Ever since her debut single, “drivers license,” Olivia Rodrigo has been breaking hearts and putting them back together again. Expertly weaving mainstream melodies with the energy of 2000s alternative rock, her diary-like lyricism always shines through. She tends to appeal to Gen Z, writing about coming-of-age feelings like love, anger, and social anxiety.
With her first studio album, SOUR, she delivered iconic hits like “deja vu,” “brutal,” and “traitor,” all reflecting the modern dating landscape. She especially captured younger women’s attention with her ability to speak so candidly about letting go of someone and the nostalgia that follows—feelings are allowed to be messy in the aftermath.
Then came GUTS, with which Rodrigo solidified not only her writing chops, but also her love for the color purple. Leaving behind her teenage years and coming into young adulthood, in songs such as “bad idea right?,” “get him back,” and “all-american bitch,” she steps into a louder, more sarcastic side of herself.
Her third album, released this past summer, saw Rodrigo switch things up, trading her usual one-word album titles for the longer, ’90s-like you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. Structured into a two-part narrative, the first half chronicles her fall into an intense, shaky relationship, while the latter follows its eventual deterioration. That being said, I’d definitely recommend listening to the album in order if you haven’t already.
In “drop dead,” you watch Rodrigo fall head over heels, manifesting her dream lover by “stalk[ing] you on the internet.” By the end of the album, though, “cigarette smoke” reflects on the relationship’s crash and burn—and the realization that maybe it wasn’t so perfect after all. And yet, it’s incredibly difficult to move on when the memories of what you were and what you could’ve been linger.
With all that in mind, Rodrigo is among the pop girlies, including Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, speaking to the reality of romance. Always candid, she illuminates the expectations of relationships, as well as the beautiful, messy, amazing truths of giving yourself over to someone.
That’s a lot of different feelings, I know, but don’t stress—whether you’re looking for a longer story that carries on what one of Rodrigo’s songs started, or are maybe searching for the perfect book to embody what’s happening in your romantic life, we’ve got you covered!
“good 4 u”
Delilah Green Doesn't Care
“But you're so unaffected, I really don't get it / But I guess good for you”
“good 4 u” is Olivia Rodrigo at her most bitter and sarcastic. The narrator is devastated, “crying on the bathroom floor,” while her ex moves on and another girl benefits from all the work she put into his growth.
The protagonist of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care feels similarly about her hometown. Delilah says she’s moved on, living in New York, where she’s swapped her feelings of loneliness from her cold stepfamily for a photography career and a new woman in her bed every night.
But her estranged stepsister, Astrid, has pressured her into coming back to Bright Falls to photograph her wedding—with a big check, that is. When she meets Claire Sutherland, one of Astrid’s prim and proper best friends, Delilah decides there may be some fun to be had after all.
Claire has been a single mother for most of her eleven-year-old daughter’s life, while running her own bookstore. She depends on stability—and Delilah is, well, not exactly stable. But when they’re brought together over a weekend of festivities, the pair learn to expect the unexpected…
“get him back!”
Too Hot to Touch
“Oh, I wanna get him back / 'Cause then again, I really miss him, and it makes me real sad / Oh, I want sweet revenge”
Sonically and lyrically upbeat yet also chaotic, “get him back!” speaks to the conflicted feelings of wanting revenge but missing someone. The narrator loves and hates her on-and-off ex, knowing her friends are disappointed in her, yet she can’t help but get sucked into his pull.
Too Hot to Touch embodies that same messy dynamic. Tyler Valentine is a hockey player and notorious playboy. Murray Silva, who’s busy balancing her PhD dissertation and jobs, doesn’t have time to get involved—again, that is. She’s been burned before.
But when he shows up in her summer school class, Murray remembers just how magnetic—and dangerous—he is…
“bad idea right?”
A Sweet Mess
“Oh yes, I know that he's my ex, but can't two people reconnect? / I only see him as a friend, I just tripped and fell into his bed”
Sometimes chemistry defies logic. You know it’s wrong, but you want it anyway. Rodrigo’s “bad idea right?” speaks to that exact sentiment: “Now I'm gettin' in the car, wreckin' all my plans / I know I should stop, but I can't.” The impulsive, relatable urge to hook up with an ex, even if it ends up making things complicated—and, let’s be honest, it always does. But if it’s going to be a mess, at least make it sweet.
Aubrey Choi spends her time running her successful bakery, away from her parents’ watchful eyes. But when a mix-up and bad review threaten to send her business underwater, the last thing she expected was for the food critic to be her one-night stand.
When Landon Kim shows up at her bakery offering to help, she doesn’t know whether to take his hand or send him out the door. His proposal of three weeks together working in a villa is tantalizing—but what will happen when things start to heat up?
“purple”
A Dowry of Blood
“And I melt with you, your red and my blue / Now I see the world in purple”
Although possessing an ethereal, sweet melody, “purple” is somewhat of a cautionary tale. At first, the song was “very sweet,” Rodrigo revealed in an interview with Capital. But after revisiting it a few months later, she “changed the chords and it took on this sort of creepy vibe.”
Before the narrator of the song met her lover, she saw the world differently. After being pulled into his orbit, she’s lost herself: “It’s crazy / I had big dreams 'til I tied myself to you / Now I'm all-consumed.” S.T. Gibson’s A Dowry of Blood begins in the same way, with this intoxicating sense of being chosen.
Constanta is saved by Dracula, transforming from a medieval peasant into a bride. For a time, their love feels all-encompassing—until she realizes her beloved is capable of terrible things. Like “purple,” the book explores how quickly devotion can blur into unhealthy obsession.
“scared of my guitar”
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
“But I'm so scared of my guitar / 'Cause it cuts right through to the heart”
Like the narrator in “scared of my guitar,” Aristotle and Dante are scared to accept their feelings. But they do, and come out on the other side with real love. The song shows the consequences of not doing the work—“I make excuses, my friends know the truth”—and staying in a relationship that doesn’t serve you.
“A tender, honest exploration of identity and sexuality,” this lyrical, coming-of-age masterpiece is “a passionate reminder that love—whether romantic or familial—should be open, free, and without shame” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
Aristotle is a teen with anger issues, coping with a brother in jail, when he meets Dante, a charming know-it-all, at the swimming pool. Although the unlikely pair seem to have nothing in common, a friendship grows into something surprising that will alter the course of their lives.
“love is embarrassing”
House Rules
“God, love’s fuckin’ embarrassing / Just watch as I crucify myself”
Allowing yourself to fall for someone is not an easy thing—especially when it doesn’t turn out the way you hoped. It can be, rather frankly, embarrassing. But just as Rodrigo ends the song, even when we’re ready to give up, to never try again, “I keep comin’ back for more.”
The same messy willingness to try again is at the heart of Ruby Lang’s House Rules. Almost twenty years ago, Simon Mizrahi and Lana Kuo decided to end their marriage. Different dreams may have pulled them apart, but now they’re both back in Manhattan, and looking for roommates.
It’ll only be three months, with strict ground rules. But is it just nostalgia stirring up familiar feelings, or something more? Messy, sweet, and steamy, this one proves that sometimes a second chance is all you need to get love right.
“stupid song”
From Blood and Ash
“You should feel how I feel / When somebody says your name / I'm a car speeding down / The boulevard without a brake”
Off her latest album, “stupid song” feels like an explosion. The overwhelming, all-consuming intensity of falling for someone—and knowing you can do nothing to stop it from happening. Frantic and moving, the feeling swallows everything whole, convincing you that “Nobody’s wanted somebody more.”
From birth, the fate of the kingdom has rested upon Poppy’s shoulders—a burden she had no choice but to accept. Now, she’s condemned to lead a solitary life, devoid of passion or pleasure.
But when Hawke, a beautiful-eyed guard, is appointed to ensure her Accession, her duty becomes entangled with desire. He makes her question everything she’s ever held as certain, and Poppy must decide what she truly wants for herself. Even if it means throwing the kingdom into shambles.
“so american”
Red, White & Royal Blue
“And he laughs at all my jokes / And he says I'm so American / Oh, God, it's just not fair of him / To make me feel this much”
Rodrigo’s “so american,” is basically the love letter version of Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue. If the edits aren’t out there, they should be! The joyful, giddy song captures the cross-cultural romance perfectly. (Many believe it was inspired by a certain English actor, but we digress).
First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is American royalty, or close enough. But when he’s spotted confronting his longtime rival, Prince Henry, at a royal wedding, the two fake a friendship for damage control.
What starts as a PR stunt to help his mother’s reelection bid transforms into something real: a connection neither expected. Suddenly, love threatens to throw the world into a tailspin.
“honeybee”
Two Steps Forward
“And I hope I never see what your face looks like goin' / A face, I swear, that I could spend my whole life knowin'”
“honeybee” is a love song, plain and simple. In lyrics like “Pick me up, walk me home / Man, it feels like God threw me a bone,” Rodrigo speaks to the feeling of surrendering yourself to another, lingering in moments that bring you closer. It’s that early, tender love where everything is new and unburdened by complication—coasting, magical, effortless.
When Zoe, an artist recovering from her husband’s sudden death, and Martin, an engineer reeling from divorce, cross paths on the Chemin, a centuries-old-path, it feels like fate. As the pair come together and take the pilgrimage from France to Spain, they begin to open themselves up to the possibilities of life again.
"u + me = <3"
People We Meet on Vacation
“Carve our names into the car seat leather / You plus me equals a heart forever”
Finding love again can be scary, but also very exciting. This final song explores the emotional healing to be found in a new relationship.
With the right person, it’s not always going to be sunshine and rainbows, but you’ll afford each other the space to change and grow, sticking it out because that’s what you do with the people you love.
Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation is exactly that: a decade of stolen vacations, two people choosing each other over and over. It’s about the small moments, the inside jokes, the comfort of being fully known. Happy ending, sunshine, and everything in between.
Featured image: Christopher Polk / PMC
