If You Love Colleen Hoover, You Need To Discover These 15 Authors

Are you a “CoHort” searching for books and authors similar to Colleen Hoover?

If so, welcome!

For you, we’ve curated a list of 15 writers who will quench your thirst for more Hoover-esque storytelling.

Not every book is exactly like a Hoover story, but they all share one thing in common with the bestselling author’s oeuvre, style, and notable themes.

So, without further ado, let’s dive in!

What Kind of Books Does Colleen Hoover Write? 

However you feel about her prose, Colleen Hoover is having a moment. 

Alexandra Alter put it this way in the New York Times: “To say she’s currently the best-selling novelist in the United States, to even compare her to other successful authors who have landed several books on the best seller lists, fails to capture the size and loyalty of her audience.”

Known for her young adult fiction, new adult fiction, and romance titles, Texan Colleen Hoover was the first self-published writer to top the New York Times bestseller list in 2012. Thanks to “BookTok’s” discovery of her 2016 hit, It Ends With Us, she’s recently enjoyed a renaissance, replete with a fandom that calls themselves “CoHorts.”  

Why do people love Hoover’s work? What type of books does she write?

  • Playful and Engaging: Hoover likes to play with reality and fantasy elements, adding dimension to her stories that keep readers fixated on the page.
  • Steamy: If you’re very proper, the way Hoover writes intimate scenes may be a tad too steamy for your taste.
  • Strong Women: Hoover heroines know who they are and aren’t afraid to make mistakes.
  • Variety: Colleen Hoover’s books aren’t carbon copies of each other, and she explores various communities, from “slam poetry” circles to small rural towns.

15 Authors Like Colleen Hoover That You’ll Love 

Are you in search of books like Colleen Hoover books? If so, welcome! We’ve curated a list of options that may fit the bill.

Note that the books we picked to highlight each author may not be their most well-known or even best-written effort, but they’re titles with similarities to at least one of Colleen Hoover’s works.

1. Elle Kennedy

Elle Kennedy is best known for her Off-Campus series, but her oeuvre is extensive. The USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times bestselling author pens contemporary and romantic suspense books out of her home base in Toronto. 

Kennedy made our list because, like Hoover, her novels feature strong leading ladies and bad boy lovers.

Best Book by Elle Kennedy: The Deal

The Deal is the first book of Kennedy’s Off-Campus series. It’s a fun, breezy, first-came-scheme-then-came-love romance plot that grabs readers early on. Are ice hockey guys your thing? Then definitely grab a copy!

2. Oyinkan Braithwaite

You might not find Oyinkan Braithwaite on many lists of Colleen Hoover write-a-likes. Still, we wanted to include the talented Nigerian-British author because her books also feature behaviorally complex characters that don’t always hew to the moral high ground.

In addition to her novels, Braithwait is a prolific short story writer whose work has appeared in McSweeney’s and various Amazon compilations. In 2016, she was shortlisted for the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

Multi-talented and hardworking, Braithwait studied law and honed her skills as an illustrator. She no longer practices law today but does her own cover art.

Best Book by Oyinkan Braithwaite: My Sister, The Serial Killer

Fresh and off-beat, My Sister, The Serial Killer is about the complicated relationship between two sisters who must learn to lean on each other during a particularly harrowing period. Darkly satisfying and laugh-out-loud funny, My Sister moves along at a brisk clip, and it’s tough to put down.

3. Penelope Douglas

New Adult romance, contemporary romance, and erotica are Penelope Douglas’s genres, and she never lets societal taboos hinder the story she wants to tell. 

Fearless in prose and plot, Douglas’s writing is engrossing, relatable, and takes you on a ride ā€” much like Colleen Hoover.

Best Book by Penelope Douglas: Punk 57

Punk 57 is the story of Misha and Ryen, who were mistakenly paired as pen pals when kids. They’ve remained the closest friends ever since, but a tragic accident makes them reconsider their relationship. Praised as “beyond addictive,” Douglas approaches prose in an off-beat, abstract way that’s deeply satisfying.

4. Taylor Jenkins Reid

In recent years, Taylor Jenkins Reid has earned a lot of attention for her historical fiction masterpiece The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but some of her earlier works were women’s fiction titles reminiscent of Colleen Hoover. 

They mainly focused on women in their late twenties navigating sticky situations, learning about themselves, and falling in love.

Reid worked at a high school when she landed her first book deal. And today, she’s one of the more successful authors on the writing scene, branching out to screenplays.

Best Book by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Daisy Jones & The Six

Daisy Jones & The Six was the “it” book of 2019. Everyone was reading it, and Reese Witherspoon’s production company quickly snatched the rights. An excellent pick for fans of “Behind the Music,” Daisy tells the breakup story of an iconic 70s rock band. It’s gripping, perfectly paced, and fantastic for escaping reality for a few hours. 

5. Adam Silvera

Bronx-born, New York Times bestselling author writes young adult fiction filled with emotional turmoil, much like Colleen Hoover.

As a member of the LGBTQA+ community and someone who struggles with depression and borderline personality disorder, Silvera has been a pioneer in “normalizing” discussions about mental health, and his stories incorporate these elements. Resultantly, Queerty named Silvera among their top 50 picks for people “leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people.”

In addition to his solo work, Adam Silvera has also collaborated on books with Becky Albertalli.

Best Book by Adam Silvera: They Both Die at the End

Bittersweet and evocative, They Both Die at the End is oft-described as a “devastating yet uplifting story.” It tackles themes of destiny, friendship, and the meaning of life. Prepare to be moved, and make sure you have Kleenex on hand toward the end.

6. E. Lockhart

Emily Jenkins, who uses the pen name E. Lockhart, is an author of Children’s picture books, young adult, and new adult fiction. She’s best known for her Ruby Oliver series and has also co-authored popular titles with Sarah Mlynowski and Lauren Myracle.

An academic, Jenkins earned a doctorate in English literature from Columbia University. Her language usage is impressive, which has attracted fans from all walks of life. 

Best Book by E. Lockhart: We Were Liars 

A solid choice for readers who enjoy family dynamics, We Were Liars is about the Sinclairs and their unreliable memories. The action takes place during a private-island vacation where secrets are unearthed. It’s a quick read with a shocking twist ending.


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7. Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren is the pen name for the writing team of Christina Hobbs Venstra and Lauren Billings Luhrs.

As of this writing, the pair have 17 young adult and adult fiction titles on the New York Times bestseller list, and their books have been translated into over 30 languages.

Their titles have been nominated for dozens of book awards, and the pair frequently give workshops at the Book Expo of America, the Romance Writers of America convention, and San Diego Comic-Con International.

Currently, Venstra and Luhrs are working on several optioned screenplay projects.

Best Book by Christina Lauren: Love and Other Words

Similar to Hoover’s It Ends With Us, Love and Other Words chronicles the journey of old sweethearts rediscovering one another at an inconvenient time. Notably, it’s the most recommended book for people in search of authors like Colleen Hoover.

8. Lucy Score

Amazon bestseller Lucy Score was raised in a literary family, and her prose reflects that. But she’s also known for “writing romances so steamy her family can’t look her in the eye!”

Like Hoover, Score’s romance titles often include elements of emotional danger, and putting down her books is challenging. 

Best Book by Lucy Score: Things We Never Got Over

Things We Never Got Over is a Lifetime movie waiting to happen and ranks 10 out of 10 on the escapism scale. It’s a little wacky (hello, evil twin), but the romance is fun, as is the story. 

9. Celeste Ng

Best known for the smash-hit-turned-Hulu-original Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng is an American writer with an impressive educational background, most recently winning a Guggenheim Fellowship. 

Bluntly stated, Ng is much more literary than Hoover, but both authors infuse their work with emotional reverence. If you’re in the market for something exceptionally well-written, relatable, and moving, pick up a book by Ng. 

Best Book by Celeste Ng: Everything I Never Told You

It took Celeste Ng six years and four complete drafts to finish Everything I Never Told You. The result is a meticulous and engaging work. Part mystery, part family study, it’s a book that will stay with you for years to come.

10. Sally Thorne

Australian Sally Thorne is a master of contemporary romance and romantic comedies. She also serves as administrator for the haunted dollhouse in her home, which has its own Instagram account (@blackthornemanor).

Like Hoover, Thorne pens page-turners that focus on the more challenging side of modern romance. 

Best Book by Sally Thorne: Second First Impression

Relatable, funny, and engaging, Second First Impression was nominated for several awards. This story of a burly man hired to care for two “old womenā€ is a raucous tale that delights readers. 

11. Jojo Moyes

Two-time recipient of the Romantic Novel of the Year by the Romantic Novelists’ Association, British journalist and romance novelist Jojo Moyes has sold over 20 million books.

She is best known for her New York Times #1 bestseller The Giver of Stars, and like Hoover, she crafts complicated stories that keep readers glued to the page. 

Moyes also has an inspiring story. Before getting a publishing contract, she’d submitted three manuscripts. All were rejected. She promised herself she’d give it one more shot. She vowed to put down her pen if it didn’t work out.

But fate was on her side, and the fourth book sparked a bidding war among publishing houses. 

Best Book by Jojo Moyes: Me Before You

Me Before You is a story of overcoming adversity while falling in love. It asks readers to consider the question, “What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?”

12. Rebecca Serle

Rebecca Serle grew up in Hawaii, got a master of fine arts at the New School in New York, and is now an international bestselling author.

Like Colleen Hoover, Serle understands how to infuse her books with tenderness, and her work has been described as “heartwarming, heartbreaking, and hard to put down.”

Best Book by Rebecca Serle: In Five Years

The In Five Years heroine is about a type-a lawyer presented with a reckless choice. It’s a book about how humans navigate hurtful events and the power of destiny.

13. Carley Fortune

Award-winning Canadian journalist Carley Fortune used to be the editor of Refinery29. Today, she’s a New York Times, USA Today, and Globe and Mail bestselling author. She grew up between the suburbs of Sydney and a small lakeside town in Ontario, Canada.

Fortune’s work tugs on the heartstrings and, like Colleen Hoover’s work, explores the pull between destiny versus societal expectations. 

Best Book by Carley Fortune: Every Summer After

A description of Every Summer After reads: “Six summers to fall in love. One moment to fall apart. A weekend to get it right.” People who loved Colleen Hoover’s November 9 frequently cite Every Summer as another favorite.

14. Mia Sheridan

To date, Mia Sheridan has published 47 titles and shows no signs of stopping. Most of her books fall under the romance umbrella, and many have earned spots on the bestselling lists of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and USA Today. 

Her best-known series is the Sign of Love novels, which, like Hoover’s works, grapple with themes involving fate and personal choice. 

Best Book by Mia Sheridan: Archer’s Voice

Billed as “a love story,” Archer’s Voice is about two struggling souls who find romance and happiness in unexpected ways. It’s also about how love makes it easier to face a traumatic past.

15. Mary Kubica

Former high school teacher Mary Kubica is an award-winning suspense novelist. The Chicago Tribune has described her as “a writer of vice-like control,” and her eight books have sold over two million copies worldwide. 

Like Hoover’s tales, Kubica’s are infused with delicious escapism and have re-introduced people to their love of reading. 

Best Book by Mary Kubica: Local Woman Missing

Like Colleen Hoover’s Verity, Local Woman Missing is a faced-paced mystery. Praised as a “smart and chilling thriller,” it’s a tale of family secrets that takes readers on a suspenseful ride. 

Final Thoughts

Despite reports that fewer Americans are reading, thanks to social media and the ease of self-publishing, the book world is more exciting than ever. 

Study after study concludes that reading is an excellent way to improve cognitive function and reduce stress. So if you fell in love with Colleen Hoover’s characters, keep your reading muscle toned by diving into some of these titles.

You're a huge fan of Colleen Hoover, and you want to explore other books. Here are some authors like Colleen Hoover with their best works.

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