Waysides and Wildflowers: Embrace Simplicity With These 3 Cottagecore Reads
No wellington boots? No problem! You can still live a cottagecore life with these cozy book dates
Modern life is challenging. Every time we look at our phone screens we’re bombarded by a flurry of aggressive marketing, international warfare, mindless political debates that sprawl across social media and fear — fear of the unknown, of the future, of each other. Is it any wonder that people are returning to the roots of a simpler time?
Cottagecore is an aesthetic and lifestyle that has erupted over platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, drawing followers with its cozy, carefree, pastel-hued lifestyle. It’s the number one most popular aesthetic on Tumblr and has had a marked influence on contemporary fashion and home decor trends. Whether you live in a sprawling country house in the Cotswolds or you use wildflowers and lace to bring a little nostalgic serenity to city living, you can embrace cottagecore energy with these garden terrace-worthy reads.
Hope and Happiness in Bluebell Wood
Ali McNamara
Hope, happiness and bluebells? We could definitely use more of all those things in our lives. Ava certainly does, especially after a traumatic incident in her home city of London sends her running to the seclusion of country life. She rents out a cute cottage in the village of Bluebell Wood, where her life becomes an exploration of woodland walks and self-healing. The villagers are warm and welcoming, especially the handsome parish priest, Callum. Ava faces some conflict with a nearby development as well as learning to overcome her own trauma and fear, but overall there is very little about this story that will ever make you feel not okay. It’s like cuddling up with your favorite blanket after a long, hard day.
Hemlock
Susan Wittig Albert
Looking for a cozy mystery to keep you company during your next garden-party-for-one? We’ve got you. Herbalist-turned-detective China Bayles is called to a friend’s aid at the Hemlock House Library, a collection of rare gardening books kept in a haunted mansion in the mountains. A priceless volume of herbal lore has been stolen, and China’s friend Dorothea, the house’s director and curator, is the prime suspect. China’s search for the truth takes her to the mysterious Hemlock Guild, into the storied past of the Hemlock House Library and face to face with the attempted murder of a bookseller. Blending history, intrigue and herbal folklore, this one will have you looking at your windowsill plants in a whole new light.
The River Between Us
Liz Fenwick
Here the “river between us” refers not only to a literal river — the Tamar, running between Cornwall and Devon in the south of England — but also the divides between social classes, past and present, old wounds and new beginnings. Running from a broken marriage, 54-year-old Theo has bought a run-down riverside cottage in the hopes that rebuilding it will also rebuild her life. While there, she discovers a cache of letters from the time of WWI between a noblewoman and a servant. Through snapshots of their forbidden love story, and Theo’s journey restoring the cottage and garden and finding a place in her new community, you’ll see that there is no one-size-fits-all path to happiness.
Even if you live in a shoebox apartment in a bustling city, you can still bring a little cottagecore magic into your home. Cottagecore is more of a lifestyle and a way of thinking than an architectural arrangement, so when modern life gets to be a bit overwhelming, curl up with one of these warm-hearted reads and imagine yourself in a simpler time.
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