What to Read: Light-Hearted Clean Romance Picks

Today for my book recommendation series, I was going to recommend some complex and emotional WWII books. But honestly, after a crazy weekend, I felt like something more light-hearted was in order. (Did anyone else have to take a break from logging into Facebook this weekend? It seems like everyone forgot to be kind or give anyone the benefit of the doubt. I took most of Saturday and almost all of Sunday off and it felt so nice.) So today I'm talking about three of my favorite light, clean chick lit novels.

I've noticed the crazier my life is, the more I read romance novels. At times when I'm super stressed out (like our move to Arizona, or when I was an emotional sleep-deprived new mom) I reread a few of my favorites. It's nice, when everything is stressful or chaotic, to relax and escape to a world in which the most pressing problem is whether or not two characters like each other (spoiler: they do).

Here are a few light-hearted, clean romance novels, in case you're in the mood to escape your problems with an easy plot arc, beautiful romance, and a nice happy ending:

Edenbrooke
Julianne Donaldson, 2012

This is my all-time favorite Regency romance (besides the original Austen and Bronte classics, of course). The pacing is great, the chemistry is fantastic, and I really liked Marianne's development as a person. I love the author's second novel, Blackmoore, as well.

Love Walked In
Marisa de los Santos, 2005

This book is told alternately from two perspectives: a young woman managing a coffee bar, and an eleven-year-old girl who's just been abandoned by her crazy mother. The author did a great job creating very different but believable narrators. With great writing and a sweet ending, what's not to love?

Sarah M Eden books
2003-present

What can I say about these books? They're all so simple (literally you can guess the ending from reading the back of the book). But they're all very sweet Regency romance stories, with actual gentlemen and beautiful ball gowns and strong family ties. My favorites are Seeking Persephone, The Kiss of a Stranger, and Friends and Foes. The perfect light-hearted escape books.

What Alice Forgot
Liane Moriarty, 2009

This book is about a woman who hits her head at the gym and wakes up with no memory of the last ten years. She thinks she's twenty-nine, pregnant with her first child, and mad about her husband, only to realize she's almost forty, has three children, and in the midst of a nasty divorce. Watching her piece together her memory and see the last decade through new eyes makes for a sweet and funny story. (There is some swearing.)

PS See what I'm currently reading and reviewing on Goodreads here!

What am I missing?

Your favorite light-hearted clean romances?

And don't worry - the list of WWII literary masterpieces is coming soon. :)

P.S. Let's be friends!

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