When it’s cold out and it gets dark early, we tend to get the lonelies quite a lot. Then we grab our fluffy dog, cat or significant other, or perhaps… A fluffy book. This is the time when we need feel good books, possibly even romantic books that would pick us up! And this is precisely the list for that. Although I have to admit, while making this it, I started thinking I should read more sweet and fluffy stories myself!

When You Are Bashful In A Castle

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith is one of my favorite books. It’s sort of a girl’s coming of age story, although it doesn’t tell any particularly special tale or anything – what appealed to me about it was that it’s so well told through the lips of a young teenage girl. If you’re a woman, it might remind you how you felt back when you were sixteen or seventeen yourself. The sense of being unsure of the world, of yourself, what you really want – and slowly learning to find it. The first kindlings of being in love, and not being sure what is exactly going on, or who you’re even in love with, and are you supposed to know how it works? Aside from that, as you might have guessed by the name, all of it sort of happens in a castle. In a very shabby, decrepit castle, because the family living in it is sort of a bunch of misfits. And one of those misfits if your incredibly adorable main character. It’s definitely one of those feel good books, and you know it – even if it’s a little bit wistful.

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When You Want To Switch Lives With Someone Else

You will laugh at me, but the premise of The Thousand Tiny Miracles of Living Twice is really fun! A middle-age woman, a beautiful superstar, a prankster angel. Can you tell where this is going? Yes, long story short, the women switch bodies, without the consent of one of them, of course (can you guess which one?), and chaos ensues. This book manages to be light, fun and lyrical at the same time. There is some philosophising without any moralizing, although of course, you know which of the characters shouldn’t be doing what they’re doing. You will hardly be surprised by what goes on in this book, cause such a premise can only really go one way, but it surely is fun and uplifting, and you will get attached to the characters, even the ones who aren’t all that positive. Like all feel good books, it’s sweet, light and undemanding, although it might grab at your feels from time to time!

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When You Think You Have To Have Control Of Everything

This is a teen book, and although I don’t read too many sweet YA books, Thing I Should Have Known by Claire LaZebnik really hit the spot! I was so in love with it. I wouldn’t say it’s a feel good book so much, but it just… Sort of makes you feel good? (Badum tsss.) It’s about a teen who shoulders a little bit too much responsibility, as she helps her Autistic sister deal with the world and life, and dearly and truly loves her. But from that love, comes a desire to control everything, to fix everything, to set it all right – even if it’s not about her own life, but rather the life of her sister. The main character learns a lot about how you never know what another person wants, or even what you yourself want. It’s an ode to sibling love, that’s one of the points I liked most! It’s also just so sweet and adorable. And to top it off, it’s a gem of diversity – it doesn’t just have an ASD character, it has more than that! But I’m not going to tell you what more it has, because you don’t want spoilers. So if you’re looking for something cute to read, or even something for a niece or daughter, this is it.

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When You Need To Say Goodbye To The Past

This one is definitely one of the YA feel good books you should mark down! (I know I said I don’t read a lot of YA…) It’s also perfect for reading in the winter, because it will remind you of warm and summery times. The premise of Throwing My Life Away by Liz Czukas is literally what it says in the title – the main character has to say goodbye to all her childhood and teens mementos because of a mix up, during which they are all lost. It’s a tough thing to read about, because imagine throwing away all your memories! But the bottom line is that the memories live on in you, and you don’t really lose them if you just remember who you are. The trick is to keep building new memories and not get trapped in the past! Aside from that, it’s also a story about moving off into your new life, getting ready to grow up, moving our of your parents’ house, graduating school. It might appeal to you if you’re at this point of your life right now. Truly recommended!

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When A Spoiled Child Gets Responsibilities

So you all know this one! The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is hardly a new release, and you wouldn’t really put it on your typical feel good books shelf either. (But you might have noticed that this is a bit of a different list already!) I don’t know what it is about books like these that makes me feel better, but they do – maybe because it’s about childhood? In The Secret Garden, a little girl is taught that one’s life is worth more when one invests into the lives and needs of others, when one cultivates something instead of letting everyone give them whatever they want. It teaches that you should have goals in life, that you should strive for something – not because hard work is cool or being lazy is bad, but simply because you will have more of a drive in your own life if you put some effort into it. Of course, this is a classic, and you must keep in mind that it’s sufficiently moralizing! Tended to happen with little girls’ or just kids’ books back then, apparently! If you can ignore the moralizing, it really is a sweet and uplifting, emotional story. You can even read it with the little ones!

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Have you read any of these feel good books? What do you read when you are cold and lonely? Any recommendations for me?