The Rec League: Cozy Fantasy

SBTB HQ recently came across this book on Twitter and we launched into a discussion about wanting more cozy fantasy titles in our life. Here’s is the tweet that started it all:

Sarah: Penric all the way. Some of them are a little angsty, especially those that deal with plague, but the first one is one of my comfort re-reads.

Lord of Stariel would qualify for sure! And the TJ Klune series, beginning with The House in the Cerulean Sea.

Shana: Ok, so does cozy fantasy mean it’s set in a village, like a cozy mystery? Or is it more about being comforting and low conflict?

Amanda: The latter I’m interpreting.

Give us all the cozy fantasy recommendations!

Comments are Closed

  1. MaryK says:

    Amy Crooks definitely writes cozy fantasy. It’s actually a little too cozy for me sometimes.

    I’m trying to decide if Martha Wells fantasy novels could be considered cozy, and I’m not sure. They’re comfort reads for me and focus on the characters’ journey rather than a save the world, high stakes plot. They do have some tension and minor violence though so it’s hard to say. Maybe they’re a level up from “cozy”?

  2. Carrie G says:

    I just remembered another series, The Baleful Godmother series by Emily Larkin. It’s alt-history set in the Regency era, I think. In this series, a fae must (very begrudgingly) bestow a gift on the to every female descendant of the woman who saved her life on their 25th birthday. But beware! The fae can be tricky! It’s a fun series.

  3. I’ll add my vote for Robin McKinley (specifically Beauty, Spindle’s End, The Blue Sword); Stephanie Burgis (pretty much anything she writes); Patricia Wrede; Diana Wynne Jones; Sharon Shinn’s Summers at Castle Auburn (the only Shinn I’ve read, so far, but I loved it); Celia Lake (likewise only read on so far, but really enjoyed it.)

    I’d like to add Mercedes Lackey’s Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms series — fairytale retellings and fractured fairytales with a romance subplot in each book. Those are comfort rereads for me, especially the first book, The Fairy Godmother.

    The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge is one of those timeless original children’s books that are just as charming when you’re older.

    Zenna Henderson’s short stories of The People might qualify as cozy fantasy/SF, but they’re not romances, and often don’t have a romantic thread at all.

    If you like your cozy fantasy with a side of cozy mystery, give Randall Garret’s Lord Darcy books a try. There’s death (obviously; most of these are murder mysteries) but it’s usually in the style of Agatha Christie and other Golden Age mystery writers, where the puzzle is the focus of the storytelling, not the violence. Again, no romance to speak of, but they are a lot of fun.

    If you like graphic novels, Kay O’Neill’s Tea Dragon Society books are sweet and charming and lovely.

    Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go add all the other recommendations to my TBR list!

  4. Vasha says:

    @CourtneyM: Have you read “Hellspark” by Cat Hellisen? If that’s not cozy science fiction I don’t know what is.

    Also, I just recalled that Peter S. Beagle writes extremely comforting fantasy. His “Inkeeper’s Song” is one that I’ve read over and over and over; and I’ll bet there are people here who love “The Last Unicorn.

  5. Tam says:

    I liked ‘Chalice’ by Robin McKinley but it gave me massive anxiety on the heroine’s behalf. She’s suddenly thrust into a job she doesn’t understand at all and there are HUGE STAKES if she doesn’t do the things she’s supposed to do the right way (although she doesn’t know what those things are or how to do them, only that the kingdom will fail if she doesn’t work it out somehow.) I’ve had jobs which felt less stressful.

  6. Courtney M. says:

    @Vasha I have not read “Hellspark,” so on the TBR list it goes!

  7. Lk says:

    For me the Steven Brust Jhereg books and the Khavren books are comfort reads. Particularly Dzur, which has a lot of food discussion from the Jhereg series.

    I will also mention Milla Vane as I found her 2 books comforting to read, although not nonviolent.

    Everyone has already mentioned my other recommended Authors

  8. Liz says:

    I second many of the recs above. Ditto for Bride of the Rat God and the AJ Demas books. In science fiction I recommend SJ MacDonald Fourth Fleet Irregulars series – some think there’s not enough plot but I love spending time with the characters and the found family aspects. I’ve discovered Celia Lake and can’t get enough of her books. Tam Lin by Pamela Dean.

  9. Karen Kiely says:

    Another vote for C.M. Nacosta’s books, Morning Glory Milking Farm and Girls Weekend. She has the sequel to GW coming out March 30.

  10. batgirl says:

    The Interior Life, by Katherine Blake (pseudonym for Dorothy Heydt).

  11. Kareni says:

    @Vasha: is it Hellspark by Janet Kagan?

  12. Christy says:

    I really enjoyed The Forest Bride by Jane Buehler! It’s got a very sweet romance and almost no violence.

  13. Vasha says:

    @Kareni, yes of course — whoops.

  14. Andrea says:

    I love so many of these. I will also add Julie Czerneda’s A Turn of Light. It takes place in a small, isolated pioneer community. The heroine has an invisible dragon friend and there are large toads that act as watchdogs.

  15. Kareni says:

    @Vasha, thank you. My favorite Kagan book is Uhura’s Song. I tried Hellspark years ago; I may need to attempt it again.

  16. squee_me says:

    I’m wondering if Emily Tesh’s Greenhollow Duology fits this? Silver in the Wood and Drowned Country. I haven’t read the second one yet. There’s a dark undercurrent vibe in the first one but there was something about the writing style I found very calming.

  17. Emily Jane says:

    @squee_me I had the same thoughts about Emily Tesh’s Greenhollow Duology. The second book was very good, with the same dark undercurrent but calming feeling.

  18. Maeve says:

    Perhaps Diane Duane’s Tale of the Five, or Ruthanna Emrys’ Winter Tide?

    Carousel Tides (and Sun, and Seas) by Sharon Lee is one of my favorite series to reread and the audio versions are great.

    How about Vivian Shaw’s Greta van Helsing trilogy? It has a cozy feel to me and I reread it twice during the pandemic.

    Jo Walton’s Lifelode. Liz Williams Comet Weather and Blackthorn Winter (and I can’t wait for the last 2 books).

    I agree with the suggestions for Sharon Shinn, Diane Duane, Robin McKinley, Patricia Wrede, and Katherine Addison.

  19. Emily Jane says:

    I just came across this–a new magazine dedicated to cozy fantasy–and thought it might interest readers here: https://wyngraf.com/about/

  20. filkferengi says:

    _Mindtouch_ by M.C.A. Hogarth is cozy science fiction. It’s the sweet platonic romance between university roommates of different species. It’s also free.

  21. Phyllis says:

    I love so many of the books mentioned here! Here are a few off-the-beaten-path suggestions that give me a similar feeling:
    Jesse Hajicek, The God Eaters. Such an intelligent/wry humor in the dialogue. Mm.
    Although not a romance, Patricia Wrightson’s A Little Fear is fantastic, with an older woman protagonist and Australian magical beings.
    James Thurber’s The Thirteen Clocks has been a comfort read since I was a kid and still charms me. Marc Simont’s illustrations alone are worth the price of admission.

  22. Amy says:

    So many great suggestions here! I’ve read and agree with many of them. I would like to add Leviathan’s Song by Elsie Winters and Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree as two recent books who hit the same tonal notes as Wrede, McKillip, Andrews, etc.

  23. Amy says:

    Oh, and how could I forget Tansy Rayner Roberts. She tends to write short novel/novella length, but has a wide array of worlds that are definitely cozy. The Teacup Magic ones are regency mystery slanted, Curse of Bronze has The Mummy tones, and Belladonna U is a magical university series.

  24. Coming back to add: I have now read five of Celia Lake’s Albion books (in a week!), and they should definitely be on this list. Historical fantasy romance; thoughtful, slow-paced, character-driven romances with really interesting worldbuilding. The world owes a fair bit to the basic premise of Harry Potter (magical society existing side-by-side with an unaware mundane world), but it’s much less capricious and whimsical, and in a way, more carefully and logically constructed.

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