Books like Conversations with Friends are deeply inspiring explorations in the human experience and the relationships we form with others, romantic and otherwise. Poignant, tender and humorous, Sally Rooney’s book is a hugely popular success.
It follows Frances and her best friend (and past lover), Bobbi who are drawn into the life of a journalist, Melissa, after she spots the pair’s potential at a spoken word gig. An aspiring writer currently at college, Frances knows what an opportunity working with the older woman is.
Invited into her home, she meets Melissa’s outrageously handsome and charming husband, Nick. Soon, Frances and Nick’s flirtations become something more intimate and she begins to struggle balancing her college life and the one she created with Melissa and Nick.
If you have already devoured Conversations with Friends and want similar books to dive into, then have a look at the ten books below and see if one draws you in!
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10 Books like Conversations with Friends
Good Material, by Dolly Alderton
In this story of heartbreak and friendship, we follow Andy who is struggling after a brutal breakup with the only woman he’s ever truly loved.
Now living out of a suitcase in his best friend’s place and waiting for his stand-up comedian career to take off, Andy is at a standstill… surely at thirty-five he should have his life figured out already?
But Andy has a long way to go and a lot to learn before the end of his story… most of all, his ex-girlfriend’s side of the story.
Pick up Good Material for a fresh take on contemporary romance that lovers of Conversations with Friends will devour!
The Wake-Up Call, by Beth O’Leary
If you’re looking for a book similar to Conversations with Friends that explores romantic relationships but has a more light-hearted, humorous feel to it, then try picking up Beth O’Leary’s The Wake-Up Call.
Izzy and Lucas work at the falling-apart Forest Manor hotel and, despite their bitter rivalry, are put on the same busy Christmas shift on the front desk.
The hotel staying afloat past the holiday season would be nothing short of a miracle so when Izzy returns a lost wedding ring to a guest and receives a considerable reward, management convinces themselves the four rings sitting in lost and found are the solution.
Izzy and Lucas race against the clock to find the owners of the four rings, hoping by the end of the Christmas period, they’ll have both their jobs and their hearts intact.
Happy Place, by Emily Henry
Happy Place is a poignant and tender story of finding love, losing it and what comes after. Harriet and Wyn have been together since they met in college and they were the ‘It’ couple.
At least, until they broke up six months ago. Forced to pretend they’re still together for their annual getaway in Maine for the sake of their friendship group, the pair find themselves sharing a room and having to pretend to be in love again.
The cottage is for sale and this is their last year together, so they will fake it for a week. How hard can it be?
This wonderful book will have readers flipping through the pages with fervour!
Have you already read this novel? Check out our list of books similar to Happy Place!
Exciting Times, by Naoise Dolan
Exciting Times is an intelligent and glittering debut from Naoise Dolan about an unexpected love triangle.
Ava thought moving to Hong Kong would bring her joy but instead, she’s avoiding her flatmates and spends her days teaching English to rich children who find her cold.
Then she meets Julian, a funny and clever British banker, and finds herself moving into his apartment, letting him buy her clothes and then eventually starts a sexual relationship. But when his job takes him back to London, she isn’t sure where they stand.
That’s when Edith comes in, a stunning lawyer whom Ava both wants to be and be with. So, when Julian reveals he is returning to Hong Kong, Ava has to make a choice.
Cleopatra and Frankenstein, by Coco Mellors
Marketed for ‘lovers of Conversations with Friends’, Cleopatra and Frankenstein is perfect for those readers who are looking for a book to pick up next.
The book follows Cleo and Frank and the outcome of their impulsive marriage. With a severe lack of money, no friends and a visa that is running out, Cleo is desperate to stay in New York.
Then Frank comes along, with pockets full of cash, success and an offer of marriage so she can apply for a green card. Cleo is everything Frank needs – someone to distract him from his endless drinking and fill his life with art and beauty once more.
But as the years go on, the consequences of this sudden marriage become more and more apparent.
Beautiful World, Where Are You?, By Sally Rooney
If you adored Conversations with Friends and are trying to figure out what book to read next… why not look at the author’s other works?
Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You? is a bestselling novel about navigating adult relationships whilst realising you might not have it all figured out.
Alice and Eileen have been best friends since college and now on the verge of thirty, are still trying to figure out where they fit in an increasingly troubling world. Alice meets Felix, a warehouse worker and asks him to go to Rome with her.
Back home in Dublin, Eileen is still getting over a recent breakup when she starts a situationship with her childhood friend, Simon. All the while, they ask themselves where do they fit in this new modern world?
Really Good, Actually, by Monica Heisey
Monica Heisey’s debut novel, Really Good, Actually, is a beautiful story about one’s search for happiness after a failed marriage.
Maggie is a young divorcee whose marriage lasted just shy of two years. Recovering from the fallout of her separation, she decides to focus her time on picking up new hobbies and finding out what she truly enjoys in life, whilst putting herself back in the dating pond.
With a thesis that she isn’t entirely sure she understands herself and a pitiful amount of money in her bank account, we follow Maggie through her first year as a newly single woman finding her place in the world.
If you like books that delve into the human experience, you will love Heisey’s debut.
Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams
A similar book to Conversations with Friends, in Queenie, we follow a character who is forced to confront her relationship with others and herself when things in her life are upturned.
Queenie is a Jamaican British woman working in London whose messy breakup with her long-term white boyfriend leaves her questioning what she is doing with her life.
After hooking up with a string of men who do nothing for her self-worth, Queenie looks within herself to figure out where she fits in a world she doesn’t seem to slot perfectly into.
Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata
Convenience Store Woman is a wonderful novel that explores the pressure one feels within modern society to fit in amongst our peers.
A poignant and tender novel from Sayaka Murata is the perfect novel for fans of Conversations with Friends.
We follow Keiko who never felt like she belonged anywhere – at school, amongst her family or anywhere else. Yet, when she started to work at Smile Mart, at eighteen… everything changed.
Having never left, Keiko is happy at Smile Mart. She knows the customers, the routine, the social etiquette, the way she is meant to talk and dress amongst her colleagues.
But the pressure to marry, get a proper job, to get her life in order threatens to engulf her and Keiko isn’t sure what the next step is for her.
Romantic Comedy, by Curtis Sittenfeld
Romantic Comedy is a contemporary romance that will have readers laughing out loud with its witty, observant and yet vulnerable story of love in the modern age.
Sally Milz is a sketch writer for a hugely popular live late-night comedy show who has sworn off love… at least until she meets Noah Brewster. Noah is the show’s next host – a super-hot, charming pop star who she thinks she knows everything about.
But all her assumptions are proven wrong when the pair hit it off and get to know each other properly. His past loves (mostly supermodels) are plastered all over the internet and Sally begins to doubt any feelings Noah may have toward her…
Is it true love or is she just another pop star’s fling, getting her moment of the limelight? Pick up Romantic Comedy today!
These kinds of books are loved for the flawed characters who struggle to figure out their place in our world and manage the relationships that come their way. Hopefully, you found a novel worth binging in the list above!
Are you looking for more books to read after Conversations with Friends? Have any recommendations that didn’t make the list? Let us know in the comments!
