Matches for The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han (Summer) - Updated June 2026
The Summer I Turned Pretty captures the ache of first love, summer nostalgia, and the impossible choice between two brothers. If you need more of that bittersweet feeling, these books deliver the same emotional pull with beach houses, complicated friendships, and coming-of-age romance.
How we match. Scores weigh tone, heat, pace and stakes - not just genre. The bars on each card show romance, pace, violence and complexity so you can pick by feel.Contains affiliate links
Han
Han's other defining trilogy. Love letters, a fake-dating setup, and the same warm family dynamics.
✦
1
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Jenny Han - 3 books
93%
match
Same author, same emotional DNA, same ability to make first love feel monumental. If you loved Belly, you'll love Lara Jean.
RomanceHigh
PaceHigh
ViolenceLow
ComplexityMild
YA romancecontemporaryfamilyfake dating
Painter
Enemies-to-lovers neighbors who team up on a romcom-inspired plan. Funny, sweet, and deeply satisfying.
✦
2
Better Than the Movies
Lynn Painter - 2 books
85%
match
Same love-triangle-adjacent tension and banter. Painter writes the same kind of romance where you know who she should choose but the journey is everything.
RomanceHigh
PaceVery high
ViolenceLow
ComplexityLow
YA romanceenemies to loversromcomcontemporary
Welch
A girl goes to Italy for the summer and falls in love with the country and a boy. Travel romance at its most charming.
✦
3
Love & Gelato
Jenna Evans Welch - 1 books
80%
match
Same summer-vacation romance with a backdrop that becomes a character. Lighter than Han but the wanderlust hits the same way.
RomanceMedium
PaceHigh
ViolenceLow
ComplexityLow
YA romancesummertravelcontemporary
Dessen
A girl spends the summer in a beach town and meets a boy with insomnia. Dessen at her most tender.
✦
4
Along for the Ride
Sarah Dessen - 1 books
78%
match
Same coastal summer setting, same coming-of-age emotional arc, same bittersweet romance. Dessen is the blueprint for what Han does.
RomanceMedium
PaceMedium
ViolenceLow
ComplexityMild
YA romancesummerbeachcoming of age
Fortune
A woman returns to her childhood summer lake house and confronts the boy she left behind. Adult version of TSITP.
✦
5
Every Summer After
Carley Fortune - 1 books
75%
match
Same summer nostalgia and second-chance romance. Fortune writes like Han grew up and looked back. More mature, same emotional core.