LitQueuelitqueue

After

Into the Wilderness

Sara Donati1998

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same earnest register, still historical romance

1 more ↓

  • Annie's Song

    Catherine Anderson1996

    A man marries a mute woman who was assaulted by his brother to provide for her and her child. He realizes she is not intellectually disabled.

    earnest → tender, still historical romance

    pace0·prose-1·bleak0

Denser prose

2 more ↓

  • Madame Bovary

    Gustave Flaubert1856

    A doctor's wife in provincial France seeks escape from her mundane life through expensive tastes and extramarital affairs.

    earnest → tense

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Paradise Logic

    Sophie Kemp2025

    A young woman follows advice from a magazine to become a perfect partner. Her quest involves surreal jobs and messages from the beyond.

    earnest → epic

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Pleating for Mercy

    Melissa Bourbon2011

    A dressmaker returns to her hometown, inherits a farmhouse, and investigates a murder. She receives supernatural guidance from her ancestors.

    earnest → warm

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Brownies and Broomsticks

    Bailey Cates2012

    A baker moves to Savannah and discovers her aunt uses magic in her recipes. She must find a killer when her uncle is accused of murder.

    earnest → warm

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Head Over Heels

    Jill Shalvis2011

    A woman returns to her small hometown and reconnects with a man she once knew. They navigate their differences while working together.

    earnest → warm, still opposites attract

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Faster

earnest → propulsive

3 more ↓

  • Savage Prince

    Meghan March2018

    A powerful man in the New Orleans underworld becomes obsessed with a woman and pursues her despite the danger of his lifestyle.

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

  • The Professional: Part 2 (The Game Maker, #1b)

    Kresley Cole

    A Russian enforcer continues his pursuit of a graduate student across Europe. The focus is on their sexual power dynamic and his mafia duties.

    earnest → tense

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Victory at Prescott High

    C.M. Stunich

    A high school girl seeks revenge against the boys who bullied her while navigating a complex relationship with all of them at once.

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Ulysses

    James Joyce1914

    Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

    earnest → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    earnest → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    earnest → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Wuthering Heights

    Emily Brontë1846

    Two families on the Yorkshire moors deal with the arrival and subsequent revenge of an adopted orphan. The story is told through nested narrators.

    earnest → bleak

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • A Farewell to Arms

    Ernest Hemingway1929

    An American ambulance driver and a British nurse conduct a love affair during the Italian campaign of World War I.

    earnest → elegiac

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+2

  • Tess of the D’Urbervilles

    Thomas Hardy

    A country girl is sent to claim kinship with wealthy relatives. Her life is derailed by a sequence of social betrayals and rigid moral standards.

    earnest → elegiac

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2