In honor of Valentine's Day and February being the month of love, I figured it was only fitting to recommend some books to my new comfort show whose characters and romance literally had me beaming at my computer screen like an idiot. 

After seeing so many edits for The Best Thing on Instagram, I finally caved and got an iQiYi subscription to binge the drama and it's quite possibly one of the most wholesome shows I've watched in a long time. As someone who struggles to stay committed to series of any format, I watched the entire 28 episodes in 2 weeks so it's safe to say that this was a 10/10 experience and I need to make it my entire personality.

For someone who loves a good romance, it was incredibly hard trying to narrow down my favorite romantic relationships and find a thread of similarity that I could stretch to match what He Suye and Shen Xifan had. Of course, we have to mention Suye's gentleness and patience towards Xifan that literally had me in a chokehold - the truest of green flags for sure. If you haven't read Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan and you only look at the synopsis, this recommendation feels like it's coming completely out of left field but I promise if you stick with the story, you'll understand the similarities between Suye and Zhangwei. 

I really leaned on the themes of "if he wanted to he would" and "get you a man who yearns" because the other two recs embody that perfectly. Preston from A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid and Cyrus from Never Thought I'd End Up Here by Ann Liang are quite possibly two of my favorite male love interests that I've read about. Preston and Effy's relationship gave me the same gentle comforting vibes that Suye and Xifan's did, especially through the lens of the female character needing to heal and learning to love. On the other hand, Cyrus is just textbook Suye, the man literally waited years to confess his feelings to Leah and that's dedication that Suye would be proud of.

Trying to find books on my TBR that I hope will give me the same butterflies proved even harder. This process is incredibly non-scientific and just based on vibes, but I will report back (hopefully) to let you know if these titles fulfilled their duty. Behind Five Willows by June Hur is the author's newest release (for May 2026) after A Crane Among Wolves which I loved. Her characters have consistently just revealed the softest parts of a relationship that hit me in the feels and I really hope this one does too. While the time period and story line are far from a comfort rom-com, I do hope that Daehyun and Iseul become new comfort characters for me.

Did I also just swap an Ann Liang / Sue Lynn Tan book with another? Yes I did because they truly write the best characters and romances. I've had Never Ever After by Sue Lynn Tan on my tbr for months after it came out last year and am really trying to finish it before the end of February. As for I Could Give You the Moon by Ann Liang, I have no comments other than my sister went absolutely feral for Chanel and Ares and the fact that I have an e-arc from netgalley and I haven't read it yet is a crime against humanity she's 100% holding against me.

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