You could maybe refer to this type of read as like a ‘beach read’ or holiday read but I am talking a very specific vibe – books that just are what they are, they embrace their genre/ trope, they don’t try to be fancy about it and we don’t need to pretend as readers that this is anything serious.
This is in protest of another wave of Tiktoks where their ‘hot take’ is that literature like this is one, not literature and two, making people dumb.
At the end of the day, outside of school, you are reading for entertainment, these books are the equivalent of your comfort comedy series you re-watch on a loop, or favourite Disney movie or action film that you play on a Friday evening when you’re knackered and don’t want to tax the brain too much.
I believe in balance, use these as little brain palate cleansers between slightly more challenging reads, or as way to read when life is life-ing and you aren’t in the head-space for something more intense.
This is entirely subjective, these are books that I think are a good time, no thoughts, just vibes fun:
1. Aunties Series – Jessie Q Sutanto
Meddilin comes from a big, loud and (well-meaning) interfering chinese-indonesian family. All her cousins chose not to stay with her Aunties, they went out of state for college and stayed away after, but Meddi always gets praised for being such a ‘filial’ girl. Instead of setting out on her own after college she gives up the boy of her dreams and helps with the family wedding business as their photographer.
The series follows a bunch of odd calamities that happen to Meddi, all of which are made both better and worse by the Aunts. From murder to mafia plots, the Aunties are her ride or die co-conspirators, despite being wildly unqualified and a little bizzare at times.
These books were.so.much.fun! I don’t know that much about Chinese-Indonesian Culture but I really enjoyed this glimpse into that world, especially one that was so fun and joyful. I loved the silly-ness of what the Aunties get up to, however implausible all the situations that happen are, it’s just this fun kind of ridiculousness that was so endearing. These books aren’t too long, they are fast-paced and you’ll absolutely fall in love with the characters.
Read the full review here
2. Dream Harbour series – Laurie Gilmore
Set in a tiny town inspired by the Gilmore girls town, these books follow different couples who are all linked together as friends or family.
They have just enough plot to keep you interested, they are cute, they have a little spice, the town is entertaining and whimsical, and it uses different tropes but not too formulaic-ly.
Read the review for book one of the series here
3. Mead Mishaps series – Kimberly Lemming
With titles like ‘The time I got drunk and yeeted a love potion at a werewolf’ that probably tells you everything you need to know about why they ended up on this list. But these books follow various humans in a little village near the border of the demon realm, when the barrier that keeps them separated comes down, we quickly discover that the monstrous reputation demons and other supernatural creatures have gained is due to nefarious spells at play. Through the books we follow different humans as they fall in love, in various calamitous ways, with supernatural beings.
These books are funny, cute, spicy and feature really diverse humans alongside the supernatural ones.
Read the review for the first book in the series ‘That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon’ here
4. Lights Out – Navessa Allen
This is a dual POV book, following Aly – a nurse with a brand-new interest in masked thirst traps online, and Josh – the masked thirst trap maker, who can’t let it go once he finds out about their shared interest. Josh’s father is a renowned serial killer, which has turned him into a bit of a recluse and thanks to his genius hacking skills, he can make a living working from home, showing corporations the weaknesses in their systems and fixing them. But once he discovers that Aly not only has an interest in his hobby but is specifically interested in his videos, he turns his hacking skills to spying on her.
Then he decides to see how deep the fantasy goes for her, by breaking into her house and filming a thirst trap in her bedroom… plus installing cameras but he draws the line at watching her undress or anything more private, he’s not a creep…
This book embraces what it is completely and is one of the few that does ‘dark romance’ without an air of abuse. Yes, the MMC does some dodgy shit but his entire internal monologue saves it because he’s so ridiculous and self-aware of how ridiculous he is.
I’ll definitely preface this rec by saying this might be a bit much for someone who hasn’t really read any dark romance, it might be a bit intense for you – but I thought this book was a fun time, without any pretension about what kind of book it is.
Read my full review here
5. The Baby Dragon series – A.T. Qureshi
Saphira has made her dream come true: her own little cafe that welcomes baby dragons, despite the havoc they cause, honors her heritage and her Grandma. However, there’s a reason most businesses is town don’t allow baby dragons and the repairs are eating into every spare penny she makes, which means she’s barely keeping the cafe afloat. When a baby dragon accidentally torches her espresso machine, Saphira is completely at a loss for what to do, until Sparky the baby dragon crashes into her cafe after hours, followed by his grumpy owner.
Seeing how good she is with his little terror of a dragon, Aiden offers her a ridiculous amount of money to help train him.
As Saphira falls for Sparky and maybe even Aiden a little too, she comes up against how elitist the dragon families are, and with the kind of family she’s always longed for in reach, is she willing to risk her heart for it all? Can Aiden come out of his shell and make space for her and Sparky?
I’m currently reading book 2 and it’s just as cute and cosy, with lots of love for good food, culture and good coffee.
6. Prickle Island Zoo Series- A.K Mulford
Set on a small island at a family run zoo, this series follows the siblings of this huge, chaotic, animal loving family, as they fall in love. This series is fun, somehow making me laugh and cry every book, whilst peppering in silly animal shenanigans and funny family moments. This series features neurodivergent characters and a spectrum of LGBTQ+ relationships and while it maybe doesn’t fall 100% under the ‘no thoughts’ concept of this list, it’s just generally pure good vibes as a series.
Read the review of the first book in the series here
7. Brown Sisters trilogy – Talia Hibbert
Following three sisters with different neurodiversities or chronic health issues, each with their own challenges for finding love, this series is cute, has enough character develop to make it interesting and has MMC’s beyond the normal archetypes of these kind of books.
Read my review for the first book in the series here
8. The Unconventional Heroes series – L.G.Estrella
Now, this is a bit of a departure genre-wise from the rest and won’t be to everyone’s taste but if you like Terry Pratchett-esq humour, you’ll enjoy this series.
This series follows Timmy, a grand necromancer and his apprentice, a tiny ten year old who names her zombies and dresses them in pink uniforms. Worried about the statistics around how long necromancers live, Timmy hear’s about the Council’s pardoning scheme and decides to go for it. As Everton is on the brink of war with The Empire, Timmy is given the mission to gather a band of Unconventional Heroes together and to help the Council defend Everton, in order to earn his pardon.
This series has an eclectic group of characters, lots of funny moments, a dragon named Spot, ninja rats and lots of nods to DND style lore. It also has a lot of heart to it and is very much written for fans of fantasy that want something a little less
serious.
9. Assistant to the Villain series – Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Evie is determined, clumsy and has a tendency to blurt out exactly what she’s thinking. When she, quite literally, bumps into the Villain one day and he offers her a job, Evie is just desperate enough to take it, as she supports her sick father and little sister. Despite her new office having challenges like dismembered heads left on her desk and a cantankerous villain whom she must sneak sickly sweet coffees to, Evie finds she suddenly fits into the strange world of the Villain.
But there a plots afoot against the villain that Evie’s family are somehow tied to, their country is under threat and the magic is fading and somehow it’s all related. Also, slight issue, Evie finds her Villain boss ridiculously attractive.
These book are so much fun! They’re hilarious, Evie is weird and relatable, her internal monologue about how hot she finds her villain boss is just brilliant. It’s dual POV and I love how the villain thinks about her in his head, he’s just pure simping for her and then acting super grumpy to her face. But it’s not just a silly book, it actually has a pretty interesting plot, good characters and the characters have a nice journey arc.
Read my full review for the first book in the series here
10. The Unhoneymooners – Christina Lauren
I realise there’s a lot of series’s in this blog, so here’s a nice little stand-alone romance for you.
Olive is the unlucky twin, that is just an established fact, until the day of her sister’s wedding that is. Amy is the lucky twin and her aggressive competition and giveaways entry campaign in the lead up to the wedding has meant she’s gotten most of her dream wedding for free, including the honeymoon. The twin’s luck seems to switch though when the (free) buffet makes the entire wedding party, including the bride and groom, sick. The only people who were safe was Olive, thanks to a shellfish allergy, and her least favourite person, the brother of the groom who has a thing against buffets.
Not one to loose out on a free vacation, Amy insists her (identical) twin sister goes on the non-transferable prize vacation in her place but to her great displeasure, Ethan was also offered the groom’s place. When neither of them will back down from a free holiday for the other, they decide to put up with each other for the chance of a dream vacation.
You know what? I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. It’s funny, I liked the characters and the male lead is not some grumpy, unlikeable asshole for a change. The female MC is witty, sarcastic and so real. Obviously, the concept behind this book is ridiculous but somehow, the author makes it work and it doesn’t feel silly because who wouldn’t take a free 10 day holiday in Maui? I listened to this as an audio and it was literally making me laugh out loud, I even had to pause it once while driving because it was distracting the hell out of me, where normally I don’t struggle to listen to audios and drive.
A final bonus mention for any of Ali Hazelwood’s STEMinist romance stories, those could also all be in this list.
Antonia Bernardin 