You know that feeling when you just want to read a book that helps you escape your reality for a little bit, and makes you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Sometimes after a very long day, I just want to read a book where I know my characters will fall in love and I know that things will work out for them in the end. I want to be wrapped up in their world for a just little while and be comforted by the familiarity of the characters. When I need to escape reality I pick up one of these books, brew myself a cup of Earl Grey tea, and hunker down on my couch and read. My idea of a comfort read is reading a book that has a good slow burn, tension-building romance that eventually leads to the two leads falling in love. These following six books are my comfort reads, and I hope to expand this list as I read more books in the future.
If you have recommendations for books I need to read to add to my comfort list let me know down in the comments. This is a list I do want to grow because having a good variety of comfort books is always a good thing to have.
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – I know many think of this book as a depressing book because of the obstacles Jane has to go through to finally be with Rochester, but it is so deeply romantic and passionate that I love it. I love the scenery that Charlotte Bronte creates in this book and the anguish that you feel for both Jane and Rochester in this book is the greatest pain I have felt for two fictional characters.
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – Easily one of my top 5 favorite books ever because I love a good slow burn and tension-building romance and this book is the reason all the others exist. The tension/judgment between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is undeniable even on the pages. I love so many aspects of this book that I cannot simply condense it into a paragraph. This is probably my top comfort read and as a matter of fact, I’m going to start reading it now.
3. Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev – I love Jane Austen retellings simply because they are generally extremely cheesy, but this one steals my heart. Sonali Dev has a whole series of Jane Austen retellings and they are all stand alones with characters that pop up in the following books I recommend the other books in the series as well they are pretty decent. This book is about chef DJ Caine and neurosurgeon Dr. Trisha Raje both of whom are very proud people and are both trying to get over their past. They both have made mistakes and choices that have defined their future and are now trying to resolve them in any way they can. Along the way judgments and assumptions are made, but when DJ’s sister needs to be saved by Trisha can indifferences be set aside, or will pride be the downfall? It’s a really great book and there is so much tension it’s ridiculous. I love this book and the way it was written it is easily my favorite Pride and Prejudice retelling and I highly recommend it to all.
3. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas – Now I know that this isn’t the happiest or most light-hearted of books to put on my comfort list but I do love it as a comfort read. I love this book but it is not my favorite of the series, A Court of Silver Flames is my favorite of the series easily. This book though has the one bed trope which I love, slow building tension, and touch her you die vibes. Let’s not forget Chapter 54, I know everyone talks about Chapter 55, but I like the build-up to Chapter 55.
4. Just One Day by Gayle Forman – When I was in high school my insta-buy author was Gayle Forman because I loved all of her books but this one takes the cake. I love this book the most because of Allyson’s growth in the book. Willem shows her that she can have all these adventures, and when he leaves her she ends up discovering herself. It’s not a typical love story but it is a self-love story and sometimes those are the best types.
5. Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa – This book is about Callie Lillis, a siren who has made multiple deals with the Bargainer throughout her life and it is now time for her to pay them back. The Bargainer is having his own issues in his land and the only one who can possibly help him is Callie, even though bringing her into his world becomes even more dangerous for both of them. Now I know everyone likes to think Rhysand is the King of Darkness, but they clearly have not read The Bargainer series because let me just say this man is the King of Darkness and Nightmares and his wings are beautiful as well. I blame my husband for getting me into dark fantasy romances because he bought this book for me and now I read a lot of dark fantasy romance novels. This book, hell this whole series has a chokehold on me because it is really good so I suggest reading it at least once. I am not going to say that the writing is perfect in this series because there are aspects that I wish could have been built upon more, BUT this book does whisk me away to this magical land and help me forget about reality.
Those are my comfort reads as of right now, and I look forward to updating this list in the future. What are some of your comfort reads that you read to get out of a personal funk? Are any of those books included in this list? Please let me know in the comments below!
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