If you, like me, have noticed an uptick in the number of cozy fiction titles being published, you’re not imagining it. Cozy fiction has taken the book world by storm, from cozy fantasy and cozy mysteries, to even cozy horror. Practically every genre is getting a cozy spin these days, and for good reason.
What makes a book “cozy” can be pretty subjective, but it largely comes down to a story that’s low-stakes, character-focused, and has lighthearted themes. Think Hallmark romance, found-family, or settings like bookshops, bakeries, or charming small towns. I personally also find nostalgic stories cozy, such as The Lord of the Rings - like I said, subjective!
No matter your personal definition of “cozy,” it’s clear that readers are craving these stories right now. There are a lot of stressors in the world, from money to politics to personal struggles - cozy fiction allows readers to escape somewhere where these problems don’t exist, even if just for a little while.
Here’s a few of my favorite and foundational cozy stories across different genres:
Cozy Fantasy
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree - It’s difficult to pinpoint when exactly cozy fantasy started taking off, but I think we can all agree that Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes helped lead the charge. Battle-weary orc, Viv, wants a fresh start away from bounties and bloodshed. Her dream is to open the first coffee shop in the city of Thune, but she’s going to have to learn how to ask for help to make her dream come true.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna - Mika Moon knows how important it is to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches, lest witchkind be discovered. But when a letter arrives asking her to come to the mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic, she can’t help herself. Found family is a common theme in cozy fantasy, and Mandanna’s take on it is just the sweetest.
The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong - Tao is an immigrant fortune teller, traveling between villages with her mule for company. While the villagers want to know big fortunes, Tao will only tell small ones, knowing from experience that big fortunes have big consequences. When one of her fortunes sets her on a quest to find a lost child, Tao, with the help of her new friends, must learn to lower her walls and confront her past once and for all.
More cozy fantasy:
- The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
- Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
- The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
- Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Cozy Sci-fi
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers - Centuries ago, robots gained self-awareness and vanished into the wilderness, never to be seen again. Now, a tea monk questioning their life choices is surprised to come across a robot in their travels. The robot has one question for the monk, “what do people need?” What a complicated question, indeed.
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz - Set in near-future San Francisco, the city is still recovering from a devastating war. Many restaurants were hit hard, including a ghost kitchen staffed by food service bots. When the bots come back online to an abandoned restaurant, they decide to do what they know best - make food for the humans of San Francisco. But do bots really have what it takes to make the tastiest hand-pulled noodles in town?
The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton - Part space adventure and part Sapphic romance, this story has everything you could want in a cozy sci-fi. Cleo and her friends really, truly didn’t mean to steal a spaceship. They just wanted to know why, twenty years ago, the entire Providence crew vanished without a trace. Now, stuck enroute to Proxima Centauri and unable to turn around, Cleo and her friends turn to Billie, the ship’s snarky and strikingly beautiful hologram, to help them get back home.
More cozy sci-fi:
- Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
- Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis
- Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
- All Systems Red by Martha Wells
Cozy Horror
Cackle by Rachel Harrison - Annie finds her life uprooted after her long-term boyfriend unceremoniously dumps her. Desperate for a change, she moves from Manhattan to a small village upstate. Then Annie meets the beautiful, charming, magnetic Sophie. The townspeople seem a bit afraid of her, but Annie is instantly drawn to Sophie’s confidence. She teaches Annie to stop apologizing and live for herself, sparking an evolution in Annie that may be too good to be true.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell - As a shapeshifter, Shesheshen is used to being hunted. However, she’s not used to getting hurt. Chased by hunters out of her home and off a cliff, Shesheshen is nursed back to health by warmhearted Homily, who has mistaken Shesheshen as a fellow human. Shesheshen falls in love with her only to discover she’s a monster hunter, and since devouring her girlfriend isn’t an option, she must learn to build a life with, rather than in, her soulmate.
A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher - Sam Montgomery only has fond memories of her Southern Gothic childhood home in North Carolina. When she arrives to check on her mom who her brother claims “seems off,” she’s expecting some quality time amidst the charming clutter her mom is known for. She doesn’t expect the now sterile home, her mother jumpy, or the jar of teeth hidden in the rosebushes. To find out what’s got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam will go digging for the truth. But some secrets are better left buried.
More cozy horror:
- Direct Descendant by Tanya Huff
- My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
- How to Survive Camping: The Man with No Shadow by Bonnie Quinn
- The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates
Cozy Mysteries
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto - Sutanto makes excellent use of the “senior sleuth” trope in her Vera Wong series. Sixty-year-old tea expert, Vera Wong, finds herself playing detective when she discovers a dead man in her tea shop - because who better to solve a case than a Chinese mother with time on her hands?
A Cyclist’s Guide to Crime and Croissants by Ann Claire - Cozy mysteries can sometimes double as armchair travel, such as Claire’s A Cyclist’s Guide series. Set in Southern France, we follow an American expat who left Chicago to start a new life and a new bicycling tour company. However, Sadie’s plans to show her American friends her successful new life go spinning out of control when one of her guests turns up dead.
Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien - Food is also a common occurrence in cozy mysteries, and the dumplings in Chien’s Noodle Shop series are to die for - literally. Lana Lee and all of Ho-Lee Noodle House find themselves in hot water when their landlord, who has a well-known shellfish allergy, turns up dead after a delivery of shrimp dumplings from Ho-Lee. Can Lana find the killer before the restaurant goes under?
More cozy mysteries:
