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Original poster

please help me find my next comfort read (I'm v fussy!)

107 replies

Namechangetimesigh · 06/03/2023 10:34

(reposted as I put it in the wrong topic to start with)

I'm a total escapist comfort reader and I know exactly what I like, but having exhausted the back catalogue of my favourite authors (Jenny Colgan, Trisha Ashley and the comfort food cafe series) I'm always struggling to find another that hits the comfort-reading spot:

  • set in the UK countryside or seaside
  • featuring a sensible woman who makes the best of her situation, often through organisation, home/shop renovation or cooking
  • quirky friends and/or family provide comedy
  • nothing horrible happens
  • romance optional

If it helps, I liked Cathy Bramley until her style changed slightly, I can't get into Debbie Johnson's non-comfort food cafe books and Heidi Swann very nearly hits the spot. For some reason, Kate Forster, Phillipa Ashley and Jo Bartlett didn't click for me.

Thank you!

OP posts:
cassiatwenty · 06/03/2023 23:40

Namechangetimesigh · 06/03/2023 10:34

(reposted as I put it in the wrong topic to start with)

I'm a total escapist comfort reader and I know exactly what I like, but having exhausted the back catalogue of my favourite authors (Jenny Colgan, Trisha Ashley and the comfort food cafe series) I'm always struggling to find another that hits the comfort-reading spot:

  • set in the UK countryside or seaside
  • featuring a sensible woman who makes the best of her situation, often through organisation, home/shop renovation or cooking
  • quirky friends and/or family provide comedy
  • nothing horrible happens
  • romance optional

If it helps, I liked Cathy Bramley until her style changed slightly, I can't get into Debbie Johnson's non-comfort food cafe books and Heidi Swann very nearly hits the spot. For some reason, Kate Forster, Phillipa Ashley and Jo Bartlett didn't click for me.

Thank you!

That sounds lovely xx If I think of something I'll contribute

CallieQ · 06/03/2023 23:40

Try
Maggie O'Farrell
Kate Atkinson
Mary Wesley

GU24Mum · 06/03/2023 23:38

Have you tried Emma Burstall?

isitaline97 · 06/03/2023 23:34

Have you read any Ruth hogan books?
They sound just like what you are after; quirky, a bit eccentric, British, often seaside.

  • the keeper of lost things
  • queenie malones paradise hotel
  • Madame burova
Just to name a few!
AFriendToEveryoneIsAFriendToNoOne · 06/03/2023 23:26

StLevanBlackcaps · 06/03/2023 20:58

Try Erica James

The Dandelion Years is an old favourite of mine.

AFriendToEveryoneIsAFriendToNoOne · 06/03/2023 23:26

TossieFleacake · 06/03/2023 20:55

Jane Green - Life Swap and Spellbound

Maggie O'Farrell - This Must Be The Place

Louise Penny

Yes to the old Jane Green ones! They're amazing comfort reading.

Lucy Diamond OP. She does a beach/cafe series and loads of others.

Drywhitefruitycidergin · 06/03/2023 23:21

Have you read Jane Fallon? They don't hit the seaside/countryside brief but I find them nice & gentle and a bit funny.

WashAsDelicates · 06/03/2023 23:16

Try the Hens Dancing books (trilogy?) by Raffaela Barker. The fit almost every one of your requirements (except that the protagonist is not terribly sensible) and are really lovely books.

Snoopy111 · 06/03/2023 22:16

Have you tried Christie Barlow's Loveheart Lane series? I think they'd be right up your street and there's 9 in the series I think. Also Sue Moorcroft, Sarah Morgan and Holly Morgan.

Soproudoflionesses · 06/03/2023 21:54

I am reading the Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan...very easy reading!

Marshmallowmountain · 06/03/2023 21:50

Ooh these are all right up my street!

Pashazade · 06/03/2023 21:48

Rather old school but Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is my go to duvet read!

MegBusset · 06/03/2023 21:43

Penelope Fitzgerald - The Bookshop

hilariousnamehere · 06/03/2023 21:39

Yay! I figured some you'd have tried already but pleased there are some new names in there - hope some of them are your thing!

brawhen · 06/03/2023 21:01

Do they have to be contemporary?

What about:

Diary of a Provincial Lady (Delafield)

South Riding (Winifred Holtby)

Long shot = the Miss Read Fairacre books. They might be terribly dated, I have fond memories of reading them from my grandmother's bookshelf as a teenager.

Whenlifegivesyoulemonsmakelemonade · 06/03/2023 21:01

Have you tried Hannah Ellis? There's the Hope Cove series, the Lock Lannick series, and a new series set in the Isles of Scilly.

Original poster
Namechangetimesigh · 06/03/2023 21:00

Thanks everyone! I've got a massive list to explore now. I love Mumsnet x

OP posts:
Velvian · 06/03/2023 21:00

Hazel Ward's Netta Wilde series.

Original poster
Namechangetimesigh · 06/03/2023 20:58

hilariousnamehere · 06/03/2023 20:41

Oh and the Cornish Cream Tea series - Cressida McLaughlin 😁

Ooooh, they look promising - and if it did click, there's seven to go at!

OP posts:
StLevanBlackcaps · 06/03/2023 20:58

Try Erica James

GulfCoastBeachGirl · 06/03/2023 20:57

Ever try anything by Marcia Willett?

WashableVelvet · 06/03/2023 20:56

Lucy Dillon - ‘secret of happy ever after’ is about renovating a bookshop and is a favourite comfort read of mine (much more so than her other books which are too doggy for my taste)

TossieFleacake · 06/03/2023 20:55

Jane Green - Life Swap and Spellbound

Maggie O'Farrell - This Must Be The Place

Louise Penny

TuneInThisTimeNextWeek · 06/03/2023 20:53

I actually recommend books for a living … but this is so not my genre, sorry 🫣

Original poster
Namechangetimesigh · 06/03/2023 20:51

hilariousnamehere · 06/03/2023 20:40

This is 70% of my fairly extensive library 😁 Try Veronica Henry, Katie Fforde, Celia Anderson, Maeve Haran, Milly Johnson, Caroline Roberts, Vanessa Greene, Nicola May, Sue Moorcroft, Rebecca Raisin, Holly Hepburn and Donna Ashcroft.

Also Christina Jones and slightly different but if we have similar tastes, Sarah Addison Allen and Ali McNamara - all three fit your requirements but have some magical realism going on and are among my all time favourite reads!

A few existing misses there, but also some new names to try, thanks!

I used to enjoy Christina Jones (especially the Milton St John series), but her return with Sandcastle Cottage was a disappointment.

OP posts: