10 books like The Idea of You

By Robinne Lee,

Here are 10 books that authors have personally recommended if you like The Idea of You. Shepherd is a community of 7,000+ authors sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Red, White & Royal Blue

By Casey McQuiston,

Book cover of Red, White & Royal Blue

This playful romcom reminded me of the pillars of romance: juicy conflict, lovable characters, and pacing that never quits. You can’t go wrong when the son of Madame President falls in love with England’s dishy prince. This is how diplomacy should always work! Red, White & Royal Blue is high concept fun and ruined my weekend plans to work.

Red, White & Royal Blue

By Casey McQuiston,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Red, White & Royal Blue as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

* Instant NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestseller *
* GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD WINNER for BEST DEBUT and BEST ROMANCE of 2019 *
* BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR* for VOGUE, NPR, VANITY FAIR, and more! *

What happens when America's First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?

When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius--his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when…


Mud Vein

By Tarryn Fisher,

Book cover of Mud Vein

I could actually list all of Fisher’s romances or her newer psychological thrillers under this banner of writing that is outside the box. She has taken the idea of “writing fearlessly” and run with it. Lives by it. There is nothing typical about Mud Vein, with prose that feels like mild electric shocks to the brain one minute and brings you to tears the next. It reads as though Fisher doesn’t waste time questioning herself or second-guessing her words—they’re alive and vibrant, and that’s highly aspirational. I have "write fearlessly" literally tattooed on my body, so I take it seriously. ;) 

Mud Vein

By Tarryn Fisher,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Mud Vein as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When reclusive novelist Senna Richards wakes up on her thirty-third birthday, everything has changed. Caged behind an electrical fence, locked in a house in the middle of the snow, Senna is left to decode the clues to find out why she was taken. If she wants her freedom, she has to take a close look at her past. But, her past has a heartbeat…and her kidnapper is nowhere to be found. With her survival hanging by a thread, Senna soon realizes this is a game. A dangerous one. Only the truth can set her free.


Priest

By Sierra Simone,

Book cover of Priest

Look. I could tell you it’s a modern-day gothic. I could tell you it wields its heresy to illuminate the true meaning of God. I could tell you she writes with the clarity of an imprisoned martyr watching the pyre being assembled outside her window. But, really, I just want you to know that I read Sierra Simone with a goofy smile on my face, marveling at how she makes the bonkers believable. She’s a surreal realist. There’s an energy here that’s simply unmatched. The book vibrates. And if you make it through Priest, might I suggest her New Camelot trilogy, which tackles the only thing more sacred than the Catholic church: the American presidency.

Priest

By Sierra Simone,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Priest as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There are many rules a priest can't break. A priest cannot marry. A priest cannot abandon his flock. A priest cannot forsake his God.

I've always been good at following rules.

Until she came. Then I learned new rules.

My name is Tyler Anselm Bell. I'm twenty-nine years old. Six months ago, I broke my vow of celibacy on the altar of my own church, and God help me, I would do it again.

I am a priest and this is my confession.


It Ends with Us

By Colleen Hoover,

Book cover of It Ends with Us

This book isn’t a romance. It’s too real – and too devastating – for that. It’s part of a series and I read this book first and the prequel story afterward so if you’re planning to read this one, I recommend reading the first one too, and in advance. There are some references I feel I’d have understood better if I’d read the books in order.

The main characters are all relatable in that they’re flawed and not always aware of it. The protagonist seems the most aware, but I think that’s just because we get the whole story from her perspective. This feels like a slice-of-life novel and I don’t usually enjoy those. I can say, the writing is excellent and it’s a satisfying read.

It Ends with Us

By Colleen Hoover,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked It Ends with Us as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Lily hasn't always had it easy, but that's never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She's come a long way from the small town where she grew up-she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. And when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily's life seems too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He's also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn't hurt. Lily can't get…


The Unrequited

By Saffron A. Kent,

Book cover of The Unrequited

This novel is a taboo, student-teacher, forbidden love read, but those are tag words only. I’m a little obsessed with it because the writing. This book is alive. It's electric. The words jump off the page and sink claws into your skin. The author, at the end, laments that she's not poet enough to write her hero’s poems. I beg to differ. This entire book is a poem if you go by my preferred definition, which is a string of words meant to evoke. That's all this book does. Evokes, stirs, and is unapologetic in its heroine, Layla. She is no blushing rose, but a tornado of unapologetic desire, and who defies genre tropes. Her character renders this book more than a romance novel, but a force of nature.

The Unrequited

By Saffron A. Kent,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Unrequited as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Layla Robinson is not crazy. She is suffering from unrequited love. But it's time to move on. No more stalking, no more obsessive calling.


What she needs is a distraction. The blue-eyed guy she keeps seeing around campus could be a great one--only he is the new poetry professor--the married poetry professor.


Thomas Abrams is a stereotypical artist--rude, arrogant, and broody--but his glares and taunts don't scare Layla. She might be bad at poetry, but she is good at reading between the lines. Beneath his prickly façade, Thomas is lonely, and Layla wants to know why. Obsessively.


Sometimes you do…


Wolfsong

By TJ Klune,

Book cover of Wolfsong

Shifter romances aren’t new, but this heart-wrenching story about a boy and his adoptive “pack” sets the standard. The prose reads like a simple, placid little pond and then you jump in and realize it's miles deep. Klune does what my hero, Stephen King, is so darn good at and what I aspire to do in my own paranormal novels: he imbues the story with characters that live and breathe and feel like real people. This makes the supernatural aspects of the plot feel authentic and keeps you absorbed from page one to the end.

Wolfsong

By TJ Klune,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Wolfsong as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ox Matheson was twelve when his father taught him a lesson: Ox wasn't worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.

Ox was sixteen when the energetic Bennett family moved in next door, harbouring a secret that would change him forever. For the family are shapeshifters, who can transform into wolves at will. Drawn to their magic, loyalty and enduring friendships, Ox feels a gulf between this extraordinary new world and the quiet life he's known. He also finds an ally in Joe, the youngest Bennett boy. Joe is charming and handsome, but haunted by scars he…


Beach Read

By Emily Henry,

Book cover of Beach Read

Now that you’re acclimated to the s-e-x, you’re going to chuckle at how silly you were, thinking there was some massive divide between Books of Literary Merit and Books That Make You Happy. In fact, that’s actually the plot of the novel itself: a Literary author and a Women’s Fiction author challenge each other to write a book in the other’s category and sparks fly. A deliciously meta romp of, yes, impeccable literary merit.

Beach Read

By Emily Henry,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Beach Read as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION AND BOOK LOVERS!

A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They’re polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring…


Wish You Were Here

By Jodi Picoult,

Book cover of Wish You Were Here

The pandemic hasn’t been ideal for the experience of wonder—and certainly not deep, intimate relationships with new people who could bring about your demise due to the virus. Picoult masterfully details a woman’s trek through this challenging early COVID terrain, which often appears as a dead end (absolutely no pun intended). But what she does with her circumstances unexpectedly leads her to magical places.

Wish You Were Here

By Jodi Picoult,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Wish You Were Here as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Small Great Things and The Book of Two Ways comes “a powerfully evocative story of resilience and the triumph of the human spirit” (Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six)

Rights sold to Netflix for adaptation as a feature film • Named one of the best books of the year by She Reads

Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all…


The Luckiest Lady in London

By Sherry Thomas,

Book cover of The Luckiest Lady in London

You like your small, introspective, architecture-of-a-marriage stories? Well, here’s the Romance version. Nothing really happens, plot-wise. It is simply a masterclass of two characters matched in every way that matters, ready to destroy everything they could potentially have because they’re scared of getting hurt. Humorous. Hot. Nerdy. Incisive. Affecting. This will introduce you to the basic foundation of Historical Romance—essentially, “the marriage plot”—in the quiet way you’re looking for.

The Luckiest Lady in London

By Sherry Thomas,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Luckiest Lady in London as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the superbly gifted Sherry Thomas comes this beautifully written romance about a marriage of convenience that turns inconveniently passionate...  

Felix Rivendale, the Marquess of Wrenworth, is The Ideal Gentleman, a man all men want to be and all women want to possess. Even Felix himself almost believes this golden image. But underneath is a damaged soul soothed only by public adulation.

Louisa Cantwell needs to marry well to support her sisters. She does not, however, want Lord Wrenworth—though he seems inexplicably interested in her. She mistrusts his outward perfection, and the praise he garners everywhere he goes. Still, when…


Mr. Impossible

By Loretta Chase,

Book cover of Mr. Impossible

While I could recommend any Loretta Chase novel and dare you to tell me you couldn’t spin at least a bread loaf-length lecture out of her style, I think you should start with Mr. Impossible, simply because the setting is as unique as her prose. We have a himbo and a genius running around Egypt in 1822 trying to rescue her kidnapped brother from the clutches of monument-thieving imperialists. Mind her character work. Note her humor. Her research. Her specificity. Her turn of phrase. Bring your highlighter. Or whatever instrument of self-loathing you use when another writer is so good at what they do it makes you want to give up.

Mr. Impossible

By Loretta Chase,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mr. Impossible as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Impossible...Rupert Carsington, fourth son of the Earl of Hargate, is his aristocratic family's favorite disaster. He is irresistibly handsome, shockingly masculine, and irretrievably reckless, and wherever he goes, trouble follows. Still, Rupert's never met an entanglement - emotional or other - he couldn't escape. Until now. Outrageous...Now, he's in Egypt, stranded in the depths of Cairo's most infamous prison, and his only way out is accepting a beautiful widow's dangerous proposal. Scholar Daphne Pembroke wants him to rescue her brother, who's been kidnapped by a rival seeking a fabled treasure. Their partnership is strictly business: She'll provide the brains, he,…


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