75 books like Starting Over

Everyone knows the story of the proud and wealthy Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet who refuses his offer of marriage until she sees his better side. But read it for its wit and observations on society as well.

This book was a bestseller in 1813 and one to be read again and again as I have done.

This is book 4 in the series, so please don’t read it first. Richard’s four main characters, all interesting people in their own rights with complex relationships, formed “The Thursday Murder Club” in Book 1. 

Okay – not a romantic comedy, more a cozy crime mystery set in an old people’s home, but you get the impression reading any of his books, that Richard really loved writing them and spending time with his characters, which makes all of them such a joy to read.

Lots of twists and turns, but the crime is solved in the end – so a Happy Ever After of sorts and the author keeps throwing in lighter moments to keep you reading and smiling through to the end. There is a dog in this one too.

Jilly Cooper is for me, a go-to author when I need to take life a little less seriously. 

I discovered Rupert Campbell Black in Riders. It wasn’t love at first read. I didn’t much care for him until I started to read the second in this series. A fabulous, fun romp with laugh out loud moments (and of course animals) set again in Rutshire - Rivals. 

Divorced, Rupert is now Minister for Sport. A great book; in that this is Rupert’s journey to love and his own Happy Ever After. I defy anyone not to read it and love him by the end. 

Jilly Cooper is a wonderful storyteller, with a glorious sense of humour. 

Alert – plenty of sex scenes, from the queen of the “bonk-buster”!

I love this author, but I could have chosen any of Jennifer’s books.

She writes contemporary romantic comedies with everything I want from a romantic comedy, good plot lines great characters you can really identify with. If her hero and heroine were real, they would be people I could imagine wanting to spend time with. 

A friends to lovers trope – Nick and Quinn have such a powerful connection, they absolutely must get together by the end of the book despite all the problems along their way. All Jennifer’s books are written with a light touch and great humour.

Spoiler alert Nick and Quinn get their Happy Ever After. And there is a dog! I happily go back and read this again and again.

Scud is a ’90s indie comic at its best and is now in one giant collection. Vending machine robots with various whacky, funny, and violent scenarios. Artist/writer Rob Shrab created a ton of awesome indie work. His passion and talent are undeniable as he creates one crazy scenario to the next. I recommend going to a local coffee shop and spending some time with the printed copy sipping a latte while listening to 90’s grunge rock.

I suggest that you read this one on a Saturday afternoon.

Much like my own themes, Pastures Nouveaux is not only about starting over in the country, but having the courage to look at your relationship in the eye.

Rosie is engaged to a horrible columnist, Mark. And she keeps making excuses for him; he’s stressed, he’s unhappy, he’s on a deadline, etc. But he never shows her any great amount of genuine affection. It’s like he’s given up on them. And, perhaps, so has Rosie, who has chosen to ‘live with it’.

And when they move to the country village, Eight Mile Bottom, things take a turn for the worst, as nothing could be further from what they had expected from this move. Or is this the best thing that’s ever happened to Rosie?

Set in a small English village by an ancient forest, this book is unlike any story I have ever read. 

And after reading it, you’ll probably never look at forests the same way again. 

Masterfully written, filled with intricate immersive descriptions, The Forest takes you on a wild ride, dark and rather spooky at times. The ancient forests reveals its old tales and legends to the main characters, and we get to watch the story of an old curse unfold along with them. The curse that affected generations. The story that is full of secrets, betrayal, countless, heartbreaking moments; yet at the same time, the light of hope and faith shines through, all the way to the beautiful tear-jerking ending.

Sometimes Fantasy can be dark or even cross into the realm of Horror. The concept of this book certainly would appeal to most Fantasy readers. An old, out-of-use post box in a small English village is reputed to be a conduit for local residents to ask for favours from dead relatives. Cris Lopez from California, mourning the loss of his estranged wife whom he still loves, sees a tabloid story about the box and decides a change of scene would do him good. His desire to have some hope of contact with his deceased wife is something he's not ready to admit to himself.

Rather than terrifying, this one moves into the weird, or I should say wyrd. It has all the earmarks of magical English villages and folklore brought to life.

A man is driving to some oceanside cliffs to end his life. On the way, he stops for a night at a B&B in a small fishing village. He meets a girl, who has disappeared in the morning, and the man thinks, “What the heck. I’ll just stick around here and pretend I’m the girl’s boyfriend (who no one in the village has met before) and wait until she returns.” The villagers grow increasingly suspicious (about everything, it seems) and the man is soon caught in an uncontrollable deception of his own making.

This is a really odd, really well-written Gothic tale by an author I’d never heard of (who doesn’t seem to have written anything before or since), but I picked it up because its vagueness intrigued me. It’s the interplay of the main character trying his best to pretend he’s someone he’s not, for reasons even he’s… show more.

This is the first book in The Huxtables family series. The author blends wit, charm, and family foibles just as easily as does Georgette Heyer. The banter between the siblings is a joy to read. Even when fortune comes their way in the unexpected elevation of one family member who inherits an earldom, the characters stay true to themselves.