If you liked
Books like People We Meet on Vacation
by Emily Henry
People We Meet on Vacation is the Emily Henry friends-to-lovers built on a decade of summer trips and one fight that broke everything. Banter, longing, and two people too scared to say it. If you want more smart, warm romance and love stories with a brain, read on.
The shortlist
What to read next
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugoby Taylor Jenkins Reid
“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 2017 review. An aging Hollywood icon agrees to tell the true story of her career and her seven marriages, but only to an unknown journalist. The TikTok-era literary fiction novel that defined contemporary Hollywood-memoir-fiction.”
It Ends with Usby Colleen Hoover
“Colleen Hoover at her most daring. A romance that refuses to be comfortable, and is more powerful for it.”
Lessons in Chemistryby Bonnie Garmus
“Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus 2022 review. Elizabeth Zott, a chemist pushed out of academic research in the early 1960s, becomes the unlikely host of a hit cooking show. A debut novel that became the basis for the Apple TV+ adaptation with Brie Larson.”
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrowby Gabrielle Zevin
“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 2022 review. Three decades of creative collaboration between two video-game designers. The breakout literary commercial novel of 2022 and one of the canonical contemporary novels about friendship and work.”
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikryby Gabrielle Zevin
“The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 2014 review. A curmudgeonly bookstore owner finds a two-year-old left in his shop. Zevin's literary commercial breakout before Tomorrow x3.”
Hello Beautifulby Ann Napolitano
“Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano 2023 review. Four sisters in 1980s Chicago and the graduate-student basketball player who marries into the family. Napolitano's breakout literary commercial novel.”
FAQ
Common questions about People We Meet on Vacation read-alikes
- I want a love story with a great hook.
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid frames a sweeping romance inside a fictional starlet's tell-all, and it is impossible to put down. It is more epic than Emily Henry's contemporary rom-com, but the swoon and the heartbreak are all there.
- I want romance that goes to a darker place.
- It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover starts as contemporary romance and turns hard toward abuse and hard choices. Not a beach read, but the most-recommended emotional romance if you want more weight.
- I want the will-they-wont-they about creative partners.
- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin centers a decades-long, romance-adjacent bond between two video-game makers, all longing and missed timing. It hits the same ache as People We Meet on Vacation's slow-motion almost.
- I want the warmth without the will-they.
- Lessons in Chemistry, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry and Hello Beautiful are the feel-good picks: funny, tender, a little sad, and easy to hand to a friend. Romance is in the mix but the heart is the whole point.
The original