“Turtles All The Way Down” by John Green is a profound exploration of mental health, friendship, and the quest for understanding in a confusing world. If you’ve been captivated by its heartfelt narrative and seek more stories that delve into similar themes with grace and depth, you’re in for a treat.
The literary universe is brimming with novels that touch on human experience’s complexities, offering solace and insight. Let’s journey to discover books that resonate with the spirit of “Turtles All The Way Down,” guiding you through tales of struggle, resilience, and the power of connection.
7 Books Like Turtles All The Way Down (Mental Health Romance)
“Turtles All the Way Down” follows the protagonist’s struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Readers appreciate books that address mental health issues with sensitivity and accuracy, as they help reduce stigma and foster empathy.
Books similar to “Turtles All the Way Down” resonate with us because of their realistic portrayal of mental health, relatable teenage characters, exploration of friendship and relationships, and the invitation to contemplate profound philosophical questions. Also, they provide an emotional and thought-provoking reading experience that leaves a lasting impact on readers of various ages.
Here are seven such mental health romance books for you. Let’s begin!
| Name | Key Focus | Tropes |
|---|---|---|
| Waking Olivia by Elizabeth O’Roark | A tumultuous and passionate romance develops between a troubled track star, Olivia, and her coach, Will, as they confront their past traumas and strive for redemption and success on and off the track. | Forbidden romance, coach-athlete relationship, overcoming trauma, enemies to lovers, redemption arc, dark pasts, personal growth, competitive sports setting, emotional healing, mutual support, and the journey toward self-acceptance. |
| A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings | A heartwarming and humorous romance unfolds between two dental students, Harper and Dan, as they navigate the stresses of dental school, personal insecurities, and their undeniable attraction, leading to healing and love. | Academic setting, enemies to lovers, mental health representation, slow burn romance, quirky humor, personal growth, overcoming fears, support systems, professional ambitions, and the balance of work and personal life. |
| Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher | A fake relationship turns into a journey of self-discovery and genuine connection for a reclusive billionaire and a woman struggling with her own aspirations, set against the backdrop of corporate intrigue. | Fake dating, billionaire romance, workplace dynamics, personal transformation, emotional healing, opposites attract, secrecy and revelations, power imbalance, the pursuit of dreams, vulnerability and trust, and the impact of the past on the present. |
| From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata | A slow-burn romance develops between two figure skaters, Jasmine and Ivan, who start as rivals but become partners, navigating the challenges of competition and their evolving relationship. | Enemies to lovers, sports romance, figure skating backdrop, slow burn, partnership dynamics, personal growth, rivalry and respect, family influence, overcoming obstacles, mutual support, and the journey to love through shared goals. |
| Addicted to You by Krista Ritchie | A complex and intense romance between two best friends battling their own addictions, Lily and Loren, as they navigate the challenges of dependency, secrecy, and the pursuit of genuine healing and love. | Friends to lovers, addiction and recovery, co-dependency, dark romance, hidden secrets, emotional turmoil, wealthy protagonists, personal growth, the impact of family dynamics, support systems, and the struggle for self-acceptance. |
| Bane by L.J. Shen | A gritty and captivating romance unfolds between Bane, a surfer and local rebel with a complex past, and Jesse, a woman seeking strength and redemption, as they confront their demons and forge an unlikely and transformative bond. | Bad boy redemption, survivor’s journey, unlikely allies, emotional healing, small-town dynamics, secrets and scars, personal growth through love, resilience and redemption, the power of acceptance, and the challenge of overcoming societal labels. |
| Dear Ava by Ilsa Madden-Mills | A poignant high school romance blooms amidst secrets and healing, as Ava battles the aftermath of a traumatic event and finds unexpected solace and love in Knox, a football star with a troubled past of his own. | High school romance, enemies to lovers, trauma and healing, secret admirer, sports romance, dark pasts, redemption arcs, social class dynamics, overcoming adversity, the power of vulnerability, and the journey towards trust and love. |
1. Waking Olivia
In this book, you’re following Olivia, who had a childhood trauma that resulted in a sleeping disorder where she runs in her sleep. So it’s sleepwalking but running. She is a track star in a D1 college on a track team, ready to go to the Olympics. Because of this disorder, all of the nightmares she had resulted in her running miles and miles in her sleep without her even remembering it very much affected her everyday life.
Olivia would go to track practice, and then she’d already been all winded, and she couldn’t go through practice because she had already run ten miles. So it affected her greatly, so she got kicked out of her first school. At the beginning of this book, she starts on this new track team in this college, where she meets one of her coaches named Will. He happens to notice that something is off with her, and he ends up trying to help her with this sleeping disorder problem that she’s having.
So it is an excellent book that also has forbidden romance at the same time because it’s a coach-to-student relationship. Olivia’s trauma is at the forefront of the story, and the whole running in her sleep was so enjoyable. I’ve never read something like this, and I was blown away by a book like Turtles All The Way Down!
Author: Elizabeth O’Roark
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Average Rating: 4.6/5
Tropes: Sports, Abuse, Dark, College, Taboo, Alpha male
Number Of Pages: 378
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle | Audio CD
2. A Brush with Love (Untitled series)
This is about the two people who are both in a dental school. The girl (Harper) is a senior in her college, and she is about to become an oral surgeon. She has all these plans for after college. Nothing is going to stop her vibes. But Harper is dealing with anxiety and panic attacks. When she goes into large crowds, she has a panic attack. It is a big forefront of the story.
Then you have Dan, a freshman in this college, and he’s having a hard time with all of his studies. One day, they both bump into each other and become friends. Dan notices Harper’s mental problems, and he helps her with them.
They’re attracted to each other because of all of her studies. Harper doesn’t want to start a relationship, but she loves hanging out with him, and then the story will go from there. So, it’s a charming story about how they deal with the anxiety in this book, similar to Turtles All The Way Down. Also, it was a very tension-filled, very adorable rom-com. I highly recommend picking it up if you’re into medical romance.
Author: Mazey Eddings
Publisher: Griffin
Average Rating: 4.3/5
Tropes: Medical, Comedy, Mental Health, Arc
Number Of Pages: 336
Item Weight: 9.8 ounces
Dimensions: 5.34 x 0.97 x 8.32 inches
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Library Binding | Kindle
3. Terms and Conditions (Dreamland Billionaires)
In this series, you’re following three brothers who each get their romance and happen to be their grandfather, the owner and founder of Dreamland Amusement Park. When their grandfather died, he left in his Will that each of his grandchildren had to complete a specific task before they could inherit their portion of the company. So, in book two, you’re following Declan, and his task is to get married and have a child before becoming the CEO of this company.
Declan doesn’t want to do this, and he finds a girl who will sign a contract to marry him and have his child become CEO. He cares about being a businessman, and he’s a grump. So, when he finally meets his bride-to-be on the day of his engagement party, he runs her off.
It’s five minutes before the engagement party, and they don’t know what to do. So Iris has been taking this girl’s place for three years. Then they will have a troubled marriage, and it’s a very adorable romantic story like Turtles All The Way Down. Iris, the personal assistant, is dyslexic, and it’s a massive part of the story.
You see multiple times how she has a lot of issues with writing, presentations with writing, and reading emails. She has to read things three times to ensure she doesn’t spell anything incorrectly. She didn’t know that Declan was aware that she had dyslexia for a very long time.
Then, throughout this book, you find that Declan was aware of this because his mother had dyslexia, and he could see its signs. So, it was so adorable how he dealt with her being dyslexic and how it was represented in this book.
Author: Lauren Asher
Publisher: Lauren Asher
Average Rating: 4.5/5
Tropes: Multicultural, Age gap, Fake-dating, Grumpy-sunshine, Siblings-best-friend, Slow-burn, Arranged-marriage
Number Of Pages: 492
Available: Paperback | Kindle
4. From Lukov with Love
This is a slow burn enemy to lover romance about two figure skaters who never got along. One day, they get paired up to be partners and will have to work together. So they’re going to turn from enemies into lovers because of the forced proximity position. Our heroine, Jasmine, is a dyslexic, and it is a big part of this story.
You see how her father would always undermine her career and never acknowledge that she has dyslexia. So, it was a big thing for her family. You see her family in this book and how Ivan Lukov helps her deal with mental issues. The author talks about it very subtly as Turtles All The Way Down. So it was a perfect book that has that representation here.
Author: Mariana Zapata
Award nominee: Goodreads Choice
Average Rating: 4.6/5
Tropes: Humor, Rivals-to-lovers, Workplace-boss-coworkers, Sports
Number Of Pages: 538
Item Weight: 1.27 pounds
Dimensions: 5 x 1.35 x 8 inches
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle
5. Addicted to You (Addicted)
This series is a collection of ten books where you’re following six characters and three different romances. Every single one of them has a different trauma or mental health disorder that they’re dealing with. You first start with Lily and Lo. That is the first couple that you’re going to meet. Lily is a sex addict, and Lo is an alcoholic. The main thing in this story is that you deal with them, overcoming their addictions.
You get to see their support system come into play and see them get over this addiction they have been dealing with for a long time. Then, you also have a couple more characters, including Lily’s sister. She has OCD, which is a massive part of her personality. So, throughout the series, she will deal with that a lot. If you are a fan of reading romance with mental illness like Turtles All The Way Down, you should pick it.
Author: Krista Ritchie
Publisher: K.B. Ritchie LLC
Average Rating: 4.3/5
Tropes: Academic, Abuse, Erotic, Fake-relationship, Forbidden
Number Of Pages: 352
Item Weight: 14.9 ounces
Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.79 x 8.5 inches
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle | Audio CD
6. Bane (Sinners of Saint)
Jesse, the main girl, happened to have gotten very sexually assaulted. She is very by herself because of it. The story starts when Bane wants a loan from her father to do a business deal. Her father said I’ll give you this loan that you want if you help my daughter come out of her shell again because she is way too depressed. So he ends up befriending her and not telling her he made this deal with her father.
They’re going to end up becoming friends. Then a romance is going to start because of it. Jesse went through something horrifying, and you see a lot of it throughout this book. Also, you get to see her come back out of her shell and overcome her depression because of Bane.
The struggling situation and character’s behavior resemble Turtles All The Way Down. If you like reading books on some sexual assault topics, I recommend checking this one out because it has a beautiful romance.
Author: L.J. Shen
Average Rating: 4.6/5
Tropes: Adventure Fiction, Dark, Sociology, Mafia-mobsters, Angsty
Number Of Pages: 356
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle | Audio CD
7. Dear Ava
The story is also about a girl (Ava) who went through a traumatic sexual assault experience and dealt with its aftermath. But it’s a little bit less intense in this book than being.
At the beginning of the story, you see Ava’s sexual assault and how she doesn’t remember what happened to her and who did it to her. But she knows it was one of the guys from her high school football team. So a couple of months later, when she’s ready to go back to school after this event, she wants to try and find out who did this to her.
Then it starts when Ava gets this note in her locker from this anonymous person saying, I’m on the football team. After that, you get to see Knox’s point of view from the person who sent her the anonymous letter. They’re going to end up having a romance in real life. Also, they act as if they hate each other, but he secretly likes her. The story is going to go from there. Throughout it, you will see her and discover who did this to her.
Author: Ilsa Madden-Mills
Average Rating: 4.6/5
Tropes: High School, Grumpy-hero, Dark
Number Of Pages: 376
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle
Each recommended read offers a unique perspective on the challenges and triumphs that define the human condition, from navigating mental health issues to forging deep connections in adversity. May these stories inspire you, offer comfort, and remind you of the resilience within us all. Armed with these narratives, continue your literary journey with the knowledge that you’re never alone in your quest for understanding and healing.
Read More Similar Books:
10 Psychological Thriller Romance Books
5 Mental Illness Books Like It Is Kind Of A Funny Story
5 Psychology Books About Hallucinations
5 Psychology Humor Books Like Fight Club
7 Psychology Books Like Maybe You Should Talk To Someone
Table of Contents
