20 must-read contemporary books like One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

Cover of One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

One Italian Summer

By: Rebecca Serle

3.59

Format: 255 pages, Hardcover

When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and…

"There's something about photography I love -- a whole memory caught in a moment."

-Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer

"There is more to life than just continuing to do what we know. What got you here won't get you there."

-Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer

"There is more to life than just continuing to do what we know. What got you here won't get you there."

-Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer

"My mother, you see, is the great love of my life, She is the great love of my life, and I have lost her."

-Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer

If you liked the contemporary plot in One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle , here is a list of 20 books like this:

Cover of One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

1. One True Loves

By: Taylor Jenkins Reid

3.47

Format: 288 pages, Kindle Edition

From the author of Maybe in Another Life--named a PeopleMagazine pick and a "Best Book of the Summe… read more

Similar categories in Taylor Jenkins Reid's One True Loves book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand

2. The Five-Star Weekend

By: Elin Hilderbrand

4.04

Format: 384 pages, Hardcover

After tragedy strikes, Hollis Shaw gathers four friends from different stages in her life to spend … read more

Similar categories in Elin Hilderbrand's The Five-Star Weekend book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"She weighs the decision for a moment, then butters the baguette and pops it in her mouth. It's so delicious that she doesn't care if they have to roll her off the island in a wheelbarrow."

-Elin Hilderbrand, The Five-Star Weekend

Cover of The Women by Kristin Hannah

3. The Women

By: Kristin Hannah

4.64

Format: 471 pages, Hardcover

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these wor… read more

Similar categories in Kristin Hannah's The Women book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
"Words were creators of worlds; you had to be careful with them."

-Kristin Hannah, The Women

"Love mattered in this ruined world, but so did honor. What was one without the other?"

-Kristin Hannah, The Women

"Love. A thing to be shouted from the rooftops, celebrated, not cultivated in secret and clipped into shape in the dark."

-Kristin Hannah, The Women

Cover of First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

4. First Lie Wins

By: Ashley Elston

4.05

Format: 340 pages, Hardcover

Evie Porter has everything a nice, Southern girl could want: a perfect, doting boyfriend, a house w… read more

Similar categories in Ashley Elston's First Lie Wins book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • audiobook
  • adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
"Blunt honesty has more value than blind worship"

-Ashley Elston, First Lie Wins

"It’s because you’re not ready to tell me the truth and I’d rather you not lie to me."

-Ashley Elston, First Lie Wins

"There’s an old saying: The first lie wins. It’s not referring to the little white kind that tumble out with no thought; it refers to the big one. The one that changes the game. The one that is delibe…"

-Ashley Elston, First Lie Wins

Cover of Happy Place by Emily Henry

5. Happy Place

By: Emily Henry

3.99

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt a… read more

Similar categories in Emily Henry's Happy Place book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"You, you, you."

-Emily Henry, Happy Place

"How many universes do you think we’re together in?"

-Emily Henry, Happy Place

"Love means constantly saying you're sorry, and then doing better."

-Emily Henry, Happy Place

"I mean that you have the weirdest laugh of anyone I’ve ever met, Harriet,"

-Emily Henry, Happy Place

Cover of Funny Story by Emily Henry

6. Funny Story

By: Emily Henry

4.27

Format: 395 pages, Kindle Edition

A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common. Daphne … read more

Similar categories in Emily Henry's Funny Story book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"No, no, no,"

-Emily Henry, Funny Story

"For a few seconds, I'm nothing but a body seeking more of his."

-Emily Henry, Funny Story

"He loves me. Present tense. And I love him. He knows me, and I see him."

-Emily Henry, Funny Story

"To him, he's the brother who ran away. To her, he's the one who stays, even when he shouldn't."

-Emily Henry, Funny Story

Cover of Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3) by Abby Jimenez

7. Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3)

By: Abby Jimenez

4.40

Format: 432 pages, Paperback

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he d… read more

Similar categories in Abby Jimenez's Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3) book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"I'm going to let that tall drink of water slam me like a door."

-Abby Jimenez, Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3)

"I swear to God this guy is the epitome of If He Wanted To He Would."

-Abby Jimenez, Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3)

"The best kind of love doesn't happen on moonlit walks and romantic vacations. It happens in between the folds of everyday life."

-Abby Jimenez, Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3)

"I’ve been waiting my whole life to feel like this and I thought it was a curse that nobody else ever worked out. But it wasn’t. It’s just that they weren’t you."

-Abby Jimenez, Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3)

Cover of The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

8. The Paradise Problem

By: Christina Lauren

4.14

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

Christina Lauren, returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery ch… read more

Similar categories in Christina Lauren's The Paradise Problem book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"When we care about someone, they deserve the benefit of the doubt. We have to consider not only what they did, but also why they did it. Intent matters"

-Christina Lauren, The Paradise Problem

Cover of This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune

9. This Summer Will Be Different

By: Carley Fortune

4.02

Format: 320 pages, Paperback

This summer they’ll keep their promise. This summer they won’t give into temptation. This summer wi… read more

Similar categories in Carley Fortune's This Summer Will Be Different book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers,"

-Carley Fortune, This Summer Will Be Different

"I've waited so long for this. You feel so fucking right."

-Carley Fortune, This Summer Will Be Different

"I've been burned in the past, which you know. I rebuilt my life once. I can't rebuild it again. I make sure I get things right at the first time. Going slow is good for me, too."

-Carley Fortune, This Summer Will Be Different

Cover of Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan

10. Same Time Next Summer

By: Annabel Monaghan

3.76

Format: 320 pages, Paperback

Beach Rules: Do take long walks on the sand. Do put an umbrella in every cocktail. Do NOT run in… read more

Similar categories in Annabel Monaghan's Same Time Next Summer book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan

11. Summer Romance

By: Annabel Monaghan

4.10

Format: 368 pages, Paperback

Benefits of a summer romance: it’s always fun, always brief, and no one gets their heart broken. … read more

Similar categories in Annabel Monaghan's Summer Romance book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"I am the architect of my own experience."

-Annabel Monaghan, Summer Romance

"It's a lot easier to work through other people's problems. I think I must be very attached to my own."

-Annabel Monaghan, Summer Romance

Cover of Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune

12. Meet Me at the Lake

By: Carley Fortune

3.69

Format: 336 pages, Paperback

Fern Brookbanks has wasted far too much of her adult life thinking about Will Baxter. She spent jus… read more

Similar categories in Carley Fortune's Meet Me at the Lake book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"One day you'll find your heart's too big for just you"

-Carley Fortune, Meet Me at the Lake

"Let me tell you something about me: I am extremely picky about people. Most of them, I don't particularly like. I have very high standards for the ones I let into my life these days. And you, Will Ba…"

-Carley Fortune, Meet Me at the Lake

Cover of Yours Truly (Part of Your World, #2) by Abby Jimenez

13. Yours Truly (Part of Your World, #2)

By: Abby Jimenez

4.32

Format: 416 pages, Paperback

A novel of terrible first impressions, hilarious second chances, and the joy in finding your perfec… read more

Similar categories in Abby Jimenez's Yours Truly (Part of Your World, #2) book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"You and me? We're different. We agree to be harmless to each other."

-Abby Jimenez, Yours Truly (Part of Your World, #2)

Cover of One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

14. One Italian Summer

By: Rebecca Serle

3.59

Format: 255 pages, Hardcover

When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and… read more

Similar categories in Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • italy
  • magical realism
  • travel
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"There's something about photography I love -- a whole memory caught in a moment."

-Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer

"There is more to life than just continuing to do what we know. What got you here won't get you there."

-Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer

"My mother, you see, is the great love of my life, She is the great love of my life, and I have lost her."

-Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer

"The present is relentless. It forces us over and over again to pay attention. It requires all of us. As well it should."

-Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer

Cover of The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

15. The Seven Year Slip

By: Ashley Poston

4.22

Format: 352 pages, Paperback

An overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love wit… read more

Similar categories in Ashley Poston's The Seven Year Slip book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • magical realism
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"I kept him at arm's length because at least there he wouldn't be able to see how broken I was. I could keep lying."

-Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip

"But mostly because he was very handsome, and I was very much attracted to him, and that was the kind of surprise that I did not see coming."

-Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip

"That was love, wasn't it? It wasn't just a quick drop -- it was falling, over and over again, for your person. It was falling as they became new people. It was learning how to exist with every new br…"

-Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip

"Romance wasn't in chocolate, it was in the gasp of breath as we came up for air. It was in the way he cradled my face, the way I traced my finger over the crescent-shaped birthmark on his collarbone.…"

-Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip

Cover of Part of Your World (Part of Your World, #1) by Abby Jimenez

16. Part of Your World (Part of Your World, #1)

By: Abby Jimenez

4.29

Format: 400 pages, Paperback

After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery h… read more

Similar categories in Abby Jimenez's Part of Your World (Part of Your World, #1) book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"The world is ending, Alexis. That’s what this feels like. So come with me now."

-Abby Jimenez, Part of Your World (Part of Your World, #1)

"I know it hurts, but just think, now you know what it feels like for a man with a cold"

-Abby Jimenez, Part of Your World (Part of Your World, #1)

"I know it hurts, but just think, now you’ll know what it feels like for a man with a cold."

-Abby Jimenez, Part of Your World (Part of Your World, #1)

"You know, reading makes your penis look bigger - don't quote me on it, the science is really new."

-Abby Jimenez, Part of Your World (Part of Your World, #1)

Cover of Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

17. Nora Goes Off Script

By: Annabel Monaghan

4.09

Format: 272 pages, Hardcover

Nora's life is about to get a rewrite... Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than an… read more

Similar categories in Annabel Monaghan's Nora Goes Off Script book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"To write is to re-create something as you'd like it to be."

-Annabel Monaghan, Nora Goes Off Script

" Maybe he really likes me , I think in my tiniest thinking voice."

-Annabel Monaghan, Nora Goes Off Script

"What if this is my new normal—showing people my heart and having them applaud it?"

-Annabel Monaghan, Nora Goes Off Script

"There's nothing more shameful than this retrospective knowing, because it reminds you how blind you can be to things that don't jibe with the reality you're trying to believe in."

-Annabel Monaghan, Nora Goes Off Script

Cover of The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

18. The Hotel Nantucket

By: Elin Hilderbrand

4.06

Format: 416 pages, Hardcover

After a tragic fire in 1922 that killed 19-year-old chambermaid, Grace Hadley, The Hotel Nantucket … read more

Similar categories in Elin Hilderbrand's The Hotel Nantucket book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

19. Every Summer After

By: Carley Fortune

4.20

Format: 320 pages, Paperback

They say you can never go home again, and for Persephone Fraser, ever since she made the biggest mi… read more

Similar categories in Carley Fortune's Every Summer After book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"You and me are special,"

-Carley Fortune, Every Summer After

"Betrayals don’t cancel each other out. They just hurt more."

-Carley Fortune, Every Summer After

"I loved you so much that the word 'love' didn't seem big enough for how I felt."

-Carley Fortune, Every Summer After

"I liked how each book was both predictable and unique, comforting and unexpected. Safe but never boring."

-Carley Fortune, Every Summer After

Cover of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

20. The Villa

By: Rachel Hawkins

3.64

Format: 279 pages, Hardcover

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense, s… read more

Similar categories in Rachel Hawkins's The Villa book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • audiobook
  • adult
  • fiction
  • contemporary
"People are never just gone, after all. There are always marks, always signs."

-Rachel Hawkins, The Villa

Cover of Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

21. Carrie Soto Is Back

By: Taylor Jenkins Reid

4.21

Format: 384 pages, Hardcover

Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. By the… read more

Similar categories in Taylor Jenkins Reid's Carrie Soto Is Back book and Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"They can't make us go away just because they are done with us."

-Taylor Jenkins Reid, Carrie Soto Is Back

"My dad and I. Always together. Our little team of two. Proud coach and star student."

-Taylor Jenkins Reid, Carrie Soto Is Back

"Grief is like a deep, dark hole. It calls like a siren: Come to me, lose yourself here. And you fight it and you fight it and you fight it, but when you finally do succumb and jump down into it, you …"

-Taylor Jenkins Reid, Carrie Soto Is Back

"It was okay to win as long as I acted surprised when I did and attributed it to luck. I should never let on how much I wanted to win or, worse, that I believed I deserved to win. And I should never, …"

-Taylor Jenkins Reid, Carrie Soto Is Back

21 Top fiction books like One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

Transform Your Habits

One True Loves

Taylor Jenkins Reid

3.47

Transform Your Habits

The Five-Star Weekend

Elin Hilderbrand

4.04

Transform Your Habits

The Women

Kristin Hannah

4.64

Transform Your Habits

First Lie Wins

Ashley Elston

4.05

View all the books

31 must-read fiction books like Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune

Transform Your Habits

The Five-Star Weekend

Elin Hilderbrand

4.04

Transform Your Habits

None of This Is True

Lisa Jewell

4.12

Transform Your Habits

First Lie Wins

Ashley Elston

4.05

Transform Your Habits

The Things We Leave Unfinished

Rebecca Yarros

4.30

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