Tucker · 2018
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Forced Proximity
- Slow Burn
Toronto city girl Calla flies to remote Alaska to see the father she has not seen since her mother took her away as a toddler. There she clashes with Jonah, the proud bush pilot who flies for her father's charter company and thinks she does not belong. Weeks in the unforgiving landscape slowly wear down both their defences.
11
Red, White & Royal Blue
Casey McQuiston · 2019
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Forbidden Love
- Slow Burn
A public spat between the US president's son Alex and Britain's Prince Henry forces their handlers to stage a friendship for the cameras. What starts as reluctant damage control turns into late-night texts and a secret romance that neither man can keep hidden for long.
12
Book Lovers
Emily Henry · 2022
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Forced Proximity
- Slow Burn
Literary agent Nora is the cold city professional that small-town romance novels leave behind, and editor Charlie is her sharp-tongued rival in the same business. When her sister drags her to a North Carolina town for the summer, Charlie turns out to be there too, and their sparring slowly becomes something neither expected.