23 must-read fiction books like Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson

Cover of Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson

Better Luck Next Time

By: Julia Claiborne Johnson

3.60

Format: 274 pages, Hardcover

The eagerly anticipated second novel from the bestselling author of Be Frank with Me, a charming st…

If you liked the fiction plot in Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson , here is a list of 23 books like this:

Cover of The Shadow of the Bear (A Fairy Tale Retold #1) by Regina Doman

1. The Shadow of the Bear (A Fairy Tale Retold #1)

By: Regina Doman

4.12

Format: 208 pages, Paperback

Once upon a time... In New York City, a young, secretive street tough who calls himself, Bear, land… read more

Similar categories in Regina Doman's The Shadow of the Bear (A Fairy Tale Retold #1) book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • fiction
"Can you imagine anything more tragic?' Rose asked. 'To be born a princess --native and to the manor born-- and then to forget who you are and settle for being something horrible like an--an accountan…"

-Regina Doman, The Shadow of the Bear (A Fairy Tale Retold #1)

Cover of The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman

2. The Garden of Small Beginnings

By: Abbi Waxman

3.93

Format: 368 pages, ebook

Lilian Girvan has been a single mother for three years—ever since her husband died in a car acciden… read more

Similar categories in Abbi Waxman's The Garden of Small Beginnings book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • humor
  • fiction
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"Now if I sat in one position for more than five minutes, I seized up. I felt like the Tin Man: oil . . . can . ."

-Abbi Waxman, The Garden of Small Beginnings

"I was lounging in the kitchen, enjoying the small fermata between emptying the dishwasher and reloading it. It's a glamorous life."

-Abbi Waxman, The Garden of Small Beginnings

"I filled my mouth with spaghetti and thanked God for the Italians. Spaghetti, pizza, ice cream. If they weren't so busy making love and whizzing around on Vespas, they'd probably rule the world."

-Abbi Waxman, The Garden of Small Beginnings

"I lined the back fence with salvia (kind of a blue-purple color) with something called Scabiosa "summer berries" (kind of pinks and purples, including one that was almost black- so cool, a gothic flo…"

-Abbi Waxman, The Garden of Small Beginnings

Cover of Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham

3. Scarlett Undercover

By: Jennifer Latham

4.05

Format: 240 pages, ebook

A voice-driven mystery perfect for fans of Veronica Mars. Meet Scarlett, a smart, sarcastic, kick-b… read more

Similar categories in Jennifer Latham's Scarlett Undercover book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • fiction
Cover of Die for Love (Jacqueline Kirby, #3) by Elizabeth Peters

4. Die for Love (Jacqueline Kirby, #3)

By: Elizabeth Peters

4.18

Format: 213 pages, Paperback

The annual Historical Romance Writers of the World convention in New York City is calling to Jacque… read more

Similar categories in Elizabeth Peters's Die for Love (Jacqueline Kirby, #3) book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • humor
  • fiction
Cover of Dead End Gene Pool: A Memoir by Wendy Burden

5. Dead End Gene Pool: A Memoir

By: Wendy Burden

2.50

Format: 62 pages,

In the tradition of Sean Wilsey's Oh The Glory of It Alland Augusten Burrough's Running With Scisso… read more

Similar categories in Wendy Burden's Dead End Gene Pool: A Memoir book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • humor
Cover of Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

6. Dear Committee Members

By: Julie Schumacher

4.00

Format: 158 pages, Hardcover

Finally, a novel that puts the "pissed" back into "epistolary." Jason Fitger is a beleaguered profe… read more

Similar categories in Julie Schumacher's Dear Committee Members book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • humor
  • fiction
  • audiobook
Cover of Staged to Death (Caprice De Luca Mystery #1) by Karen Rose Smith

7. Staged to Death (Caprice De Luca Mystery #1)

By: Karen Rose Smith

4.22

Format: 72 pages, Paperback

Cozy mystery, Book 1 in the Caprice DeLuca home-stager mystery series Caprice DeLuca stages houses … read more

Similar categories in Karen Rose Smith's Staged to Death (Caprice De Luca Mystery #1) book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction

8. The Burglar on the Prowl (Bernie Rhodenbarr, #10)

By: Lawrence Block

4.12

Format: 206 pages, Paperback

A philosophical yet practical gentleman, Bernie Rhodenbarr possesses many admirable qualities: char… read more

Similar categories in Lawrence Block's The Burglar on the Prowl (Bernie Rhodenbarr, #10) book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

9. This is Where I Leave You

By: Jonathan Tropper

4.11

Format: 40 pages,

A riotously funny, emotionally raw novel about love, marriage, divorce, family, and the ties that b… read more

Similar categories in Jonathan Tropper's This is Where I Leave You book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

10. La's Orchestra Saves the World

By: Alexander McCall Smith

3.93

Format: None pages, Hardcover

La Stone is a widow who, as the Nazi threat looms, assembles a ragtag orchestra in rural Suffolk in… read more

Similar categories in Alexander McCall Smith's La's Orchestra Saves the World book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

Cover of Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

11. Tom Lake

By: Ann Patchett

3.99

Format: 309 pages, Hardcover

In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again prov… read more

Similar categories in Ann Patchett's Tom Lake book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
"You can’t pretend this [Covid] isn’t happening,"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

"In the summer the pear trees were fine. In the summer, all that is hideous about a pear tree is hidden by leaves and pears. But once those disguises were removed they were nothing but acres of murder…"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

"Hazel, listen to me. I'm going to tell you something important, you need to be brave.' I then explained to the dog how I have told myself for so many years that my career fell apart because I wasn't …"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

"It's as if someone bought all the diamonds at Tiffany's, and crushed them into dust, then spread that dust across the water so that it sifts down evenly, filtering through the shards of light that cu…"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

Cover of Table for Two by Amor Towles

12. Table for Two

By: Amor Towles

4.26

Format: 464 pages, Hardcover

From the bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway, A Gentleman in Moscow, and Rules of Civility, a… read more

Similar categories in Amor Towles's Table for Two book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
"And though she couldn’t remember the exact reference and whether it was from mythology or the Bible, she knew instinctively as they approached the pier’s limit she mustn’t look back."

-Amor Towles, Table for Two

"It is a funny aspect of life, thought Charlie, how a group of grown people can convince themselves to do something that none of them really want to do. They start by talking an idea into existence. O…"

-Amor Towles, Table for Two

Cover of No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister

13. No Two Persons

By: Erica Bauermeister

4.09

Format: 314 pages, Hardcover

One book. Nine readers. Ten changed lives. New York Times bestselling author Erica Bauermeister’s N… read more

Similar categories in Erica Bauermeister's No Two Persons book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • adult fiction
  • adult
  • fiction
  • audiobook
"All that matters is that we try. pg. 79"

-Erica Bauermeister, No Two Persons

"Guilt is easier to drown in than any sorrow. pg. 245"

-Erica Bauermeister, No Two Persons

"Always start with words. Words last. Tell me a secret from your day."

-Erica Bauermeister, No Two Persons

"Did you know that otters sleep holding hands? All night long, so they don't lose each other."

-Erica Bauermeister, No Two Persons

Cover of Sandwich by Catherine Newman

14. Sandwich

By: Catherine Newman

3.75

Format: 229 pages, Hardcover

From the beloved author of We All Want Impossible Things, a moving, hilarious story of a family sum… read more

Similar categories in Catherine Newman's Sandwich book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"What does loss look like, in your body? Where is it? It feels like an air bubble stuck in your psyche. It feels like peering down into a deep hole. The vertigo of that. The potential for obliteration…"

-Catherine Newman, Sandwich

"We're just ruined by sex, women---our bodies, our psyches. We're sexually assaulted every five minutes. We're infected with everything. Traumatized by conceiving, by not conceiving. But let's keep at…"

-Catherine Newman, Sandwich

Cover of The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

15. The Ministry of Time

By: Kaliane Bradley

3.62

Format: 341 pages, Hardcover

A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the natu… read more

Similar categories in Kaliane Bradley's The Ministry of Time book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
"And then when she was given a second chance, she caught the sword and came up singing."

-Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time

"You'll have lived through heat waves by now, and you'll know that they make time go utterly Dali clocks."

-Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time

"What was it like, to be the only one who came back? The only one who still had a body to touch, to hurt, to yearn with? The last one still able to die?"

-Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time

"He was here, by and with and in my body. He lives in me like trauma does. If you ever fall in love, you’ll be a person who was in love for the rest of your life."

-Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of Time

Cover of The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

16. The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

By: Helen Simonson

3.96

Format: 432 pages, Hardcover

A timeless comedy of manners—refreshing as a summer breeze and bracing as the British seaside—about… read more

Similar categories in Helen Simonson's The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of The Guncle Abroad (The Guncle, #2) by Steven  Rowley

17. The Guncle Abroad (The Guncle, #2)

By: Steven Rowley

3.98

Format: 320 pages, Kindle Edition

Patrick O'Hara is called back to his guncle duties . . . This time for a big family wedding in Ita… read more

Similar categories in Steven Rowley's The Guncle Abroad (The Guncle, #2) book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • humor
  • fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of April May June July by Alison B.  Hart

18. April May June July

By: Alison B. Hart

3.47

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

A triumphant family story and sharply observed exploration of privilege, identity, and love in all … read more

Similar categories in Alison B. Hart's April May June July book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • adult
  • fiction
  • audiobook
Cover of Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel

19. Musical Chairs

By: Amy Poeppel

3.81

Format: 416 pages, Hardcover

The “quick-witted and razor-sharp” (Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy… read more

Similar categories in Amy Poeppel's Musical Chairs book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • humor
  • fiction
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams

20. The Summer Wives

By: Beatriz Williams

3.74

Format: 371 pages, Hardcover

New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams brings us the blockbuster novel of the season—an… read more

Similar categories in Beatriz Williams's The Summer Wives book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
"You mustn't ever try to save me, all right?I like to sail close to the wind, as close as I can,but I won't capsize"

-Beatriz Williams, The Summer Wives

"There's something about the smells of your childhood, isn't there? ... You still remember those small sublime joys with an ache of longing because there's no getting it back, is there? You cannot ret…"

-Beatriz Williams, The Summer Wives

"They say human beings are creatures of habit, that we are wont to follow the scripts already written in our heads, the stories we have learned to believe, over and over again in the same implacable, …"

-Beatriz Williams, The Summer Wives

"You must find whatever ugliness there exists within him and have the courage to extract it, like a bad tooth, or if it cannot be extracted to actually journey inside him and gather the ugliness in yo…"

-Beatriz Williams, The Summer Wives

Cover of Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson

21. Better Luck Next Time

By: Julia Claiborne Johnson

3.60

Format: 274 pages, Hardcover

The eagerly anticipated second novel from the bestselling author of Be Frank with Me, a charming st… read more

Similar categories in Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • westerns
  • historical
  • humor
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • chick lit
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier by April  White

22. The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier

By: April White

3.54

Format: 304 pages, Hardcover

From a historian and senior editor at Atlas Obscura, a fascinating account of the daring nineteenth… read more

Similar categories in April White's The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • historical
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Troubled Waters by Mary Annaïse Heglar

23. Troubled Waters

By: Mary Annaïse Heglar

3.90

Format: 336 pages, Paperback

In this intimate portrait of two generations, a granddaughter and a grandmother come to terms with … read more

Similar categories in Mary Annaïse Heglar's Troubled Waters book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • fiction
  • audiobook
Cover of Ralph Lauren A Way of Living: Home, Design, Inspiration by Ralph Lauren

24. Ralph Lauren A Way of Living: Home, Design, Inspiration

By: Ralph Lauren

4.38

Format: 544 pages, Hardcover

A stunning celebration of Ralph Lauren’s signature home collections—including the designer’s own ho… read more

Similar categories in Ralph Lauren's Ralph Lauren A Way of Living: Home, Design, Inspiration book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

Cover of The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier

25. The Glassmaker

By: Tracy Chevalier

4.00

Format: 416 pages, Hardcover

From the bestselling historical novelist, a rich, transporting story that follows a family of glass… read more

Similar categories in Tracy Chevalier's The Glassmaker book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
"...you never recover from losing someone; you just learn to accommodate the hole it makes in you."

-Tracy Chevalier, The Glassmaker

"People who make things also have an ambiguous relationship with time. Painters, writers, wood-carvers, knitters, weavers and, yes, glassmakers: creators often enter an absorbed state that psychologis…"

-Tracy Chevalier, The Glassmaker

Cover of Off the Books by Soma Mei Sheng Frazier

26. Off the Books

By: Soma Mei Sheng Frazier

3.84

Format: 224 pages, Hardcover

Recent Dartmouth dropout Mei, in search of a new direction in life, drives a limo to make ends meet… read more

Similar categories in Soma Mei Sheng Frazier's Off the Books book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • adult
  • fiction
"Going karura mean ride service off the books."

-Soma Mei Sheng Frazier, Off the Books

"On the Fourth, he’d been cowardly. And this time he hadn’t missed."

-Soma Mei Sheng Frazier, Off the Books

"Was the decline of journalistic ethics an inevitable result of capitalism?"

-Soma Mei Sheng Frazier, Off the Books

"She would hate it, but she’s saving her hate for the Three I’s. Iowa, Illinois, Indiana."

-Soma Mei Sheng Frazier, Off the Books

Cover of White Elephant by Julie Langsdorf

27. White Elephant

By: Julie Langsdorf

3.20

Format: 320 pages, Hardcover

A turf war between neighbors leads to a small-town crisis in this sharply observant debut novel per… read more

Similar categories in Julie Langsdorf's White Elephant book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Bethlehem by Karen    Kelly

28. Bethlehem

By: Karen Kelly

3.84

Format: 288 pages, Hardcover

With the atmospheric storytelling of Kate Morton and Lisa Wingate, Karen Kelly weaves a shattering … read more

Similar categories in Karen Kelly's Bethlehem book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Dealer's Choice (Dealer's Choice, #1) by Liz Cain

29. Dealer's Choice (Dealer's Choice, #1)

By: Liz Cain

4.48

Format: None pages, Kindle Edition

He finally caught up. I never should have made that deal. One moment of pain and despair, one mo… read more

Similar categories in Liz Cain's Dealer's Choice (Dealer's Choice, #1) book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

Cover of Monsters of the Midwest: True Tales of Bigfoot, Werewolves & Other Legendary Creatures by Jessica Freeburg

30. Monsters of the Midwest: True Tales of Bigfoot, Werewolves & Other Legendary Creatures

By: Jessica Freeburg

3.20

Format: 119 pages, Paperback

Is scaring yourself silly by telling creepy tales around a campfire your idea of a good time? Paran… read more

Similar categories in Jessica Freeburg's Monsters of the Midwest: True Tales of Bigfoot, Werewolves & Other Legendary Creatures book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

Cover of More Miracle Than Bird by Alice  Miller

31. More Miracle Than Bird

By: Alice Miller

3.09

Format: 368 pages, Hardcover

On the eve of World War I, twenty-one-year-old Georgie Hyde-Lees—on her own for the first time—is i… read more

Similar categories in Alice Miller's More Miracle Than Bird book and Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time

  • historical
  • fiction
  • historical fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook

5 Best chick lit books like Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson

Transform Your Habits

The Garden of Small Beginnings

Abbi Waxman

3.93

Transform Your Habits

Sandwich

Catherine Newman

3.75

Transform Your Habits

Musical Chairs

Amy Poeppel

3.81

Transform Your Habits

The Summer Wives

Beatriz Williams

3.74

View all the books

20 Best fiction books like Staged to Death (Caprice De Luca Mystery #1) by Karen Rose Smith

Transform Your Habits

Grave Secret (Harper Connelly, #4)

Charlaine Harris

3.97

Transform Your Habits

Swamp Team 3 (Miss Fortune Mystery, #4)

Jana Deleon

4.45

Transform Your Habits

Fortune Hunter (Miss Fortune Mystery #8)

Jana Deleon

3.79

Transform Your Habits

Lethal Bayou Beauty (Miss Fortune Mystery #2)

Jana Deleon

2.57

View all the books

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