Recommendations: Spring Atmosphere

Hey all, Dani here.

A few months ago I did a wintery atmosphere recommendations post, and when I was trying to plan out my posts for March and April, I realized that I had had fun making the seasonal recommendation post, so why not try to keep going with it. So here we are, at the spring atmosphere recommendations.

Now, what makes for a spring atmosphere pick for me? Well, I find spring to sometimes be light and fun, and sometimes I find them to be books with a sense of hope for better times. Spring is that burst of brightness after the dreariness of winter, that inviting warmth leading us to the heat of summertime. So I wanted my books to reflect that.

Okay, first I need to talk about Donaya Haymond’s book Seasons Turning. I have been a long-time fan of this book, since long before it was in a bound print format. Also, this one definitely makes use of all of the seasons, but Spring herself is one of the main characters, so it feels even more appropriate for this list.

Next, I suppose it is natural to add romantic stories to a spring atmosphere story, but I also like my romances to have a little bit of magic in them. Fine, I do read non-fantastical contemporary or historical romances sometimes too. But this book, Heartstone by Ell Katharine White, is Pride and Prejudice meets dragon riders, and honestly I feel like that’s all I need to say to sell this book. I originally thought it was a standalone, but then learned it is a trilogy. The final book is out now (and I still need to read it), but I adore this book so much.

Then I have a couple of contemporaries to talk about. One is a cute YA contemporary romance that features fantasy without actually being a fantasy book. I’m talking about Now A Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy. The main characters are the granddaughter of a famous fantasy author and the actor cast in the lead role of the book’s film adaptation. It’s a fantastic story, one that I got so distracted reading while at work that I ended up losing track of time and coming back from break late. oops. Also, somehow I never wrote a review for this book, which is upsetting. I guess I’m going to have to re-read it so I can write up a nice review.

Finally for this grouping I have Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia. This book spoke to the creative being within me. Eliza is an artist and online content creator, and things get a bit complicated when one of her biggest fans turns out to be the new kid at her school. Of course nobody knows she’s the creator of this awesome web comic. It’s a cute and inspiring romance that I feel touches the soul of all of us who create artistic content.

First up for this grouping is The Philosopher’s Flight by Tom Miller. Whoa, actually this particular grouping are the only male authors in this whole list, but they are both extraordinary, so I feel good about recommending them. In this alternative history book with a little bit of magic/science, our main character wants to be a flier, a job that is solely filled with women. It is an uphill struggle for him to achieve his dream, but following his story just made me hope for better things to come.

And to wrap up this section, I need to talk about the Princess series by Jim C. Hines. Obviously, I find fairy tale stories and fairy tale twists or fairy tale retellings to be full of hope and eventual happiness. Well…this series is and isn’t that feeling. These books start after “happily ever after” has happened. So Cinderella has married her prince, Sleeping Beauty has been woken from her slumber (same with Snow White). But these stories have darker twists to them, and our heroines have more adventure they still need to accomplish…and some happiness and new happy endings can be found along the way. Also…I totally ship Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, because yes, that is a thing in this series. I love it so much.

I mentioned it earlier, but springtime is when I turn to romance more than most other seasons. Well, sometimes winter, but that’s just because I think that cute or steamy romances make me feel all warm inside. Anyway, there are a number of Christina Lauren books I could recommend here, but I’m going to pick My Favorite Half-Night Stand because of all of the co-author duo’s books I’ve read so far, this one seemed the most light hearted and fun to me. Plus it has friends-to-lovers and a love triangle that really is more of a secret identity thing, and I just really had a good time reading it.

If you want cute and heart-warming look no further than Catana Comics. You can follow these comics on Facebook or Instagram, but there are now two bound books that have been released, which feature several comics that were not released online. Follow Catana and John through adorable day-to-day romantic moments and every day moments. These are just adorable, and so darn relatable.

Obviously if you want a fun read, why not try a hilarious historical read. This is a book that is totally fine being not at all serious and sort of making fun of itself. So don’t go into this looking for something mostly serious with moments of humor. I should know; it took me three tries to finally read all the way through this book and enjoy it. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows (known as The Lady Janies) is definitely that light and fun read for your spring mood.

And the final book I have on my recommendations list is Again, But Better by Christine Riccio. Bonus points: it takes place during the spring semester of a year in college, so definitely appropriate for a spring atmosphere recommendations post. This is endearing and relatable and pretty fun, honestly. I actually probably need to re-read this time, and now would be a pretty good time to do so.

---

Hmm…actually you know what, spring also makes me think of flowers blooming, and that makes me think of cherry blossoms…which then gives me two books I need to recommend solely based on the mental image of cherry blossoms flowering.

Shadow of the Fox takes place in a fantasy world inspired by Japanese mythology, and Wicked Fox is basically a K-Drama, but they both just come to mind when I think about cherry blossoms. Plus they have good mythology, fox-shifting leading ladies, and a definite emphasis on good food, which always makes for a good recommendation.

---

All right, well that is all from me for today. Feel free to recommend your own spring atmosphere books in the comments. I hope you all have a lovely weekend, and I will be back soon with more bookish content.