Oh, hi!
Has it been literally years since I’ve posted on this blog? Have I also been paying for hosting this entire time because something in me just couldn’t let go? Have I decided to try and dust this site off and post, even if it’s mostly going to be me, throwing my thoughts out into the void?
The answer is yes, to all of the above.
I’m not exactly sure what struck me to start again but early 2010s blogging / book world was really something special and I miss it and that community a lot. It’s not the same now, most people have left, and it has moved a lot into reels and tiktok and whatnot and I’m too uncool to learn it so here I am. It’s going to be reminiscent of my xanga days, ha! The funniest thing is when I decided to delve back in, I had a draft of the beginning of a post from way back in 2022! The intro is hilarious, it’ll crack you up — check it out:
“Wendy,” you say, “didn’t you say you were going to post more often? Didn’t you say something about quarterly updates?” Ahahaha ohh past Wendy, you had such lofty goals for yourself. Mom life had other ideas.
BUT guess what? I HAVE been reading! Mostly audiobooks. And the Kindle app on my phone. Somehow picking up a physical book has not happened. It feels like a lot of work? Or sometimes it’s because I finally got to sit on the couch after a long day and there’s nothing you can say to me to make me get up but my phone is always with me. So I haven’t read my backlog of netgalley arcs. My TBR is in who knows what state because I sure don’t know. So I don’t have reviews, I can’t tell you what I think of new releases but I AM here to talk about those books that have given me escape and immense comfort in the last few years during some rather tumultuous times for me. (because first there was a pandemic and then there was pregnancy and birth and mom life and it’s just a LOT of big life things)
Romance! 2020 was mainlining all the happy romance because when the world is shit, you just need HAPPY.
Weeelll, we’ve now entered into an awful rewind of some truly shitty four years so… sadly, I have a feeling I’ll still be mainlining all the happy romance I can get in the foreseeable future. So, this post title I drafted a few years back is still 100% relevant! Here are some of my favorite comfort romance reads that is perfect for making you happy and forgetting anything awful in the world, at least while you’re inbetween the pages.
1) Him, Us, Epic by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy
I’ve apparently reread this series upwards of 5+ times because Wes and Jamie are such comfort. The audios are fantastic. I originally put off reading Us, the sequel to Him, because I was worried about a book after the “happily ever after” but I shouldn’t have been worried. Highly recommend if you have not read this series yet. (Also, yes, I understand the covers are mismatched but when I was scouring Google images for the original cover of Us, I wasn’t getting any good results!)
2) Brooklyn Bruisers series by Sarina Bowen
(side note: I included the old and new cover just to touch on the point that while I acknowledge new covers bring new life to older books, I have been over illustrated covers since when they first started but… they’re not going anywhere.)
In 2020 I literally binged through Sarina Bowen’s ENTIRE backlist — I think I read through 25+ of her books back to back. I devoured the Brooklyn Bruiser series. Do yourself a favor and get started right now. They will make you smile and laugh and bring a ray of sunshine into your life.
3) The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
I adored this one. It made my top 5 books I read in 2023. The True Love Experiement will bring you true happiness so if you haven’t read it yet, please do. Honorable mention: Christina Lauren’s Wild Seasons series. Super fun.
4) Wallflowers and Ravenels series by Lisa Kleypas
Lisa Kleypas was my gateway drug to historical romance and I love the Wallflowers series and the Ravenels series. I’ve reread Devil in Winter quite a few times, it’s my favorite from the Wallflowers series. Look, I understand Bridgerton is sooo popular and all but in my opinion, Lisa Kleypas’ historical romances are superior and the Wallflowers series is just *chef’s kiss*.
There you have it. If you haven’t read any of the above, or even if you have, and you need some happy in your life right now, these are my personal comfort reads. ♥️
Tell me — what are some of your comfort reads when real life is a hellscape?
Leave a Reply