Books like This Time It's Real by Ann Liang

Twenty‑five year‑old Belly Conklin returns to the family summer home on the coast, where a cancer diagnosis forces her to confront love, loss, and growing up amid the familiar rhythm of beach life.

16-year‑old Lara Jean Covey’s secret love letters are mailed by her sister, turning imagined crushes into real‑life drama.

Set in 1970s Los Angeles, Daisy Jones & The Six follows the rise and fall of a legendary rock band and its pop‑star singer, exploring fame, love and the hidden reasons behind their explosive split.

When five Bayview High students gather for detention, one is murdered in a shocking twist of betrayal. With secrets, motives, and a hidden app, the mystery forces the four remaining classmates to confront lies and uncover the truth.

A chronically ill teenager allergic to the world discovers love and possibility when a new family moves in next door, adding color to her isolated life.

Seventeen‑year‑old Molly Peskin‑Suso keeps her heart guarded, fearful of rejection as she navigates unrequited love and her own insecurities, while her twin sister Cassie pushes her to be bold.

Seventeen‑year‑old Jonah strives to save his family restaurant, lift his mother from sorrow, and help his thrill‑seeking girlfriend Vivi in a story about love, family, and mental struggle set in California.

Zac Randolph owns and runs the Little Corner of Heaven Saloon in San Francisco's notorious Barbary Coast. He's a gambler by trade and by nature. He takes care of the girls who work for him, but no woman is as exciting as gambling, no woman means as much to him as his saloon. His life is perfect until a distant cousin, Lily Sterling, arrives from Virginia and upsets everything. Taking Zac up on a casually extended invitation, this fresh-faced beauty has fled her father and a prospective husband. She insists she doesn't want Zac to take care of her, but Zac is as good-hearted as he is selfish. He knows Lily is too innocent for San Francisco. When he can't convince her to go back to Virginia, he tries to find her a safe job. But Lily's good-heartedness continually gets her into trouble from which Zac has to rescue her. When she is caught in his bed, compromised (she wasn't, but nobody's going to believe two nearly naked people), an immediate wedding was the only solution. Lily was more than happy to believe Zac loves her, but Zac is determined to stay away from Lily so he can leave her with a clean conscience. Lily sees only the good in Zac and believes she's been sent to San Francisco to save him from himself, but Zac is determined to get Lily away from the saloon and out of his system. He should have known by now that where there's a "flower woman", there's a Randolph about to lose his heart.

High‑schooler Lily Abbott discovers love letters written in chemistry class, hoping they’re from the boy she likes, Lucas; when she finds out they’re from someone else, she must decide what to do.