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Books to Match Your Taylor Swift Era: Lover (2019)

read these when you're feeling lover(ly)

By Kristen BarenthalerPublished 8 months ago 6 min read

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Seventeen-year-old Bailey moves to California to live with her father and, perhaps, finally meet an online friend and fellow film buff, but soon finds herself attracted to an annoying co-worker.

A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti

Followed by Grandpa Ed in his RV and backed by her brother and friends, Annabelle, eighteen, runs from Seattle to Washington, D.C., becoming a reluctant activist as people connect her journey to her recent trauma.

Annabelle is running. From Seattle to Washington, DC, through mountain passes and suburban landscapes, from long lonely roads to college towns. She's not ready to think about the tragedy from the past year, or The Taker that haunts her. But Annablle can't outrun it, and becomes a reluctant activist as people connect her journey to the trauma from her past. Followed by Grandpa Ed in his RV and backed by her brother and two friends, she just keeps running. Will she finally face what lies behind her-- and what is to come?

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

When sixteen-year-old orphan Tessa Gray's older brother suddenly vanishes, her search for him leads her into Victorian-era London's dangerous supernatural underworld, and when she discovers that she herself is a Downworlder, she must learn to trust the demon-killing Shadowhunters if she ever wants to learn to control her powers and find her brother.

Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw

Be careful of the dark, dark wood... Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even. Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it's this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman -- the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago -- and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he'd been missing. But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver's presence. And it's not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn't know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own -- secrets he'll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn't the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago. For as long as there have been fairy tales, we have been warned to fear what lies within the dark, dark woods and in Winterwood, author Shea Ernshaw, shows us why.

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

As high school ends, Lara Jean looks forward to her father's remarriage and seeing her sister, but she must choose a college, prepare to leave home, and possibly leave her beloved Peter behind.

There's Something about Sweetie by Sandhya Menon

Told in two voices, disappointed-in-love Ashish Patel and self-proclaimed fat athlete Sweetie Nair begin to find their true selves while dating under contract.

Analee, in Real Life by Janelle Milanes

Anxious, awkward Analee Echevarria only feels confident playing her favorite online game, but with a potential real-world romance and her father's remarriage looming, she begins to rediscover herself.

With a best friend who hates her and a dad who's marrying a yogi she can't stand, Analee Echevarria spends most of her time avoiding reality and role-playing as Kiri, the night elf hunter at the center of her favorite online game. Kiri's bravery, strength, and inner warrior are everything real-life Analee is not. When high school heartthrob Seb Matias asks Analee to pose as his girlfriend in an attempt to make his ex jealous, Analee agrees. But as Seb tries to coax Analee out of her comfort zone, will Analee figure out real life-- or lose herself in the process?

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

When apprentice librarian Elisabeth is implicated in sabotage that released the library's most dangerous grimoire, she becomes entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy that could mean the end of everything.

Cursed by Thomas Wheeler

Nimue grew up an outcast. Her connection to dark magic made her something to be feared in her Druid village, and that made her desperate to leave. . . . That is, until Red Paladins slaughter her entire village, and Nimue's fate is forever altered. Charged by her dying mother to reunite an ancient sword with a legendary sorcerer, Nimue is now her people's only hope.

Whisper Network by Chandler Baker

Sloane, Ardie, Grace, and Rosalita have worked at Truviv, Inc. for years. The sudden death of Truviv's CEO means their boss, Ames, will likely take over the entire company. Each of the women has a different relationship with Ames, who has always been surrounded by whispers about how he treats women. Those whispers have been ignored, swept under the rug, hidden away by those in charge. But the world has changed, and the women are watching this promotion differently. This time, when they find out Ames is making an inappropriate move on a colleague, they aren't willing to let it go. This time, they've decided enough is enough. Sloane and her colleagues' decision to take a stand sets in motion a catastrophic shift in the office. Lies will be uncovered. Secrets will be exposed. And not everyone will survive. All of their lives--as women, colleagues, mothers, wives, friends, even adversaries--will change dramatically as a result.

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

1940: Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, and her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to fun-chasing showgirls, a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it ultimately leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves-- and a love that stands out from all the rest. 2010: Now eighty-nine years old, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life-- and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it.

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

Popular television personality Valerie Adler turns to her long-forgotten, Illinois hometown friend Addie Downs when she runs into a bit of trouble involving betrayal and loyalty, family history and small-town secrets.

Roomies by Christina Lauren

From subway to Broadway to happily ever after. Modern love in all its thrill, hilarity, and uncertainty has never been so compulsively readable as in New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren's (Beautiful Bastard, Dating You / Hating You) new romance. Marriages of convenience are so ... inconvenient. Rescued by Calvin McLoughlin from a would-be subway attacker, Holland Bakker pays the brilliant musician back by pulling some of her errand-girl strings and getting him an audition with a bigtime musical director. When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway--until he admits his student visa has expired and he's in the country illegally. Holland impulsively offers to wed the Irishman to keep him in New York, her growing infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves from awkward roommates to besotted lovers, Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway. In the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting, what will it take for Holland and Calvin to realize that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

In early nineteenth-century England, a spirited young woman copes with the suit of a snobbish gentleman, and the romantic entanglements of her four sisters.

Lover (2019)

1. I Forgot That You Existed

2. Cruel Summer

3. Lover

4. The Man

5. The Archer

6. I Think He Knows

7. Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince

8. Paper Rings

9. Cornelia Street

10. Death By a Thousand Cuts

11. London Boy

12. Soon You’ll Get Better (feat. Dixie Chicks)

13. False God

14. You Need to Calm Down

15. Afterglow

16. ME! (feat. Brendon Urie)

17. It’s Nice to Have a Friend

18. Daylight

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About the Creator

Kristen Barenthaler

Curious adventurer. Crazed reader. Librarian. Archery instructor. True crime addict.

Instagram: @kristenbarenthaler

Facebook: @kbarenthaler

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Comments (1)

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  • Jason Collins8 months ago

    These stories sound interesting. Bailey's situation with the online friend and co-worker caught my eye. Made me wonder how that'll play out. And Annabelle running across the country with all that trauma? That's a wild journey. Can't wait to see how it unfolds.

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