Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
I don’t read many books with mushy, sweet, or cute moments in them, so let’s see what I can come up with.
Please note there are spoilers in this post and that some of these books discuss difficult topics like what life was like in British workhouses in the 1800s. Even sometimes painful stories can include happy moments or end on a blissful note, though!
1. A young girl in “Farewell to the East End” by Jennifer Worth was terribly abused and neglected while she spent her entire childhood in a British workhouse. After she grew up, she was sort of unofffically adopted by the nuns of St. Nonnatus. They made sure she always had a job and a welcoming place to spend Christmas and other holidays. What really warmed my heart, though, was what happened when she fell in love with a wonderful man who gave her the happily ever after she’d dreamed of since she was a little girl.
2.Roderick Ayers was dealing with chronic pain, stiffness, and weakness in his leg as a result of a World War II injury in “The Little Stranger” by Sarah Waters. Seeing Dr. Faraday take his injury seriously and try a brand new therapy for it gave me an aww moment because sometimes modern doctors don’t do a good job of treating these sorts of things. Even though this is fiction and set about 80 years ago, it still made me smile to see a doctor listen and do his best to help. Compassion is so important.
3. There was a hilarious and adorable scene in “A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (Monk & Robot Series Book 2)” by Becky Chambers that showed the robot hemming and hawing over whether it would be acceptable to replace a broken part of his body that was necessary for him to function. He worried he would break robot law by accepting it and tried to convince the humans to make that part out of something biodegradable so it would feel more natural. This illuminated an entirely new portion of his personality and made me love him even more.
4. The first page of “To Walk About in Freedom: The Long Emancipation of Priscilla Joyner” by Carole Emberton described how Mrs. Joyner reacted when two strangers from the Federal Writers’ Project approached her in the 1930s to record her biography as the biracial daughter of a southern white woman in the 1850s. Mrs. Joyner said, “That’s nice. Would you like to see my garden?” and proceeded to show them her garden before telling them anything about her unique childhood. Wasn’t that a sweet answer?
Those are my answers. I look forward to seeing what you all came up with.
For me, there is a thin line between a lovely “Aww” moment and a sappy one. Please don’t step over that line, authors.
I hear you there!
(And I do keep trying to comment on your post every week. Sorry it’s not working. :))
Aaa I loved that scene of robot too <3
🙂
These all sound like great aw moments.
Thank you. 🙂
I got The Little Stranger in a ‘blind date’ wrapped book and still have to read it. Glad to hear its a good one.
Yes, it’s wonderful. I hope you love it!
These sound like sweet moments! I also loved that scene in Prayer for the Crown-Shy, and the added depth it provided to Mosscap’s character.
I did a Book Tag for this week’s TTT: https://bookwyrmknits.com/2022/11/15/tag-tuesday-cheesy-goodness-book-tag/
Thank you, and totally agreed there.
I think an awww moment can mean a lot of things and sometimes show up in the most unexpected places. Thanks for visiting my blog
Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
You’re welcome, and I agree.
These are truly Awww moments!! Nice list!
Thanks. 🙂
This looks like a great list!
Thank you!
That’s a sweet list 😊
Have a great week!
Thanks. 🙂
This is a very moving list! Great job.
Aww, thanks.
Very emotional list. I love Call the Midwife.
Thank you. Yeah, the first few seasons were so good. (I haven’t seen the last few).
Aww these are really cute moments! I had trouble coming up with specific examples for mine haha
Heh, thanks.
Aww moments tend to give me book hangovers in all the best ways!
I hear you there.
Love your selection of awww moments and I agree that even sad and painful books can have those moments in them.
Thank you!
Great descriptions that made me feel like I was a part of them.
Glad to hear it. 🙂
Sarah Waters is wonderful isn’t she? I had The Paying Guests on my list this week – and only just begun Psalm for the Wild Built so looking forward to see how the characters grow!
These are the ‘aww’ moments that sprang to mind this week.
Yes, for sure! I hope you love The Paying Guests.
I unfortunately wasn’t able to leave a comment on your blog, but I’ll keep trying.
That Becky Chambers moment does sound so sweet!
It sure was. 🙂
I still haven’t read Prayer for the Crown Shy but that sounds so like something Robot would hem and haw over?! I can’t wait to read it. 😍 Great answers, Lydia!
Thank you. I think you’ll adore that book!
Love this! And there are definitely many different kind of aww moments 😉
Thanks, and agreed. 🙂
While I haven’t read any of these books, I can see how the moments you describe are “awe” without being sappy. It’s refreshing to see a doctor listen to their patient, I mean, really listen! Too bad it doesn’t happen more often.
Thanks for stopping by my blog last week.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
You’re welcome. Thanks for visiting me, too!
I think when I first saw this topic, my mind immediately went to contemporary romance, probably because that’s what I like best, but really, so many genres can have lovely “aww” moments. I don’t think I’m familiar with any you feature this week, but am glad you discovered some to fit the topic. Thanks so much for visiting my website on this week, Lydia. Apologies it took me this long to visit here. 🙂
You’re welcome. Thanks for stopping by!