Cozy fantasy is my new favourite style and I say that as somebody who is often a much bigger fan of darkish fantasy books. I can not get sufficient of this fantasy sub-genre.
Like I talked about in my put up about my favourite darkish academia books, cozy fantasy books had been one other sub-genre I had loved earlier than however didn’t have a reputation for it for thus lengthy. Having a reputation for it’s like — YES okay cozy fantasy reads are precisely what they’re. We used to explain it loads, years in the past, as “low stakes fantasy” however that was about it till cozy fantasy appeared to catch on.
With cozy fantasy, a minimum of my opinion and expertise with what I categorize as cozy fantasy, is often decrease stakes, lighter and possibly much more whimsical. A lot of the cozy fantasy books are very really feel good for me and appear to be extra character centered.
So typically after I learn fantasy, like I stated above, it’s darker and extra epic in scope and typically it’s simply good to settle right into a fantasical or magical world however with out the darker themes or excessive stakes.
I at all times stroll away from these books feeling cozy or like I’ve slipped right into a heat hug!
Anyhow, I might wax poetic on the style however that’s what cozy fantasy is in my opinion.
I don’t assume there are any onerous and quick definitions or traces for it — even inside my favorites there’s a vary with the stakes and themes however all of them stay on the lighter and comfortable finish regardless if they’re extra slice-of-life or have a little bit extra journey.
So, let’s get to it and discuss a few of my favourite cozy fantasy books and what new cozy fantasy reads I’m wanting ahead to.
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Good Cozy Fantasy Books To Learn
My Beneficial Cozy Fantasy Reads
Half A Soul by Olivia Atwater
At A Look: cozy fantasy romance, Regency, fairytale vibes, faeries, Ton season
In case you are an audiobook fan — I’m going to first suggest this on audiobook as a result of I actually loved this on audio. Undoubtedly going to be an audiobook I like to recommend loads!
That is the primary e book within the Regency Fairytale collection and it’s such a unbelievable romantic cozy fantasy e book. When you like non-steamy Regency romances but in addition are a fantasy girlie — that is for you!
It’s a few younger girl who, after an encounter with a faerie who cursed her as a baby, she solely has half a soul and has been fairly the outsider due to the way in which it modified her persona.
She’s reluctantly whisked off to London for the season to assist her beloved cousin discover a husband (although her cousin has a few of her personal motives for this journey) and she or he meets the grumpy and not-well-liked Lord Sorcier.
The Lord Sorcier is highly effective and ultimately decides to assist her determine her situation as soon as he finds out extra about it. However as their connection grows, so does the hazard after they get near solutions in regards to the situation as properly a thriller the Lord Sorcier has been looking for solutions to.
In case you are a (cozy) fantasy girlie in addition to Regency romance girlie, I want you to learn my newest obsession that I JUST completed on audiobook (extremely suggest!) and can’t wait to devour the following 2 books.
There are some ~barely~ darkish undertones concerned however it was very a lot cozy fantasy to me.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
At A Look: faeries & fae folklore, academia, snowy & rural wintry setting, sluggish burn romance
Oh I simply fell in love with grumpy Emily and eccentric Wendell, the townsfolk, the fae folklore and the setting — an ideal Wintry learn!
Whereas I usually like my academia to be of the darkish academia kind, I actually loved this story of educational rivals who’re finding out & researching faerie folklore in a small city within the snowy far north and get swept into some darkish fae magic that affects the small city they’re staying in.
At first I obtained a little bit slowed down with the folklore and academia portion of it however as soon as I obtained into the e book it actually picked up and I used to be deeply invested in Emily reluctantly discovering solutions to what’s taking place within the city (relatively than solely specializing in simply her analysis) and the journey that result in.
Severely, curl up with this cozy wintry fantasy with a heat blanket and a sizzling cocoa! I personally am dying for the sequel which comes out in early 2024!
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
At A Look: witches, magic, discovered household, romance
This one is a PERFECT cozy Fall learn! It’s simply downright pleasant and I can’t cease recommending it particularly for followers of The Home within the Cerulean Sea! A very good learn if you’re in search of one thing extra gentle and straightforward too!
It’s about an orphaned witch who has lived a fairly solitary life so as to not draw consideration to herself or her magic — solely getting to satisfy with fellow witches every so often because it’s too dangerous for witches to assemble.
However her secret rebel is that she has a web based account the place she pretends to be a witch and assumes no person takes it severely however are simply there for the ~vibes~.
Till in the future, because of her movies, she will get a message looking for her assist in the coaching of three younger witches at a spot known as Nowhere Home the place they reside together with 5 adults who’ve taken on the job as their caretakers.
Realizing it’s a danger and towards the foundations, she accepts the place and makes her option to Nowhere home the place she finds this tight-knit group and the younger witches who desperately want her assist in controlling their magic or be put in peril.
As she settles in and finds a spot the place she simply would possibly have the ability to belong with this rag-tag group (even regardless of some pushback for her outsider standing), she uncover one other menace that might danger the protection of her newfound household.
The Home In The Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
At A Look: discovered household, magical kids, orphanage, feel-good learn
One in all my most favourite books ever and positively one in all my high books I learn in 2020! I like to recommend this e book on a regular basis — even to individuals who aren’t so offered on fantasy books. Simply so whimsical and like a hug in e book type.
It’s the story of Linus Baker — a stickler for guidelines and being by the e book — and the project that modifications his life when he’s despatched on a extremely categorised project (for his job with the Division in Cost of Magical Youth) to an island the place six magical and labeled-as-dangerous youngster stay with their caretaker and should keep a time to assist them deice whether or not the orphanage must be shut down.
I liked watching Linus strive so onerous to do his job to the T however get swept up into the lives of those kids and their secretive caretaker as he sees issues aren’t so black and white. I liked the romance between Linus and Arthur in addition to the nice and cozy and fuzzy discovered household vibes.
The Enterprise of Hart & Mercy by Megan Bannen
At A Look: zombie-like undead creatures, demi-gods, enemies to lovers, You’ve Obtained Mail vibes
Ooh this distinctive cozy fantasy world was so immersive as was the enemies to lovers, pen-palling romance (with some gentle spice).
You’ll meet Mercy (an undertaker attempting to maintain her household’s failing enterprise afloat) and the grumpy & lonely zombie-hunting marshal named Hart who actually get underneath one another’s pores and skin after they should have enterprise dealings however don’t know that the opposite is who they’ve been confiding in anonymously via letters.
Summers At Fortress Auburn by Sharon Shinn
At A Look: younger grownup, coming of age, standalone, medieval feeling fantasy, fortress/court docket life, political intrigue
Such an underrated cozy fantasy e book that I haven’t stopped yapping about since I learn it in 2016! It’s younger grownup and such a hidden gem you might need missed.
It’s a few younger lady named Corrie — additionally the illegitimate daughter of a deceased noble– who spends most of hr life within the village together with her grandmother however within the summers she lives at Fortress Auburn spending time together with her half-sister, uncle and different relations — together with the prince who she has a crush on.
Her summers are at all times magical and enchanting however as she begins to come back of age her summers at Fortress Auburn change and the layers are peeled again to indicate her plenty of the issues which have at all times been at play — political maneuvering, flaws of individuals she loves, the the Aristocracy’s use of the Aliora ( a faerie like folks) as servants and extra.
It’s actually a unbelievable little coming of age cozy fantasy that’s so underappreciated! Feels just like the books of my childhood!
One thing Shut To Magic by Emma Mills
At A Look: younger grownup, journey, lacking prince, royalty, enchanted woods, for followers of Gail Carson Levine
One in all my most anticipated YA books for 2023 from one in all my favourite up to date YA authors — her first foray into fantasy — and it’s such YA cozy fantasy!
It’s a few baker’s apprentice, with an old style and uncommon magic talent, who’s reluctantly roped into utilizing her talent to discover a hapless prince from the damaging Underwood in what seems to be the journey and quest of a lifetime.
A pleasant quest and journey, an intriguing magic system and enjoyable banter!
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
At A Look: excessive fantasy, small city setting, queer, foodie issues (ahhh the descriptions), discovered household/neighborhood, creatures like Orcs, Succubi, elves & extra
I’d most likely not have picked this one up had I randomly seen it — actually for the quilt — had folks not raved about it on Instagram. A extremely strong slice-of-life cozy fantasy suggestion that appears like a heat hug!
It’s about an orc named Viv who desires out of the barbarian warrior life she’s had for many years and plans to arrange store in Thune with the primary ever espresso store within the metropolis.
Hoping to commerce swords for espresso for good, she should digger deeper realizing this endeavor is an uphill battle — with outdated and new rivals getting in the way in which and the little undeniable fact that no person truly is aware of what espresso is there — and should study to belief in strangers &new associates to succeed as a substitute of stepping into alone.
When you don’t like slice-of-life books, this cozy fantasy may not have sufficient in it for you however it’s such a feel-good learn!
New Cozy Fantasy Books To Learn In 2024
A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall
Out April 23, 2024
At A Look: cozy fantasy romance, magical academia, underwater fantasy world, penpal romance
I’ve heard the vibe of this e book is Emily Wilde however underwater!
“A gorgeous discovery exterior the window of her underwater residence prompts the reclusive E. to start a correspondence with famend scholar Henerey Clel. The letters they share are full of ardour, at first for his or her mutual pursuits, after which, inevitably, for one another.
Collectively, they uncover a thriller from the unknown depths, destined to rework the underwater world they each equally worry and love. However by no mere coincidence, a seaquake destroys E.’s residence, and she or he and Henerey vanish.
A 12 months later, E.’s sister Sophy, and Henerey’s brother Vyerin, are left to unravel the thriller, piecing collectively the letters, sketches and subject notes left behind—and study what their siblings’ disappearance would possibly imply for all times as they understand it.”
The Spell Store by Sarah Beth Durst
Out July 9, 2024
At A Look: cottagecore cozy fantasy, librarian turned unlawful spellshop proprietor, small village setting, magic spider plant sidekick, romantic subplot, homesteading
A brand new e book from Sarah Beth Durst in 2024! Hooray!
This one screams cottagecore and coziest of cozy kind fantasies — positively a high contender for my cozy fantasy TBR as soon as I snag a replica!
It’s a few librarian who has protected magical spellbooks for the empire and does simply that when the library goes up in flames (because of the brewing revolution) and she or he takes the few she will and flees to the faraway island she grew up on.
When she will get there she hopes to put low however she finds that the empire’s magic (and their neglect) has affected her little island negatively so she opens a secret (and unlawful) spell store to assist the island get well.
As she dangers her life for these townspeople by sharing this magic, she additionally finds herself feeling fairly at residence in her little cottage and across the folks she meets.
This appears like the proper cozy fantasy if you happen to liked Legends & Lattes as a lot as I did.
What are a few of your cozy fantasy books (younger grownup or grownup!)? It’s positively a more recent curiosity for me so I’d love all of the suggestions I can get!
P.S. Take a look at my newest fantasy-related put up: Finest Fantasy Romance Books