Books Like Emily in Paris

by Sandy Barker

This book incorporates everything we love about Emily in Paris - fashion, food, friends, sightseeing, and, of course, romance!

After an awkward situation with her London flatmate, Cat Parsons needs a little space. On a whim, she books a two-week, eight-country European tour. First stop - Paris! When she sets out to explore Paris with her new friends, the last thing she expects is to bump into an old friend. Cat isn’t looking for romance… in fact, she’s actively looking to avoid it. But this handsome Frenchman proves hard to resist.

This rom com serves up not only a swoon-worthy romance, but also a wonderful story of the ups and downs of friendships. All of the characters are well-developed and realistically flawed, giving this fun, escapist read a bit more depth.

The Book Girls Say… This is the second book in the Holiday Romance series, but it reads as a standalone with different characters. Only a portion of the book takes place in Paris, but it’s filled with vibrant descriptions of the sights and sounds of each city they visit, and we promise that it will fill the Emily in Paris void in your life until season 3 is released!

If you enjoy the writing style of this book, Angela recommends that you pick up the rest of the series. Books 1 and 3 feature Cat’s sister Sarah. Book 4 follows one of Cat’s friends on her own adventures. The fifth and final book in the series, A Wedding in Tuscany, returns to Cat’s story as we see what comes next for her.

by Julie Caplin

Nina Hadley is tired of her three older brothers bossing her around, so she’s ready to make a big change. When she has an opportunity to help run a patisserie course in France, she can’t jump on a plane fast enough.

However, her fresh start comes with some old baggage. The owner of the patisserie is Sebastian, who Nina has had a crush on since they were teenagers. He’s still her brother Nick’s best friend, making the potential workplace romance even stickier.

That said, there is more to this book than the romance. Like Emily in Paris, Nina meets an eclectic group of new friends as she learns to navigate life in France.

The Book Girls Say… This contemporary romance is #3 of 9 in the Romantic Escapes series, but each book has a different set of main characters, so you won’t be lost if you skip right to Paris. However, book one, The Little Cafe in Copenhagen, and book two, The Little Brooklyn Bakery, also sound like great reads!

by Ann Mah

This new historical fiction title reimagines Jacqueline Onassis during her junior year abroad in post-war Paris. Back home, she felt the weight of family pressure to find the right husband amid the rigid social circles of New York. But away from her parents and Vassar, she's eager to explore an intoxicating new world of champagne and châteaux, art and avant-garde theater, cafés, and jazz clubs.

However, unlike Emily's time in present-day Paris, Jacqueline also feels the fragility of the political environment in 1949 France. The city remains a nest of spies, with suspicion, deception, and betrayal lurking around every corner. But even with its flaws, Paris becomes Jacqueline's true love and one of the most significant influences on her life.

by Robinne Lee

If you love Emily’s boss, Sylvie, and her season 2 affair with a much younger man, then do we have a book recommendation for you! Meet Solène Marchand, a thirty-nine-year-old French-America art gallery owner living in LA. She reluctantly takes her twelve-year-old daughter to meet her favorite British boy band and finds herself forming a connection with 20-year-old Hayes Campbell, the young star of the world-famous band, August Moon.

What begins as a series of clandestine trysts evolves into a genuine (and very passionate) relationship. Solène begins globe-trotting to meet up with Hayes as his band tours, including time spent in a secluded hideaway in Paris. But when news of their relationship becomes a viral sensation, both Solène and her daughter become targets of the paparazzi and crazed fans.

The Book Girls Say… We often note when books include steamy romance scenes, but this book is better described as molten lava. We are here for it, but if that’s not your thing, definitely pick a different book, or don’t say we didn’t warn you!

It was recently announced that The Idea of You is being adapted into a movie starring Ann Hathaway as Solène and Nicholas Galitzine as Hayes.

by Sarah Morgan

Moving to Paris alone was a big step for Emily, but she really starts to find her footing in the city when she befriends Mindy, an adventurous and outgoing ex-Pat from Shanghai. Like Emily in Paris, One Summer in Paris also features a strong female friendship.

Grace planned a surprise romantic getaway to Paris for her and her husband’s 25th wedding anniversary, but instead, she’s the one who is surprised - he wants a divorce. Despite her heartbreak, she boldly decides to go to Paris alone.

Audrey is a young woman from London who has taken a job in a Paris bookshop, despite not speaking the language, in hopes of recovering from her own heartache.

The two live in neighboring apartments above the bookstore. Grace can’t believe how daring Audrey is. Audrey can’t believe how cautious newly single Grace is. But they soon discover that their friendship might be exactly what they each need.

by Jenny Colgan

While Emily moved to Paris from Chicago, in this book Anna is an ex-pat from northern England. She worked at a chocolate factory there until an accident changed everything. After being unexpectedly reunited with her French teacher, Claire, Anna is given the opportunity of a lifetime - working in Paris with a master chocolatier.

Her Parisian adventure is the perfect chance to heal old wounds, make new friends, and start life again. Anna’s story is told in parallel with Claire’s, who also travels back to Paris for her own healing as she deals with cancer. However, much of Claire’s story is set in the 1970s as she reflects back on her fist time in Paris in her younger days.

The Book Girls Say… This novel includes recipes at the back of the book - yum! If you’re looking for more books with recipes incorporated, be sure to check out our list of fiction books about food.

by Jenn McKinlay

Before her mother’s death, Chelsea was living life to the fullest. She was taking a year in Europe, with stops in Ireland, Italy, and France, and in each country, she managed to fall in love with a different man.

But when her mom got sick, her trip got cut short. And after losing her mom, Chelsea became a grumpy workaholic, but with a purpose. She spent all her energy raising money for people in need. However, after seven years, she was exhausted and desperately needed some joy in her life again. She decides to go back to the last time she was happy - her European adventure. As you journey with her and her unexpected co-worker travel companion, you’ll read about the sites and food of three unique European cities, including Paris!

The Book Girls Say…While this book is a lighter romance overall, it also deals with heavier topics, including mental health.

by Marc Levy

Mia is an actress who always seems to be in love on screen, but is stuck with a philandering megastar husband off screen. She needs a break from her life, so gets a new haircut, fake glasses, and a job as a waitress across the English Channel in Paris.

American author Paul is also in Paris, trying to recapture the fame of his first novel. He meets Mia when his best friend sets them up through a dating website. The ex-pat duo is continuously nudged together by Paris, but they are fighting back with strategies to stay “just friends”. Will fate overcome their efforts to avoid a relationship? This struggle to avoid chemistry reminds us of Emily’s early efforts to resist Gabriel.

The Book Girls Say… Some of you may recognize French author Mark Levy from his most popular work, The Strange Journey of Alice Pendelbury (also titled The Strange Journey of Mr. Daldry).

This book is included with Kindle Unlimited as of 9/28/22.

by Karen Swan

Despite the title, this book spans a full year and will whisk you through three of the world's most glamorous cities: New York, London, and Paris. Christmas only plays a very small role in the overall story.

Cassie married young and now, ten years later, with a failed marriage and no career, she needs to find herself again. She leaves her quiet life in Scotland to travel for a year, staying with her best friends as she tries on each of their cities for size.Left to her own devices, Cassie is a jeans and sweaters kind of woman, but as she explores life in each of these glamorous cities, she puts herself in her friends’ hands. From hair and makeup to wardrobes and diets, they try to mold Cassie in their images. But before her globetrotting ends, she’ll have to find what makes her happy outside of anyone else’s expectations.

During her four months in Paris, a lot of Cassie’s experiences reminded us of Emily in Paris. Cassie takes on a challenging job in the world of high-fashion, explores the city, and discovers French cooking from a chef who takes her under his wing.

The Book Girls Say… The first thing you need to know is that this book is long (582 pages), but Angela read it last year and the story kept her engaged throughout. All of the characters in this book are flawed, and at times too judgmental, but it creates a realistic and layered view of friendship that develops and changes throughout the story. While this novel may sound fluffy chic-lit, it actually delivers quite a bit more depth and emotion.

Note that there is another book by this same title, but written by Marianne Evans. While it sounds like a very fun Christmas novella, it won’t transport you to Paris. So be sure to pick up the version written by Karen Swan.

by Antoine Laurain

When Parisian bookseller Laurent comes across a handbag on the street, he feels compelled to track down the owner. Nothing in the bag indicates who it belongs to, but the red notebook inside is filled with her jottings, which makes him want to meet the owner even more.

With just the bag’s contents as clues, Laurent does everything he can to find one woman in a city of millions.

The Book Girls Say… This short book is translated from the original French and will transport you to the charming Paris that Emily dreamt of before arriving.

by Elizabeth Thompson

This mother-daughter story is a dual time-line historical fiction, covering both present-day Paris and Paris of the 1920s-1940s. The main character in the contemporary storyline is Hannah, an American bookworm who escaped a less-than-ideal mother by moving to London to give Jane Austen-themed tours in the peaceful British countryside. After work on New Year’s Eve, she’s shocked to find her mother, Marla, in her flat. Marla has a black eye from yet another bad boyfriend, which is less surprising than the envelope in her hand.

While cleaning out her mother’s attic, Marla found a deed to a Paris apartment, along with a key and a newspaper article about a writer. Hannah isn’t sure of her mother’s motives, so she agrees to accompany her to Paris to look for the apartment

When they arrive, they’re shocked to find it untouched since 1940. Great-grandma Ivy moved to Florida during the war and never mentioned her previous life in Paris. To learn more about Ivy, Hannah and Marla must work together to piece together clues and retrace her steps through the city.

by Jordyn Taylor

Alice's grandmother, Adalyn, passed away, leaving sixteen-year-old Alice an apartment in Paris. The apartment has been locked up for more than seventy years, and no one in the family knew it existed.

Alice is spending the summer in Paris, and with the help of Paul - a Parisian student - she's determined to find out why her grandma never mentioned the family she left behind in France during WWII. The more she learns about the past, the more she realizes her family is also hiding secrets in the present.

This dual-time line YA novel also transports us back to the Paris of the 1940s. It's a city that sixteen-year-old Adalyn hardly recognizes as the Occupation brings new terrors daily. When she meets a young leader of a resistance group, she sees an opportunity to fight back, but she soon finds herself having to make more and more compromises.

The Book Girls Say… While the main characters in this novel are a decade younger than Emily and her friends in Emily in Paris, this novel does an excellent job of transporting you to present-day Paris while also reminding you of this city’s difficult history.

by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau

Mia is an American teenager in Paris for the summer to attend an elite ballet program. She’ll need to focus if she hopes to snag an audition with one of the world’s best ballet companies. But there’s more to Paris than just dance, and it’s hard to resist when a charming French boy named Louis offers to be her tour guide. Together they’ll discover that the City of Love has a few mysteries up its sleeve.

The Book Girls Say… This book is said to be perfect for fans of the Love & Gelato series by Jenna Evans Welch. If you haven’t already read Welch’s YA novels, we highly recommend them! Her books will transport you to other European destinations with vibrant descriptions of the magical sights, tastes, and smells of each: Love & Gelato (Tuscany); Love & Luck (Ireland); and Love & Olives (Santorini). These stories bring much more depth than you might expect at first glance because each female protagonist has faced her share of heartrending challenges. But these books will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy!

by Stephanie Perkins

Attending boarding school in Paris might not sound too bad to some seventeen-year-olds, but Anna doesn’t want to leave her school and her friends in Atlanta behind right before her senior year. Things start looking up when she meets a charming and gorgeous boy named Etienne St. Clair, if only he didn’t already have a serious girlfriend.

Reading about Anna and Etienne in this cute YA novel could be the perfect way to get your fill of Parisian romance while eagerly awaiting the resolution of the relationship drama in Emily in Paris.

by Cory Martin

Instead of featuring a younger main character like Emily heading to Paris, Love Locks gives you a look at what life might have been like if Emily's 40-something boss had moved to Paris instead of her. In the book, which is also a Hallmark Original Movie, Lindsey is a divorced businesswoman with a teen daughter.

As a young girl, Lindsey was an idealistic young painter who fell in love with the son of a hotel owner during a trip to Paris. They tried to attach a lock to the Pont de Arts bridge, as so many do, to symbolize their eternal devotion. Except the lock fell in the water, and then Jack failed to join Lindsey in New York like he promised.

Now, Lindsey's daughter is studying art and was accepted at the Sorbonne. When Lindsey joins her in Paris, she finally meets Jack again after 20 years. But, is it too late to regain their old chemistry?

by Clementine Beauvais

This unique YA book was translated from the original French and is a novel told through poetry, so won’t be for everyone.

In Paris With You is the love story of Tatiana and Euguene, who first fell in love as teens ten years prior to the present day storyline. While the relationship didn’t last then, they’ve been reunited now and may have a chance to find out what could have been. Their story is told in verse, in an alternating then and now format.

by Kim Laidlaw

Whether you want to make Gabriel’s famous omelette or a traditional French dish like Ratatouille, the Emily in Paris cookbook has the recipes for you! It’s filled with 75 recipes inspired by Emily in Paris alongside photos from the show, gorgeous photography of the recipes, and detailed character-driven narratives.

This cookbook would be an exceptional gift for any fan of the show!

by Elaine Sciolino

This non-fiction title was written by the former Paris Bureau Chief of the New York Times to pay homage to her favorite Parisian street and the pleasures of living in Paris. She explores both the history of the area and the present day (as of 2015) through both historical research and interviews with long-term residents. This includes a unique mix of points of view - she talks to everyone from the Tunisian greengrocer, the owner of a 100-year-old bookstore, and even a woman who repairs 18th-century mercury barometers!

If you’re looking for a non-fiction book that will bring you the magic of Paris and make you hungry for cheese and wine, this memoir is perfect!

by Nichole Robertson

One of our favorite aspects of Emily in Paris is Emily’s Instagram feed, filled with gorgeous snaps of the city. If you feel the same, then you’ll want to check out Nichole Roberston’s photographs of the distinctive details of Paris, all arranged by color in this sumptuous coffee table book.

Also check out her other coffee table books, Paris in Love and Literary Paris.