“This is where it all begins. Everything starts here, today.”
One Day is one of the most poignant and original explorations of love, fate and the passage of time. The story follows the lives of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew, two graduates who meet at a ball on the evening of July 15th. After a night of almost-romance and missed opportunities, they go their separate ways. Over the next two decades, readers check in with the pair as their relationships and lives develop. If you’re craving more love stories that weave together romance, life’s twists and turns and unforgettable connections, we have you covered here at What We Reading. In this list, we’ve rounded up the best books like One Day that combine slow-burning romances, time-centred emotional journeys, and stories that blend the highs and lows of life that are guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings and cause you to reflect on the relationships that shape us!
The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
Kicking off our list of books like One Day is Audrey Niffenegger’s beloved novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife. The story orbits around the extraordinary love story shared between Clare and Henry. The pair first meet when Clare is six and Henry thirty-six; they are married when Clare is twenty-two and Henry is thirty.
This impossibility is made possible thanks to a rare condition Henry suffers from where his genetic clock periodically resets and he finds himself instantly pulled into either his past or his future. In the face of this inexplicable force that neither of them is equipped to prevent or control, Henry and Clare’s struggle to forge a normal life together is breathtakingly moving.
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This Time Next Year – Sophie Cousens
Minnie and Quinn are both born in the same hospital on New Year’s Day, but both have led very different lives from one another. A chance encounter on their thirtieth birthdays brings them together, and they soon discover their paths have crossed in unexpected ways over the years. As the pair get to know each other more closely, their connection grows stronger, proving that timing may finally be about to be on their side.
Similar to One Day, Sophie Cousens’ This Time Next Year explores how chance encounters and the passage of time shape relationships. Both stories weave romance with the ups and downs of life, offering a heartwarming tale of finding the right person at the right moment.
Beautiful World, Where Are You – Sally Rooney
Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You centres around four individuals: Alice, Felix, Eileen and Simon as they navigate love, connection and their unique struggles with identity and purpose. After meeting in a warehouse, Alice asks Felix if he would like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, Eileen is recovering from a painful breakup and falls back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since her childhood.
Alice, Felix, Eileen and Simon are all still young, but life is gradually catching up with all of them. They desire one another, they delude each other and constantly worry about intimacy, friendship and the world around them. Delivered with Rooney’s trademark rich character development, Beautiful World, Where Are You is one of the best books like One Day for readers looking for another read that intertwines romance, growth, time and life’s many unpredictabilities.
Before We Were Strangers – Renée Carlino
Another romance story similar to One Day that experiments with timelines comes from Renée Carlino in Before We Were Strangers, a heartfelt second-chance romance that alternates between the past and present. The story centres around Matt and Grace, two former college sweethearts whose lives take them in different directions.
Fifteen years on, Matt spots Grace in a fleeting encounter on the subway, instantly sparking memories of their intense connection. Adamant that they need to reconnect, Matt reflects on their shared history and the factors that initially drove them apart, leading to a profoundly emotional journey of rediscovery and unresolved love that any fans of Dex and Em are sure to recognise.
The Versions Of Us – Laura Barnett
Laura Barnett’s The Versions of Us is the love story between Eva and Jim, two university students in Cambridge. 1958; their lives diverged into three different narratives based on a single chance encounter. In one version, they fall in love and remain together. In another, they part ways. By the third, their lives intertwine sporadically over the years. Each version reveals the complexities of love, the impact of choices and the role fate plays in shaping lives.
One of the best books similar to One Day, The Versions of Us is a thought-provoking homage to how a single moment can alter the course of a life. Barnett’s depiction of fate, timing and the enduring what-ifs behind relationships makes for a perfect follow-up for anyone who loved David Nicholls’ novel.
Love, Rosie – Cecelia Ahern
Rosie and Alex are desperate for one another, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since their early years, and their bond grows stronger every day. That is until Alex receives the news that his family is leaving Dublin and relocating to Boston. Just as their relationship was finally moving towards a romantic stage, the two quickly began to make plans to apply for colleges Stateside. But, just as things look to be falling into place finally, Rosie gets news that that will change their lives forever.
With her dreams for college and a glamorous career dashed Rosie remains in Dublin whilst Alex pursues a medical career and a new love in Boston. Yet, destiny is a funny thing. And, through clever emails, notes, letters and various missed opportunities in a similar vein to One Day, Alex and Rosie soon discover that fate isn’t finished with either of them yet in Cecelia Ahern’s beloved novel, Love, Rosie.
Eleanor & Park – Rainbow Rowell
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell is a tender and bittersweet story of first love set in the 1980s. The novel follows two misfit teenagers: Eleanor, who struggles with a turbulent home life, and Park, an introverted music-loving boy. When they meet each other on the school bus, an unlikely bond forms between them over a shared love for comics and mixed tapes.
Set over the course of one fateful school year, both Eleanor and Park are smart enough at sixteen years old to know that first love almost never lasts. Yet, both find themselves brave and desperate enough to try. Like One Day, Eleanor & Park is a story of connection, vulnerability, the bittersweet nature of growing up and the challenges of navigating love and connection whilst crossing life’s many obstacles.
The Last Letter From Your Lover – Jojo Moyes
In 1960, Jennifer Stirling wakes up in a hospital with no memory of the tragic car crash that landed her there. She can’t recall her husband, or even who she is. She starts to feel like a stranger in her own life, until she stumbles upon a passionate letter asking her to leave her husband, signed only with the initial: ‘B’.
Years on in 2003, a journalist named Ellie discovers the same enigmatic letter in a long-dormant file in her newspaper’s archives. Quickly becoming obsessed with the story, Ellie’s determination to bring these starcrossed lovers their happy ending will rewrite history and help her see the truth about her own modern romance. Another one of the best books if you loved One Day, The Last Letter from Your Lover is a spellbinding romance read that spans over four decades and is a tender testament to love, loss and second chances.
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
