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Cozy Book Series

Stephanie Opperman

• 6 min read
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Cozy Book Series
Henri Matisse, Interior with a Young Girl (Girl Reading)

Reading represents one of our most sophisticated yet accessible tools for nervous system regulation. In an age of constant stimulation and fragmented attention, books offer something incredibly valuable: an activity that simultaneously stimulates your brain and calms your body. (How reading books regulates your nervous system, Anne-Laure Le Cunff)

In the heart of summer, my reading taste shifts toward more “cozy” reads. I want to read books that feel like escapism and succeed in delivering the trifecta of being lighthearted, smart, and funny. And, when I’m lucky enough to find authors who do this well, it is icing on the cake when they continue to write more stories set in these same imaginary places. 

Characters from Studio Ghibli (image here)

The books I’m recommending below are all the first books in a series. If you try one and like it, you’ll have several more to choose from. They can also be enjoyed as stand-alone reads. All of the books have main characters who ultimately choose to stay true to themselves even if that means being misunderstood and/or seen as outsiders by their communities. They are all considered either “cozy mystery” or “cozy fantasy.” 

PBS Masterpiece, home of many cozy mystery TV series, offers these guidelines for distinguishing the genre: 

There’s no strict definition for the cozy mystery, though the main rule of thumb seems to be that the story contains no graphic violence and generally, no swearing or sex. These are more lighthearted crime narratives—you won’t be so disturbed that you need to sleep with lights on. A focus on plot and character development ensures a predictable and reassuring experience offering escapism without being too heavy. Importantly, the cozy mystery’s protagonist is an amateur sleuth who uses intellect and life experience to solve a case. Think Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. These affable amateur detectives typically have an emotional investment behind their probing. They also know their neighbor’s quirks and habits, elicit confidences, and ultimately work out the solution before law enforcement does. (The Cozy Mystery Explained) 

And Sarah Beth Durst, author of The Spellshop, describes cozy fantasy as books that have these characteristics: 

Cozy fantasy is defined by how it makes a reader feel. 

It feels like a warm hug. Or a deep breath. It feels like the sun on your face and the breeze on your bare skin. It feels like a day spent with a friend — the kind of friend that you can just be with. No judgment. No drama. Just friendship and maybe some really good cheese. 

It provides a sanctuary, a respite, an escape. (Why So Much Cozy?) 

Each of the five books below were discovered while stepping out of my comfort zone (literary fiction). They surprised me with how much I enjoyed reading them. I hope they encourage you to take a break from your routine and add something new to your TBR. 

Emily Wilde is a reserved professor conducting fieldwork on faeries. Her goal is to catalog the folklore and history of interactions with these sprites in order to establish a definitive reference guide. Along the way, her encounters with village characters, mythical creatures, and a rival academic help her to learn more about herself and the limitations of an isolated life. 

Fawcett describes the inspiration for Emily’s character: 

Emily was not so much inspired by one specific person as by a character archetype. As long as I can remember, some of my favourite characters have been what I’ve often referred to as socially clueless geniuses: characters who excel at professional or technical fields but are terrible at relationships. Think Gregory House; Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock; Spock; the list goes on. Most of these are men. I wanted to write about a woman with these traits. (From the Otherlands) 

Other books in this series: Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands,  Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales, and Emily Wilde's History of Dark Faerie (coming soon!) 

Dex (a young tea monk) and Mosscap (a lonely robot) meet each other at a time when they are both questioning their roles and futures. The conversations they have about the meaning of life are introspective and sincere, while also staying true to the notions of cozy and comforting. *Inclusive LGBTQ representation

Chambers shares the inspiration she drew on when writing this book: 

So many different bits and pieces went into Psalm. A lifelong love of robots. A strong itch to write something solarpunk. Growing up in Los Angeles and living in the woodsy middle of nowhere now. Lapsed Catholicism. Road trips with my wife. Studio Ghibli movies. A bone to pick with the idea that technology and nature are fundamentally at odds. A soft spot for tea, farms, cob houses, bugs, green roofs, and overgrown buildings. A desire to write something that serves as pure comfort for an adult audience. (Los Angeles Public Library) 

Other books in this series: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

Viv, a well-regarded warrior Orc, decides to change her lifestyle from fighting to community building. With the help of a few new friends, she builds a coffee shop where outsiders feel welcome and things have a way of working out. *Inclusive LGBTQ representation

Baldree explains his choice to cast his story with mythical creatures:

It was a conscious decision to have all the characters be something other than what they first appeared as – and making them non-human let me accomplish that much more sharply. (The Fantasy Hive) 

Other books in this series: Bookshops & Bonedust, Brigands & Breadknives

Shady Hollow is an idyllic small town complete with a coffee shop, bookstore, and holiday festivals. It’s a lot like Stars Hollow, but this time, it’s occupied by woodland creatures. When one of the town residents turns up dead, investigative reporter Vera Vixen (a fox) works to solve the case. This series combines cozy mystery and cozy fantasy in a way that is hard to describe but easy to enjoy. 

The two writers who use the collective pen name Juneau Black recount their intentions when writing cozy mysteries: 

With every location and side character we make in each book, our goal is to deepen the world, and give our readers the sense that this is a genuine place. Even though our world is technically a fantasy (real world animals rarely drink so much coffee), we want the motivations of our characters to feel real. After all, as mystery readers, we are drawn to the emotional complexity that murder or other crimes create. When somebody dies — even a fictional somebody — it stirs up strong feelings. We want to know everyone’s motives. We want to know why they’re keeping secrets. We want to believe that the detective is driven to solve the crime because of their passion for the truth. And a well-crafted, plausible world helps do all that. It doesn’t matter if the story is set in modern day New York City or the imaginary small town of Shady Hollow. (The Wickeds) 

Other books in this series: Cold Clay, Mirror Lake, Twilight Falls, Summers End, and Mockingbird Court. The authors also have two short stories that pair with the novels. 

Combining cozy mystery with comedy, Ashe creates an eclectic cast of characters who live in the fictional town of Hastings Rock, Oregon. The main character, Dash, manages to find himself implicated in the murder of his new benefactress. Navigating suspicion from the house staff, local police, and community eccentrics, he works to solve the case while also learning to appreciate the value of relationships and the satisfaction of being your true self with others. *Inclusive LGBTQ representation

On writing mysteries, Ashe admits: 

I like the intellectual side of crafting (and solving) the puzzles, and I like that mystery, as a genre, can take a position about a moral universe that is both idealized (evil deserves to be punished) and nuanced (everything has shades of gray). (The Fussy Librarian) 

Other books in this series: Dude Magnet, Doom Magnet, Broken Bird, Between You and Me,  Again with Feeling, By the Book, Evil All Along, Always Murder, Wham Line, Script Swap, Retool, and Expanded Universe. Ashe also has a companion novella series that coincides with each book. 

Happy summer reading! 

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