Cover of Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover

5 book recommendations

Books Like “Reminders of Him” by Colleen Hoover

If the heartbreaking story of grief, redemption, and fierce love in Reminders of Him left you reaching for the tissues, you are not alone. Readers fell hard for its deeply emotional journey toward forgiveness and healing. Discover your next unforgettable read in the curated recommendations waiting for you below.

  1. Cover of The Air He Breathes by Brittainy C. Cherry

    Cover not available

    The Air He Breathes

    by Brittainy C. Cherry

    I was warned about Tristan Cole. "Stay away from him," people said. "He's cruel." "He's cold." "He's damaged." It's easy to judge a man because of his past. To look at Tristan and see a monster. But I couldn't do that. I had to accept the wreckage that lived inside of him because it also lived inside of me. We were both empty. We were both looking for something else. Something more. We both wanted to put together the shattered pieces of our yesterdays. Then perhaps we could finally remember how to breathe.

    Why it's similar

    Both novels share a deeply angsty tone and focus on protagonists coping with devastating grief, guilt, and public judgment following fatal car accidents. Each story highlights the healing power of an unexpected romance that helps the characters forgive themselves and move forward.

    What's different

    While Reminders of Him centers on an incarcerated mother fighting to earn back custody of her daughter, this story focuses symmetrically on two grieving neighbors finding solace exclusively in each other.

  2. Cover of The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

    Cover not available

    The Two Lives of Lydia Bird

    by Josie Silver

    Two lives. Two loves. One impossible choice. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club Pick One Day in December . . . “I read The Two Lives of Lydia Bird in a single sitting. What a beautiful, emotional gift Josie Silver has given us.”—Jodi Picoult Written with Josie Silver’s trademark warmth and wit, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is a powerful and thrilling love story about the what-ifs that arise at life’s crossroads, and what happens when one woman is given a miraculous chance to answer them. Lydia and Freddie. Freddie and Lydia. They’d been together for more than a decade and Lydia thought their love was indestructible. But she was wrong. On Lydia’s twenty-eighth birthday, Freddie died in a car accident. So now it’s just Lydia, and all she wants is to hide indoors and sob until her eyes fall out. But Lydia knows that Freddie would want her to try to live fully, happily, even without him. So, enlisting the help of his best friend, Jonah, and her sister, Elle, she takes her first tentative steps into the world, open to life—and perhaps even love—again. But then something inexplicable happens that gives her another chance at her old life with Freddie. A life where none of the tragic events of the past few months have happened. Lydia is pulled again and again through the doorway to her past, living two lives, impossibly, at once. But there’s an emotional toll to returning to a world where Freddie, alive, still owns her heart. Because there’s someone in her new life, her real life, who wants her to stay.

    Why it's similar

    Both books deal directly with the agonizing aftermath of a fiancé dying in a tragic car crash and feature the complicated, guilt-ridden dynamic of falling for the deceased man's best friend. They explore the slow process of emotional survival, forgiveness, and navigating community expectations during grief.

    What's different

    Silver incorporates a split-reality magical realism element where the protagonist visits an alternate dream life, whereas Reminders of Him is a strictly grounded, linear contemporary romance.

  3. Cover of Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan

    Cover not available

    Archer's Voice

    by Mia Sheridan

    Fall in love with this emotional New York Times bestselling romance between two tortured souls who find their chance at happiness in the most unexpected way.
    Named one of the "Top Romance Novels of All Time" by Goodreads! A New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller!
    I wanted to lose myself in the small town of Pelion, Maine. To forget everything I had left behind. The sound of rain. The blood. The coldness of a gun against my skin. For six months, each breath has been a reminder that I survived -- and my dad didn't. I'm almost safe again. But the moment I meet Archer Hale, my entire world tilts on its axis . . . and never rights itself again.
    Until I trespass into his strange, silent, and isolated world, Archer communicates with no one. Yet in his whiskey-colored eyes, something intangible happens between us. There's so much more to him than just his beauty, his presence, or the ways his hands communicate with me. On me. But this town is mired in secrets and betrayals, and Archer is the explosive center of it all.
    So much passion. And so much hurt. But it's only in Archer's silence that we might just find what we need to heal . . . and live.
    Includes an exclusive extended epilogue from Archer's POV!

    Why it's similar

    Both stories feature protagonists heavily burdened by traumatic pasts who face hostility and misunderstanding from a tight-knit small-town community. In both books, a tender, patient romance serves as the catalyst for redemption and emotional restoration.

    What's different

    The central obstacle is physical disability and severe childhood isolation rather than maternal estrangement or the legal and social fallout of serving time in prison.

  4. Cover of Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

    Cover not available

    Evvie Drake Starts Over

    by Linda Holmes

    "Evvie Drake is great company.' Rainbow Rowell One morning, Eveleth 'Evvie' Drake got up, packed her suitcase, and got ready to leave her life - and her perfect husband - behind. But before she walked out of the door, she received a phone call asking her to come to the hospital. That day, Evvie's new life as a widow began. Now wrestling with her guilt and grief, Evvie has found her independence, but not the way she planned. Unable to leave the house she once dreamed of escaping, it's clear to her best friend Andy that Evvie needs a change. And Andy might just have the answer. . . Dean Tenney was a big-shot baseball star, until a bad case of the 'yips' meant he couldn't play anymore - or understand why. An invitation from his childhood friend Andy to stay in Maine for a few months seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button. When Dean moves into the apartment at the back of Evvie's house, the two make a deal: Dean won't ask about Evvie's late husband, and Evvie won't ask about Dean's baseball career. But rules have a funny way of being broken sometimes, and as a friendship evolves into something more, will Evvie and Dean be brave enough to let go of the past and start over again?"--Publisher description.

    Why it's similar

    Both novels explore complex grief, unresolved guilt toward a deceased romantic partner who died in a car wreck, and the tentative steps toward a second chance at love in a small town.

    What's different

    Holmes's novel adopts a lighter, witty, and grounded contemporary fiction tone, lacking the heightened emotional melodrama and high-stakes custody struggle of Hoover's work.

  5. Cover of The Gravity of Us by Brittainy C. Cherry

    Cover not available

    The Gravity of Us

    by Brittainy C. Cherry

    "Vivid and beautifully emotional." Elle Kennedy, NYT Bestselling Author

    They say some people aren't meant to be together. That Graham and I were too different to ever make any sense. I was driven by emotion; he kept his walls high. I dreamed of a brighter future; he passed his days in nightmares.

    Despite all that, we sometimes shared seconds. Seconds when our eyes locked and we saw each other's secrets. Seconds when his lips tasted my fears, and I breathed in his pain. Seconds when we both imagined what it would be like to love one another.

    But Graham Russell wasn't a man who knew how to love, and I wasn't a woman who knew how to stay. Yet if I had the chance to fall again, I'd fall with him forever. Even if we were always destined to crash against solid ground.

    Why it's similar

    Both are contemporary romances centered on grief, guilt, and second chances, featuring deeply wounded protagonists who gradually heal through a tender, emotionally intense relationship.

    What's different

    It leans even more heavily into slow-burn romance and emotional introspection, with less focus on external conflict like legal battles or parenting logistics.

Looking for something else?

Use our book recommendation tool to discover books similar to any of your favorites.

Find similar books with LibroMatch