Anna Todd rose to fame with her contemporary romance series After, which first found an audience on Wattpad. Her stories combine messy relationships, heightened emotion, and characters who feel flawed, impulsive, and real.
If you enjoy reading books by Anna Todd, these authors are well worth adding to your list:
Colleen Hoover is a strong pick for readers drawn to emotionally charged romance, complicated relationships, and characters carrying deep personal wounds. If Anna Todd’s After series kept you hooked, Hoover’s It Ends with Us may have a similar effect.
The novel follows Lily Bloom, a determined young woman trying to build a life on her own terms, who becomes involved with the brilliant and magnetic neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid. What begins as an intense attraction quickly develops into something far more serious.
When Atlas Corrigan, Lily’s first love, reenters her life, long-buried memories and painful truths resurface. Suddenly, Lily must confront what love really asks of her—and what she is willing to endure.
Hoover’s fiction often explores trauma, vulnerability, and the hard choices that shape a person’s future, making her a natural recommendation for fans of high-stakes contemporary romance.
Elle Kennedy is an excellent choice for readers who like Anna Todd’s emotional intensity but want a lighter, more playful edge. Her romances balance chemistry, humor, and genuine character growth.
In The Deal , Hannah Wells, a smart and guarded college student, agrees to tutor hockey star Garrett Graham in exchange for help catching the attention of another guy. Their arrangement seems straightforward at first, but it doesn’t stay that way for long.
As the two spend more time together, their banter sharpens, their bond deepens, and unexpected feelings begin to complicate everything. Kennedy writes college relationships with energy and warmth, while still giving her characters meaningful struggles to overcome.
If you liked Anna Todd’s campus setting and emotionally messy romance, The Deal is a fun and satisfying next read.
For readers who love Anna Todd’s mix of angst, attraction, and emotional conflict, Penelope Douglas is a compelling author to try next. Her books often lean darker and more intense, with relationships shaped by secrets, pride, and vulnerability.
In Punk 57, Douglas tells the story of Misha and Ryen, longtime pen pals who have never met face-to-face—until one unexpected encounter changes everything. The fantasy each has built around the other begins to crack almost immediately.
What follows is a turbulent story about identity, disappointment, and the gap between who people pretend to be and who they really are. Douglas writes with a raw emotional edge that makes the tension feel immediate and hard to ignore.
If you’re looking for romance with heat, conflict, and a little chaos, Penelope Douglas is an easy recommendation.
Abbi Glines is a good fit for readers who enjoy dramatic romance, strong attraction, and characters whose personal lives are anything but simple. Like Anna Todd, she knows how to build emotional tension around love, family, and buried secrets.
In her book, Fallen Too Far, Blaire Wynn arrives in a coastal town to stay with the father who has largely been absent from her life. There she meets Rush Finlay, a wealthy and troubled young man whose charm is matched by the complications surrounding him.
Their connection grows quickly, but so do the obstacles between them. As hidden truths come to light, the relationship is tested in ways neither of them expects.
With its blend of romance, family drama, and emotional fallout, this novel is likely to appeal to readers who enjoy passionate stories with plenty at stake.
Jamie McGuire is another author worth exploring if you enjoy volatile, all-consuming love stories. Her book Beautiful Disaster centers on Abby Abernathy, a college student determined to leave her past behind, and Travis Maddox, a reckless bad boy with a magnetic pull.
Abby knows Travis is exactly the kind of person she should avoid, yet the attraction between them keeps intensifying. Their relationship becomes turbulent fast, shaped by jealousy, secrets, and a constant push-pull dynamic.
For readers who want romance with sharp emotional highs and lows, McGuire delivers the kind of addictive drama that makes “just one more chapter” nearly impossible.
Simone Elkeles writes romance with strong emotional stakes and characters from very different worlds, making her a solid match for fans of Anna Todd.
Her book Perfect Chemistry follows Brittany Ellis, a high-achieving cheerleader whose perfect image hides serious pressure at home, and Alex Fuentes, a tough and charismatic gang member. When they end up as chemistry partners, neither is pleased—but the friction between them quickly turns into something more complicated.
As Brittany and Alex get closer, they are forced to confront assumptions, family expectations, and the risks of crossing social lines. Elkeles keeps the romance intense without losing sight of the emotional reality behind it.
If you like stories where tension, vulnerability, and opposites-attract chemistry all matter, this one is well worth picking up.
Tijan writes new adult and contemporary romance with plenty of drama, emotion, and fast-moving tension. Readers who were pulled in by the intensity of Anna Todd’s After series often respond to Tijan’s bold, addictive style.
Her book Fallen Crest High follows Samantha, a teenager whose life is upended by major changes at home. When she moves into the mansion shared by the wealthy Kade brothers, Mason and Logan, she is drawn into a world full of secrets, social pressure, and tangled emotions.
The novel mixes romance with friendship conflicts, family strain, and the kind of high-drama atmosphere that keeps the pages turning. If you enjoy stories that feel intense from the start, Tijan is a strong option.
Jennifer L. Armentrout is a great recommendation for readers who like heartfelt romance with a strong emotional core. Her characters are easy to invest in, and her stories usually pair swoony chemistry with heavier personal stakes.
In Wait for You , Avery Morgansten heads to college hoping to leave her past behind and finally create a life that feels safe and normal. There, she meets Cameron Hamilton, a charming and persistent guy whose easy confidence starts to break through her defenses.
As their relationship develops, Avery’s unresolved trauma threatens to undo the future she’s trying to build. Armentrout handles romance and healing in a way that feels both accessible and emotionally engaging.
For fans of Anna Todd who want intensity without losing tenderness, this is a smart next pick.
Mona Kasten is a German author known for writing contemporary romance with warmth, tension, and emotionally believable characters. If you enjoyed Anna Todd’s After series, her novel Begin Again. is a promising place to start.
The story follows Allie Harper, who arrives at college determined to leave painful memories behind and begin again on her own terms.
That plan becomes more complicated when she ends up sharing an apartment with Kaden White, a difficult but undeniably intriguing classmate who insists on setting strict rules for their new arrangement.
As the two clash, connect, and slowly reveal more of themselves, the romance gains emotional weight. Kasten captures the uncertainty of starting over while still delivering the kind of relationship drama that keeps readers invested.
Samantha Towle is a good match for readers who enjoy emotionally intense romance with damaged characters, unresolved history, and high-stakes attraction. Her stories often have a dramatic, immersive feel that fans of Anna Todd may appreciate.
Her novel The Mighty Storm is an especially strong starting point. It follows Tru Bennett, a music journalist whose professional life collides with her past when she is assigned to interview Jake Wethers, an international rock star who also happens to be her childhood best friend.
The reunion brings old feelings roaring back, along with difficult memories and fresh complications. Set against the world of fame, music, and second chances, the story blends glamour with emotional fallout in a way that feels sweeping and intimate at once.
B.B. Easton offers something a little different while still appealing to readers who like passion, emotion, and messy relationship history. Her voice is candid, funny, and bold.
In 44 Chapters About 4 Men. , BB, a school psychologist and married mother, secretly writes about the intense romances that defined her younger years. Each section revisits one of four men who left a lasting mark on her life.
The result is reflective, outrageous, and surprisingly heartfelt. Easton contrasts the stability of her present with the chaos and excitement of her past, creating a story that is as entertaining as it is revealing.
If you enjoy emotionally honest writing with humor and heat, she is definitely worth a look.
Cora Reilly is a strong choice for readers who like intense romance with danger, power struggles, and emotionally charged relationships. Her books often lean darker than Anna Todd’s, but they share that same addictive pull.
In her book Bound by Honor, Aria and Luca are brought together through an arranged marriage meant to preserve peace between rival mafia families.
Their relationship begins with distance, mistrust, and fear, then gradually shifts as desire and understanding begin to complicate the arrangement. Reilly builds tension effectively, using loyalty, duty, and forbidden vulnerability to keep the story gripping.
If you enjoy romance where the emotional stakes are amplified by danger and control, Cora Reilly may be a great fit.
Mariana Zapata will likely appeal to Anna Todd readers who enjoy emotional investment and strong romantic payoff, but prefer a slower build. She is especially well known for slow-burn relationships that take their time and feel richly developed.
Her novel The Wall of Winnipeg and Me. follows Vanessa Mazur, longtime assistant to the distant and demanding football player Aiden Graves. After finally deciding to leave her job, she is stunned when Aiden returns with an unexpected proposal.
Zapata lets the relationship unfold gradually, building trust, frustration, and chemistry one step at a time. The result is a romance that feels grounded, believable, and deeply satisfying by the end.
If you like character-driven love stories with emotional depth rather than instant fireworks, she’s an excellent author to try.
Rebecca Donovan writes emotionally heavy stories that deal with pain, secrecy, and resilience, making her a natural recommendation for readers who connected with the more turbulent side of Anna Todd’s work.
Her novel Reason to Breathe follows Emma Thomas, a high school student who works hard to hide the truth about her home life while keeping her focus on one goal: surviving long enough to escape to college.
That fragile balance begins to crack when Evan Mathews enters her life and starts to see more than Emma wants anyone to know. As their relationship grows, so does the risk of everything she has tried to keep buried.
Donovan handles dark material with emotional honesty, making this a powerful choice for readers who want romance intertwined with serious, difficult themes.
Sophie Jordan writes contemporary romance filled with attraction, uncertainty, and characters discovering what they really want. If Anna Todd’s books worked for you because of their emotional tension, Jordan’s Foreplay. may be worth picking up.
In this story, shy college student Pepper has long had feelings for her crush, Hunter, but feels far too inexperienced to pursue him. Hoping to change that, she asks Reece—a bartender with a reputation for being a player—to help her practice flirting.
Of course, what starts as a simple arrangement doesn’t stay simple. As Pepper and Reece spend more time together, the boundaries blur and genuine feelings begin to emerge.
Jordan delivers a romance that is sexy, engaging, and full of emotional discovery, making it a solid choice for fans of new adult love stories.
