books she loves

thinking about family, this issue also got me thinking about us as women. Mothers, daughters, sisters, friends — what kind of books do we like to read? What brings us joy? While that answer may be different for each person, mine is without a doubt a novel with a happy ending.

Judith McNaught, a best-selling historical romance author widely popular in the ‘90s once said “A romance novel should leave readers joyous. My books all have happy endings.” My love of the happy ending began at an early age reading books like “The Babysitters Club” series by Ann M. Martin and “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett. That inevitably grew into a love for a good romance, in part because the story always ends in happily ever after, but also because I enjoy the journey the characters face to get there. Romance is one of the best-selling and most profitable fiction genres, so it’s clear I’m not alone in my love for a great love story. And that has encouraged so much diversity and growth in the genre in recent years that there’s a happy ending book for everyone.

My mother also loves a good romance novel and I remember her giving me a stack of romances by authors like McNaught, Victoria Holt and Nora Roberts to read when I became a teenager. We continue to pass books back and forth, sharing them as brightly colored gifts we can unwrap to find a bit of joy inside.

While most romances have a happy ending, not all books that end in happily ever after are romances. So, I give you a list of books that end with joy.

The Other Bennet Sister

by Janice Hadlow

Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” has inspired numerous retellings, adaptions and contemporary remixes, all focused on the star couple Lizzie and Darcy. But, in this version, Hadlow brings the bookish ugly duckling Bennet sister, Mary, to the forefront and transforms her into a heroine worth cheering for.

In “Pride and Prejudice,” Mary Bennet comes off as the frustrated intellectual middle daughter, the plain girl who takes refuge in her books and always seems a bit at odds with her prettier, more confident sisters. In her own story, Mary struggles with false expectations and wrong ideas that obscure her true nature. It is only when she learns to accept who she really is that she has a chance to find fulfillment and expect joy. And as she undergoes this evolution, she finds the partner who genuinely loves her for the person she is. I found this version of Mary Bennet to be a complex character who comes to life through her uncertainty, vulnerability and sympathetic nature. Hadlow’s portrayal has given me the story where, through her own acceptance of herself, I came to love Mary Bennet as much as Austen’s original heroines. And in the end, as in all Austen novels, she must decide if her hero is truly the one for her.

The Bromance Book Club Series

by Lyssa Kay Adams

1. The Bromance Book Club

2. Undercover Bromance

3. Crazy Stupid Bromance

4. Isn’t It Bromantic?

“The first rule of book club: don’t talk about book club.” A secret romance book club made up of Nashville’s top alpha men is the basis of this series. And the idea of a bunch of men getting together to discuss romance novels in order to improve their relationships — but also because they secretly enjoy reading them — is one of the most refreshing concepts for a series of romance novels I’ve seen. Adams plays with common romance novel tropes in this series, simultaneously poking fun at the entire genre while celebrating all the things that make romance so entertaining.

Each book in the series follows a different member of the Bromance Book Club as they each find their happily ever after — with the help of the “manuals” (what they call the romance books they read) and their fellow club members. These men are funny, charmingly endearing, a little pig-headed but also thoughtful and kind. They force each other to face their feelings and help bring about a happily ever after for each couple, usually ending with a grand gesture the entire club helps execute. Adams also gives us a dual perspective from the heroine who often doesn’t know about the book club’s antics behind the scenes, making the journey even more entertaining.

I think the series gets better as you go with the fourth book, “Isn’t It Bromantic?” being my favorite one yet. Each book can be read as a standalone if you choose, and book five, “A Very Merry Bromance,” will be published on November 1.

Fault Lines

by Emily Itami

I simply had to include this book about marriage, motherhood, love and self in this issue. Mizuki is a Japanese housewife in Tokyo. She has a hardworking husband, two adorable children, a beautiful apartment — everything a modern woman could want. So why does she feel so lonely and sad? One rainy night she meets Kiyoshi, a successful restaurateur, and rediscovers who she used to be. As Kiyoshi and Mizuki fall further into their relationship, it becomes clear that she is living two lives and will have to choose between them.

A book about infidelity might seem like an odd choice for a happy ending, but at its core this is about a woman struggling as a wife and mother. It’s relatable and honest filled with snarky observations about life, love, parenting and relationships. It is a story filled with humor and warmth as Mizuki navigates the fault lines in her life. Even though my life is nothing like hers, I was left feeling seen in a way I think most women can relate to. And Mizuki seems to have finally found herself in the end, which is always a happy conclusion.