Can anyone recommend some escapist nonsense?

[BirthdayCakes]

I'm in the mood for something really light but also well written - I've got my eye on those "Little Highland Teashop" type books but there are so many of them and I guess the quality varies?!

Are any of them better than the others?

I've read Rachel's Pudding Pantry by Caroline Roberts. Its the first of a few Pudding Pantry titles & I found it enjoyable

Also suggest Cathy Bramley and Heidi Swain as authors who would fit your bill.

I like Amanda Egan's stuff.

I like Raffaella Barker's Hens Dancing books. Light, domestic nonsense.

Any Isla Dewar book. Light but well written, she creates a world which is very definitely hers, and all her characters are really well drawn.

I forgot I started this thread but thank you SO much - Hens Dancing looks perfect and I'm going to look up the others now..

Thanks everyone!

I'm currently reading a book with a chef turned UN Agent who is partnered in both senses by a gay half-goblin and they are investigating a cannibalistic group trying to find the meat supplier.

It is Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector by Nicole Kimberling

Amanda Prowse, Jenny Colgan and Milly Johnson are all worth a look for light-ish reads set in teashops/Sweetshops/cafes.

Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day - persephone books. I read it during lockdown and it is such fun and really cheered me up!

Rivers of London series Ben Aaronovitch.
These are for adults, they have a magic element but in our world not like the Harry Potter. They feature police officers so in some ways 'grounded'.
Escapist? Yes.

Thanks for the Hens Dancing suggestion! I didn’t like the sequel as much but Hens Dancing was v funny.

Have you tried any Trisha Ashley? Mostly set in Lancashire. Usually fairly humorous and though each book is standalone the characters from one often wonder into the others.

@felixowl

Rivers of London series Ben Aaronovitch. These are for adults, they have a magic element but in our world not like the Harry Potter. They feature police officers so in some ways 'grounded'. Escapist? Yes.

I second these! They're very funny too

Try Emily Larkin, Unmasking Miss Appleby is free on e-readers and doesn't leave you with a cliffhanger to drag you into paying for the next one (unless you want to of course!). It's a Happy Ever After, written in proper British English, well researched for historical period (London 1805) and with a fun bit of magic chucked in.