I love how you describe reading as a way to ground yourself - so well put! I'm assuming Coming Home is included in the Pilcher big four. That one is my favorite :)
As for restorative reads, I have two that I return to time and again. I'm not sure if either one will scratch your itch, but I've read them both so many times and love to recommend them.
One is Thornyhold by Mary Stewart - a young woman inherits a cottage from her witchy aunt and everyone assumes Gilly is a witch too. I love the descriptions of the cottage and its gardens, as well as the food. There's a small non-steamy romance storyline, but that's definitely not my favorite part of the book. It's the descriptions!
The other is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I'm sure you've read it or have at least heard of it. I listen to the audio about twice a year! Love the setting and the mystery about Elizabeth. I also watch the movie on Christmas night after the kids go to bed every year. It's absolutely not a Christmas movie, but I've usually had my fill of the holiday by the point anyway!
Thornyhold sounds so delightful! I love a lovingly described cottage. And I read The Shell Seekers, Coming Home, September, and Winter Solstice all back in 2022 (one per season), which was soooo lovely.
I read all of Mary Stewart decades ago as a teen. My comfort read early in the pandemic was to reread those books. Most of them held up pretty well and were enjoyable reads. Stewart captures a sense of place very well.
Oh, do I have a recommendation for you! One that I hope will meet your Shell Seekers standard :-) Have you read The Guest Book by Sarah Blake? I wrote about it yesterday and just how enthralled I was with this messy wealthy Boston family saga and their private summer home ISLAND in Maine. 484 pages! Ooooh, and also, I too love queer romance, bonus if it's a sports queer romance. As for your request, though, have you read (I'm guessing you have!) Only When It's Us by Chloe Liese? This is the closest I could get to female athlete with teddy bear man. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on these someday / maybe ♡
Oh my goodness, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts! I read the series before it hit mainstream publishing and want everyone on earth to know about this absolutely delightful family ♡
I've been reading The Light Years, the first in Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet Chronicles, and the closest comp to Rosamunde Pilcher I know! Sara featured it in her 2024 PSRG and I have fond memories about reading the books (and still have them on my shelf), but find I have very little memory about most of the details.
Natalie! I too have only had small snatches of time this month to read and want to carve out more focused reading time in the coming weeks. I’m glad to hear I’m not alone. I’ve mostly been reading a few pages on my Kindle before falling asleep or listening to an audiobook while doing other chores around the house. And it’s kept my reading going but one night this week I just laid on the couch for two hours with my book and I thought “yesss, this is what I needed.”
Those chunks of time are so precious -- I've been requesting reading together time with my boyfriend, where we just sit together and read our respective books, haha.
I do a lot of rereading when I’m feeling scattered and/or anxious.
I’m with you on probably enjoying queer sports romance more than m/f. 😄 I just finished reading Time to Shine by Rachel Reid (thanks to a post on IG with recommendations for Pride month) and really loved it.
I love how you describe reading as a way to ground yourself - so well put! I'm assuming Coming Home is included in the Pilcher big four. That one is my favorite :)
As for restorative reads, I have two that I return to time and again. I'm not sure if either one will scratch your itch, but I've read them both so many times and love to recommend them.
One is Thornyhold by Mary Stewart - a young woman inherits a cottage from her witchy aunt and everyone assumes Gilly is a witch too. I love the descriptions of the cottage and its gardens, as well as the food. There's a small non-steamy romance storyline, but that's definitely not my favorite part of the book. It's the descriptions!
The other is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I'm sure you've read it or have at least heard of it. I listen to the audio about twice a year! Love the setting and the mystery about Elizabeth. I also watch the movie on Christmas night after the kids go to bed every year. It's absolutely not a Christmas movie, but I've usually had my fill of the holiday by the point anyway!
Thornyhold sounds so delightful! I love a lovingly described cottage. And I read The Shell Seekers, Coming Home, September, and Winter Solstice all back in 2022 (one per season), which was soooo lovely.
co-sign Thornyhold, which I read a few years back thanks to Katie's recommendation!
I read all of Mary Stewart decades ago as a teen. My comfort read early in the pandemic was to reread those books. Most of them held up pretty well and were enjoyable reads. Stewart captures a sense of place very well.
Oh, do I have a recommendation for you! One that I hope will meet your Shell Seekers standard :-) Have you read The Guest Book by Sarah Blake? I wrote about it yesterday and just how enthralled I was with this messy wealthy Boston family saga and their private summer home ISLAND in Maine. 484 pages! Ooooh, and also, I too love queer romance, bonus if it's a sports queer romance. As for your request, though, have you read (I'm guessing you have!) Only When It's Us by Chloe Liese? This is the closest I could get to female athlete with teddy bear man. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on these someday / maybe ♡
I actually haven't read Only When It's Us but it's sitting unread on my shelf! Definitely putting it in my July tentative pile now.
Oh my goodness, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts! I read the series before it hit mainstream publishing and want everyone on earth to know about this absolutely delightful family ♡
I've been reading The Light Years, the first in Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet Chronicles, and the closest comp to Rosamunde Pilcher I know! Sara featured it in her 2024 PSRG and I have fond memories about reading the books (and still have them on my shelf), but find I have very little memory about most of the details.
I need to start the second one! I read the first one a few years ago and found it so totally absorbing.
Natalie! I too have only had small snatches of time this month to read and want to carve out more focused reading time in the coming weeks. I’m glad to hear I’m not alone. I’ve mostly been reading a few pages on my Kindle before falling asleep or listening to an audiobook while doing other chores around the house. And it’s kept my reading going but one night this week I just laid on the couch for two hours with my book and I thought “yesss, this is what I needed.”
Those chunks of time are so precious -- I've been requesting reading together time with my boyfriend, where we just sit together and read our respective books, haha.
My restorative read is a noir detective investigating a murder where the detective has baggage. Oddly specific, but I love it so much.
I love how specific that is! Restorative means something different to everyone.
I do a lot of rereading when I’m feeling scattered and/or anxious.
I’m with you on probably enjoying queer sports romance more than m/f. 😄 I just finished reading Time to Shine by Rachel Reid (thanks to a post on IG with recommendations for Pride month) and really loved it.
I think I really enjoy the teammates dynamic of queer sports romance? It's so fun to see them working together.