The Bookish Mindset

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that I am a crier. Now it’s not just anything that sets me off, it’s something that makes me really feel. It’s more often books than anything, but Ten Things I Hate About You always will get me (Kat’s poem, need I say more?) and I’ve been known to blubber at an advert from time to time too.

Now when I admit to being a crier, I don’t often mean the delicate crier you might see depicted in films. I know you’re already picturing a dainty tear, maybe with a fabric hankey to wipe it away. No, here we’re talking uncontrollable, make up streaming, snot dribbling crying (don’t you ever tell me I’m not 100% real with you!).

Books that make cry often hold a special place in my heart; they’ve really gotten under my skin and often are the ones that will stay with me for some time. It can feel like they’ve physically hurt me, as well as emotionally. So if you’re looking for a good cry, let me recommend the below to you that I’ve cried at some far this year.

Tastes Like Shakar – Nisha Sharma. Second in the If Shakespeare Was an Auntie trilogy, this one sees a retelling of Much Ado About Nothing and is honestly one of my favourite retellings to date. Now I have to start this one by saying that I am ever so slightly biased here – Much Ado About nothing was the piece of literature that made me fall in love with romance as a genre. This book had me squealing and kicking my legs, I adored it. Sharma is such brilliant writer of tension and this one is no different. Of course I cried at this one, beautiful characters and their love was just meant to be. The first of this series is Dating Dr. Dil and is a retelling of Taming of the Shrew. Glorious.

The Eternal Ones – Namina Forna. Another book part of a series and this one is the final in a trilogy. Minor spoilers ahead since we’re a few years into this series but nothing you might not expect.. We’ve followed Deka from young girl questioning the world to her current state of leading armies and more. I feel like I’ve been on this journey with her for so long so honestly I’m not surprised that I bawled at the end of this. I don’t think it could have ended any differently, it was a perfectly fitting ending. If you haven’t heard of The Gilded Ones trilogy and you love a YA fantasy, then you absolutely need to get on that. Kick-ass women constrained by a patriarchal society that start to fight back? Amazing. One of my favourites and one I won’t stop recommending.

Chain-Gang All-Stars – Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Oh wow, now this one hit hard. Like, really hard. If you’re a dystopian fan, do me a favour and get this book into your hands as soon as you can. Set in a world that gives the incarcerated a choice to stay in prison or fight for a chance for freedom, this book is brutal and brilliant. Easily one of the best books I’ve read this year and one that will have a hold of me for a long time. The fighters lives are fully televised, from the fighting in the ring, to their rest outside. The relationships in this book are so tender and hence the full on sobbing.  

Bellies – Nicola Dinan.  From fantasy and dystopian, over to literary fiction. Bellies follows Ming and Tom as they navigate their relationship from lovers to distant friends. This is such a beautiful literary debut and I’m excited to see what comes next from Dinan. Features beautiful queer and trans rep.

Are you a crier too? Let me know what books got to you recently in the comments below.

You can find all these recs and more in my Bookshop.org store here.

Last updated 07/04/2024