Edit: just bought the faraway inn and a fellowship of bakers and magic!

I'm almost done with L&L, and i originally thought the other books in the series were a continuation, but after reading some reviews i found out that the other books dont really have that much in common with L&L, and arent as cozy.

The spellshop might be one of my favorite books ever, and I do have the greenhouse as well but I haven't read it yet. It starts out very cold/snowy, and as someone who lives in a cold country, I'd rather have my mind escape to a warm place.

Any recommendations on books that are as cozy as The Spellshop and Legends & Lattes? Doesn't have to be fantasy, i just want something cozy. Preferably as little action as possible, and as little sex as possible (although some romance would be great)

Hello everyone! I am in dire need of your help! I know that probably sounds very melodramatic but I’m going through a really rough time in my life and I feel like I am truly desperate to find some books that will cheer me up and bring me some comfort. Anything that you have to offer would be greatly appreciated!

Basically, I have been extremely stressed out, depressed and anxious recently due to my husband getting laid off from work, the financial strain that has put on us and the fact that we are now having to move in with my mother-in-law who doesn’t really like me as a result. All of this has also put me into a bit of a reading slump and made it difficult for me to get some much needed escapism. The problem I keep having is that I’ve been very sensitive, emotional and easily upset by books that deal with heavier topics recently. I also haven’t had the motivation to read anything that I can’t listen to on audiobook, nor do I have the time to do so what with packing and getting ready to move. All of that said, I will get to my actual request now. Thank you to anyone who cared enough to read all of this ❤️

What I’m looking for is a cozy, uplifting book with sweet, fluffy romance and a happy ending. Basically like a happy fairytale type of book with warm fuzzy vibes. I’m looking for something relatively low stakes, but not TOO low stakes. For example, The Spellshop was a bit too low stakes for my tastes but I really love things like Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries, Half a Soul and Sorcery and Small Magics.

**Please pay special attention to TWs that I’d like to avoid because I really am not able to handle these things at the moment! I don’t want to read anything that deals with really heavy material such as war, graphic violence, grief, r*pe, animal abuse/death, the deaths of any major characters, suicide, suicide ideation, self harm, toxic relationships between MCs, graphic depictions of physical/mental abuse or substance abuse. I’d also like to avoid pregnancy and for the characters to be child free even if the children aren’t technically their own. I’m sorry, I know that’s a long list of TWs to avoid. That’s part of why I’m having such a hard time finding books to read. I’m just feeling so stressed out and overly sensitive right now and I’ve had to DNF quite a few books that were too upsetting for me. Normally I would be fine, but I just can’t seem to handle them at the moment.

Also, I know that T. Kingfisher is a popular recommendation on here but, for whatever reason, her style just doesn’t seem to fit with my personal preferences. I’ve tried reading multiple T. Kingfisher books but, unfortunately, haven’t been able to get into them. Please don’t take offense if you like this author. I have nothing against her! Her books aren’t bad, they just aren’t really my cup of tea.

—

For reference, here are some cozy fantasy books that I like:

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater

The Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett

Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy

Winterfrost Market by Jenny Sandiford

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
by Sangu Mandanna

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

A Rival Most Vial by R.K. Ashwick

—

And here are some cozy fantasy books that I just thought were okay or couldn’t really get into for one reason or another:

T. Kingfisher’s books

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton

The Lord of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

Welcome to the Weekly Writing Thread, where writers and readers can discuss all things writing and publishing related.

Have questions about cozy fantasy? Maybe you want feedback on your story premise or are curious about the types of stories readers can't get enough of. This is the place to connect with the community.

Not sure what region(s) are eligible or anything, but here's a chance to win.

(I'm not the author, just a fan.)

Edit: 3 copies of audiobook, 250 digital copies

I use kindle unlimited even though it goes against my ethics because having access to a massive amount of cozy books has been very helpful for my mental health while still being able to live within my means. I am concerned about there being AI generated books on there as I really don't want to consume AI generated material.

I'm wondering if anyone has any good tips for weeding these out.

I assume AI generated art means it's likely that the story is also AI generated but I don't feel like I'm great at detecting AI generated art vs digitally created art.

I look at reviews. If there are reviews saying the story is inconsistent I avoid it

If it's a series I try to see how quickly the books were released. Although I'm not sure what a reasonable timeline between books would be.

I look up the author info and basically just go by a vibe on that one.

All of this is much more work than I want to be putting in when looking for my next book so I'd love to hear if anyone else has some easier/quicker/better methods.

I know that just avoiding kindle would be the "best" option but that doesn't feel like the best financial or personal decision for me right now.

Thanks!

SPOILERS FOR LEGENDS & LATTES

I've been thinking about this question, and what defines cozy fantasy. I often see people cite low tension, low stakes, and a safe reader experience, but I feel like I've seen exceptions to all of these. I've seen people on this subreddit say that Legends & Lattes isn't cozy enough because of the tension from arsons. The Teller of Small Fortunes deals with xenophobia and uses stakes based in the fate of Eshtera and whether war will break out. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking (although commonly called cozy-adjacent, I admit) starts with a murder! It seems that cozy can be very flexible when certain conditions are met.

The one constant that I've found from reading is some form of sanctuary or refuge. The most common solution is an inn or teahouse or coffee shop where both the characters and readers can retreat from the world and its ills. Even in travelogues you'll usually have a cozy wagon or ship that serves as the focus for the characters' domestic life. This doesn't have to be a physical space, although that's the most common solution. Found family or a strong community can also serve that role. I'm sure there's ways of providing that sanctuary that I am missing in this post. This sort of safe shelter seems like the one constant for all the cozy that I've read.

Am I off-base here? Are there cozies that I'm missing without that sanctuary/refuge element in some way or another? On the other hand, are there constants to cozy fantasy that I'm missing?

Are you an author or artist looking to share your latest Cozy Fantasy creation? Maybe you're a reader with some awesome fan art or fanfiction. Whatever the case, here's your chance to share your work with the Cozy Community.

Link shorteners are hard banned by Reddit and automatically marked as spam.

Please avoid using shorteners like bitly and aco as they will be filtered out by Reddit's spam filters.

Please remember: any use of AI in your work - cover, art, writing, conception, blurb etc - must be disclosed clearly at all times. Cover and illustration artists must be credited in promotional content. Please be sure to mention that, if applicable, when posting on this sub.

Ok I'm trying this again and explaining better since last time a lot of people didn't understand what I was asking for. I go through about a book a day so I'm really struggling to find new things to read.

#Looking for magical books. I mean real magic relevant to the plot, not just mythical creatures or subtle mentions of it in the background

Looking for books light on mentions of trauma, angst, and heavy emotions. Instead, I want magic and lots of neat world building

No mention of or inclusion of the real world. ETA: This means no alternate universes or mention of people or places in the real world

Romance is fine as long as it's secondary to the plot

I have read everything by Brandon Sanderson (tress, yumi), Sarah Beth Durst (spellshop), Travis Baldree (legends and lattes) and Terry Pratchett (discworld).

_____________________________

#Looking for vibes like:

Julie Leong's books (all read)

Diana Wynne Jones (all read)

The House Witch

MEOW: Magical Emporium of Wares

Beers and Beards

The Penric and Desdemona Novellas

Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking

How to Defeat a Demon King in 10 Easy Steps

Beware of Chicken

Sorcery and Small Magics

The Emperors Soul

_____________________________

#Did not finish:

Heretical Fishing

Wandering Inn

Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping

Violet Thistlewaite is not a villain anymore

Two Necromancers, a Bureaucrat and an Army

Paladin's Grace

It seems like most cozy novels have relatively domestic settings: inns, bakeries, teahouses, bookshops, cafes. Even the travelogues have a mobile sanctuary: the tea-monk's wagon in A Psalm for the Wild-Built, the homey environment of the Wayfarer in A Long Way to A Small Angry Planet, Tao's cart in The Teller of Small Fortunes. Are there any cozy fantasies set in an unorthodox environment, like a dungeon or an army camp or a hospital?

Maybe it's anathema to cozy fantasy to go outside of these warm domestic environments, but I feel like there's no reason it couldn't work. Does anyone know of an example that pulls this off? I couldn't find any from some basic searches but I'm sure there's something in self-pub that I'm missing.

Hey everyone,

I’m curious what kind of cozy fantasy music / ambience you all listen to while gaming, reading, working etc.

Would love to discover some new channels, playlists, artists, or even underrated creators.

I’ve actually been experimenting with making some fantasy ambience playlists myself lately, but I’m not sure if sharing them counts as self-promo here, so I’ll avoid posting links unless it’s allowed 😅

Mostly just genuinely interested in what everyone here listens to and why certain fantasy music hits the right vibe for you.

I’m really completely over the, “she popped the nugget of deliciousness into her mouth, closed her eyes and moaned as the flavor of cinnamon and unicorn farts exploded in her mouth.” I would love recommendations for cozy books that are less food oriented and more about discovery and calm adventures. Thanks!

I’m looking for cozy fantasy recommendations, but I think I’ve realized I’m very picky about what “cozy” means for me.

So far, the only book in the genre that I genuinely liked was Legends & Lattes. It felt cozy without being completely conflict-free. There were still actual obstacles and setbacks, the romance stayed mostly in the background and developed slowly over time, and the world itself felt lived-in instead of just existing as a backdrop for vibes.

I’ve tried a few other popular recommendations, but they didn’t really work for me. A Psalm for the Wild-Built was... eeh? I know a lot of people love it, but for me it felt like mostly conversations between two characters I didn’t really connect with, and then suddenly the book just… ended. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches was fine, but it leaned much more heavily into romance than I expected, and the protagonist felt a bit too much like a reader self-insert for my taste. I had a similar issue with The Spellshop. The main character felt almost too perfect, everyone accepted her immediately, conflicts resolved very easily (by just... talking, and people being extremally reasonable), and the worldbuilding felt more decorative than substantial. I finished it feeling mostly just “okay, that was nice,” rather than actually emotionally invested.

So I guess what I’m looking for is cozy fantasy that still has some tension and friction in it, characters who actually feel flawed, maybe a slower or more low-key romance, and a setting that feels properly fleshed out.

::EDIT:: Thank you all so much for the recommendations! I honestly didn’t expect this many replies. I’m adding a lot of these to my reading list already, and it’s also been really interesting seeing how differently people define “cozy fantasy.”

My first cozy fantasy was Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy, and it was one of my favorite reads this year. (And I’m a grimdark lover! 🫣) It was absolutely hilarious. The characters were flawed. The romance wasn’t really romance, despite pushed as such, but more enemies to reluctant friends, which only made it more entertaining.

I figured I’d start here and ask for suggestions. I’m not big on romance, but I’m perfectly happy with it as a subplot. The funnier/wittier the better. My dark heart likes a good laugh.

To all the writers out there, you guys might want to start mixing up your titles.

So many follow this structure, and at this point it just makes me think of legends & lattes ripoffs or fan fics.

Are you a foodie cozy like me? One of my favorite things about any cozy, whether it's cozy fantasy or cozy mystery or cozy scifi, is plots or subplots or scenes relating to food. Or characters who cook. Or characters who are hungry. Or are enjoying yummy food. Kitchens, hearths, restaurants, diners, picnics, futuristic food replicators, whatever. Amateur chefs, professional chefs, waiters, or just any character cooking. BBQ of course! lol I think it's probably because we associate cozy with comfort, so, hey, comfort food is a natural.

I'd love to know what are some of your favorite foodie cozies. Bonus points if there's a magical twist to the food!

Magical Texas BBQ? I will for sure add that to my TBR! 😍