Severe thunderstorms are forecasted in my area tonight, and I couldn’t be happier. There’s nothing like curling up with a good book and a warm mug of tea, thunder growling in the distance, and rain tapping on my skylight.
Unfortunately, we can’t will Mother Nature to deliver this soothing weather for us. Sometimes, we must live vicariously through the characters in our favorite books. If you’re pining for the feeling of drinking tea during a storm—or are just searching for the right “mood read” for your stormy evening—here are three books to read immediately.
1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab is a beautiful, poetic story about self-love, resilience, and the weight of our choices. Part fantasy, part literary fiction, the novel explores the consequences of a forgotten existence.
Would you exchange your ability to be remembered for an everlasting life of freedom? And if so, would that lessen the impact and meaning of your experiences, connections, and love? These philosophical questions and spiritual concepts make for the perfect rainy day reflections.
After pleading with a higher power for an escape from her undesirable fate, Addie LaRue endures a centuries-long curse that essentially erases her identity and impact on anyone she meets. Sure, she gets to lead her life on her own terms, but at the cost of being remembered—even by those closest to her.
Synopsis: “A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget. France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever―and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.”
2. Writers & Lovers by Lily King
As a writer and lover myself, I couldn’t help but dive headfirst into the simple yet moving story of Writers & Lovers by Lily King. This novel is for the deep feelers, the dreamers, the artists…It provides the perfect escape on a rainy day.
Synopsis: “Writers & Lovers follows Casey–a smart and achingly vulnerable protagonist–in the last days of a long youth, a time when every element of her life comes to a crisis. Written with King’s trademark humor, heart, and intelligence, Writers & Lovers is a transfixing novel that explores the terrifying and exhilarating leap between the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another.”
3. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen is another heartwarming, moving story. The book follows two contrasting women—one reeling from her mother’s sudden death (Emily) and one using baking as a coping mechanism for the gaping hole in her heart (Julia). Filled with magical realism, cozy fantasy, and deeply relatable grief, this is the perfect stormy-day read.
Synopsis: “In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times bestselling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here, two very different women discover how to find their place in the world–no matter how out of place they feel … Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.”
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