10 Of The Best Christina Lauren Books

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“Don’t spoil her with toys; spoil her with books.”

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If you fall head over heels for witty banter, swoon-worthy romances, and unforgettable characters, you’re probably already well-acquainted with Christina Lauren – the powerhouse duo behind some of the most adored contemporary romance novels today. From slow-burn love stories to laugh-out-loud rom-coms, their books have become go-tos for anyone looking for smart, heartfelt storytelling. But, with so many beautiful bestsellers to choose from, where do you start? Today at What We Reading, we’re pulling together all the best Christina Lauren books, perfect whether you’re a longtime admirer or wondering which Christina Lauren book to read first. From The Unhoneymooners to emotional gems like Love and Other Words, these are the stories that capture everything readers love about reading romance. So, if you’re on the hunt for your next great romantic comedy or a sweet standalone love story, you’re sure to find it here! 

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The Unhoneymooners (2019)

First up on our list of the best Christina Lauren books is their BookTok sensation, The Unhoneymooners! Olive is always unlucky. Her identical twin sister, Ami, is the total opposite. Her meet-cute with her fiancé was something out of a rom-com, and she’s managed to fund her whole wedding by winning a series of internet competitions. Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, the best man. But when the whole wedding party is struck by food poisoning, the only two people unaffected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs. 

Putting their mutual loathing aside for the sake of a free holiday in the sun, Olive and Ethan jet off to paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. Yet, when Olive runs into her new boss, the little white lie she tells suddenly risks becoming far larger. She and Ethan must pretend to be loving newlyweds. The only strange thing is that the more she plays pretend, the more Olive realises that, for the first time, she feels strangely lucky. 

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Check Out The Best Books Like The Unhoneymooners 

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The Exception To The Rule (2024)

One typo, and a boy and a girl connect by chance. Wishing one another a happy Valentine’s Day on February 14th isn’t the end of their story, though. In fact, it soon becomes their annual tradition. But there are rules to the arrangement: no photos, no real names, nothing too personal. As years pass, the rules for their email “dates” are wearing away, and they’re sharing more than they imagined, including the urge to ask: what if we actually met? 

One of the best romance books from 2024 and most hyped Christina Lauren novels, The Exception to the Rule is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute universe, irresistible romantic stories about finding love right where you least expect it. Snappy and easily finished in one sitting, it is one of the best Christina Lauren books to start off with to get a flavour of the duo’s style. 

Love And Other Words (2018)

Macy Sorenson is settling into an ambitious, if emotionally tepid, routine. But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos, the first and only love of her life, the bubble around her that she’s carefully constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world. That was until he broke her heart on the very night he declared his love for her. 

Told in alternate timelines between the past and the present, 2018’s Love and Other Words follows Elliot and Macy as they grow from friends to much more. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although time has whittled down the agony of what happened a decade ago, Elliot will soon come to understand the truth behind Macy’s silence and will have to overcome both himself and the past to revive her faith in the potential of an all-consuming love. Tender, heartfelt, and brimming with love, loss, friendship, and betrayals, Love and Other Words is one of the best Christina Lauren novels, responsible for putting the pair on the literary map. 

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Check Out The Best Books Like Love And Other Words 

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Roomies (2017)

For months, Holland Bakker has invented excuses to descend into the subway station near her apartment, lured by the music performed by her street musician crush. Lacking the nerve to actually talk to the stranger, fate steps in one night in the form of a drunken attacker. Calvin McLoughlin rescues her, but soon disappears when the police arrive to ask some questions. When Holland repays Calvin with an audition with Broadway’s hottest musical director, it becomes clear why he vanished: he’s in the country illegally, his student visa expiring a year earlier. 

Seeing that the man needs her help, impulse kicks in for Holland. She marries the Irishman, her infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves and Calvin soon finds himself as the newest darling star of Broadway, will the pair of them realise they both stopped playing pretend a long time ago? 

Something Wilder (2022)

Growing up as the daughter of the infamous treasure hunter Duke Wilder left Lily without much patience for the profession. But Lily is nothing if not resourceful, and now uses Duke’s hand-drawn maps to guide tourists on fake treasure hunts through the rugged Utah wilderness. Leo Grady wants nothing more than to reconnect with his first and only love. Unfortunately for him, Lily Wilder is all business, making it clear that what he wants is never going to happen. 

But, when their trip together goes horribly and hilariously wrong, the group wonders if perhaps the legend of hidden treasures wasn’t so much of a gimmick after all. There’s a chance to right some wrongs, but only if Lily and Leo can confront their pasts and work together. Alone under the stars in the isolated mazes of the Canyonlands, the pair must decide whether they’ll risk their lives and their hearts on the adventure of a lifetime. 

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Check Out The Best Books Like Something Wilder 

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Josh And Hazel’s Guide To Not Dating (2018)

Hazel is well aware she’s a lot to take. Frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and taste for the absurd don’t send them packing, her lack of a filter and tendency to say precisely the wrong thing will. Not everyone can handle a Hazel. 

Josh has known Hazel since college. From the night they first met, he has always viewed her as more of a spectacle than a peer. But now, a decade on after an unfaithful girlfriend turned his whole life upside down, going out with Hazel proves to be a breath of fresh air. Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting one another up on progressively terrible double blind dates guarantees there’s nothing between them, right? One of the most cutesy friends-to-lovers tales, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating is one of the best Christina Lauren books for reaffirming that love can come from the most unexpected places. 

The Soulmate Equation (2021)

Single mum Jess Davis is a stats wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking service that’s predicted to change how people meet. Jess’ results yield an unheard-of 98 per cent compatibility with an unlikely suitor: GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Pena. 

Whilst Jess is suspicious to say the least about the prospect of being compatible with the aloof, stubborn River, GeneticAlly proposes she give him a chance. In return, they’ll pay her. As the pair are pulled from one event to the next, Jess soon begins to realise that there may be more to this scientist, and the science behind a soulmate than she first thought. The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be condensed into a single, simple formula. 

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Check Out The Best Books Like The Soulmate Equation

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In A Holidaze (2020)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, except it isn’t for Melyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions. But, perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favourite place in the world: her family’s snowy Utah cabin, alongside two other families. 

The next thing she knows, tires screech, metal collides, and everything fades to black. When Mae comes round again, she’s stunned to find herself on a plane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another, each one sending her back to the plane, Mae must work out how to break free of this bizarre time loop and find her true love under the mistletoe. One of the best Christina Lauren books and holiday romance reads, In a Holidaze, is sure to have you believing in the power of wishes again.

The Paradise Problem (2024)

2024’s The Paradise Problem opens with Anna Green marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidised housing whilst at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorced papers when their graduation caps were tossed, sending both of them on their merry way. Fast forward three years, and Anna is a starving artist and Liam is one heir to a cool one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch: Liam won’t see a penny of the money until he’s been married for five years. 

Just when he thinks he’s in the home stretch, his family demands to meet his mysterious not-so-ex-wife. But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears soon shift from whether the foul-mouthed, free-spirited Anna can play her part to whether the toxic world of privilege is really for him. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprang from a lie. 

Twice In A Blue Moon (2019)

During a whirlwind two-week holiday, Sam and Tate fell hard for each other in a way only first loves do. So when it became clear that Tate’s faith and trust had been misplaced, her world was shattered for good. Fourteen years on, Tate is stunned to see her first love watching on during her first big acting break. She’s forced to confront the man who betrayed her, grappling with the possibility of whether it’s possible to do the wrong thing for the right reasons, and whether “once in a lifetime” can come around twice. 

Delivered with Christina Lauren’s signature compelling and beautiful prose, Twice in a Blue Moon is another unforgettable romance tale and a profoundly moving novel about what happens when your first love finds their way into your life, when you least expect them.