For someone who has only seen kids’ movies in theaters the last few years, I seem to be talking about what’s hitting the theaters for grown-ups quite a bit lately! Make a movie based on Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us starring Blake Lively (in theaters Aug. 9), and you’ll catch me at my local cinema with popcorn in hand.

Listening to a devastating romance on my Libby app while packing lunches for my family is really a mood. I totally recommend it. And speaking of my recommendations, these books will help you recover from your post-CoHo hangover. We’ve got lots of romance, so many feelings, true issues that everyday people deal with, and a sweet something different if you need a break—all available to you to borrow from your library!

If you want me to be obvious...

It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover
🎧 Audiobook

Betcha didn’t think I would go there, did you? But, alas, I’ve got to take the W when it’s presented to me, and this is going to be what you put on hold as you’re walking out of the theater.

Without going into too many details, as to avoid spoilers for the movie, this story follows the action of It Ends with Us. This time, it includes the perspective of our male protagonist as well and will allow us to see if everything really does end up happily ever after. There are too many questions that need answered and thrills to be had to leave you hanging after you finish the movie!

If you need more reasons to hide away...

Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan
🎧 Audiobook

This book is the start of a series, so I’ll warn you now... you’re going to be reading more than one book with this rec!

Bree is running away from a tragic past when she ends up in Pelion, Maine. She’s hoping for a place where she can begin to recover, but she’s not hoping to find love in the process. In finding her way back to herself, she finds Archer, a man who is also dealing with his own trauma. Can they rely on each other to grow and move past what has defined them for so long? Can love truly heal all wounds? Read on to find out.

If you'd like a second chance on love...

Before We Were Strangers by Renée Carlino
🎧 Audiobook

Sometimes, we find the right person at the wrong time, and this is a story of how we grow from that, either apart or together.

Matt and Grace met at the beginning of college, were fast friends, then a bit more, then nothing, as they both moved on after school ended. Years later, they see each other across a crowded subway platform, and suddenly all of the what-ifs of the past years come flooding back. Can they repair what was broken and get that second chance they didn’t know they needed? Or are some secrets too deep? This one has so many twist and turns and missed connections; you’re going to fall in love!

If you're ready to start again...

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
🎧 Audiobook

Sometimes you fall in love with the wrong person, but they end up being the most right for you. This is 100% that book.

Five years after losing the love of her life in a car accident, Feyi is finally beginning to put her life back together. Her art career is taking off and she’s beginning to grapple with the idea of finding love again. When her newest partner offers to give her everything that she wants, she jumps at the chance to go to a tropical villa and have her every need catered to. However, once she’s there, she finds a distraction that she didn’t expect and a love she shouldn’t pursue. You’ll fall in love with the setting, the writing, and you’ll keep reading to see what choices everyone makes!

If you wonder “what if...”

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
🎧 Audiobook

Even when everything is going right, do you ever find yourself thinking of all of the different ways things could’ve gone?

Dannie has everything she could possibly want: a great job, new fiancé, a lovely NYC apartment. Imagine her surprise when she wakes up the next morning to discover she’s in a different apartment, next to a different man, and it’s five years in the future. An overwhelming hour passes, and then she finds herself back on her original timeline, completely shaken. Her life continues on, and this moment fades, until four and a half years have passed, and she sees the man with whom she was sharing a bed in her vision. Now, she finds herself questioning how she should continue.

This story will take you on an emotional journey and stay with you long after the last page.

If you judge a book by its cover...

The No-Show by Beth O’Leary
🎧 Audiobook

While books often make me stay up way past my bedtime, rarely do they grip me and have me sobbing into my pillowcase. And with such a cute, pink, fluffy cover, too. This book made me feel so many wonderful, deep things!

Valentine’s Day isn’t necessarily everyone’s favorite holiday (though if it’s yours, great!), but what can make it even worse is being stood up. To make matters worse, the guy who is standing you up is standing up two other women on the same day. This is what happens to Shioban, Miranda, and Jane—three women with nothing in common other than this same boyfriend.

I’m going to be a bit coy with this one, but needless to say, this has the pace of the thriller with the emotional wallop of the best Colleen Hoover books. I think you’re going to love it.

If you want to look back...

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
🎧 Audiobook

Can you really ever go home again? Most people say no, but this book is a look into what happens if you have to say yes.

Ten years ago, Percy left the lake town that built her summers, and she hasn’t looked back—doing so would mean dealing with the reason that she had to leave. She’s now firmly a city girl, until one phone call sends her running back to shores she thought she’d never see again. Now, she’s examining all the memories of the best and worst times she had every summer there, along with the boy she left behind. Can she forgive herself enough to open her heart back up to love? This is a perfect late-summer read for anyone who wants to escape to the lake.

If you need to look forward...

Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan
🎧 Audiobook

Yes, I have recommended this one in the past (quick plug for you to go back and check out my Tortured Poets Department reads!). It really is too good not to mention again and should appeal to those who love this movie.

This may just look like a simple basketball romance (and sports romances are so hot right now, so don’t discount a “simple basketball romance”!), but this book has lots of trigger warnings for a reason.

August and Iris had an amazing night sitting at the bar watching basketball, making a true connection, but neither of them mentioned a couple of big things about themselves. He’s about to become an NBA player, and she’s in a serious relationship with a man who's on the same path. They both go back to their lives, his as a rising star, and hers as a dimming one, choked out in the shadow of her partner. As they reenter each other’s lives, will they be able to overcome all that wants to keep them apart?

Read this with a heck of a lot of tissues and be ready for this to stick with you for a long time.

If you need something completely different...

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
🎧 Audiobook

You’ve just finished watching a movie that, while romantic, is also emotionally exhausting, so maybe you just need a nice palate cleanser... a little sorbet after a heavy meal.

Let me introduce you to the new and growing world of cozy fantasy, and in this case specifically, cozy romantasy. You’ve got magic, but it’s going to be a hug of a book with nice low stakes and satisfying ending.

Keila is a librarian whose assistant is a sentient spider plant (different enough for you yet?!?), and she’s content in a life that brings few surprises. That is, until a fire at the library forces them to grab whatever books they can and flee to the island where Kelia grew up. Once there, she must figure out her place in this town that’s changed dramatically since she last was there, and also get to know herself again. And did I mention that there’s a handsome neighbor?

This book is a delight and should appeal to anyone who needs a great read and a smile.

*Title availability may vary by library & region.

Hold on to that CoHo feeling with these romance books to read after you see the movie. And subscribe to Libby Life for a weekly email with your next great book recommendation.

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