Books like “It Ends with Us”

What to read after “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
Every Summer After
Carley Fortune · 2022
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Second Chance Romance
- Friends to Lovers
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.
2
Normal People
Sally Rooney · 2018
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
- 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.
3
Before We Were Strangers
Renée Carlino · 2015
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Second Chance Romance
- Friends to Lovers
In college, Matt and Grace were inseparable neighbours in their NYU dorm who fell in love, until lost contact after graduation pulled them apart. Fifteen years later, a missed-connections post brings Grace back into his life, and the two have one chance to understand what happened and decide whether their story is really over.
4
Love and Other Words
Christina Lauren · 2018
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Second Chance Romance
- Friends to Lovers
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.
5
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Benjamin Alire Sáenz · 2012
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
- Friends to Lovers
In 1987 El Paso, two Mexican American boys meet at a swimming pool and slowly become friends. Over long summers they share books, secrets and fears, and each begins to understand the love and longing he has been afraid to name.
6
One Day in December
Josie Silver · 2018
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Friends to Lovers
- Love Triangle
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.
7
Me Before You
Jojo Moyes · 2012
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
Bubbly Lou takes a job caring for Will, a wealthy young man left paralysed after an accident and bitter about the life he has lost. As she tries to show him there is still joy worth living for, the two of them change each other in ways neither expected.
8
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky · 1999
Similar atmosphere: “Melancholic”
- Melancholic
- Friends to Lovers
Through letters to a stranger, shy teenager Charlie describes his first year of high school. He is taken in by a group of older friends who introduce him to music, love and heartbreak, even as he struggles with grief and memories he cannot fully face.
9
The Ugly Duchess
Eloisa James · 2012
Similar plot moves: “Second Chance Romance” and “Friends to Lovers”
- Second Chance Romance
- Friends to Lovers
Lady Theodora Saxby weds her childhood friend James, Duke of Ashbrook, in a marriage meant to save their families. When his secret betrayal comes to light he flees abroad, and years later returns a changed man, forcing them to decide what their convenient marriage is really worth.
10
The Co-op
Tarah DeWitt · 2022
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Second Chance Romance
LaRynn and Deacon married young, divorced, and hoped never to see each other again. When they inherit a crumbling building that must be renovated before it can be sold, they are stuck working side by side and confronting why they failed the first time.
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 Roommate
Rosie Danan · 2020
Same genre: “Contemporary romance”
- Friends to Lovers
Clara leaves her buttoned-up East Coast life to move across the country to the man of her dreams, only to find he has sublet her room to someone else. Sharing the apartment with easygoing Josh, whose job would scandalise her family, forces an uneasy friendship that slowly becomes more.