Books like Almost like being in love

A witty, mixed-media romp through the bittersweet nostalgia of first love and the hilarious, heart-pounding leap of trying to win it back. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Almost like being in love.

joyful
warm
wistful
triumphant

01
Something Like Summer
Jay Bell
A sweeping, decade-spanning queer romance that captures the messy, beautiful evolution of a bond that refuses to fade.
Shares:
- earnest
- nostalgic
- romantic
02
Almost Perfect
Brian Katcher
A messy, emotionally turbulent exploration of teenage heartbreak, prejudice, and the rocky road to genuine understanding.
Shares:
- earnest
03
Boy Meets Boy
David Levithan · 2006
A joyful, utopian queer rom-com that feels like a warm hug and a confetti cannon going off at the same time.
Shares:
- joyful
- witty
- earnest
04
Call Me by Your Name
André Aciman
A sun-drenched, intoxicating plunge into the agonizing beauty of first love and the haunting power of memory.
Shares:
- nostalgic
05
Closer
Dennis Cooper
A dark, unflinching exploration of obsessive desire and the destructive search for meaning in the hollows of middle America.
Feels:
- claustrophobic
- dark
- yearning
06
Don't Want You Like a Best Friend
Emma R. Alban
A delightful, swoon-worthy romp through Victorian ballrooms where a matchmaking scheme accidentally sparks a breathless queer romance.
Shares:
- witty
- romantic
07
At the Edge of the Universe
Shaun David Hutchinson
A surreal, heart-wrenching exploration of grief and first love, set against the backdrop of a slowly vanishing universe.
Shares:
- earnest
08
The Vast Fields of Ordinary
Nick Burd · 2009
A sun-drenched, bittersweet exploration of the messy, heartbreaking summer between high school and whatever comes next.
Shares:
- earnest
- nostalgic
09
Less
Andrew Sean Greer
A sparkling, globe-trotting comedy of errors about outrunning heartbreak and accidentally stumbling into grace.
Feels:
- bittersweet
- whimsical
- sun-drenched
10
Rainbow boys
Alex Sanchez
A candid, big-hearted exploration of the terrifying and exhilarating threshold between hiding who you are and stepping into the light.
Shares:
- earnest
11
Openly straight
Bill Konigsberg
A funny, heartfelt exploration of what happens when the desire to shed labels accidentally means shedding your true self.
Shares:
- warm
- earnest
- humorous
12
B-boy blues
James Earl Hardy · 1994
A vibrant, unapologetic collision of hip-hop culture and queer romance set against the electric backdrop of 1990s New York City.
Shares:
- earnest
- humorous

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