As I’ve been developing our “comfort read” tag, I’ve had time to reflect on the comfort read. Interestingly, while we at AAR label our top grades as “keepers,” I know I personally keep many books which didn’t get a DIK rating. Sometimes, these are books which excel at just one thing (I keep Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s Match Me If You Can entirely to reread the secondary romance). But most often, my keepers which aren’t Keepers (if that makes sense!) are the books I turn to when I need comfort.
Books are often in DIK territory because they’re doing something unexpected. While that’s exciting and valuable for the genre, it doesn’t make me feel cozy or soothed. A comfort read does exactly what you think it’s going to do, and usually just when you think it’s going to do it. Mary Balogh’s Slightly Dangerous is a comfort read much loved by AAR readers (it has placed as high as 7 on our Top 100 Romances). Our reviewer acknowledges how much it owes to the legendary Pride and Prejudice:
Wulfric much resemblance to Mr. Darcy in his dedication to his family, his extreme reserve, his omnipresent awareness of his responsibilities to his class and heritage, and – let’s call a spade a spade – the extreme Control Freak aspects of his personality. Equally, heroine Christine Derrick is lively, social, blessed with a pair of “fine eyes” and – just like Elizabeth Bennett – is most attractive when she is animated. And, while I don’t want to give too much away, the basic structure of the book does bear some resemblance to that beloved novel.
A comfort read is often comfortable because it’s familiar and delivers exactly what we want or expect. It’s reassuring and relaxing, two feelings heaven knows I’m short of these days.
One of the things that elevates a book to DIK status can be how “unputdownable” it is – which can also be a measure of the tension and the urgency we feel while reading it. While that’s (usually) a positive reading feeling, it’s certainly not what I’d call “comfortable.” (This may explain why romantic suspense thrillers are rarely labeled “comfort reads”). While I certainly get sucked into many of my favorite comfort reads, it’s generally because I’m so at peace reading them and I want to extend that feeling. In that way, the books themselves often echo their settings: places out of time where magic and romance are possible and other issues are held at bay. Judith McNaught’s Perfect features a hero and heroine snowed in at a Colorado cabin (after he kidnapped her while being on the run from prison!), and disappearing into that space with them always makes me feel calm.
Close communities can also create an immersive, cozy setting I’m pleased to share with the characters. While it’s more expected to find such communities in small towns, Kwana Jackson’s Real Men Knit creates a comfort space in the middle of New York City with her Harlem knitting community. The family-owned shop, which serves as a second home to the heroine, sponsors knitting circles and ever-expanding service projects to the neighborhood and gives as much as it gets from its community.
Comfort reads also usually have an overall sense of optimism about humanity. The authors seem to genuinely like people – even antagonists are often flawed instead of villainous. Pamela Morsi’s Simple Jess sets out two rivals for the heroine Althea – men the community is pressuring her to marry so her farm can stay viable. Yet both turn out to be decent men, and you end up rooting for their HEAs alongside that of Althea and Jess.
That doesn’t mean, however, that comfort reads can’t be spicy! In No More Mr. Nice Guy, by Amy Andrews. the main characters have explicit, well-written sex and start to fall in love despite their plans to just have a fling. It’s the genuine caring they show for each other that makes the book a comfort read alongside the hot rating. Spicy but comforting – it’s the Mexican hot chocolate of the romance world.
In her review of Jo Beverley’s Emily and the Dark Angel, our reviewer wrote:
“Comfort reads occupy an unusually clear-cut place on a reading shelf. These are the books of unconditional love. They may or may not be the best romances ever written, and I can count several comfort reads that do not qualify as such. But every year, or even more often, I go back to them for the comfort and pleasure of their company.”
There is no such thing as too many of these companionable, friendly books. If you have comfort reads not yet included on our tags, would you share them with me in the comments?
~ Caroline Russomanno
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I'm a history geek and educator, and I've lived in five different countries in North America, Asia, and Europe. In addition to the usual subgenres, I'm partial to YA, Sci-fi/Fantasy, and graphic novels. I love to cook.
I’ve loved and reread many of the already mentioned books. I missed Mary Jo Putney. She wrote some of my to go books like The Bargain, One Perfect Rose, the Bride and the Silk trilogies, Loving a Lost Lord. My favorite by her and often reread is a novella, Sunshine for Christmas, another the Black Beast of Belleterre.
Then there is a regency by Patricia Wynn, Jack on the Box, with a very young couple and a hero who has to do some growing up. Nothing special, just comfort.
And as for comfort in difficult times: Betty Neels. The rhythm of her writing and the predictable stories can do the trick. They have something soothing
Thanks for reminding me about Sunshine for Christmas, one of my favorites by MJP
Agree about Betty Neels; like putting on your oldest and most comfy slippers. Predictable but lovely, warm and wholesome.
Good topic, thanks for starting it. I am getting some new suggestions here for my TBR pile.
My first foray into romance reading was by accident through the Stephanie Plum mysteries and I used to reread the first six or so books every couple of years. They are funny, clever, good mysteries and have some short but sizzling romance in it.
Dana Stabenow writes very good mysteries with a very slow slow-burn-romance sprinkled in the first dozen or so books.
My latest comfort read on audio is Cletus & Jennifer (perfect narration imho) and I have found my self rereading Duke of Sin by E Hoyt. Both our main characters are put through the ringer before their HEA but its a delight to accompany them. I just adore good writing.
I read Dana Stabenow’s Liam Campbell series years ago and remember enjoying them. I think I read the first Kate Shugak book and don’t know why I didn’t continue. I may need to go back and give these a try.
Afraid my list is narrow as the genre I tend to go for is Regency in the main. Here goes, most of these are Oldies But Goodies but are my perfect comfort reads and all read many times:
Simply Love; The Secret Pearl – Mary Balogh
The Nabob’s Widow – Elsie Lee
Katherine – Anya Seton
A Countess Below Stairs – Eva Ibbotson
The Bedevilled Duke – Judith A Lansdowne
A Civil Contract; Venetia; The Black Sheep – Georgette Heyer
Miss Ware’s Refusal – Marjorie Farrell
Jubilee Trail – Gwen Bristow
Valentina – Evelyn Anthony
And the Desert Island Book I Could Not Survive Without: Persuasion – Jane Austen
A Countess Below Stairs is simply wonderful. I love it every time.
<3 This post. Many of my comfort reads are also written by Lisa Kleypas, Mary Balogh and Jayne Ann Krentz/Jayne Castle. I try to own all my favourites in print and digital. Although my comfort reads span from sweet to spicy, heart-warming to angsty, satisfying HEAs are a must.
JA/JAFF – P&P; Sharon Lathan – Darcy Saga; Jan Ashton & Co – A Match Made at Matlock
Joy Reed – The Duke and Miss Denny
Carla Kelly – St. Brendan series
Stella Riley – Rockliffe series
Georgette Heyer – The Toll-Gate, The Unknown Ajax, The Grand Sophy
Julie Garwood – The Prize
Jennifer Ashley – The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie
Mary Balogh – Slightly Dangerous, Someone to Love/Wed, The Plumed Bonnet, The Temporary Wife
Lisa Kleypas – Marrying Winterbourne, Wallflower series
Stephanie Laurens – The Games Lovers Play
Sheri Humphreys – A Hero to Hold
Kathryn Le Veque – The White Lord of Wellesbourne
Amanda Quick – all the books with titles starting with the letters D, R, S and M…(Ravished the fav of course)
JAK – Lost Colony and St. Helen’s series, Grand Passion, Family Man, Trust Me, Wildest Hearts
Emma Barry & Genevieve Turner – Earth Bound
Elizabeth Lowell – Tell Me No Lies
Linda Howard – Open Season, Dream Man, CIA Spies series, Loving Evangeline, Now You See Her, Sarah’s Child
Penny Jordan – Silver
Emma Darcy – The Velvet Tiger
Kati Wilde – Three Nights Before Christmas
Rachel Reid – Heated Rivalry/Long Game
Nalini Singh – Rock Hard and Heart of Obsidian
Christine Feehan – Dark Possession, Dark Predator, Lair of the Lion
Stacy Reid – Eternal Darkness
Grace Draven – Entreat Me
Ilona Andrews – Sweep of the Blade
Newest addition: Tracy Sumner – The Wicked Wallflower
Surprised and happy to see so much love for the St Helen’s books here! I always saw low ratings and felt like I was the only one who loved them.
I prefer the three St. Helen’s over the Harmony series. The later books in the Harmony series are shorter reads and formulaic. The St. Helen’s series have exciting plots, better character development and more humour…plus the dust bunnies are introduced…too cute. I have these three in MMP and re-read them every 1-2 years. I own +160 JAK/JC/JT/AQ/SJ in print. The titles listed above are my absolute favs.
For me, Dancing with Clara and Lord Carew’s Bride by Mary Balogh, The Weaver Takes a Wife by Sheri Cobb Smith, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Some of my favorite comfort reads that I haven’t seen mentioned yet:
–The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery (what I always think of when I think of ‘comfort read’ in fact)
–Never Love a Lawman by Jo Goodman
–All Through the Night by Connie Brockway
–Untie My Heart by Judith Ivory
–Shelia Simonson’s Regency romances
–Mary Stewart’s romantic suspense and cottage romances (Thornyhold is my favorite of the cottage romances and I’ve always held a soft spot for The Ivy Tree)
–Shadows at Sunset by Anne Stuart
–Flirting with Italian by Liz Fielding (esp when I’m craving a vacation romance)
–Several by Nadia Nichols who is not prolific, but has written several Harlequin Historical and Super Romances
I love a good comfort read. Mine usually end up being series or connected books cause when I go down that rabbit-hole I just don’t want to come back up again. LOL
Some of my favorites are…
Lisa Kleypas – The Wallflower series
Julia Quinn – Bridgertons
SEP – The Chicago Stars
Lucy Parker – The London Celebrities
Mary Balogh – Bedwyns and the Slightly series (this is tricky cause she has so many connected books. I could get lost for weeks on these LOL)
Lorraine Heath – Texas Trilogy (Texas Destiny, Glory & Splendor)
Nora Roberts – Bride Quartet
Robyn Carr – The first 3 Virgin River books
Kylie Scott – Stage Dive series
Robyn Carr’s Summer in Sonoma is another one I like. It’s more of a women’s fiction with 4 different stories following each of the 4 friends. I like a couple of the stories but not the others. So, I skim. That’s the lovely thing about comfort reads – you know exactly which parts bring you the most comfort or joy and some you can read every word and others you can skim and find your favorite parts – like in the case of the secondary romance being better than the main one! SEP is great with secondary romances and so is Mary Jo Putney. She has several where the secondary is better than the main.
I have spent the entire summer rereading my favorites for comfort; thank you so much for this post! I’ve never read the Jayne Castle Harmony books and can’t wait to do some sleuthing for them on Libby. I’m sure I’ll find some other gems in this thread— yay! For my rereads, I return to strong prose with wit and humor and almost always gravitate to historicals. I love to relish the writer’s mastery of craft at work when I revisit old friends. Joanna Bourne is a favorite for this very reason as is Loretta Chase, Sherry Thomas, and Meredith Duran. (HOW I MISS Meredith Duran! Any idea if she plans to publish again, in any genre?)
Duran appears GONE. Such a tragedy. Bourne quit. And Thomas appears to have given up on historical romance. Also a tragedy. I am desperate for the next Chase book–I adore Ten Things I Hate About the DukeTen Things I Hate About the Duke by Loretta Chase and can’t wait for Alice’s story.
Agreed on the Chase, and I so miss Duran, Bourne and Thomas in HR. There’s nobody else writing it now who can touch them – they set a very high bar.
Another comfort read author for me is Laura Lee Guhrke. Guilty Pleasures, Secret Desires of a Gentleman, and The Marriage Bed are all books I come back to when I need an escape.
I love Guilty Pleasures!
I do too. Anthony, the archeology, the language of the flowers. It’s just wonderful.
Guhrke is an under-rated writer of HR, IMO.
This is one of my favorite topics, and I would love it if you guys would do it every 6 months. Comfort reads strike a deep chord and call a reader back again and again, and I trust AAR’s readership to be discerning with their recommendations. I am taking notes!
Like so many of you, Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer top my comfort read list, with a little Mary Balogh thrown in. Joanna Bourne’s Spymasters series is amazing and I will definitely reread it, but I am not sure I would classify it as comforting because I was stressed out sometimes when I read those books.
Here are some of my comfort reads, all m/m romances for some reason, and I think only the last has been mentioned by DDD.
KJ Charles— Think of England (Daniel and Archie= smiles and swoons)
Alexis Hall— Waiting for the Flood (loved the audio for this sweet novella)
Sally Malcolm— Perfect Day (inspired by Persuasion, but not obvious about it)
Rachel Reid— Heated Rivalry and The Long Game (hot and intense with incredible leads, a bit of angst, but worth it)
I love Sally Malcolm’s New Milton books so much and completely agree with your choice of Perfect Day. I have re-read the last chapter and the epilogue many times before bed when I just wanted to feel happy before going to sleep!
Thanks for the kind words on the post!
Oh! I love all choices you listed at the bottom!
I’ve often said that Waiting for the Flood is a “perfect” novella, particularly in audio. This is the audio book I most often choose to reread. It is the perfect length to get through in an afternoon or evening.
These are my most re-read romances, all of which I consider comfort reads:
A Rake’s Reform (r) Holbrook, Cindy
Ravished (r) Quick, Amanda
Black Sheep (r) Heyer, Georgette
The Secret (r) Garwood, Julie
The Mad Miss Mathley (r) Martin, Michelle
The Lion’s Lady (r) Garwood, Julie
Lord Sayer’s Ghost (r) Holbrook, Cindy
Christmas Wishes (r) Metzger, Barbara
Dangerous (r) Quick, Amanda
These Old Shades (r) Heyer, Georgette
The Bride (r) Garwood, Julie
Devil’s Cub (r) Heyer, Georgette
Autumn Glory (sr) Metzger, Barbara
Elyza (r) Darcy, Clare
The Actress & the Marquis (r) Holbrook, Cindy
Mistress (r) Quick, Amanda
Scandal (r) Quick, Amanda
Some suspense elements don’t prevent a book from being a comfort re-read.
A more complete list of my favorite books is at:
http://www.ccrsdodona.org/markmuse/reading/mostread.html
Hooray for Barbara Metzger!!
I’m very fond of The Mad Miss Mathley, too. I love the Robin Hood scene, and the sliding down the bannister competition between the sisters.
DDD and Dabney have already mentioned a couple of my favorites such as Joanna Bourne’s My Lord and Spymaster (one of my all time favorite romances and series) and After Hours by Cara McKenna.
(Warning for the McKenna book as its hero and heroine both work in a hospital that treats people with mental illnesses). It has some dark themes in it but also manages to convey hope for treating people with various mental health problems through proper medicine and care. Despite some of the topics, you leave the story feeling better from what you have learned.
True, sweeter, “comfort reads” for me are many from Lisa Kleypas’s canon as I find her romances and family depictions to be lovely and her sense of female comradeship excellent. I also love Carla Kelly’s work which also can include some darker things to be overcome, but end up making you feel like there are wonderful, kind people in the world.
For newer comfort reads C.M. Nascosta’s Cambric Creek books such as Morning Glory Milking Farm and Sweet Berries are the most charming mix of Hallmark movie meets monster romance. She manages to blend VERY high heat with thoughtful and delightful romances set in her mixed species world.
(Do not confuse these with the CC After Dark books which are darker and not sweet.)
I also find Ruby Dixon’s books including IPB and Icehome to be great fallbacks when I want to sink into a community of kind people and sweeter (abut hot) romances.
Like Carrie, pretty umuch all my re-reads are actually re-listens, so my comfort reads tend to be on audio, too. However, I generally choose them based on who the narrator is rather than on what the story is or who the author is. Books I’ve listened to more than two or three times include most of Annabeth Albert’s Out of Uniform and Frozen Hearts series, N.R. Walker’s Thomas Elkin series, Rachel Reid’s Common Goal, Role Model & The Long Game (I wish I could add Heated Rivalry to that list, but a different narrator did that one and ruined it), Diamond in the Rough by Charlie Cochet (Greg Boudreaux’s narration is so damn good!) Lily Morton’s Rule Breaker (which I still think is her best book)… the one actual book that’s been a regular go-back-to over the years is Stella Riley’s A Splendid Defiance.
I’d never heard of Diamond in the Rough, so thanks! I love A Splendid Defiance, but I listened to that on audio, too.
Annabeth Albert’s books slipped my mind, but they are great relisten choices as well.
Diamond in the Rough is part of Cochet’s Four Kings Security series; it’s pretty crazy and often implausible, (real switch-your-brain-off stuff!) but she writes fun characters who are all ride-or-die and that particular pairing is one I like – plus Greg’s portrayal of Leo (a computer nerd who is one of the MCs) is almost unbrearably cute!!
I agree that Rule Breaker is Lily Morton’s best book but if I was going to pick a comfort read from her books, I think I would go for Merry Measure – it is so full of warmth and coziness. Or maybe Charlie Sunshine for it’s whole best friends-to-lovers theme and a lot of humor.
Dare I say… I was bored by Charlie Sunshine? I know a lot of people love it, and I’d really been looking forward to it, but it was a real disappointment. A middling C for me. Merry Measure was a lot more fun.
Bear in mind though that I don’t go for fluff, even in comfort reads, so I’m almost certainly in a minority. A comfort read for me is one where I know what I’m going to get, so I’m likely to go for something angsty. (Because I know it’ll all work out in the end!)
“A comfort read for me is one where I know what I’m going to get, so I’m likely to go for something angsty.” So true. I almost feel that for purposes of this post, “comfort” means cozy & low angst, but that is never my catnip, especially when I’m going for a re-read. For me, the angstier the better (without tipping over into melodrama). I’m also ok with problematic or transgressive scenarios. That’s why in my earlier post I said that I wouldn’t recommend tagging my comfort reads as being such because they tend to be on the dark/angsty end of the scale.
“Comfort reads” in the traditional library or book rec context is something one can recommend to someone else looking for an easy, low-angst read – a “pleasant way” to pass time. Not unlike a lot of those “beach reads” the industry uses to promote book sales each summer.
But to any specific individual, a “comfort read” is a book he/she/they like enough to (frequently or regularly) reread themselves.
Yes the latter definition is one that probably best describes the way I approach it, what books do I enjoy enough to read/listen to more than once And because I like plot and angst in general, anything I might consider a comfort read will also have plot and angst because of the bigger pool it’s drawn from.
I have two kinds of comfort reading. There are the books I read at bedtime—the ones that I know will give me a happy smile and pleasant dreams. Loretta Chase, some of Eloisa James (I’m currently rereading the Desperate Duchesses), and Miranda Neville always do the trick. Then there are the ones I reread when I need to get through a bd patch of one sort or another. Lately the Jayne Castle Harmony books are doing this job. I can’t always remember which one is which, but there’s something reassuring about the strong, silent hero with dark hair and oddly colored eyes, the slightly ditzy heroine with sunset colored hair, and a dust bunny.
Especially the dust bunny!
I’m also currently doing a reread of the Harmony books.
Aw, I love the Harmony books too. Good pick!
Georgette Heyer features high on my comfort read list. I reread The Talisman Ring for the humor, Venetia for the “Beauty and the Beast” vibe, and A Civil Contract for the character study, among others.
Like others have mentioned, I reread Carla Kelly’s older stuff. And Linnea Sinclair’s Sci-fi romance books are reread frequently.
I’ve reread all of Jane Austen multiple times, but less frequently in the past few years. Still, her books are amazing for the language and the characters.
I reread some romantic suspense, like Nora Robert’s The Witness and The Search, and Sandra Brown’s Envy is one I’ve reread several times.
I enjoy revisiting Stella Riley’s Rockcliffe series, and her standalone The Marigold Chain.
These days when I’m stressed, I ten to grab something sexy and emotional but not too angsty, which takes me to Lily Morton’s books, as well as Leigh Garrett’s Angels in the City, and N.R. Walker’s books, especially the Thomas Elkin and the Red Dirt Heart series.
Almost all my rereading is on audio, which is my medium of choice. Linnea Sinclair’s books are a rare exception since they are only available in print.
Nora Roberts still is, thinking of an author alone, the one I go to when I need this type of reading.
Then, some titles I go to include things by Ilona Andrews (Wildfire, for instance), Anne Bishop (Dreams Made Flesh), Barbara Delinsky (TLC), Sandra Brown (Adam’s Fall to think of one), Some Mary Balogh, some Nalini Singh…
I have a rotating crop of about 20 books that are “comfort reads” for me. But because I love angsty heartache, a splash of melancholy, and gutting breakups (before the final reunion), I don’t think they would really qualify as “comforting” to many other readers. And at least one of my comfort reads—Taylor Fitzpatrick’s THROWN OFF THE ICE—does not have an HEA (although I think the entire book could be considered the couple’s HFN). A few of my other comfort reads (although I would caution against tagging them as such) are: AFTER WE FALL by Melanie Harlow; TAP LEFT by A. Zavarelli; GOING NOWHERE FAST by Kati Wilde; TIME SERVED by Julianna Keyes; AFTER HOURS by Cara McKenna; HEATED RIVALRY/LONG GAME by Rachel Reid; and THE UNWANTED WIFE by Natasha Anders.
After Hours is a great example of a comfort read that can also be very spicy.
I thought of a few other books that I return to time and time again, although these ones are problematic/transgressive to say the least: PRIEST by Sierra Simone; RIDING DIRTY by Jill Sorenson; TAKE ME DOWN by Julie Kriss. The first book is obviously about a priest who breaks his vow of celibacy. The other two involve female therapists and their erstwhile male clients (although in both cases there are mitigating circumstances—but there’s no doubt there are problematic elements afoot).
I kinda hate that you feel you need to check your enjoyment. <3
Well, I know some readers really hate any transgressive elements, so I’d rather warn them beforehand. I seem to recall we’ve had long comment threads here at AAR about PRIEST and TIME SERVED. The former because, well, the hero’s a priest; and the latter because neither hero nor heroine is particularly likable, and the hero at one point confesses to having a (never acted upon) rape fantasy about the heroine. Some readers felt the fantasy was a bridge too far. Otoh, another favorite re-read for me, Cara McKenna’s duet, WILLING VICTIM/BRUTAL GAME, is all about acting out non-con/dub-con fantasies—and there was less uproar in the comments about that than about the fantasy in TIME SERVED.
TL;DR: Because I tend to read on the darker end of the romance spectrum, I do like to warn others who may not want to play in that sand box.
Love the shoutout for Portia and Bodie. No one does secondary romances better than SEP and this is one of her best. I actually like them better than Annabelle and Heath!
And I can never see enough love for my favorite Amy Andrews, No More Mr. Nice Guy. It’s a DIK for me–Mack’s combo of kindness and (mild) kink is just the best.
My comfort reads are books that, when I can’t fall asleep, I read. They make me happy, take away my stress, remind me of all the joy and love the world still holds. I’d put I Kissed An Earl (I cannot believe we didn’t give it a DIK!) by Julie Anne Long at the top of the list, followed by Bench Player by Julianna Keyes, Reckless by Anne Stuart, My Lord and Spymaster by Joanna Bourne, Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas (she is a match for SEP’s secondary romances and this is a lovely one), The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran, and Unveiled by Courtney Milan.
Here are some of my favourite comfort reads:
Georgette Heyer’s The Unknown Ajax.
Nora Roberts’ Bride Quartet. I love the friendships in these books, as well as the romance.
Lucy Parker’s London Celebrities series, and particularly the stories with grumpy but protective heroes.
I also love Artistic License, which Lucy Parker wrote as Elle Pierson. The hero and heroine are sensitive people who find strength for each other.
Artistic License is so underrated! I love that book. Also, The Unknown Ajax is a very funny farce (although not super romantic) – I wrote bout how much I love its comedic climax here: https://allaboutromance.com/the-best-climaxes-in-romance/
Nora Roberts’ Bride Quartet is a great example of comfort reads. I liked the first book best. I would add some of her MacGregors series books too, especially MacGregor Brides, MacGregor Grooms, The Perfect Neighbor and The Winning Hand.
Jane Austen and Regina Scott books are my comforting reads. Simply the regency atmosphere with its manners, meals, teas and dances are relaxing. Not to mention that you will never run into problems too dark and you know that everything will be alright in the end.
You made me realize that my re-reads are all comfort reads.
I have recently added R. Cooper to my comfort read list. I like her novellas, I enjoy her books, there is a pervasive sense of comfort in all she writes, good people doing their best, and enduring the bad.
Carla Kelly, though serious, is a comfort author, for dark times, her decent persevering, good people lift me up.
On the fluffier side, Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase is a comfort read, Lord Perfect and her Dressmakers 2 & 3 stand out, as well, though most of her books work for me that way..
Some early JAK, such as Family Man, some old Balogh, Roberta Gellis Rope Dancer,
Some series romance, such as Dani Collins, a few old Lynne Grahams, Sophie Weston…
Alisha Rai was there, but her last few books tried too hard and stopped being Comforting fun.
Sometimes I still love SEP, but some of her books were awful on rereading, so I am cautious to destroy lovely memories.
Same for Judith McNaught. The doormat- iness of heroines in some of her books is icky to me by now. I loved Paradise long and hard, but I just cannot read it anymore.
Judith McNaught is so up and down for me. Perfect, the one here, is actually not my favorite (although I loved it when I was younger) – but Remember When, I adore. The heroine is an executive of a Chip-and-Joanna lifestyle empire (except it’s a family brand, not just her and obviously not a spouse) and doesn’t take nonsense off the hero. It’s eerily good at predicting the forthcoming blur between personal and brand life.
I have never read her! I’ll check out Remember When.
In the late 1980s/early 1990s, Judith McNaught was one of my favorite authors but she hasn’t published in years. I loved her historicals a bit more, especially A Kingdom of Dreams and Almost Heaven. Like Lieselotte, I loved Paradise but I would agree that Perfect is a better choice for comfort read. I think I liked Remember When but don’t recall it as well.
Same here, I love her historicals more, particularly Something Wonderful and Once & Always. They are my usual go-to comfort reads.
I should note however that the latter book is very problematic. I don’t think I would have loved it if I had read it for the first time now, but I just skim over the bits that I dislike lol.
In what way?
I love the hero but he does man-handle the heroine a few times, and there is a forced seduction scene that is quite problematic.
What does problematic mean here? Johanna Lindsey problematic? Or she says no and he kisses her anyway problematic?
I haven’t read Johanna Lindsey unfortunately but it was a wedding night scene in which the heroine did not want to sleep with him as she was drunk and scared. She does very reluctantly give consent as she thinks she ‘owes’ it to him as his wife. It was quite a dreadful scene actually, as the hero was angry with her (due to a horrible misunderstanding) and refrained from treating her with any gentleness or tenderness. She was in a lot of pain. I never read this scene when I re-visit the book.
Actually, I don’t think you could call it ‘forced seduction’, as she does not, at any point, enjoy the experience.
That sounds wildly unromantic although it’s a scene I’ve read in more than one old skool romance.