I don’t know about anyone else, but I have been hugely stressed out this entire year. As I mentioned in a previous post, a lot of that was job-related. But, of course, the general state of the world at large is definitely not helping matters. Due to the constant levels of stress and anxiety, I have been hugely dependent on very happy, upbeat, cozy, wholesome media to keep me going. I used to be able to handle more grim and gritty fiction/television at least some of the time, but lately… not so much.
I suspect a lot of other people feel similarly. To that end, I thought I would share some of the cozy fantasy I’ve been consuming lately to help keep me from going completely insane.
First up on the recommendations list is a book that has been getting a lot of traction on social media. In fact, it got SO MUCH traction on social media that this little self-published book has since been picked up by Tor Books for traditional publication. You can probably guess. Yep! I’m talking about Legends & Lattes by Travis Baltree. This book is like the definition of cozy low-stakes fantasy: set in an unabashedly D&D-inspired world, it features an orc warrior who has decided to hang up her axe, retire from adventuring, and open up the very first coffee shop in the land. In the course of trying to get her coffee shop up and running, she befriends several people around the city, accidentally gets on the wrong side of the local mob boss, and has to deal with an old travel companion-turned-rival. While there is conflict, and some danger involved, the book largely stays low-stakes and perfectly charming. You are assured of coziness galore, and a happy ending, as well as some sweet sapphic romance just to gild the lily. I guarantee you will not be able to stop smiling your whole way through the book. In addition, I will say that I have the audiobook, which is read by the author (who is also a professional audio narrator) his reading is delightful.
Second on my recommendations list is A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher. I’ve discussed T. Kingfisher before, when I wrote a review of her book Nettle & Bone back in… March? That book is still currently top contender for my favorite new release book of the year (though I haven’t read Nona the Ninth yet as I write this, so that may change soon). [AN: I have read Nona since initially drafting this post. I haven’t quite decided yet, but they might be tied?] It was also the first book by T. Kingfisher I had read, but I loved it so much that I knew I was going to have to read the rest of her work as well. That’s where Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking comes in.
This book is categorized as young adult fantasy, but works just as well as middle grade fiction. It features a main character who is a fourteen year old girl — and the narration does a wonderful job of really staying in that teenage POV. On top of that, Kingfisher’s world-building continues to be top-notch. In this book, fourteen-year-old Mona is an apprentice baker in her aunt’s bakery. She possesses some minor magic to work with the dough, but nothing like what the real wizards in the city possess. But when magic-users all over the city begin to disappear, Mona accidentally comes across a plot to remove all magic from the city, including the powerful wizards that defend it from outside attack. Through luck and quick thinking, Mona escapes this fate, leaving her the only one left in the city with any hope of stopping an attack and protecting her queen.
While the stakes in this book are bigger and more dangerous — there is some violence and death — the overall tone remains so upbeat and snarky and fun as to keep it from being oppressive or overly dark. It helps that we are treated to things like walking gingerbread men wreaking havoc on the attacking army, and Mona’s continued irritation that she has been left to do the grown-ups’ jobs for them because they are all useless.
My third (and final, for now) recommendation is the first volume of a brand new literary magazine called Wyngraf — available in print and ebook through their website. This new magazine specifically features only cozy fantasy stories, in the wake of a growing call for that particular sub-genre. I got the first issue on ebook (though I may buy future volumes in print) to check out what kind of stories were being published. While the stories range in length and skill-level, they are all fairly charming. Nice, light, happy little reads to nibble on in between bigger reading goals. This first volume features such stories as “The Perils of Living With Your Human” — about a dragon who is having a rough day trying to help the human he is bonded with; “Your Own Beeswax” — a comedic little tale about a minstrel, in the vein of Jack Vance; and a few stories of what the editor calls “backpack fantasy” — fun little tales that feel a bit like the road travel montage of a larger fantasy epic. Some of the stories are weaker than others, but on the whole the collection works well together and is entertaining enough to read through in an evening or two. I look forward to what stories we might see in the next issue (which conveniently is out on Oct 1st!).
No doubt I will have more cozy fantasy recommendations in the future. But I hope these three are a good start for those who, like me, need some more warmth and joy in their lives to counterbalance the stress and anxiety of the world around us.
Amanda Haimoto Rudd 