So Bully wrecked you. Welcome to the club. Whether it was the angsty vibes, the bully romance, or Penelope Douglas's ability to make you forget you have a life outside these pages — we've been there. These aren't random "if you liked X" picks. Every book on this page was matched element by element against what made Bully hit different. Same energy, new stories.
We broke down Bully into the elements that made it hit — and found books that match each one.
The slow burn and emotional and childhood friends that made Bully unforgettable? Love and Other Words channels that exact energy. 400 pages of emotional, nostalgic that'll fill the void.
You loved Bully for the slow burn and emotional and childhood friends? Every Summer After is your next obsession. Same emotional frequency, different story — and Carley Fortune might just become your new auto-buy author.
Looking for more slow burn and emotional and second chance after Bully? Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune is the book your TBR has been begging you for. Fair warning: it's spicier.
Looking for more intense and slow burn and enemies to lovers after Bully? Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood is the book your TBR has been begging you for. Fair warning: it's spicier.
Looking for more intense and slow burn and enemies to lovers after Bully? Check and Mate by Ali Hazelwood is the book your TBR has been begging you for. Heat level: comfortable.
The intense and slow burn and enemies to lovers that made Bully unforgettable? From Lukov with Love channels that exact energy. 516 pages of slow burn, competitive that'll fill the void.
The slow burn and emotional and childhood friends that made Bully unforgettable? Love and Other Words channels that exact energy. 400 pages of emotional, nostalgic that'll fill the void.
Answer one question and we'll point you to the right book.
Based on mood, trope, and pacing analysis, the most similar books to Bully include Love and Other Words, Not in Love, Check and Mate. Each matches on specific elements like angsty and intense that made Bully resonate with readers.
We recommend starting with Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren — it shares Bully's core Angsty energy while bringing something fresh to the table.
Bully is a standalone novel. You can jump right in without reading anything else first.
Bully has a spice level of 3/5. The recommendations on this page range across spice levels — each one is labeled so you can find your comfort zone.
Yes — several recommendations on this page have lower spice levels while keeping the same Angsty energy. Look for the ❄️ or 🌶️ (1/5) tags.
Every "Books Like" page on Sort By Cravings is built from element-level matching — not surface genre tags. We compare mood profiles, trope density, pacing, heat levels, and emotional tone across our entire library of 12 profiled books to find reads that match on the things that actually matter to readers. Read our editorial standards.