8 Balmy Novels Like The Summer I Turned Pretty

If swoony coming-of-age novels are your kryptonite, you've probably already devoured Jenny Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty series at least once (maybe twice). The young adult romance is the epitome of beach reads — it literally takes place in a quaint beach town, and it explores the growing love triangle between Isabel "Belly" and her childhood best friends, Conrad and Jeremiah, who also happen to be brothers.

Ever since the adaptation of The Summer I Turned Pretty premiered on Prime Video last summer, bookworms and telephilias alike have been going buck wild over the fictional franchise. Han's gorgeous storytelling has captured the hearts and eyes of readers everywhere, and for more mature readers, given us an opportunity to wallow in the nostalgia of our past.

If you're missing your own version of Cousins Beach or are eager to dive into a new character's coming-of-age love story, check out these books similar to The Summer I Turned Pretty below. We're fairly certain you'd find them all on Belly's bookshelf, too.

Love & Other Words by Christina Lauren

If TSITP tugged on your heartstrings, you’ll need double the tissues for Lauren’s heart-wrenching yet beautiful coming-of-age novel. Inside its pages, we meet former childhood best friends Elliot and Macy, who, through unforeseen circumstances, are placed back into each other’s orbit a decade after the night that forever changed their lives — and led them to never speak again. Told in then-and-now timelines, Elliot and Macy slowly find their way back to one another as they recall the summers they spent growing up near the water.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Set on a private island off the coast of Massachusetts, We Were Liars centers around Cadence Sinclair and her wealthy family, and the lies and secrets they withhold from their community. The mystery dives into the psyche of the privileged and fortunate, with shocking twists and turns you won't see coming. If you fell in love with the sunny and salty backdrop of Cousins Beach, you'll find yourself right at home at the Sinclairs' beach estate. There's a bit of romance happening between chapters, too.

Melt With You by Jennifer Duggan

In this YA queer rom-com, best friends-turned-lovers-turned-strangers Fallon and Chloe find themselves in close quarters after their moms’ joint food truck business takes them out of town, leaving them to hold down the fort. A food truck festival road trip with your ex-best friend who you made out with last summer, how awkward can it be?

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

Dive into this sweeping love story between childhood best friends Percy and Sam, whose adolescent relationship ends in heartbreak only for them to be brought back together due to a devastating loss 10 years later. Told in dual timelines, Fortune weaves an epic, young romance set across six sun-kissed summers at the lake, while simultaneously unraveling Percy and Sam’s complicated history in present day.

The Summer of Broken Rules by K. L. Walther

Inspired by Taylor Swift’s discography, The Summer of Broken Rules follows newly single Meredith Fox during a balmy summer vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. Reunited with her family from near and far for a big wedding, Meredith kicks off the week’s activities with a competitive game of assassin. She can taste victory — that is, as long as she can deter the rising heat from a hunky groomsman.

The Reunion by Kayla Olson

Liv and Ransom's friendship is easy, just like Belly and Jeremiah's. They just get each other, through the highest highs and lowest lows. But as Liv and Belly both know, taking the leap from besties to lovers comes with its own set of challenges. After spending years apart, a reunion taping brings costars Liv and Ransom back together. Their chemistry couldn't be more palpable, both on- and offscreen, but does their secret romance have the legs to stand on its own this time around?

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan

In Monaghan’s forthcoming summer romance, Sam reconnects with her first true love while visiting wedding venues for her impending nuptials. (YUP!) Sam loves her doctor fiancé and their life in NYC. What she didn’t account for was falling back into Wyatt’s arms. He holds the key to so many parts of her, and being back in their hometown has a grasp on her heart that she doesn’t know if she’s willing to let go.

The Summer Deal by Jill Shalvis

Brynn would do pretty much anything if it meant getting a chance to get to home base with her childhood crush — even if it meant blindly agreeing to his secret summer pact. Little does she know, Eli has a master plan in place... and it involves Brynn’s mortal enemy.