Authors Like Nicholas Sparks (And 10 + Romance Book Recommendations)

Nicholas Sparks is a well-known American author as well as a philanthropist and screenwriter.

His work includes two non-fiction books and twenty-three novels, with some of his writings making the New York Times bestsellers list.

Authors Like Nicholas Sparks (and 10 + Romance Book Recommendations)

Not only that, but Sparks’s novels have been translated into more than fifty languages around the world, and he has sold more than 115 million copies of his books!

Fifteen of Sparks’ books have been number one on the list of the New York Times Best Sellers, whilst all of them have been both international bestsellers and the New York Times bestsellers. 

Sparks’ novels are known for their romantic, slice-of-life content, with Sparks drawing inspiration from his real-life experiences. 

Some of the most well-known of Sparks’s novels include The Notebook, The Last Song, and A Walk to Remember, all of which have been adapted into feature films. 

If you are a fan of the works of Nicholas Sparks and are looking for more immersive romance tales, then you are sure to enjoy the work of the likes of Jenny Colgan, Jodi Picoult, and Jojo Moyes to name a few.

Books By Nicholas Sparks

The Notebook: Student edition (Novel Learning Series Book 1)

Sparks’s most famous novel is arguably the 1996 classic The Notebook, which was also his first published work.

The story of the turbulent yet passionate relationship between Allie Nelson and Noah Calhoun spans five decades and features themes such as class division, mortality, aging, mental disease and everlasting love.

The bittersweet nature of The Notebook has made it a classic love story. 

The Notebook has a follow-up called The Wedding, which follows Wilson Lewis, the son-in-law of Noah and Allie.

With his marriage falling apart, Wilson uses the fifty-year love story of Allie and Noah as a guide to win back the heart of his wife Jane (Noah and Allie’s daughter). 

Much like The Notebook, The Wedding focuses on romantic themes tied in with slice of life issues such as losing the spark from a marriage and working to reclaim the bond with your spouse.

Authors Like Nicholas Sparks (and 10 + Romance Book Recommendations)

Some of Sparks’s other classics include A Walk to Remember, Dear John, The Last Song and The Lucky One.

Whilst all of these novels share the recurring themes of romance, they all have different takes on the genre as well as different journeys that the characters embark on.

For instance, A Walk to Remember features a strong theme of religion that runs throughout due to Jamie Sullivan- the female lead- always carrying a bible around and benign known for doing so. 

Alternatively, we see themes of destiny, fate and star-crossed love seen in The Lucky One and themes of lost love, moving on and father son relationships in Dear John.  

Sparks’s other novels include Message in a Bottle, The Rescue, A Bend in the Road, Nights in Rodanthe, The Guardian, True Believer and its follow up At First Sight, The Choice, Safe Haven, The Best of Me, The Longest Ride, See Me, Two by Two, Every Breath, The Return, The Wish and Dreamland

Sparks’s non-fiction works include Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding– written with Billy Mills- and Three Weeks with My Brother, which was written with his brother, Micah Sparks. 

Authors Like Nicholas Sparks

Jodi Picoult

The Pact: A Love Story

Jodi Picoult is an American author who has published 28 novels as well as short stories. She has also written a few issues of the Wonder Woman comic!

The most popular fiction in Picoult’s portfolio revolves around family drama and romance, much like Sparks’s work. Picoult is something of a controversial writer too, covering issues such as LGBT rights, assisted suicide and abortion. 

If you are looking to indulge in a darker story that has the enduring love theme commonly seen in Sparks work with a bit of mystery, loss and grief thrown in, then you will definitely want to check out The Pact

Blending the themes of love with justice, redemption and crime into one excellent novel, Change of Heart is also a story that evokes the tumultuous love often found in Sparks’s work whilst still being a unique read. 

Pros

  • Picoult isn’t afraid to tackle controversial issues
  • Many of Picoult’s novels revolve around the family saga genre rather than pure romance

Cons

  • Some tend to view Picoult’s work as merely “chick-lit”

Themes: Romance, Family, Morality, Mortality, Mystery, Race, Prejudice, Privilege, Compassion, Justice

Jojo Moyes

Me Before You (Me Before You Trilogy)

JoJo Moyes is an English romance novelist, journalist and screenwriter whose novel Me Before You topped the New York Times bestseller list for nineteen weeks back in 2016. 

Her romance novels are critically acclaimed, with Moyes being one of the few authors to have won the Romance Novel of the Year Award twice, once in 2004 for Foreign Fruit and again in 2011 for The Last Letter From Your Lover. She was also nominated for the award in 2008 for Silver Bay

Moyes work has sold more than forty million copies across the globe and has also been translated into over twenty-eight languages.

Moyes is an expert when it comes to crafting love stories filled with drama, but also when it comes to combining them with a variety of themes, ranging from disability to the class system. 

One of Moyes most famous works is Me Before You, and it is definitely one that you will want to check out if you are a fan of Nicholas Sparks, as it similarly tackles real issues and weaves them into a simple love story.  

Pros

  • A multiple award-winning romance novelist
  • Tackles a range of issues in her books

Cons

  • Some readers have found that certain novels from Moyes don’t flow quite as well as others. 

Themes: Love, Class Divides, Disability, Perseverance, Courage, Family 

Jenny Colgan

Sweetshop of Dreams (A Novel with Recipes Book 0)

Another romance writer hailing from the UK, Scottish writer Jenny Colgan specializes in both comedy romantic fiction and science fiction, having written a few books for the worldwide British sci-fi phenomenon Doctor Who!

Colgan has a few different pseudonyms, also writing under the names Jane Beaton, Jenny T. Colgan and J.T.Colgan, though Jenny Colgan is the name that you will find for most of her love fueled romance novels

The romances that Colgan writes are full of charm and feature heroines looking for a new start in life after dealing with some kind of hardship, which is a similar structure to a lot of Sparks’s novels.

Her work is acclaimed as well, with her novel Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams winning the 2013 Romantic Novel of the Year Award. 

Colgan injects some comedy into her stories too, making for novels that are well suited for those who want the romance element of Sparks’s books with some light-hearted humor.

She even won an award for her comedy writing with her 2018 novel The Summer Seaside Kitchen, which won Comedy Novel of the Year for 2018. 

A great place to start for those who are fans of Nicholas Sparks- and the other two authors on this list for that matter- is Little Beach Street Bakery, which tells the story of a young woman named Polly whose experience with heartbreak leads her to start a new life as a baker in a quiet seaside resort in Cornwall.

It is an emotional and heartwarming story that involves a rather handsome beekeeper who comes into Polly’s life. 

Pros

  • Blends humor and romance into sweet and lighthearted novels
  • Charming and comforting stories

Cons

  • Not as suitable for those liking a bit of an edge and darkness to their romance stories. 

Themes: Romance, Comedy, Light Hearted Fun, New Beginnings, Inner Strength, Modern, Heartwarming Love. 

Final Thoughts

So there you have three particularly noteworthy authors with similar styles and themes to the work of Nicholas Sparks

Sparks’s ability to weave intricate love stories into immense, realistic worlds with believable- and often heartbreaking- situations cannot be replaced, but if you are fond of his methods, his novels and the general tone that you get from a Nicholas Sparks novel, then you will find that there is plenty to love about the works of Jodi Picoult, Jojo Moyes and Jenny Colgan. 

Each writer brings their own unique twist to the romance genre, such as Picoult’s controversial topics and family saga focus, Colgan’s sweet and airy comedic undertones, Moyes’s modernity and Sparks’s liberal and engaging realism.

There is no doubt that is Sparks is your go to romantic author, you are sure to find a place for the works of Moyes, Picoult and Colgan on your bookshelf too! 

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Nicholas Sparks’s Newest Book?

The newest book in Sparks’s extensive repertoire is currently Dreamland, published in September 2022.

What Books Are Similar To The Notebook?

If Sparks’s The Notebook is a favorite of yours, you might want to consider checking out Atonement by Ian McEwan, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières and In Five Years by Rebecca Serle.

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Noah Burton