{"id":162082,"date":"2025-08-20T21:23:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T21:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/162082\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T21:23:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T21:23:11","slug":"mom-com-and-rom-com-book-recommendations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/162082\/","title":{"rendered":"Mom-Com and Rom-Com Book Recommendations"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently shared on Instagram<\/a> that even though I\u2019ve written my next novel \u2014 a light, fast-paced, contemporary story about a midlife mom and her antics called Overheard \u2014 I\u2019ve decided not to publish it. Why? Because there are already so many smart, funny, \u201cmom-coms\u201d with a message that I\u2019d rather recommend than mine. So here\u2019s a list of them: Books that incorporate romance, motherhood, some light intrigue, and plenty of flirting. Read these if you need something light to get through the heaviness of the world \u2014 or just the chaos of back-to-school season.<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re craving even more info about these irresistible books, check out my podcast, Totally Booked<\/a>, where I interview the authors about the stories behind their stories. (I included episode links below, since no busy mom should have to hunt for them herself.) <\/p>\n

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey<\/a><\/p>\n

Kate lost her husband two years ago and is still stumbling through life as a single, grieving mom to a five-year-old. If something can go wrong in her life, it inevitably does. But when her flight with a colleague gets diverted on a business trip, everything changes. Funny, sad, heartfelt, and soulful, this Target Book Club and Book of the Month pick is one of my all-time favorites.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s Getting Hot in Here by Jane Costello<\/a><\/p>\n

Who says a school event can\u2019t double as a dating playground? Twice-divorced Lisa Darling is juggling her best friend\u2019s breast cancer<\/a> diagnosis, an overflowing to-do list, and a new hotshot at work gunning for her job. As Lisa learns why her new colleague seems to be turning up the heat, we get a steamy, fan-yourself-worthy mom-com.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens<\/a><\/p>\n

After making a wish to skip over the uncertainty and tumult of her twenties, Lucy Young goes to bed at age 26 and wakes up as a 40-something with a gorgeous husband and two children. Are those kids really hers? And what exactly happened overnight? Poignant and revealing, Sophie Cousens\u2019s novel captures the whiplash of adulthood \u2014 and how quickly it can sneak up on you.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Is She Really Going Out with Him? by Sophie Cousens<\/a><\/p>\n

Kids don\u2019t make great matchmakers, but that doesn\u2019t stop divorced writer Anna Appleby from letting her two children set her up with all manner of men. She says she\u2019ll go on the dates they set up for her, no matter what \u2014\u00a0but what happens next is something none of them saw coming.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Love, Me by Jessica Saunders<\/a><\/p>\n

Mother of two Rachel Miller is living a suburban life that is perfectly\u2026fine. But when pictures (and photos) surface from her high school relationship with a boy who later became a celebrity, everything changes, fast. This hijinks-filled novel is full of heart.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Mean Moms by Emma Rosenblum<\/a><\/p>\n

The four queen bees of the Manhattan mom set rule the school until a Miami transplant, Sofia, joins their circle. Then they\u2019re each plagued by different accidents and career-ending dramas. Is somebody out to get them? In this satire, Emma Rosenblum does what she does best: skewers the community she\u2019s a part of IRL \u2014 making this as biting as it is entertaining.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Someone\u2019s Gotta Give by Alisha Fernandez Miranda <\/a><\/p>\n

While an expat in the UK, Lucia gets a glamorous job in fundraising \u2014 while dealing with a teething one-year-old at home. What could possibly go wrong? This USA Today bestseller delights as it takes us from Buckingham Palace to the innermost circles of the London elite and into the impossible world of juggling motherhood, relationships, and work.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Moms Like Us by Jordan Roter<\/a><\/p>\n

Los Angeles private school moms are a naughty bunch in Moms Like Us, the debut novel by screenwriter Jordan Roter. From the new science teacher to the head of school, everyone is jockeying for position \u2014 and the machinations of their complicated social pecking order are only made more complicated by a murder on a school trip.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan<\/a><\/p>\n

Who better than a romance screenwriter to script the perfect relationship? Nora Hamilton agrees to have her home used as a movie set after her husband unexpectedly leaves her and her two children. She just didn\u2019t realize she\u2019d get to know the movie star of the film \u2014 intimately. One of my favorite mom-coms, this clever plot has everything from surviving daily #momlife to the flush of new love.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Alternate Endings by Ali Rosen<\/a><\/p>\n

A divorced mom of a 6-year-old, Beatrice Leal has to travel to Ireland twice a month for work, leaving her ex in their shared NYC brownstone. To make matters more complicated, Bea\u2019s working with Jack, who long ago broke her heart. And suddenly, work trips have a little added spice. Note: The imagery in this book was so compelling, I ended up taking my family to the castle it was based on for our family vacation.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan<\/a><\/p>\n

Ali Morris, a professional organizer, is grieving her mom, was left by her husband, and just can\u2019t seem to get her own life in order. That is, until a chance encounter while walking the dog brings her to Ethan, who just might turn her life around. This emotional, fresh tale \u2014 Monaghan\u2019s third novel \u2014 explores the ins and outs of grief, love, motherhood, and family.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Blank by Zibby Owens<\/a><\/p>\n

Fortysomething former literary star Pippa Jones can\u2019t think of what to write her next book about, and may have to pay her publisher back for her advance \u2014 but she needs the funds for her family, who\u2019s living in the Pacific Palisades way beyond their means. (If only her deadbeat husband would contribute more.) Her 12-year-old son and teenage daughter help her hatch plan: Publish a completely blank book as a commentary on the publishing industry. Set across L.A., from Malibu to Beverly Hills and from literary boardrooms to school parking lots, Blank is a thought-provoking, timeless take on the book world, parenthood, friendship, betrayal, and might involve a certain Hebrew school tutor. And OK fine: I wrote it.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Pick-Up by Nora Dahlia<\/a><\/p>\n

Enemies-to-lovers, anyone? Mother Sasha Rubinstein feels perpetually judged at her kid\u2019s school, while dealing with her terrible, absentee-father ex. And why does this one new dad at pick-up seem to have it in for her? Eventually that dad enters her work sphere, and after the two jet off to a tropical island for a job, Sasha learns that he might not be so awful after all.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane Rosen<\/a><\/p>\n

While happily married in the suburbs with twin five-year-olds, Eliza Hunt creates the online Hudson Valley Ladies\u2019 Bulletin Board, just for fun. But years later as an empty-nester, she relies on it as her main source of connection. That\u2019s why she absolutely can\u2019t let a rival forum take over, and decides to start a little rumor to spice things up. This novel by Jane L. Rosen sparked some controversy on the Upper East Side moms community sites, which only prompted many to cheer for it even more loudly.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Olivia Strauss is Running Out of Time by Angela Brown<\/a><\/p>\n

What if you could know the date of your death? That\u2019s the \u201cgift\u201d Olivia Strauss\u2019s best friend gives her for her 39th birthday: a trip to a spa offering a test that can predict the day of your demise. Olivia heads to downtown NYC to get the news, but what follows is anything but predictable. This surprising novel will make you think about time, life, and how best to spend both.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Gracie Harris Is Under Construction by Kate Hash<\/a><\/p>\n

When her kids go to sleepaway camp, Gracie Jones heads to her happy place, a new mountain house she and her late husband were determined to fix up before he passed away. Thanks to an online essay she wrote going viral, Gracie gets a book deal and has the summer to write it, while working with a contractor to fix up her house. Little does she know, she\u2019ll soon be rewriting her story in real time. I\u2019m certain Kate Hash, a fresh new voice, will soon be a mainstay of the modern fiction scene.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Wives Like Us by Plum Sykes<\/a><\/p>\n

In the Cotswolds, Tata Hawkins is desperately trying to climb the social ladder of this UK-set, using her daughter Minty \u2014 as well as their butler Ian \u2014 as fodder for acceptance. But when she gets into a fight with her husband Bryan and moves out of the \u201cmanor\u201d into the \u201cold Coach House,\u201d things go downhill as her dreams of society acceptance fade. Witty, acerbic, and unique, this insider\u2019s look into the Cotswolds scene from Vogue star journalist and bestselling author Plum Sykes is absolutely riveting.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here<\/a><\/p>\n

Zibby Owens<\/a>\u00a0is the bestselling author of\u00a0Blank: A Novel,<\/a>\u00a0host of award-winning podcast\u00a0Moms Don\u2019t Have Time to Read Books<\/a>, CEO of Zibby Books publishing house, and owner of Zibby\u2019s Bookshop in Santa Monica, CA. Follow her on\u00a0Substack<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, where she tells it like it is.<\/p>\n

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