These books like Gilmore Girls offer you a new type of Gilmore Girls fix now that the show is over. I run The Rory Gilmore Book Club, where we take the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge and read the books referenced on Gilmore Girls. Here, you’ll find everything from small-town romances to Fall love stories and charming storylines. Get the vibes of Stars Hollow, the Gilmores, the Dragonfly Inn, Luke’s Diner, Luke, and Sookie in these cozy reads!
List of the Best Books Like Gilmore Girls
TOP 3 PICKS
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living: (popular with readers of The Literary Lifestyle) Best for fans of Hallmark movies and/or small-town romances
Empire Falls: Best for fans of small-town, character-driven, literary fiction
Part of Your World: Best for fans of Luke and Lorelai
- The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller
- Empire Falls by Richard Russo
- First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen
- Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel
- A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
- One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
- Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
- The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morganthaler
- Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Marie Semple
- Well Met by Jen DeLuca
Related Post: Books About Gilmore Girls
Reviews of These Cozy Fall Books With Stars Hollow Vibes
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living is often described as the book most similar to Gilmore Girls. In this Fall-themed book, protagonist Livvy leaves behind a fancy pastry chef job in Boston and visits her friend in a quaint Vermont town like Stars Hollow.
She takes a job at a local inn, the Dragonfly Inn, and starts befriending the townsfolk and falling for a local who comes home to care for his ailing father. This light novel has a Harvest dinner, an apple pie contest, and everything you would expect from Stars Hollow.
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Empire Falls is one of the best books I have ever read.
First, the similarities to Gilmore Girls: The main character, Miles Roby, is a dutiful diner owner in a small England town, raising a daughter from a prior relationship. Sound familiar? There’s more. Miles must cope with a difficult, older rich woman, meddling townspeople, and unrequited love as he dreams of a better life in the Gilmores’ favorite vacation spot, Martha’s Vineyard.
So, what’s different? First, it’s highly character-driven and literary — not so light and sweet. I would describe it as Beartown or Friday Night Lights meets Gilmore Girls. Next, it has a fair deal of darkness and violence.
It’s about what happens to those who stay behind in a small town when an empire (the largest manufacturing employer) falls. It’s incredibly nuanced, with characters so well-drawn that I even slowed down the audiobook so it would last longer.
First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen
First Frost takes place during a chilly October in small-town North Carolina, where Claire Waverley has started a healing candy company that’s destroying all of her work-life balance. (It’s like Stars Hollow with a hint of Southern charm — and drama.)
Meanwhile, her sister, Sydney Waverley, longs for a baby, and Sydney’s daughter, Bay, has fallen in unrequited love. When a mysterious stranger arrives, they must each make choices as they await the apple tree’s blossoming during the Fall season’s First Frost.
It’s an enchanting story of love, loss, and starting all over again. This book is a real treat for fans of the Practical Magic series and Gilmore Girls.
Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel
Musical Chairs takes place in a small Connecticut town like Stars Hollow. The main character is also quaint, whereas her family is wealthy.
Bridget plans to spend the summer at her Connecticut country home with her boyfriend Sterling—until he abruptly breaks up with her, and her twin twenty-somethings arrive home unannounced and full of crises.
She relies on her longtime friendship with Will, with whom she has a chamber group, but she must deal with a missing violinist. What’s more, is that her elderly father wants to get married on her property.
It’s a humorous and heartwarming look at family and love.
A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
A Novel Love Story is truly “novel” — both in its unique, magically real plot and its devotion to book lovers.
Eileen is a bubbly romance novel enthusiast reeling from a breakup. She finds herself in Eloraton, a charming small town that seems straight off the pages of her favorite romance series. (She even refers to it as Stars Hollow, and it has a “Dandelion” Inn!)
But it appears to be frozen in time, stuck in the unfinished narrative of its late author. Eileen believes she’s destined to help complete its storybook ending, but her plans are complicated by a grumpy bookstore owner hiding a sad secret.
This is not just a love story but also very much about coping with sadness, and the author handles it with such a beautiful dose of whimsy.
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
One Italian Summer is a book about the unshakeable love between mothers and daughters, like Lorelai and Rory.
After Katy’s mother dies, she decides to take the Italian vacation they had planned to take together alone. This is reminiscent of Lorelai’s Wild excursion in Netflix’s A Year in the Life.
Once Katy is in Positano, she meets a woman who doesn’t just look like her mother but appears to be her mother, albeit at age 30.
Katy is surprised by this twist of magical realism in a way that only Serle, known for her stories mixing grief with magical realism, can pull off to absolute perfection.
Reading Tip: Lauren Graham herself narrates the audiobook!
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
Part of Your World feels like a loveable romantic comedy movie from the late 90s/early 2000s.
The storyline is a simple and familiar one: when a wealthy woman from a well-to-do family with high expectations of her meets a small-town, dutiful family business owner, sparks fly, but she fears truly allowing him to be “part of her world” as she applies for a job position that will uphold the family name and longstanding traditions.
What’s unique about it is the small-town charm and the humor and grace with which the story is told, leaving readers’ hearts warmed like their favorite episode of Gilmore Girls.
Related Posts: Abby Jimenez’s Books | Part of Your World Series
The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morganthaler
The male lead in The Tourist Attraction gave me total Luke Danes vibes. In Alaska, he runs a small-town diner known as “The Tourist Trap” run by a grumpy local.
Zoey is on her dream two-week vacation in Alaska when she visits the diner. Like Lorelai, Zoey is so cheerful as she humorously interacts with the locals, including a rogue moose, that she may change his heart.
This one hits all the right notes.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
Where’d You Go, Bernadette? is an excellent book about motherhood, escaping family drama, and finding yourself.
Like Lorelai, Bernadette is a quick-witted and sharp mom raising a daughter. After years of prioritizing motherhood over an art career, her actions cause some slapstick humorous moments that make people think she has gone crazy.
So, she escapes to Antarctica and, in the process, finds personal meaning. Bernadette is a beloved literary character with a voice all her own, making you laugh out loud as her daughter searches to reunite with her.
Well Met by Jen DeLuca
In Well Met, a young and single Emily’s sister becomes injured in an accident. So, she moves to her small town to help her recover. She ends up volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenage niece, then meeting and falling for the leader who has a complex history with the fair.
It has all the Liz vibes!
Recap
These books like Gilmore Girls showcase all the charming vibes of Stars Hollow and its quirky residents, from romance to family drama. To recap and help you decide what to read first or next, my top 3 picks are:
- The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living: best for fans of Hallmark movies and/or small-town romances (popular with readers of The Literary Lifestyle)
- Empire Falls: best for fans of character-driven literary fiction
- Part of Your World: best for fans of Luke and Lorelai
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