6 Books Like ‘It Ends With Us’ by Colleen Hoover to Read Next

In the past few years, no writer has dominated the best-seller list quite like Colleen Hoover. The prolific author was one of the breakout stars of the self-publishing boom over a decade ago, and her global following has only grown with BookTok’s embrace of her novels. Now Hoover — CoHo to her fans — is setting her sights on the silver screen, with the release of “It Ends With Us,” the first film adaptation of one of her books; the movie, starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, opens in theaters Aug. 9.

Hoover’s fans adore her books for their emotional intensity: The stories often revolve around themes of trauma, resilience and hope, and the characters’ tragic histories and passionate struggles provide a catharsis that readers describe as not merely heartbreaking, but heart-stomping-into-smithereens. While she is commonly billed as a romance writer, Hoover also mixes in Y.A., thriller and horror, always with plenty of spice and drama. You can see her influence in the ample selection of new books that aim to walk a similar line — or by glancing around your local bookstore, where you can spot many covers that have gotten the “CoHo treatment.”

Whether you’re new to Hoover’s work and looking to see what all the fuss is about, or yearning for some more high drama and emotional intensity while you wait for her next book, all of these options will keep you reading way past your bedtime.

It Ends With Us, by Colleen Hoover

If you’ve heard of one of Hoover’s book, it’s probably this one, which has spent a whopping 165 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. Lily, a florist, is initially dazzled by Ryle, an enigmatic neurosurgeon. But painful moments from Lily’s childhood begin to echo into her present as she slowly realizes that Ryle’s charm belies an explosive temper — and when Atlas, her first love and her last tie to a life she’d left behind, reappears.

Take me deeper into the CoHo universe

Slammed, by Colleen Hoover

If you want to go back to the start, try Hoover’s first young adult novel, “Slammed,” which she self-published in 2012 while working as a social worker and living in a single-wide trailer with her husband and three sons. The book features an intense whirlwind of a forbidden romance between 18-year-old Layken, who is trying to hold her family together after her father’s unexpected death, and her new neighbor, a poet named Will.

Give me another sizzling romance

Before I Let Go, by Kennedy Ryan

This scorching, intense story focuses on a divorced couple who are co-parenting and running a business, while trying to resist the incredible physical chemistry that keeps pulling them back together. Yasmen and Josiah have endured loss and aching grief, and their partnership grows into a second chance at love as they help one another heal. (Sports fans may also enjoy Ryan’s award-winning romance “Long Shot,” set in the world of the N.B.A.)

A Change of Heart, by Sonali Dev

Dr. Nic Joshi’s perfect life was shattered when his wife was murdered. Now, two years later, he’s a cruise ship doctor bent on drinking through his nights at sea — until Jess Koirala tells him she’s the recipient of his late wife’s heart, and she has a message for him. Dev wields lyrical prose like an emotional scalpel in this Bollywood-inspired novel, mixing grief and forbidden love with magical realism and crackling chemistry.

I want something a little darker

Serpentine Valentine, by Giana Darling

This Sapphic retelling of the Medusa myth is perfect if dark academia and morally gray characters are your jam. After she is assaulted by a professor, Lex is determined to destroy the lives of the school administrators who covered it up. She sets her sights on Luna, the beautiful, chaste daughter of the university president. But even the best-laid plans of vengeance can crumble in the face of an unexpected connection.

I like my romance with a Tchaikovsky soundtrack

First Position, by Melanie Hamrick

Calling all “Center Stage” and “Black Swan” fans: If you’re craving dark romance set in the world of dance, Hamrick, a ballerina turned novelist, has just the book for you. Sylvie became a bitter shadow of her former self as she clawed her way to the top of the North American Ballet. But after a scandalous relationship destroys her reputation, she finds herself having to start over — and navigating a dangerous attraction to the company’s new guest artist, Alessandro.

How about a story that will tug at my heartstrings?

Glitterland, by Alexis Hall

Ash is a struggling, anxious, clinically depressed crime novelist who embarks on a blazing hot affair with his exact opposite: an effervescent male model named Darian. The feet-kicking sparkle of this grumpy-meets-sunshine story is interwoven with a thoughtful exploration of class differences and mental illness.