Top Ten Tuesday: “Aww” Moments In Books

Published on by Margaret

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. For the rules see her blog.

The topic this week is Favorite “Aww” Moments In Books (Share those sweet/cute moments in books that give you warm fuzzies.) Well this was hard as I don’t read much romantic fiction so I’ve twisted it a bit to include books that moved me to tears. And that was hard too as there aren’t many books that do that. But anyway, here’s my offering today and I’m amazed I found ten – maybe I do like romantic fiction after all:

Saving Missy by Beth Morrey – a special book, full of wonderful characters, ordinary people drawn from life, about everyday events, pleasures and difficulties. the joys that friendship can bring, and the love and companionship that a dog can give you. It moved me to tears.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens – the sacrifice that Sydney Carton made to save Charles Darnay from the Guillotine, with these words, which close the book: It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known. It just loved this the first time I read it as a teenager – still do.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford  – another book that brought tears to my eyes, a beautiful book moving between two time periods, the early 1940s and 1986, set in Seattle, about the friendship betweena Chinese American boy and a Japanese American girl.

The Hopes and Dreams of Lucy Baker is a romantic novel with a touch of magic about it. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would – a novel about friendship, family relationships, love, caring for others and the importance of finding your own inner strength.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – left alone, Kya survived with help from Jumpin’, the general store owner, who lived in Colored Town and his wife, Mabel, and also from Tate, an older boy who taught her to read and write. It’s a story of survival and the power of love combined with a murder mystery, which didn’t actually bring tears to my eyes, but one I enjoyed.

Star Gazing by Linda Gillard – Marianne who has been blind from birth falls in love with Keir, a solitary Highlander and geophysicist, who works on the oil rigs, but who spends his time on shore at his house on Skye. The locations in Star Gazing are just beautiful, described so vividly you could almost be there. Marianne falls in love with Keir and with Skye and I loved this book.

Atonement by Ian McEwan is another book that moved me to tears, even reading it for the second time when I already knew the story. It is a captivating story of the use of imagination, shame and forgiveness, love, war and class-consciousness in England in the twentieth century. The depiction of the Second World War is both horrifying and emotional as British troops were withdrawn from France in 1940.

Persuasion by Jane Austen – I’m including this as it is one of those books that does give me an “aww” feeling telling of Anne Elliot’s constancy in her love for Captain Wentworth. I switch between this book and Pride and Prejudice as my favourite Austen novel – I love watching Elizabeth Bennet’s realisation that she loves Mr Darcy.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – it is ultimately about life and death, love and friendship, loyalty and the fight between good and evil. There is humour, sadness and suspense. Above all it is about growing up and the excitement and expectations that Bod has about life. Quite simply it touched me.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is one of the most moving books I’ve read and I was emotionally drained by the end of the story. It tells of two French sisters and their experiences during the occupation of France in the Second World War. I was in tears at the sadness and pathos of it all.

14 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: “Aww” Moments In Books”

  6. I don’t read many romantic books but I find some poetry can move me to tears. “Unaccompanied” by Javier Zamora (2022). Zamora details his experience emigrating from El Salvador to the U.S. at age nine…this must touch a heartstring! 45 poems and I liked 31 (69%). If you see this book in the library… or bookstore…take a chance….reading time 3 hours.

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  8. I’ve read about half of these and totally agree that they’ve all got aww moments. And since my post was also about books that moved me to tears and Nightingale showed on up on it too, I’d say we share some bookish DNA. 🙂 Thanks for visiting my blog.
    Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys

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  14. Ohhhh man Atonement destroyed me. That is a book I will never forget. I absolutely love this category and I appreciate the great list of books too. I would add “The Placeholder” by Lynda Wolters to this amazing list. (https://www.lyndawolters.com/)
    I don’t want to call it a romance book because it really has so much more to it. Let’s say it’s a refreshing take on modern romance? The main character, Sera, has gone through a nasty divorce in her 40s and unfortunately, does not have much luck in the dating world either. Luckily, she has a true-blue friend Carolyn who suggests having a “placeholder” – someone fun she can hook up with until Mr. Right comes along. I am sure you can guess it gets complicated as soon as handsome Zac comes into the picture. Although the book may seem like a light-hearted romp there is a big twist that will take your breath away. The book made me laugh, cry, and I have already bought it for a few friends for Christmas. There are so many “Awww moments” throughout. I hope you will check it out. Happy Reading!

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