Mar 9

Mar 9 9 Cozy Fantasy Books to Escape All Your Worries With

Written by Madison Lutz

As much as I love a sprawling fantasy realm with complex political relationships, epic wars, and morally gray main characters you’re not sure if you should be rooting for—sometimes all I want in my fantasy is a cute romance where sparks literally fly, characters forage for flowers and herbs to make potions and tea, and secret rooms hide behind a bookcase. Throw in a loveable cast of characters and magic that misbehaves? You’ve got a cozy fantasy that I’m ready to lose myself in. Here are nine recommendations to get you started!

Enchanted Tea

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne

Have you ever fantasized about leaving your high-stress job to open up a bakery? Or run a bookshop in a small town in Ireland? Or start a small sustainable farm in a cottage in France? Or really any other escapist fantasy?? Then you’ll relate to Kianthe, the most powerful mage in the land, who finally gets her royal assassin girlfriend on board to quit their jobs and open up the shop of their dreams. They settle into a small village and fill their days with new challenges, fireside conversations, and learning just how much they love each other.

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Nothing like gay audacity to believe you can do literally anything you set your mind to even if you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing. That’s Viv, the newly retired bounty hunting orc, who decides, “You know what? I can open a coffee shop! Wait. What is coffee again?” Of course a coffee shop meet-cute leads Viv into a romance that becomes so much more.

Psalm for the Wild-built by Becky Chambers

Fully done with having to exist within late-stage capitalism? With this book—you don’t have to! When I finished this book and the sequel A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, I just wanted to crawl my way back into the world and live there forever. I’ve never read something that instantly captured such warmth, heart, and earnestness. Dex is a tea monk who is used to helping soothe everyone else’s woes and yet is feeling quite stuck in their own life. They set off to the wilderness to find some answers and instead find a robot named Mosscap. Their journey of friendship paints a beautiful picture of love, companionship, and humanity.

Unruly Magic

Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell

Imagine you have magical powers that manifest in the form of beautiful flowers that reveal your heart’s truest feelings. Sounds like a cottagecore dream right? Now imagine that your magic is also a bit of a brat that likes to blow things up, break things, and also constantly yell at you all your most wretched insecurities and fears. Less dreamlike. With a friends-to-lovers romance, magic that flourishes like flowers, and an important theme around mental health and living with intrusive thoughts, this book was warm, whimsical, and deeper than might appear on the surface.

Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin

Many of us have wished at one point or another that we could say yes more to things that scare us, things that take us out of our comfort zone but for Lucinda that wish turns into a spell which turns into an Ella Enchanted level nightmare! She can’t say no! Including when her high school crush Alexander asks for help.

Arden High: Twelfth Grade Night by Molly Horton Booth, Stephanie Kate Strohm, and Jamie Green

Even when you have a high school filled with fairies, satyrs, and more sometimes the biggest magic to go wrong is the magic of the heart. Heartstopper meets modern magical escapism in this graphic novel. If you are queer and love D&D, being a theatre nerd, or dressing up and going to Ren Faires, you’ll love this book. Reading it felt like binge watching your favorite new tv show. Seriously, I actually forgot this was a book when I was recommending it to a friend and accidentally told them it was on Netflix lol.

Secret Rooms and Rooms with Secrets

Very Secret Society for Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Imagine the horror of someone finding your secret social media account! Now imagine the added intrigue when you discover that they saw right through your “pretend magic” ruse and know you’re an actual witch. That’s exactly what happens to Mika who finds herself suddenly breaking all her rules around the secrecy of magic to travel to a mysterious coven to train three other witches. Having lived her whole life in isolation, Mika now has friends, community, and a potential love interest—what will she do to protect it?

Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg

Can’t get enough of the one bed trope? What about two strangers locked in a magical house that’s throwing a tantrum? I’ve been obsessed with quirky homes that are basically characters themselves since Smart House on Disney Channel, to The Haunted Mansion, to Casita in Encanto. Whimbrel House is no different. Throw in the fact that this book is historical fantasy AND romance—it’s practically like it was made for me.

House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

This was the first of T.J. Klune’s books that I read and it remains my favorite. I am always a sucker for a found family story and this one adds in a gaggle of eccentric, charming, and fantastical characters. Linus Baker is sent to investigate the home of Arthur Parnassas, who runs a orphanage for 6 children deemed “highly dangerous” by the magical government: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. This book is perfect for anyone who has ever felt like they don’t quite belong or that they exist on the outside of what’s considered “normal” and “acceptable”. In the end everyone deserves the same chance to love and be loved just as they are.