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What is the last book you read that made your heart swell?

40 replies

AnotherEmilee · 01/10/2025 21:57

I have been feeling really miserable recently and I want to read something that will fill me with a warm glow. The kind of heart swelling feeling I get when Mr Knightly is telling Emma that if he loved her less he might be able to talk about it more or Mr Darcy is telling Elizabeth how much he ardently admires and loves her.

I have already read all of Georgette Heyer's regency romances along with most books that come up when you Google what should I read if I like Jane Austen.

It doesn't have to be historical, I am happy with any time period or setting but I do prefer no or very little sex. I have read a lot of YA fantasy romance as YA books generally don't contain sex but they do all have love triangles and annoying teenage characters.

I am looking forward to reading The Hallmarked Man but I am waiting for my reservation of it to come in at the library.

What can I read in the meantime?

OP posts:
MargotMoon · 04/10/2025 07:44

Oh yes definitely The Shell Seekers. Never read any other Rosamunde Pilcher, are any of the others as good as that?

BG2015 · 06/10/2025 20:32

I also agree with Frank and Red, never laughed and cried so much. Great book.

CatChant · 06/10/2025 21:17

MissyB1 · 02/10/2025 10:40

Three days in June by Anne Tyler. I loved every single word, I didn't want it to end!

Yes, I agree wholeheartedly. It is a lovely book.

LethargeMarg · 09/10/2025 18:05

The wedding people. Starts off very sad but really uplifting. Everyone I’ve recommended this book too loved it

MissyB1 · 10/10/2025 07:34

LethargeMarg · 09/10/2025 18:05

The wedding people. Starts off very sad but really uplifting. Everyone I’ve recommended this book too loved it

Yes I enjoyed that one too.

looselegs · 19/10/2025 15:40

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle is absolutely lovely!

ElizabethVonArnim · 19/10/2025 15:55

Still Life by Sarah Winman
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim

All have those uplifting moments.

ElizabethVonArnim · 19/10/2025 15:55

LethargeMarg · 09/10/2025 18:05

The wedding people. Starts off very sad but really uplifting. Everyone I’ve recommended this book too loved it

Yes, I liked this one too - spent the first half sobbing though. Thank goodness it cheers up!

OnlyFangs · 25/10/2025 21:23

Kerrisk · 02/10/2025 10:30

Kate Grenville’s The Idea of Perfection. Literary fiction, a relationship between a shy engineer come to replace an old wooden bridge with a new concrete one in a small town in rural Australia and the gruff museum curator who opposes the scheme. Beautifully written, warm-hearted and clever.

Oh yes this is brilliant, on so many levels

MaxandMeg · 25/10/2025 21:29

'The Making of a Marchioness' by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
'The Semi-Attached Couple' and 'The Semi-Detached House' by Emily Eden.

shellyleppard · 25/10/2025 21:29

Jo jo Moyes the giver of stars ❤️❤️❤️ the book of beginnings by sally page

PersisFord · 29/10/2025 19:23

Thanks to this thread I've got the most joyful bag of library books I've had for a while!

I also LOVE The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice but have never met anyone else who has read it!

Edited because I recommended Georgette Heyer like an idiot!!

Clawdy · 06/11/2025 09:15

The Amateur Marriage - Anne Tyler. That last page was so moving.

CrazyCatMam · 06/11/2025 21:18

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne. I laughed and I sobbed, several times. Stunning. Didn’t want it to end.

biedrona · 06/11/2025 22:04

Seascraper

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