Books for cozy reads

Grey laden clouds loudly coursing through the sky, the soothing pitter patter of rain drops followed by tantalising petrichor are the perfect setting for a reader. All we need is our favourite nook, the warm comfort of a quilt and endless supply of masala chai to cozy up with books that promise us (married or not) dreamy tales of our Prince Charming. However, the weirdo that I am, the urge for picking up a fiery romance is often overshadowed by the lure of murder mysteries and the one I’ve truly been riveted to of late is the Lady Eleanor Swift series.

Kindle is an extremely addictive thing. There’s a never-ending supply of books on a single click and so many writers and genres to explore that one can touch forever and return for another title. I share mine with my kids and our library is a riot of Anime, Minecraft, Ashwin Sanghi, Marathi and Hindi books and so much more. Browsing through for light reading, thanks to the incessant rains and lazy weather, I recently stumbled upon A Very English Murder by Verity Bright. The blurb seemed interesting and I ended up binge-reading it through most hours of the day.

I found myself hooked to the series and how! There are twenty two books in all and I’m currently on my twelfth. *Shrug* Angel has legit started calling me obsessed since I’ve beaten my Harry Potter record of seven and I’m nowhere close to giving up. I kid you not, I’ve been solving imaginary murders in my sleep too. Too bad the police won’t hire me. Lol! 😀

Are the books that good though? Could I not indulge in anything else meaningful, like the book with a collection of speeches from world leaders that hasn’t seen the light of day for years? *shivers* Honestly, it’s the easy breezy writing and the not-relatable-but-intriguing characters that have begun to feel like a part of my life. Set in the 1920s in a small town in England, it’s the story of Lady Eleanor Swift who inherits her title, mansion and other fancy paraphernalia after her maternal Uncle passes away.

Eleanor, pretty and fiercely independent, does everything a lady isn’t supposed to do. Well-travelled around the world on a bicycle, she explores routes for a famous travel company before fortune strikes. Not one for subtlety or pretense, in her newly acquired life she chases pigs down the road to round them up, falls flat on her face in a ballroom full of dignitaries, has an appetite that might put a beggar to shame, and yes, has a knack to solve murders. So much so that she attracts dead bodies wherever she goes, even on holidays.

Her unladylike behaviour is tutted, despaired and sighed upon by her loyal butler Clifford, who has a long endearing past with her late Uncle. A gentleman and encyclopedia on legs who lives to abide by rules, he slips into the role of her bodyguard, driver, chaperone, confidant and partner in solving crimes and becomes her biggest support. His dubious range of contacts and questionable skills like picking locks with ease manage to wiggle them out of many sticky situations. His sarcasm and wit are crisp, dry and unforgiving. Their lovely bond is based on respect and genuine appreciation with plenty of eyerolls and veiled digs thrown in from either side.

Chief Inspector Seldon, a gorgeous looker and my favourite, is on the receiving end of Eleanor’s disregard for authority and police. They reluctantly work together, get into trouble often yet have their smitten hearts beating loud into their ears in each other’s presence. Sparks fly soon enough, but their craving for each other is far from seeing any action. One of her staff calls him ‘a tall, thirst-quenching glass of tasty lemonade’. Man, I loved that line! Could I have one too? 😉

Ofcourse, how can I forget Gladstone, Eleanor’s Uncle’s aging and over-indulged bulldog who ironically makes living a dog’s life the blessing we won’t get a day of. He’s a sweet companion who whoofs his way into our hearts and exists to single-handedly exhaust the supply of sausages in the house.

After eleven books some things tend to become predictable, but isn’t that a good thing? Just like we know what to expect from a Sheldon Cooper or Patrick Jane , it’s nice to know a character closely to read his/her moves. The vivid setting, the village people and their idiosyncrasies and the contrasting high society life give us a peek into another world. The books are fun, emotional at times and have a lot of food too. How I wish I had someone who could read my mind and appeared next to me with a bottle of sherry and a crystal glass, right now! 😛

Check out the books if you haven’t, you might like them too. If yes, let’s chat?

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.

This post is part of the Bookish League blog hop hosted by Bohemian Bibliophile.

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Varsh

Blogger. Author. Editor. Content creator. Mom.