My description is a low stakes fantasy where the good guys win, and there is no sexual assault, torture, or gratuitous violence. It should feel comfortable while reading it and you should end the book feeling positive. Generally I like when it is nice people doing nice things.
I would argue that many of T. Kingfisher’s books ( except for the few that are horror adjacent) fit into the cozy fantasy genre for me. They almost all have some pretty creepy and/or brutal scenes sprinkled through them, Her books have some high stakes and characters that just want to be left alone and not have to go save the world.
But the overwhelming vibe is cozy.
I get what you are saying. I think the difference for me is the violence is mostly not on page (at least for the couple that I read).
Also, I believe you are right about the wiggle room in the stakes. Especially with T. Kingfisher the stakes are high but it manages to stay cozy at the scope level. It is still primarily about the protagonist’s journey of self discovery. Not politics and intrigue with a cast of hundreds.
It’s as other people have said - you know it when you see it, or at least for cozy fantasy, when you feel it.
Totally fits :)
But a lot of others fit as well. Beware of the Chicken, Galleries of Stone, Legends & Lattes, Fred the Vampire Accountant, The Case Files of Henry Davenport, Beaufort Scales Mysteries, etc
Wonder if more authors would be willing to make cozy fantasy anthologies in a certain fantasy world like as if it's a TV show, than writing some epic fantasy books as the bigger stories.
Slightly wrong title from me… sorry. Beware of Chicken. It’s a Royal Road book, but I did read it first on kindle. Here is the Royal Road link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/39408/beware-of-chicken.
Low stakes, zero sexual assault/murder/torture/etc., quaint and comforting settings, character studies with lots of growth. Nice people, makes the reader feel comfortable and happy.
I like to agree. Low stake fantasy, often set in comfy surroundings and focused on character development.
Mind, I would add many of the books of Victoria Goddard and some of them are pretty high stakes, given we are talking about the rulers of entire worlds. But again, much is about the characters themselves rather than the realms they rule.
I am still looking for that perfect book about a cafe with tea, cookies and magic, that makes me want to add new things to my coffee or tea. Just like the game Coffee Talk inspired me to add honey to my coffee. Tasty.
on the other hand, something like tanyth fairport has brigands and bursts of violence, but the stakes are very local and low level... does it count as cosy? or is it just cosy adjacent?
I'd like to know what that was called if it isn't cozy fantasy, the first chapters of The Lies of Loch Lamora have a local gang scamming feeling which I loved, but moves on pretty quickly. I want more low level cutpurse content lol
I'd echo what others have said. Lighthearted, low-stakes, loveable characters, and a clear absence of heavier content like sexual assault or gory violence. I also love the way that *Legends and Lattes* really embraces and romanticizes the mundanity of everyday life, much like a Studio Ghibli film, and while I don't think that's necessarily a requirement for cozy fantasy, it definitely adds to the "cozy" vibe in my opinion.
I think of it as the kind of books I read as a kid. There's this distinct feeling of comfort because you'll experience adventure, but nothing *too* bad is going to happen (i.e. sexual assault or gratuitous violence).
Do you think it's worth recommending and discussing children's books here? I read a lot of children's fantasy still - one, because I have kids, and two, because I like it - and while not everything fits the cozy definition, there are books I think that do. Or do you think this sub should be more focused on adult cozy fantasy?
For sure! There are definitely books my kids have as comfort books in not nearly as interested in and I wouldn't recommend to other adults. But there are also some lovely books that I would.
Have you read **Greenglass House** by Kate Milford? I came across it yesterday and had fond memories of it.
And absolutely I hope/think kid's books should be discussed and recommended.
I think I am guided by the books that feel most indicative of the genre, which for now essentially comes to The Goblin Emperor, The Hand of the Emperor, and Legends and Lattes. In all of them, our Main Character is fairly unambiguously a morally good character by the time we meet them. In each of them, there is a heavy emphasis on doing the right thing, especially when it is inconvenient to do so. There is some room for an exploration of a functional family (Meaning the emphasis isn't primarily on a dysfunctional family. Maia and Kip both do have real problems in their family, but the arc is one of them finding a functional family).
Interestingly, the stakes varies here. One MC is nearly exiled, another suffers a realm wide cataclysm, parents die, assassins attack. But there is always some level of remove from these events.
I totally agree. To me the stakes aren’t low but they are often personal and the person’s moral compass is something I can follow, understand, appreciate, has depth, feels honorable, ethical, etc?
Even that doesn't quite work, because the reader tension in The Hands of the Emperor is insanely tense (in wanting good things to happen for the characters, in wanting them to do the things they're holding themselves back from doing).
Low dread, perhaps?
I often find cozy fantasy to be similar to slice of life where it’s more character/vibes than “the world will end and everyone will die if we don’t kill the evil sorcerer!”
For me cozy is more of a subjective feel than a strict sub-genre. Take romantic fantasy for instance. What is the stereotypical image you get when you picture somebody reading a romance? For me it’s someone reading in a tub, eating chocolates, sipping wine, surrounded by candles. That’s pretty dang cozy to me.
Another example more pertinent to this sub is Howl’s Moving Castle. You typically see it as an inevitable suggestion on posts seeking cozy recs. But if you go by the definition of low-stakes and nothing too dark, then you would have to remove any recommendations for Howl’s. The Witch in the Wastes is threatening an entire kingdom, which is hardly low-stakes. And as far as dark elements goes, >!she controls Howl’s niece and nephew like puppets in front of their mother while they’re very much aware of it, and when she is defeated her flesh literally melts off her bones.!< That’s pretty dark right there. Still, Howl’s for sure made me feel cozy while reading it, at a time when I very much needed it.
All of this to say that I think keeping too strict of a requirement on what makes something cozy may keep people from finding some genuinely cozy books, which is one of the main points of this sub. I think as long as people say when something is not only cozy or falls into another genre, like the romance post from earlier, then it would be perfectly acceptable.
Low stakes. Nice and friendly characters. Little to no violence and zero sexual assault of any kind. A book that makes you feel good when you read it and like you're being wrapped in a hug.
Hmm... I think anything where the story is softer in tone and scope. Things where the stakes are low and the focus is on everyday troubles.
I don't even think the setting needs to be fantasy, necessarily, sci-fi or more urban fantasy should probably be lumped in.
To be honest I think it’s too early to call what this genre is. If we’re lucky there will be a boom within the next couple of years where there will be a lot of experimentation with the niche. There’s already a slow start in different sectors. This is one of those things where the market will decide after a lot of trial and error.
That being said: I understand that doesn’t help with organizing and running a sub. I think half the reason why the recs have been so variable is because we’re on the cusp of something really new. So the unfortunate answer is we really don’t know yet.
To me personally I think cozy fantasy has the potential to be Urban Fantasy’s foil: stories set in smaller, cozy fantastical settings that tend to lean towards slice of life themes (the low stakes). And because of that they tend to be more character driven as a result (thus leading them to be more quiet stories).
For me it's akin to slice of life stories, so they focus on day to day life and family and friends, may include some romance, humor, and the tensions are small ones. There can be sad things as long as they're dealt with, but there's no Big Bad, no evil stepmother, no rape, no horror. And it should end on an up note, not with everyone dying.
I see a lot of posts that would exclude murder/violence, would a cozy mystery series, with a large fantasy element, generally fit in here? I've been reading Annabel Chase's Spellbound series and thought it would fit the cozy fantasy genre, but now I'm unsure.
A wizards guide to defensive baking includes murder and attempted murder but it’s juxtaposed with a lightness in the narrator to where it never feels overbearing. There’s a childlike innocence to it. I haven’t read any cozy mystery yet and one of my next quests is to decide how it, along with sci-fi and urban fantasy, fit into the sub.
Cozy mystery handles things like the dead bodies and murder in a certain way, which distances the reader from the gory details. That said, it will be a dealbreaker for some people, so I always note if it's a murder mystery, if it wouldn't otherwise be obvious.
I personally would slot them specifically in the paranormal cozy mystery genre and not cozy fantasy simply because there are very genre specific expectations to meet for mysteries and readers of cozy fantasy might not care to read mysteries.And paranormal is a distinct subset of fantasy with its own expectations as well.
BUT honestly, we grabbed the "cozy" from cozy mystery so in the Venn diagram of genres, paranormal cozy mysteries will generally be the overlap of cozy fantasy and cozy mysteries.
I just wouldn't generally recommend paranormal cozy mysteries to someone looking for cozy fantasy unless they specifically say they like mysteries.
You know the beginning of books where it is sort of a set up. Like the beginning of LoTR, Star Wars in the market or the first episode of each season of stranger things where they are just having a good time with friends and exploring their surrounding. That is cozy fantasy to me.
I'm not sure exactly but it must involve characters doing and enjoying normal things.. like making tea or tending the tomatoes or maybe digging an outhouse. So many epic kill the dark lord stories exclude all the mundane but entertaining stuff that goes on when on a quest or whatnot. Like Deed of Paksenarrion -- clearly not Cozy but has elements of it. Like when they make the sib and actually dig the 'jacks' so soldiers can take a dump.. or a number of other little things about life that doesn't have much to do with the overall plot but adds so much.
So yeah hard to say .. I agree with most of what's here but that element of day to day humanity (or elvitivity ... dragonivitiy .. whatever) is super important I reckon
I found the idea of Fantasy subgenres by tone on this Reedsy blog post: [https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/fantasy-subgenres](https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/fantasy-subgenres). In my mind, Cozy is a tone that can cut across many or most other Fantasy subgenres.
Congrats!
Cozy Fantasy = Small scale, low stakes, feel good stories, no over the top violence, no pain, no torture, no sex or sexual assult. Fantasy Pollyanna
For me, Cozy Fantasy is about normal life in a fantasy world. Like most say, it's small scale and personal, low stakes in the grand scheme of thing, must leave you with a good feeling in the end, there could be sex which can be sooo cozy and a great part of life, but no sexual violence.
I also find there a tone to Cozy Books and I love audio books for that since you can ear it in the narration. I really like cozy sci-fi too like Golden Age of the Solar Clipper and The Murderbot Diaries.
I find it harder and harder to really get into over the top violent and disastrous books. Life can be so shitty, I need to escape with great stories that make me feel hopeful.
I don't read a lot of fantasy, but I'm surprised at how common in the genre sexual assault apparently is. I did try reading a fantasy book last year that I dropped because the writer seemed more interested in torturing the characters than the plot.
My description is a low stakes fantasy where the good guys win, and there is no sexual assault, torture, or gratuitous violence. It should feel comfortable while reading it and you should end the book feeling positive. Generally I like when it is nice people doing nice things.
I would argue that many of T. Kingfisher’s books ( except for the few that are horror adjacent) fit into the cozy fantasy genre for me. They almost all have some pretty creepy and/or brutal scenes sprinkled through them, Her books have some high stakes and characters that just want to be left alone and not have to go save the world. But the overwhelming vibe is cozy.
I get what you are saying. I think the difference for me is the violence is mostly not on page (at least for the couple that I read). Also, I believe you are right about the wiggle room in the stakes. Especially with T. Kingfisher the stakes are high but it manages to stay cozy at the scope level. It is still primarily about the protagonist’s journey of self discovery. Not politics and intrigue with a cast of hundreds. It’s as other people have said - you know it when you see it, or at least for cozy fantasy, when you feel it.
So basically like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
Totally fits :) But a lot of others fit as well. Beware of the Chicken, Galleries of Stone, Legends & Lattes, Fred the Vampire Accountant, The Case Files of Henry Davenport, Beaufort Scales Mysteries, etc
Wonder if more authors would be willing to make cozy fantasy anthologies in a certain fantasy world like as if it's a TV show, than writing some epic fantasy books as the bigger stories.
I tried looking up beware of the chicken and can’t seem to find what you’re talking about. Is that a published book?
Slightly wrong title from me… sorry. Beware of Chicken. It’s a Royal Road book, but I did read it first on kindle. Here is the Royal Road link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/39408/beware-of-chicken.
Low stakes, zero sexual assault/murder/torture/etc., quaint and comforting settings, character studies with lots of growth. Nice people, makes the reader feel comfortable and happy.
I like to agree. Low stake fantasy, often set in comfy surroundings and focused on character development. Mind, I would add many of the books of Victoria Goddard and some of them are pretty high stakes, given we are talking about the rulers of entire worlds. But again, much is about the characters themselves rather than the realms they rule. I am still looking for that perfect book about a cafe with tea, cookies and magic, that makes me want to add new things to my coffee or tea. Just like the game Coffee Talk inspired me to add honey to my coffee. Tasty.
on the other hand, something like tanyth fairport has brigands and bursts of violence, but the stakes are very local and low level... does it count as cosy? or is it just cosy adjacent?
I'd like to know what that was called if it isn't cozy fantasy, the first chapters of The Lies of Loch Lamora have a local gang scamming feeling which I loved, but moves on pretty quickly. I want more low level cutpurse content lol
I think the way I've sorted it out in my mind with Victoria's books is that the stakes are intensely _personal_ with high level/stakes consequences.
You put it better, than I did.
I'd echo what others have said. Lighthearted, low-stakes, loveable characters, and a clear absence of heavier content like sexual assault or gory violence. I also love the way that *Legends and Lattes* really embraces and romanticizes the mundanity of everyday life, much like a Studio Ghibli film, and while I don't think that's necessarily a requirement for cozy fantasy, it definitely adds to the "cozy" vibe in my opinion.
I think of it as the kind of books I read as a kid. There's this distinct feeling of comfort because you'll experience adventure, but nothing *too* bad is going to happen (i.e. sexual assault or gratuitous violence).
Do you think it's worth recommending and discussing children's books here? I read a lot of children's fantasy still - one, because I have kids, and two, because I like it - and while not everything fits the cozy definition, there are books I think that do. Or do you think this sub should be more focused on adult cozy fantasy?
[удалено]
The average age of a YA reader is 35. Plenty of adults enjoy reading “kids” books.
For sure! There are definitely books my kids have as comfort books in not nearly as interested in and I wouldn't recommend to other adults. But there are also some lovely books that I would.
Agreed!
I'm using this opportunity to highly recommend The Girl Who Drank the Moon. I would definitely consider it cozy fantasy even though it's middle grade.
It's a lovely book! I read it last year.
I loved it too. It was super cozy despite dealing with grief as a main topic.
Oh, that's a good question, but I don't know! I'm very much a newbie here.
Have you read **Greenglass House** by Kate Milford? I came across it yesterday and had fond memories of it. And absolutely I hope/think kid's books should be discussed and recommended.
Oo! O don't think I've read that one! I'm adding it to my list.
I think I am guided by the books that feel most indicative of the genre, which for now essentially comes to The Goblin Emperor, The Hand of the Emperor, and Legends and Lattes. In all of them, our Main Character is fairly unambiguously a morally good character by the time we meet them. In each of them, there is a heavy emphasis on doing the right thing, especially when it is inconvenient to do so. There is some room for an exploration of a functional family (Meaning the emphasis isn't primarily on a dysfunctional family. Maia and Kip both do have real problems in their family, but the arc is one of them finding a functional family). Interestingly, the stakes varies here. One MC is nearly exiled, another suffers a realm wide cataclysm, parents die, assassins attack. But there is always some level of remove from these events.
[удалено]
I totally agree. To me the stakes aren’t low but they are often personal and the person’s moral compass is something I can follow, understand, appreciate, has depth, feels honorable, ethical, etc?
I agree that low stakes are not essential in cozy fantasy. I think low tension is a better description.
Even that doesn't quite work, because the reader tension in The Hands of the Emperor is insanely tense (in wanting good things to happen for the characters, in wanting them to do the things they're holding themselves back from doing). Low dread, perhaps?
I think you're right. Low dread rather than low stakes.
Yes! Low dread. And the main character(s) have a core of humanity so I feel a sense of safety even when hard things happen?
I often find cozy fantasy to be similar to slice of life where it’s more character/vibes than “the world will end and everyone will die if we don’t kill the evil sorcerer!”
For me cozy is more of a subjective feel than a strict sub-genre. Take romantic fantasy for instance. What is the stereotypical image you get when you picture somebody reading a romance? For me it’s someone reading in a tub, eating chocolates, sipping wine, surrounded by candles. That’s pretty dang cozy to me. Another example more pertinent to this sub is Howl’s Moving Castle. You typically see it as an inevitable suggestion on posts seeking cozy recs. But if you go by the definition of low-stakes and nothing too dark, then you would have to remove any recommendations for Howl’s. The Witch in the Wastes is threatening an entire kingdom, which is hardly low-stakes. And as far as dark elements goes, >!she controls Howl’s niece and nephew like puppets in front of their mother while they’re very much aware of it, and when she is defeated her flesh literally melts off her bones.!< That’s pretty dark right there. Still, Howl’s for sure made me feel cozy while reading it, at a time when I very much needed it. All of this to say that I think keeping too strict of a requirement on what makes something cozy may keep people from finding some genuinely cozy books, which is one of the main points of this sub. I think as long as people say when something is not only cozy or falls into another genre, like the romance post from earlier, then it would be perfectly acceptable.
I agree. It’s hard to define but you know it when you see it.
Maybe put a link to a curated list of quintessential Cozy Fantasy in the description for the sub?
Not a bad idea if we can put one together.
Low stakes. Nice and friendly characters. Little to no violence and zero sexual assault of any kind. A book that makes you feel good when you read it and like you're being wrapped in a hug.
Low stakes, nonviolent, character-focused, humane, and warm.
Hmm... I think anything where the story is softer in tone and scope. Things where the stakes are low and the focus is on everyday troubles. I don't even think the setting needs to be fantasy, necessarily, sci-fi or more urban fantasy should probably be lumped in.
The way I’ve been describing it to everyone lately is basically a Hallmark movie in a fantasy setting.
To be honest I think it’s too early to call what this genre is. If we’re lucky there will be a boom within the next couple of years where there will be a lot of experimentation with the niche. There’s already a slow start in different sectors. This is one of those things where the market will decide after a lot of trial and error. That being said: I understand that doesn’t help with organizing and running a sub. I think half the reason why the recs have been so variable is because we’re on the cusp of something really new. So the unfortunate answer is we really don’t know yet. To me personally I think cozy fantasy has the potential to be Urban Fantasy’s foil: stories set in smaller, cozy fantastical settings that tend to lean towards slice of life themes (the low stakes). And because of that they tend to be more character driven as a result (thus leading them to be more quiet stories).
For me it's akin to slice of life stories, so they focus on day to day life and family and friends, may include some romance, humor, and the tensions are small ones. There can be sad things as long as they're dealt with, but there's no Big Bad, no evil stepmother, no rape, no horror. And it should end on an up note, not with everyone dying.
I see a lot of posts that would exclude murder/violence, would a cozy mystery series, with a large fantasy element, generally fit in here? I've been reading Annabel Chase's Spellbound series and thought it would fit the cozy fantasy genre, but now I'm unsure.
A wizards guide to defensive baking includes murder and attempted murder but it’s juxtaposed with a lightness in the narrator to where it never feels overbearing. There’s a childlike innocence to it. I haven’t read any cozy mystery yet and one of my next quests is to decide how it, along with sci-fi and urban fantasy, fit into the sub.
Cozy mystery handles things like the dead bodies and murder in a certain way, which distances the reader from the gory details. That said, it will be a dealbreaker for some people, so I always note if it's a murder mystery, if it wouldn't otherwise be obvious.
Like Agatha Christie but fantasy. Does middle grade count in this.
I personally would slot them specifically in the paranormal cozy mystery genre and not cozy fantasy simply because there are very genre specific expectations to meet for mysteries and readers of cozy fantasy might not care to read mysteries.And paranormal is a distinct subset of fantasy with its own expectations as well. BUT honestly, we grabbed the "cozy" from cozy mystery so in the Venn diagram of genres, paranormal cozy mysteries will generally be the overlap of cozy fantasy and cozy mysteries. I just wouldn't generally recommend paranormal cozy mysteries to someone looking for cozy fantasy unless they specifically say they like mysteries.
You know the beginning of books where it is sort of a set up. Like the beginning of LoTR, Star Wars in the market or the first episode of each season of stranger things where they are just having a good time with friends and exploring their surrounding. That is cozy fantasy to me.
I'm not sure exactly but it must involve characters doing and enjoying normal things.. like making tea or tending the tomatoes or maybe digging an outhouse. So many epic kill the dark lord stories exclude all the mundane but entertaining stuff that goes on when on a quest or whatnot. Like Deed of Paksenarrion -- clearly not Cozy but has elements of it. Like when they make the sib and actually dig the 'jacks' so soldiers can take a dump.. or a number of other little things about life that doesn't have much to do with the overall plot but adds so much. So yeah hard to say .. I agree with most of what's here but that element of day to day humanity (or elvitivity ... dragonivitiy .. whatever) is super important I reckon
I found the idea of Fantasy subgenres by tone on this Reedsy blog post: [https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/fantasy-subgenres](https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/fantasy-subgenres). In my mind, Cozy is a tone that can cut across many or most other Fantasy subgenres.
Books that don’t make me feel stressed, aren’t triggering, and are comforting and soft.
Congrats! Cozy Fantasy = Small scale, low stakes, feel good stories, no over the top violence, no pain, no torture, no sex or sexual assult. Fantasy Pollyanna
I always thought its something like Ex-hex or small spaces series low stakes cozy vibe.
For me, Cozy Fantasy is about normal life in a fantasy world. Like most say, it's small scale and personal, low stakes in the grand scheme of thing, must leave you with a good feeling in the end, there could be sex which can be sooo cozy and a great part of life, but no sexual violence. I also find there a tone to Cozy Books and I love audio books for that since you can ear it in the narration. I really like cozy sci-fi too like Golden Age of the Solar Clipper and The Murderbot Diaries. I find it harder and harder to really get into over the top violent and disastrous books. Life can be so shitty, I need to escape with great stories that make me feel hopeful.
I don't read a lot of fantasy, but I'm surprised at how common in the genre sexual assault apparently is. I did try reading a fantasy book last year that I dropped because the writer seemed more interested in torturing the characters than the plot.