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It Ends With Us hit so hard for a reason. Colleen Hoover took a love story and laced it with a genuinely difficult subject - the courage it takes to break a cycle - and wrote it with an emotional honesty that left millions of readers in pieces.
If you've finished it and want that same gut-punch of feeling, the trick is to look for books that aren't afraid to put real pain alongside real love.
The short answer
- Closest match
- It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover — the sequel, told from Atlas’s side
- Best emotional read
- Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover — more of the same raw feeling
- Best second chance story
- Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover — a mother trying to come back
What to look for next
The books below share what made It Ends With Us unforgettable: emotionally raw contemporary romance, dual timelines or big secrets, and difficult themes handled with heart rather than melodrama. We've started with Hoover's own most-loved novels - including the direct sequel, which most readers reach for first - then widened out to authors who write love with the same fearless honesty.
Several deal with heavy subjects; our individual book pages describe content so you can choose what's right for you.
Our pick of books like It Ends With Us
It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover
The direct sequel to It Ends With Us - the book most readers reach for the moment they finish. Picks the story up exactly where your heart left it.Verity by Colleen Hoover
Hoover's darker, twistier side: a romantic thriller with a secret manuscript and an ending readers argue about for hours.Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
A dual-timeline romance about love, loss and the things we don't say; emotional and beautifully constructed.Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
Second chances, redemption and a heroine fighting to rebuild her life - tender and quietly devastating.After by Anna Todd
An intense, all-consuming first love that went from fan-fiction phenomenon to global bestseller; for readers who want the emotional rollercoaster.Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score
Small-town romance with warmth, banter and real emotional stakes; a perfect comfort-read after a heavier book.“A funny, spicy, grumpy-sunshine, small town romance that packs a punch”Our review, by Charlotte Walker
Reviewed by Charlotte WalkerThe Bride Test by Helen Hoang
A tender, big-hearted contemporary romance with an autistic hero and genuine emotional depth.People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Friends-to-lovers done with wit and real feeling; lighter than Hoover but every bit as emotionally satisfying.
Who chose these books, and why that matters
This is not a list pulled from a bestseller chart. Every title here was read and chosen by the LoveReading editorial panel, and we turn far more books down than we put forward.
The panel includes a judge of the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger; a past Chair of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals; a former children’s editor of the Guardian, who is also Children’s Director of the Hay Festival; a Managing Director of the Hay Festival of twenty years; the founder of the Murder One bookshop, who has reviewed for the Guardian, The Times and the Daily Telegraph; and two UK School Librarians of the Year.
Each is named, with a photograph and full biography, on our editorial experts page.
Members of the panel include:
Liz RobinsonLoveReading reviewer since 2014 and former judge of the CWA Gold Dagger
Lois CudjoeBook critic, content creator and passionate cross-genre reader
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Julie VuongPublishing journalist, BookBrunch feature writer and Mslexia columnist
Maureen StapletonWriter and journalist with international publishing experience
Their judgements are informed by our Reader Review Panel — several hundred readers across our adult and children’s sites who read titles before publication and tell us plainly whether a book delivers.
LoveReading has been recommending books since 2004 and has reviewed more than 33,000 titles in that time. We review for schools, for publishers and for readers, and we are a winner of the Small Business x Sage pop-up shop competition on London’s Oxford Street.
Every physical book bought through us donates 25% of the cover price to a school of your choice — more than £100,000 in books so far.
A note on difficult themes
It Ends With Us deals with domestic abuse, and several read-alikes touch on grief, addiction or trauma. These are stories that handle hard things with real care - but if a particular theme is one you'd rather avoid, our book pages and reviews flag content honestly so you can choose with confidence.
Your questions answered
What should I read straight after It Ends With Us?
Most readers go straight to It Starts with Us, the direct sequel, which continues the story. After that, Ugly Love and Reminders of Him are the closest in emotional tone among Colleen Hoover's own novels - raw, romantic and built around a painful secret or second chance.
I want the same feeling but a different author. Who's most like Colleen Hoover?
For the same emotional intensity, try Anna Todd's After. For warmth with real stakes, Lucy Score or Helen Hoang. For witty contemporary romance that still moves you, Emily Henry. Our reviews note the tone of each so you can match the exact feeling you're after.
How did you pick these It Ends With Us read-alikes?
They're curated by our named editorial experts and informed by our 800-strong Reader Review Panel, chosen on merit since 2004. These are genuine read-alikes matched on feeling and theme, not a 'customers also bought' list generated from purchase data.
Do these books deal with difficult subjects like It Ends With Us?
Some do - grief, addiction and trauma feature in several, handled with care rather than for shock. If a particular theme is one you'd rather avoid, check the individual book page and review, which describe content honestly so you can choose what's right for you.
More from the LoveReading blog
- Why CoHo is such a regular on the bestseller lists - The Books of Colleen HooverSeptember 2022
- Best Domestic Noir Novels – 30+ Brilliant Books about Household Horrors and Domestic Just Desserts.May 2023
- Dark Romance: Why Readers Can't Look AwayJuly 2026