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There are very few things worse than a book hangover when you’re a reader. If you’ve never heard the term before, a book hangover is that feeling you get when you finish a book and can’t move on because it was just that good. And while there are many ways to get past this (whether it be rereading the book or diving into the inevitable catalog of fanfiction for it on AO3), I find that the best way to get past a book hangover is to simply find another amazing book to follow it up. This can be hard, though, so here are a few tips and tricks to find your next great read.

Read the author’s backlist.

If you liked one book by the author, you’re bound to like others that they’ve written. So check out their catalog of existing work (their backlist) or keep an eye on the books they have coming out in the future.

Look at the publisher.

Publishers tend to publish similar books, so you might likely like other books by that publisher if you liked one book. For example, a lot of the books I’ve ended up liking are published by Berkley, so now I know that if Berkley is publishing a book, even if I haven’t heard of the author, there’s a good chance I will enjoy it.

Figure out the tropes.

Simply put, tropes are plots or devices used in books that are used frequently enough within a genre to become commonplace. So take a look at some of the plot elements that you liked and try to find books that also incorporate those elements.

Did you read Red, White & Royal Blue and love it? Then maybe you like enemies to lovers and should check out something like The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. Or maybe it was the British royalty with an American aspect that you really enjoyed. If so, check out Playing the Palace by Paul Rudnick.

Or say you really enjoyed If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy, a Cinderella retelling about a plus-size woman on a dating show, then maybe you should check out The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun, which is also set in a dating show, or One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London, which was set in a dating show and has a plus-size main character.

Look at the representation

Maybe it wasn’t a trope or plot element that you enjoyed, but a character. We often love reading books where we see ourselves or minority groups represented, so see if you can find other books with similar characters. Like if you enjoyed The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang for its Autistic representation, check out Always Only You by Chloe Liese (and just her work in general because she’s an own voices author like Helen Hoang).

When in doubt, look for recommendation lists

There are a ton of book bloggers (like myself) that make recommendation lists either on a blog like this one, on bookstagram, or on booktok, so try searching for recommendations that way. If the book you enjoyed is on a list, the chances that you will enjoy some of the other books on that list are pretty good.