Looking for Cozy Fantasy That Isn’t Too Cozy
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.”