My reading tastes have changed a lot over the past few years, especially since I started blogging, but I still have a big place in my heart for contemporary romance and realistic fiction in my heart! I’ve been picking up a lot more light & fluffy contemporary stories lately, more so than the serious realistic fiction, but this compilation of Contemporary Queens includes a little of both!
This isn’t a comprehensive list of all of my favorites but it includes many of my favorite authors who currently have multiple books out, and I left a few off the list who I loved but I hadn’t read the majority of their current contemporary releases (like Elizabeth Eulberg and Robin Benway)! It also doesn’t include books of different genres from the authors listed below (like Kasie West’s paranormal duology and Rainbow Rowell’s dip into fantasy) to keep the list strictly contemporary!
The guide is mainly geared toward young adult authors and novels but also includes any “crossover” books by the same authors including Rainbow Rowell’s adult novels and Liz Czukas’s novels as Ellie Cahill for her new adult releases! Lastly, it also only includes full-length novels so any novellas or extras have not been included here (but you should totally check those out too)!
BOOKS MENTIONED
- Sisters In Sanity by Gayle Forman | Amazon // Goodreads
- If I Stay by Gayle Forman | Amazon // Goodreads
- Where She Went by Gayle Forman | Amazon // Goodreads
- Just One Day by Gayle Forman | Amazon // Goodreads
- Just One Year by Gayle Forman | Amazon // Goodreads
- I Was Here by Gayle Forman | Amazon // Goodreads
- Leave Me by Gayle Forman | Amazon // Goodreads
- The Distance Between Us by Kasie West | Amazon // Goodreads
- On The Fence by Kasie West | Amazon // Goodreads
- The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West | Amazon // Goodreads
- P.S. I Like You by Kasie West | Amazon // Goodreads
- By Your Side by Kasie West | Amazon // Goodreads
- Lucky In Love by Kasie West | Amazon // Goodreads
- Attachments by Rainbow Rowell | Amazon // Goodreads
- Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell | Amazon // Goodreads
- Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell | Amazon // Goodreads
- Landline by Rainbow Rowell | Amazon // Goodreads
- Open Road Summer by Emery Lord | Amazon // Goodreads
- The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord | Amazon // Goodreads
- When We Collided by Emery Lord | Amazon // Goodreads
- The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord | Amazon // Goodreads
- Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas | Amazon // Goodreads
- Top Ten Clues You’re Clueless by Liz Czukas | Amazon // Goodreads
- Throwing My Life Away by Liz Czukas | Amazon // Goodreads
- When Joss Met Matt by Ellie Cahill | Amazon // Goodreads
- Call Me Maybe by Ellie Cahill | Amazon // Goodreads
- Just A Girl by Ellie Cahill | Amazon // Goodreads
- Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins | Amazon // Goodreads
- Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins | Amazon // Goodreads
- Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins | Amazon // Goodreads
- My True Love Gave to Me curated by Stephanie Perkins | Amazon // Goodreads
- Summer Days and Summer Nights curated by Stephanie Perkins | Amazon // Goodreads
- Sean Griswold’s Head by Lindsey Leavitt | Amazon // Goodreads
- Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt | Amazon // Goodreads
- The Chapel Wars by Lindsey Leavitt | Amazon // Goodreads
- Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland | Amazon // Goodreads
- Nantucket Red by Leila Howland | Amazon // Goodreads
- Hello, Sunshine by Leila Howland | Amazon // Goodreads
Who are your queens of contemporary? I also love Elizabeth Eulberg, Robin Benway, and Lauren Morrill but I need to catch up on some of their earlier books or latest releases!
Looking for more reading recommendations?
Here are some more posts to check out!
- The Book Addict’s “GUIDE” to Contemporary: It was my very first “guide” and I shared my favorite contemporary and realistic fiction novels!
- The Book Addict’s “GUIDE” to “Crossover” Books: Know adult readers who want to get into YA? Or YA readers who want to pick up new adult reads? Check out this guide to “crossover” books!
- The Book Addict’s “GUIDE” to Male POVs: Sometimes I’m just craving a good male POV or want to diversify my reading away from the females. Check out some of my favorite books from a guy’s perspective (mostly YA, some adult, some alternating male/female POV)!
- If You Liked… If I Stay: For fans of IF I STAY, here are a few hand-picked selections of books you should read next!
- If You Liked… The Fault In Our Stars: For fans of John Green’s hit book, now a movie!
6 thoughts on “The Book Addict’s “GUIDE”… to Queens of Contemporary!”
I love a couple of the authors on this list, but Stephanie Perkins has become a particular favorite. I love her Anna series.
I have, historically, never enjoyed contemporary YA much. I liked Anna and the French Kiss but couldn’t stand the sequel. But Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl just blew me away, in every possible way. If there are more contemporary with that powerful of a story and depth of characters, I will love them. Are any of these authors like that?
I would recommend Gayle Forman and Emery Lord for Rainbow Rowell fans! I would say Gayle Forman’s work grows deeper and more mature in her later books but each person ends up loving a different book for different reasons. She also has an adult contemporary too! Emery Lord’s most recent release (When We Collided) is probably the best Fangirl comparison I can make (out of this list)! I thought it was wonderful and interesting and emotional. It dealt with bipolar disorder so some people had a hard time reading the manic states but I thought it was SO well done. I also really LOVED Nantucket Blue and Nantucket Red by Leila Howland! I really personally identified with Cricket and I thought it was an incredibly realistic set of books (at least for me, since Cricket was like the same personality as me)! Emery Lord’s first two books are also amazing but I think When We Collided is the deepest/most serious where as Open Road Summer is probably the fluffiest although still has great depth, flawed characters, and a great love story! All of her novels are very different but I’ve loved them all so far! I really loved All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway, The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler, The Lies About Truth by Courtney C. Stevens, and I REALLY love the Confessions series by Louise Rozett (starting with Confessions of an Angry Girl). The series starts with the main character as a freshman in high school but they’re so well-written and didn’t feel young to me. I really love Louise Rozett’s writing! OH also The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay is AMAZING.
I was also not the biggest fan of Lola (still enjoyed it but I haven’t re-read any of the books beside Anna, which I now re-read every year)! I don’t have that draw to re-read Lola or Isla again.
Let me know if you have any questions about those! I LOVE giving recs so I hope one of these sticks! 😀
Thank you so much! Now I’ve added 5 or 6 of those to my Goodreads list and library list… 😉
I hope I love them, too! I definitely appreciate the thoughtful and thorough recommendation!
So many great ones here, and so many I still need to read! I adore Emery Lord, Stephanie Perkins, Kasie West, and Gayle Forman. I really need to pick up something by both Lindsey Leavitt and Leila Howland. Great list, Brittany! 🙂
I LOVE RAINBOW ROWELL! SHE IS THE PERFECT CONTEMPORARY QUEEN EVER!