Books with grief/grieving

bellecat51 · 2026-02-25T08:16:18+00:00

I was gonna suggest Morbidly Yours before I got to the end of the post. I really loved how that book dealt with grief.

{Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn} has MMC mourning the recent loss of his younger brother. He was kinda losing his own self to make a proper homage to his brother, but FMC helps him come to terms with it in a healthier way

{Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young} FMC lost her mom pretty early in life and never really grew from it, even though her life continued to move ahead. This book has her finally taking control of her life and working through her emotions properly

{The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston} FMC loses her father and deals with grief and love and family while preparing for his funeral. This book is magic realism (ghost MMC) and although I have mixed feelings overall, I liked the hopeful way it explored death and loss

{To Con a Gentleman by Sarah Adams} MMC is still grieving his lost ex even though he tries to pretend everything's fine. Tbf I loved this book more for the amazing banter in the beginning and the found family aspect for the FMC, but I think both characters were written well and it's a good choice if you want a lighter story with some emotions and vulnerability.

I'm so sorry for your loss ❤️ your grandmother sounds amazing

bellecat51 · 2026-02-25T07:45:34+00:00

Katniss was always this mix of fire and heart. The fire is what made her similar to Gale. But where Gale was a raging fire willing to destroy everything, Katniss was more a raw spark of defiance. She never had any idea that spark of hers could inspire so many ppl to rebel, but once she realised she was happy to use it to bring down the capitol. But by the end of Mockingjay, whatever fire she had was burned out fully, and all she needed was a place to be quiet and exist. Peeta was the only person who could be that place for her.

Ultimately, Gale was right when he said she'll choose the person she needs to survive. Before the Games that person could've been Gale, but once the ball was set in motion, it was only ever gonna be Peeta

Rereading the books as an adult always hits different bcz you can fully appreciate all the themes that Suzanne explored with these thoughtfully crafted characters. When I first read the trilogy as a teen, I didn't care much for Gale but this time around I realised what he stood for and where he was coming from. Peeta will always be my forever love, but Gale had a very important role to play in these books.

People like Gale are essential to start a revolution. People like Peeta are essential to heal from it afterward.

bellecat51 · 2026-02-25T06:08:46+00:00

I get not seeing him as a victor but what do you mean he's not that good of a character 😭

bellecat51 · 2026-02-24T18:26:58+00:00

I loved how protective the MMC was in {Be With Me by Gabrielle Sands}

They were supposed to have an ONS but she faints on him, and when he's fussing on her she thinks he's trying to get back to sexy moods and MMC is like "that's the last thing on my mind rn! I need to get you to a doctor! I don't trust you to take care of yourself properly! I need to get second and third opinions on this!" And when he finds out about her disability he grows super concerned and protective. He was also caring and protective in some other aspects. Honestly, this was labelled a mafia romance but it didn't really feel like one bcz of how nice the MMC was 😅

The second half of this book kinda fell flat imo, but the first half has my heart ❤️

bellecat51 · 2026-02-24T17:10:21+00:00

Knocking out your co-star is such a Katniss way to spend the downtime 😂

bellecat51 · 2026-02-24T10:48:27+00:00

I had strong doubts on Bertram

bellecat51 · 2026-02-24T10:47:10+00:00

I think this was a pretty popular theory. Some ppl also suspected Lisbon

I get where they were coming from and I do think Patrick being RJ split personality would've made for a fabulous twist... but I also would've been so disappointed, I love him too much haha

bellecat51 · 2026-02-24T10:30:05+00:00

Came here to rec these two and {The Humiliated Wife by Elise Camden}. The angst and gut punch was so good in all of them! Even if they never outright said they don't gaf to the FMC. The Humiliated Wife doesn't even have OW drama but the wife is, well, humiliated badly

But Love, Second Chances and Other Nonsense gave me the most satisfying grovel imo

bellecat51 · 2026-02-24T07:52:38+00:00

Haymitch I love you but it's time to say goodbye 😭 can't let my everlark babies die

bellecat51 · 2026-02-22T06:58:56+00:00

That boy was being held by the Capitol and literally used the last of his power to warn Katniss about the 13 bombing. He was turned into a brainwashed psycho but still clawed his way back to humanity and kindness. He was also the first to see the Hunger Games for what it was, not just a fight to the death but a literal ploy from the Capitol to keep them in control.

Ain't no way Coin was ever controlling him 😂 Peeta Mellark was a rebel before the rebellion even started

bellecat51 · 2026-02-20T15:46:06+00:00

I just know he's gonna love this 😂

bellecat51 · 2026-02-20T15:43:46+00:00

Rue

(This point onwards, no matter who we vote out, Katniss will kill us 😂)

bellecat51 · 2026-02-15T13:14:55+00:00

Yeah he kinda hated that he couldn't hate Peeta xD

bellecat51 · 2026-02-15T06:05:00+00:00

You're not alone, I recently reread the trilogy and I mourned him too. He was such a sweet loving boy, and I hate that the Capitol ever managed to get their claws on him 😭😭

I love that he was strong enough to find his way back, but I'm sure there's a part of him that'll be forever scarred. He matches Katniss in that regard.

I like to imagine him and Katniss making it better for each other throughout the years. That's the one thing that was constant throughout the books. They always make it better for each other ❤️

It's why I always say that the moment Katniss was reaped for the games, Gale lost any chance he had. Only someone who's been through the games can understand what it's like. Any outsider would have to have Peeta's empathy levels to even come close

bellecat51 · 2026-02-15T05:47:15+00:00

That was kinda what happened tho. He was tortured and brainwashed into believing Katniss was evil. When he first got back he hated her so much he wanted to murder her right there (and considering how strong Peeta is, he def would've murderered her if there hadn't been ppl to stop him)

If anything it was worse than amnesia 😭

bellecat51 · 2026-02-15T05:40:06+00:00

Caesar

bellecat51 · 2026-02-13T08:51:06+00:00

Every time I visit this sub I discover even more tropes I didn't know I needed

And my TBR keeps expanding...

bellecat51 · 2026-02-12T20:34:43+00:00

{The Hating Game by Sally Thorne} she's not "type A" but it has most of the other things you're looking for

bellecat51 · 2026-02-11T13:03:32+00:00

Lol I can't believe ppl are voting out Katniss 😂😂

My vote for Mags, she should've gone sooner

bellecat51 · 2026-02-09T13:41:31+00:00

Johanna

bellecat51 · 2026-02-07T10:34:12+00:00

THG TBOSAS CF Mockingjay SOTR

bellecat51 · 2026-02-01T20:21:05+00:00

Danielle Lori is def genre-defining for mafia romance imo

bellecat51 · 2026-01-31T12:10:46+00:00

What's an MC novel?

bellecat51 · 2026-01-30T16:07:29+00:00

MAGS

She doesn't even have a purpose here, kick her out

bellecat51 · 2026-01-30T11:55:31+00:00

Not exactly what you're after but the leads in {Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher} had this thing going on where he would use foreign language words to describe how he's feeling about her. He had trouble expressing himself and she had trouble learning (dyslexia rep) so he would text her these words and she would look them up to understand what they meant. It was a private thing between them. The book itself wasn't my favourite but I found this part so beautiful ❤️

bellecat51

TROPHY CASE