This fun book is for readers who want some real humor in their fantasy and who don’t mind that the stakes are a little higher than many cozy fantasies. It’s also for people, myself included, who are happy to read fantasy not peppered with “thee” and “thine” and whatnot. In this story, Cinnamon runs into a demon who informs her that she’s been worshiping an evil goddess, so they set out to hunt her down. That sounds serious, but the book is a laugh riot.

Here’s the book that really brought cozy fantasy books to the map this year. If you’re truly looking for low stakes, start here. Viv, an orc barbarian, has hung up her sword. She just wants to start a coffee shop. The obstacles that threaten this business venture are more Animal Crossing than World of Warcraft. Read it for the sweet cast of characters and the dollop of romance.

This sweet book delves into magical realism, and what is cozier than feeling that magic really could suffuse our everyday lives? Sophie Go is an unaccredited matchmaker and an outcast. But she finds a community to practice her skills on: seven septuagenarian bachelors in her condo complex. Sophie can see people’s “red threads” connecting to their relationship matches, and she’s a genuine and caring person. The story does depict a toxic parent relationship, if that’s something you want to avoid. If you’re okay with that, I can guarantee you’ll be smiling page after page.

I recommend listening to this as an audiobook if that’s an option for you. It has the kinds of digressions and asides you’d get from someone spinning you a real yarn. That style is what lends this fable-like story such coziness. It’s a reimagining of a Senegalese folk tale following Paama, who leaves her foolish husband. This attracts the attention of the undying djombi, who give her something called the Chaos Stick. But whether she’s truly worthy of wielding that power is not clear to the Indigo Lord, and he wants to persuade Paama to give it back. 

Hear me out: it’s a loose You’ve Got Mail retelling, set in a world with zombies, and it’s cozy. When the lonely zombie hunter Hart sends a letter into the void, it ends up in his nemesis Mercy’s hands, and their epistolary romance ensues. Because I’m the person that I am, my favorite thing about this book was the coziness and heartfelt nature of the funerary rites that Mercy performs.

I know there are people out there who count books, bookstores, and cats among their top interests. Here’s the book for you. What would you do if a talking cat showed up at your bookstore telling you that you needed to liberate lonely, unread books from their neglectful owners? First I would be worried they’d be coming for my physical TBR, but then I’d want to join Rintaro Natsuki on this thoughtful, sweet adventure.

If you’re looking for cozy sci-fi, you need to be reading Becky Chambers. If you’re looking for cozy fantasy, this is one of those speculative books that blurs the boundary between sci-fi and fantasy. In this vision of the far future, the robots all walked off their jobs long ago, and humanity chose a different way life. When a tea monk meets one of these fabled robots, the two wrestle with the question of what humans really need. The result is positively lovely.

Coziness means different things to different people, which is why I wanted to include this book that brings some cozy horror into an urban fantasy setting. Jessamyn Teoh is back in Malaysia after college and discovers she’s being haunted by the ghost of her estranged grandmother Ah Ma. Ah Ma has a score to settle and is going to drag Jessamyn into a world of gods, gangs, and family secrets. It’s a touch darker than many of the books on this list, but if you want both thrumming rage and a wholesome relationship with a cantankerous ghost, you’ve gotta read this one.

A comfort book for lots of readers, Garden Spells boasts an absolutely enchanting old house, home to the eccentric Waverly women who are known for their magic. When the last Waverly, Sydney, returns home, she upends everyone’s lives. The family has to come together to heal,  and readers should take care if wishing to avoid domestic abuse plot lines. If you think food is magic, and you have a fondness for Practical Magic, this is definitely your flavor of cozy.

Let’s serve you up some slow burn, pining vampire cozy fantasy. It’s a historical romance between a vampire named Henry and his newly hired secretary Theophilus. It’s also an immersive slice of 18th century life for characters expressly written, per the author’s note, with ADHD and autism. While the threat of outing and/or violence for queer characters is often driving the plot in queer historicals, this book doesn’t not delve into those kinds of stakes. It’s gorgeous.

This is an urban fantasy that does have some real stakes to it, but there are plenty of elements that add coziness. One is a truly adorable animal sidekick. Another is the hilarious relationship between tattoo artist Talia and her very protective Jewish mother. Talia has encountered the fae realm after using magical ink from her hot, mysterious boss Zayn’s office. Turns out Zayn is an incubus, they have an adventure to go on, and Talia’s mom is not going to stop calling.

Just look at this cover and tell me you’re not dying to read this cottagecore fantasy. Catherine’s out of control magic has accidentally poisoned her father. To help him, she needs help from her former best friend Xavier. Their story is friends to enemies to lovers, if that’s your cup of tea. And you’ll be enchanted by the flower magic and the cast of characters you’ll wish you could hug.

Anyone looking for cozy fantasy vibes should definitely be checking out T. Kingfisher’s fantasy books as a rule. This one follows Mona, who wields magic that only works on bread. She’s got a sourdough starter as a familiar. What could be cozier? A dead body in her bakery kicks off her journey to figure out how to creatively wield her magic in order to save the day. The result is both so fun and so, so funny.

Talk about the blueprint! Any book that has been adapted by Studio Ghibli is likely to have cozy elements, and this one definitely does. It’s the captivating story of Sophie, cursed into the body of an old woman, making her way in the dramatic and Vain Howl’s house. I’m honestly not sure whether I’d recommend watching the movie first or reading the book first, because it’s not clear which one people generally prefer. But I would say you absolutely need both in your life.

You might also want to check out Books to Read if You Love Studio Ghibli, What To Read Next Based On Your Favorite Hayao Miyazaki Movie, and 11 Enchanting Books for Fans of Miyazaki Films.

If you like books that are a little spooky and very sweet, here’s a cozy middle grade fantasy you’ll love. Pitched as Coco meets Stranger Things, the book chronicles the ghostbusting hijinks of friends Lucely and Syd. They’re the ones who released the malicious spirits in the first place. Because of the strong friendships and family bonds depicted, this book really does give cozy feelings in abundance.

This book has similar cozy vibes to the beloved Studio Ghibli film Kiki’s Delivery Service. The story follows Eva, a witch-in-training who could lose her magic if she doesn’t prove herself by the time she turns 13. It’s as wholesome and precious as you can imagine a book about a young witch who summons cabbage when she means to summon flowers to be.

Also, check out these other books like Kiki’s Delivery Service.

This historical fantasy delves into the folk magic that has been the legacy of African American families for generations. Jez and Jay are twins learning about their family’s use of rootwork, and not a moment too soon, because their town is under threat. Even with some scary themes and the underlying racism that provides a backdrop to the story, the atmospheric writing will bring you the kind of coziness that helps you brace against the cruel world.

Octavia Butler’s classic series, originally published in the 1990s, consists of Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. Eerily (for contemporary readers), it begins in what was once the near-future for Butler but is now our present moment. It’s a dystopian work where the double whammy of global climate disaster and economic crisis results in the destruction of the small community protagonist Lauren grew up in. When the duology begins, Lauren is 15 years old and living with a condition called “hyperemphathy” (yup, empathy as disability — sooo many metaphors there). When her family and their community is torn asunder, Lauren demonstrates her survival and her innate and powerful leadership skills. The journey she takes is one that will have you thinking about race, class, ability, and (perhaps most importantly of all) empathy. While racism isn’t the primary focus of this duology, it’s a consistent part of the background and has important implications for the very real moment we’re living through right now.

Alright, so I’m not entirely certain I should be calling this one a series. After all, Will Do Magic for Small Change was published five years after Redwood and Wildfire and nobody seems to be talking about the two books as a set. However, where Redwood and Wildfire follows Redwood, a Black American woman, and Aidan, her male Seminole Irish performing partner, as they perform their way from Georgia to Chicago, Will Do Magic for Small Change catches up with their granddaughter Cinnamon Jones. She’s no performer, but she’s a fascinating character in a book that dives head first into violence, racism, gender, sexuality, and more. Will Do Magic is one of the most refreshing, original reads I’ve encountered in a while, not in the least because of the transatlantic links Hairston forges between Cinnamon’s life in Pittsburgh and the history of an alien called the Wanderer who appeared in West Africa in the late 1800s.

The Marrow Thieves and Hunting By Stars comprise Cherie Dimaline’s spellbinding YA series (although I hope there are are more books to come). The premise is disturbing and memorable: humankind has lost the ability to dream, with the exception of Indigenous people. The result: the Recruiters hunt Indigenous people, imprison them, and harvest their bone marrow (hence the title)…among other things. Frenchie, the young Métis protagonist, is navigating life in this dystopian landscape, wherein North America has also been ravaged by climate change. As the series unfolds, the connections between Dimaline’s SFF world and histories of settler colonial violence are undeniable.

There’s no way to do N.K. Jemisin’s multiple award–winning trilogy justice in a blurb, I’m just gonna warn you. This series was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement as well as reservation/boarding school histories of Indigenous peoples in Australia and elsewhere. In an interview with WIRED Magazine, Jemisin said the series “is, in a lot of ways, my processing the systemic racism that I live with, and see, and am trying to come to terms with.” That interest in power and systems of oppression is evident throughout the series, in which orogenes (those with the power to help control the geological instability plaguing future-Earth) are removed to a “school” called the Fulcrum where they are trained to use their powers to serve the government. Jemisin’s exploration of the intricacies of how oppression operates is one that has stuck with me far more vividly than many texts that don’t engage with SFF to explore power, racism, and oppression. And there’s a reason this series got so much critical acclaim — it’s ridiculously well written, richly conceived, and powerfully dynamic.

Don’t let the name fool you: Marie Lu’s Legend Trilogy is a four-book YA series. The first three books were published between 2011 and 2013, but in 2019 she published Rebel to bring the series up to date with political happenings. The series most obviously deals with class in its dystopian U.S. setting, but there’s a lot in there that touches on race, too (even if some of it is pretty subtle). Legend introduces readers to wealthy soon-to-be soldier June and slum-dwelling criminal (if you consider a Robin Hood figure “criminal”) Day, young teens from different walks of life in the Republic. As you might imagine, their storylines collide and there’s danger, desperation, romantic tension, and adventure. Prodigy and Champion follow the pair of teens as they navigate dangerous politics, bodily harm, and threats to their (remaining) family. Good thing Lu penned Rebel, because the original trilogy didn’t offer much by way of a conclusion. It shifts the narrative to Day’s younger brother, Eden, years in the future. Interestingly, the fourth book is set in Antarctica despite being inspired by the 2016 presidential elections and exploring “the systematic oppression of the lowest classes, who are unable to raise their status because of the lack of resources available to them.”

This YA urban fantasy series opens with Sierra planning the mural she wants to pain on a building near her home in Brooklyn. Unfortunately for her, shadowshapers (all manner of undead creatures and ghosts) descend upon the city and Sierra has to use her art to combat them. She ends up playing an important leading role in her Nuyorican community, and the subsequent books get more explicitly into the dangers Black and Brown youth face in the contemporary world. As a bonus, if you like this trilogy then you’ll be happy to know there are two additional novellas that follow characters in the same story world: Ghost Girl in the Corner and Dead Light March.

Fair warning: if you pick up The Grace of Kings (book one of Liu’s four-book Dandelion Dynasty), you’re in it for the long haul since the series weighs in at something in the realm of 3,600 pages. I’ll say this, though: it’s 100% worth it. The books each have their own distinct perspective (sometimes presenting narratives that directly contradict or challenge those from previous books), which makes sense when you consider Liu’s concept of a “silkpunk aesthetic” involved developing a “narrative structure built with elements adopted from both the Western and Chinese literary traditions.” Additionally, it demanded a lot of thought around what the world might look like “and what sort of Orientalizing pitfalls had to be avoided to thwart the expectations of the dominant Western interpretive framework.” In other words, Liu sought to develop an aesthetic for his saga that would challenge racism in literary aesthetics and readerly expectations alike. The result is incredible.

I had to list No Gods, No Monsters even though it’s the first book of a projected series and none of the others have been published at the time of this article. It’s just such a timely book. It takes a good, long look at racist violence. It kicks off with Laina struggling with grief over her brother’s death at the hands of a police officer. When a mysterious stranger provides her with footage of the shooting — footage that also reveals her brother’s ability to shapeshift — she puts it online. Things spiral from there, as you might imagine. But the resultant story is a powerful one that touches on racism and its many ripple effects (plus, you know, real monsters and secret societies and stuff).

In this alternate history novella from the acclaimed author of Black Sun and Trail of Lightning, angels and demons run rampant in the remote mining town of Goetia. Only the descendants of the Fallen are able to mine the invaluable new element known as Divinity, but they’re also scorned because of their heritage. For Fallen sisters Celeste and Mariel, this means little chance of a fair trial when Mariel is accused of murdering one of the Archangel elect who rule the town. Celeste’s only option is to represent Mariel in the trial herself to ensure she’s given a fair chance at redemption. But her ties to demonic ex-lover and overwhelming urge to protect her sister might distract her from what is really happening. I loved this angels and demons take on the Old West, which meshes so perfectly into the issues of class, discrimination, and outlaw justice.

My original Weird West favorite is this duology from author Sarah Gailey reimagining the history of the United States if they had passes a proposed bill to introduce hippos to the Mississippi. The hippo-riding cowboys who grace its pages are ready to pull the heist — excuse me, “operation” — of the ages to deal with a bayou overrun with feral hippos and stop a corrupt businessman. And Winslow Houndstooth might just have one more motive for taking this job: revenge.

In a town where barren women are often hanged as witches, a young woman decides to leave behind everything she knows and join a band of outlaws known as the Hole in the Wall Gang, led by a preacher who’s turned to crime. They’re determined to make a safe haven for outcast women like Ada but doing so will prove just as deadly as staying put. And ultimately, Ava will have to decide whether she’s willing to risk her life for a better future — for herself and for everyone like her.

“Westworld meets The Handmaid’s Tale“? Say no more. That sounds like a winning combination to me. The Good Luck Girls aren’t actually lucky at all; they’ve just been sold by desperate families into the Welcome Houses that promise to provide for them. In reality, they’re little more than brothels. But when one of them accidentally murders a man, the girls risk everything to escape and set out on a journey toward a life of freedom, justice, and maybe even a little revenge.

This is not Frankenstein as you know it. In this retelling, a young curandera is murdered by witches. But her brother, unable to lose another member of their family, brings her back with the aid of science and magic. Now, she’s incredibly powerful, but her connection to the Earth is irrevocably changed. And the witches that killed her the first time are still out there, lying in wait. Clockwork Curandera has a steampunk western feel, set in a Northern America with very different map boundaries than the ones we know today.

The west is beautiful and deadly in this atmospheric comic from renowned comic book writer Kelly Sue DeConnick. Death’s daughter rides a horse made of smoke and her story is one of retribution. A skeletal bunny recounts her story to a butterfly, but that’s not even the weirdest thing to happen in this alternate history western comic. It’s a wild, somewhat bewildering, but relentlessly beautiful ride from start to finish.

What’s better than one alternate history western? How about a whole bunch of ’em? In Nicole Givens Kurtz’s short stories, discover an Old West where pistols and magic wands go head to head, and the threads of an often horrific past meet a wild world of possibilities.

Described as a “Dust Bowl-inspired fantasy,” this novel follows a town being used as a chess game for the gods. Life in Elysium isn’t easy, but it’s better than the alternative. That is, until a girl who’s been tapped to become the successor for the town’s most powerful witch gets into a magical duel that ends catastrophically. Left to the deserts outside Elysium where cannibals supposedly roam, Sal discovers a gang of girls led by a fellow banished witch. It is their hope that a herd of magically animated scrap metal horses will save Elysium from the coming apocalypse. But with the goddesses of Life and Death against them, Sal and her new friends will have to do more than just play by the rules of the game. In order to win, they’ll have to break them.

I don’t think I have ever read a book more perfectly dark academia than this gorgeous historical fantasy novel all about a magical translation department at Oxford University. It’s also about colonialism and racism and friendship, but dark academia–obsessed language lovers are going to particularly fall head over heels for Kuang’s nuanced ideas about how words and translations can be used to imbue power.

Dark academia books don’t always have to be set in a school. Sometimes they just involve an obsession with knowledge or learning, like in The Book Eaters where vampire-like supernatural beings subsist on books — literally. As a young Book Eater, Devon is raised on fairytales, as is proper for a young girl according to her ancient family. But it doesn’t take her long to realize life as a woman among her people will be anything but a fairytale. And in order to protect her young children, she will ultimately have to team up with her enemies in order to escape from the very people meant to protect her.

In a secret society of magical academics known as the Alexandrians, six new members are chosen for initiation once every decade. It’s a prestigious offer, promising power and wealth beyond their wildest imaginings. But only five will become Alexandrians. This class of initiates includes a mind reader, a naturalist, cosmologists who can control matter with their minds, and a crime kingpin, and a rich boy who could bring about the end of the world. Five of them will become members. One of them will be eliminated. All they must do is prove they’re the best — and survive one year by each other’s sides.

The Institute of Special Technologies: a place where books are impossible to read and lessons defy memorization. Teachers go to draconian lengths to keep students in line. And yet Sascha, newly enrolled, has never wanted anything so much as to undergo the changes she begins to experience — changes that defy the dictates of matter and time.

A haunted library has claimed multiple lives in the North Tower at the Carvell College of Arts. And now that it has reopened its doors to students, the library has struck again. Lottie’s roommate, Alice, is the one to stumble into the sinister soul-splitting ritual. Lottie is determined to get to uncover the mysteries at the heart of the library murders, but can she do so before Alice’s monstrous alter ego takes over?

Is there anything more perfectly dark academia than being raised in a library? As a resident of the Great Library of Summershall, Elisabeth was raised with the knowledge that magic is dangerous and sorcerers are never to be trusted. After all, the grimoires she and the other librarians look over can come to life and wreak havoc. But when she’s accused releasing one of the library’s most dangerous grimoires, she finds herself met with two unlikely allies: a sorcerer and his demonic servant. Together they must tackle a centuries-old conspiracy that would destroy all of the Great Libraries and the world along with them.

In a special section in the Library of Hell, books that remain unfinished by their authors reside in the Unwritten Wing. As head librarian, Claire is in charge of maintaining the library and, occasionally, tracking down the restless characters that spring to life from the pages of the books in her care. So when a wayward Hero escapes his story to track down the author who never finished it, Claire must team up with a former muse and a nervous demon courier to recapture him. But what should’ve been an easy retrieval soon becomes embroiled in the battle between Heaven and Hell when an angel attacks, believing the librarians possess a book that could turn the tide and reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell, and Earth itself.

At the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities, agents work to keep the peace between the natural and the supernatural in Cairo. And Agent Fatma el-Sha’arawi is no rookie. But when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to the man who opened up the veil between humanity and magic 50 years ago, claiming to be Al-Jahiz returned to condemn the modern world, even Agent Fatma is stunned. Now, she must either prove he is an imposter before he destroys the city, or face the fact that one of the most influential figures from history has come back to wreak havoc on the present — and neither option will be pretty.

This list definitely leans fantasy, but I’d be remiss not to include this genre-blending SF/F novel set in space. A swordswoman and a necromancer must join forces on a deadly venture to create the Emperor’s next immortal servant. It will take all of their wits and skills to stay alive. The only problem? Gideon and Harrowhark are sworn enemies who have been at each others throats since childhood. Winning means eternal glory. Failure will result in certain death. But no pressure, right?

At Godbole University, students are trained in the art of slipping between dimensions. After being accepted, Delaney Meyers-Petrov is ready for the opportunity to be seen as more than just a Deaf girl with something to prove. But Delaney’s talents go beyond the average Godbole student. She hears voices calling from the shadows and carries a strange connection to a fellow student who died…only to turn up resurrected at her feet almost a decade ago. And when a student turns up dead, she must team up with the very boy she’s been trying to avoid in order to uncover the university’s darkest secrets and confront a nameless enemy who could tear the universe apart.

This great graphic novel is set at Younwity’s Institute of Magic. When Abby’s best friend Noreen goes missing, her coven elders don’t seem all that concerned. “DO NOT LOOK INTO IT,” they insist. Which Abby takes to mean that she should definitely look into it, and soon uncovers a whole lot of secrets and an old case involving another missing girl.

Devastated by the death of her mother, high schooler Bree Matthews leaves for a residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill, her mother’s alma mater. Shortly after arriving, Bree is attacked by a demon, which is weird. Even weirder, the students nearby then attempt to cast a spell on Bree to make her forget the attack — and it doesn’t work. Instead, it unlocks powers she didn’t know she had, powers that are tied to Arthurian legend — and her mother. 

And this thriller adds a supernatural twist on a very real, serious societal problem. Sixteen-year-old Jake Livingston has learned to live with the fact that he sees dead people. In fact, he’s happy to help them move along to the next plane or whatever. But he has a new problem besides his racist teachers at St. Clair Prep — the violent ghost of a school shooter has begun to haunt him and he’s resistant to Jake’s attempts to get him to leave.

Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux is excited to attend her new boarding school in London, of all places! But her joy is damped when a series of murders occur that mimic the legendary serial killer Jack the Ripper. Now Rory finds herself having to watch her back everywhere she goes, but it’s not going to help. The killer seems to have a specific interest in her, and he’ll be harder to stop…because he’s already dead. (Be sure to also check out Johnson’s fabulous non-fantasy dark academia YA series that starts with Truly Devious!)

In the dystopian world of this novel, young women at the Medio School for Girls are trained in one of two areas: how to be a good wife or how to raise their husband’s children. Either of these jobs is considered a luxury in their dangerous society. Daniela Vargas is a top student, but she’s not who she says she is, and when she’s asked to spy at the school for a resistance group, she’ll have to make the most difficult choices of her life.

At Dalloway House, the centuries-old school, there resides an exclusive dorm that is haunted by the ghosts of five murdered students. Felicity Morrow once lived there, until her girlfriend died and she left school. Now she’s back to finish high school, and to continue looking into the school’s secret occult history. She meets an eager new student who wants to help Felicity with her research, to use in a book. But when old mysteries and repeat terrors begin to surface, Felicity begins to question her choice to return.

In arguably the darkest of the dark academia on this list, three best friends investigate the death of the fourth in their group at Grimrose Académie. The police has ruled Ariane’s death a suicide, but Ella, Yuki, and Rory know that there are weird things going on at the school. With their help of their new roommate, they dig into the secrets of the school and find another case of a missing girl, with possibly deadly consequences.

And last but not least, it wouldn’t be a fun list of dark academia books without some bloodsuckers! When Kat Finn is accepted to the Harcote School, the prestigious vampires-only boarding school, she thinks things are finally going her way. Instead of scraping by and drinking synthetic blood, she’ll be rubbing elbows with the children of the vampire elite. But things immediately take a terrible turn when it turns out her roommate is her ex–best friend, Taylor, who finds a body on campus.

Kei and Masaru are just a couple of Tokyo teens going about their day until they’re killed by a train — except that they wake up in a room with an orb. That orb equips them and orders them to fight wave after wave of horrifying aliens. Can they win their freedom or just die for real?

This six-issue comic book series from 2017 sees an occult hustler known only as Nameless sent on a suicide mission. An asteroid is on a collision course with Earth. It’s no mere asteroid, though. It’s a piece of a lost planet long destroyed by elder gods. What’s more, one of those horrifying gods is in the asteroid just waiting to exact revenge.

No, I’m not cheating. This book actually has nothing to do with the video game franchise.

Hester’s life was going well until an attack left her injured and stranded on a mining colony. Now she works security for the owners. When a friend of hers is murdered, Hester is in on the investigation, but what she finds sheds light on her own injury and so much more.

One man wakes up cold, naked, and wet. He’s aboard a spaceship. He doesn’t know where it’s going or why. He does know that he’s surrounded by monsters and other survivors who don’t seem much safer. He has a lot to uncover if he can survive.

Generation ships are often tales of heroism. In Ship of Fools, their enormous ship has been flying in circles looking for any sign of life, a safe place to land. When they follow a strange transmission, they find something that horrifies them deeply, and sends them hurtling toward even more space horror.

Maria has died before. She always awakens in a cloning vat, her last memory of her death. But now she’s awakened with no memory of her death. Blood streaks her vat. And she’s not the only member of her spaceship crew to have died recently. But how? Why? And who is responsible?

If you think your childhood bullying was bad, meet Kesh. Living on a colony dictated by corporate values, his classmates kidnap him and leave him in the middle of an alien rainforest. He then meets the giant, bug-like alien inhabitants. They seem friendly, but they soon trade him back to the colony as a scientific curiosity. Everything for Kesh goes from bad to worse to horrifying.

This novel is a different kind of horror, one of the mind rather than the body. Dr. Grace Park isn’t great with people. She’s more comfortable around androids. Now she’s the ship psychologist on a top-secret mission to a strange world. But when the crew starts acting strangely, human and android alike, Dr. Park might be their only hope.

A witch and a grumpy librarian fall for each other in this cozy fantasy romance all about finding your family. Mika Moon has always had to hide her powers, but when she’s offered a job training three young witches, she knows she can’t abandon them to the same lonely childhood she experienced — even if it means breaking all the rules. But as she gets to know the children’s caretakers, including a curmudgeonly librarian who resists her presence there from the very beginning, she begins to wonder why being on her own is supposedly the better option. Maybe Mika can be a witch and have a family of her own, after all.

In a house on an island, a group of young orphans could bring about the end of the world. Or, at least, that’s what Linus Baker has been told by Extremely Upper Management. Now, Linus has to determine if these dangerous children, including a gnome, a sprite, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist, are likely to bring about the end of days. Linus has always taken his job as a Case Worker seriously. But the children’s charming caretaker, Arthur Parnassus, begins to make him rethink his stance. This home is more than suitable. And maybe, just maybe, Linus is about to find out that it could welcome one more person into its hold.

This D&D-esque fantasy is the epitome of cozy fantasy: it’s set in a coffee shop, follows a former warrior trying to settle down and make a life for herself, and features relatively low-stakes drama and a dash of romance. After tiring of her life as an adventurer, Viv decides to set up the first and only coffee shop in Thune. There’s only one problem: no one here even knows what coffee is. And an old friend-turned-enemy is after the magical stone that is bringing about the luck Viv needs to make this endeavor work. Okay, maybe there are a few problems with this plan, but Viv is one determined orc who’s not about to let anything get between her and her dreams. You’ll want to visit Viv’s coffee shop for a quick bite of Thimble’s sweet treats by the end, not to mention a freshly brewed cup of Thune’s best — and only — coffee.

Banished by his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, for being two meek, Julius has been transformed from a dragon into human form. He has one month to prove to his mother that he can be the formidable predator she expects him to be, or he can forget about being a dragon forever. But in the vertical metropolis built on the ruins of old Detroit, mages run supreme and dragons are viewed as beasts to be exterminated. Julius is going to need a whole lot of help if he wants to survive — as a dragon or a human.

A young witch with a whole lot to prove sets out on her first mission away from home in this adorable fantasy novel perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli and Kiki’s Delivery Service. Eva Evergreen may only have a dash of magical abilities, but she’s determined to earn the rank of Novice Witch before her 13th birthday. Eva hopes that by helping out the coastal town of Auteri with her “semi-magical” repair shop will do the trick. But Auteri is facing real problems and they were expecting a fully-fledged witch. Will Eva be able to prove to herself — and everyone else — that even a touch of magic can be enough to make a big difference?

When an administrative error lands a baronet as the newest liaison to a magical community he previously knew nothing about, suddenly life gets turned on its head. Within the course of a day, Robin Blythe learns magic exists, meets the world’s most disagreeable coworker, and is cursed by a band of errant magicians. Now, in order to find a cure to an increasingly painful curse, Robin must work together with Edwin Courcey, a man who would just as soon erase Robin’s memories as help him. But Edwin’s hiding a complicated past of his own and an even more complicated family. And it soon becomes apparent that Robin isn’t the only one in need of saving — especially when a dangerous magical conspiracy comes to light.

In this magical realism book all about food, family, and cooking, food is literally healing. Or, Natalie’s is at least. Armed with her grandmother’s old restaurant and cookbook, she returns home to San Francisco after her estranged mother’s death with hopes of finally becoming the chef she’s always dreamed of. But as she works her way through her grandmother’s cookbooks, she realizes the recipes are anything but ordinary.

Childhood friends get a second chance at love in this sweet graphic novel about a hard-of-hearing witch and a nonbinary werewolf who come back into each others lives. Nova is a teen witch, helping out in her grandmothers’ magical bookshop. But then her childhood best friend, Tam, shows up battling a demonic horse in the woods. Tam is on the run from those would steal their wolf powers and is looking for someplace to call home. And Nova’s pretty sure she knows exactly the place.

The new royal cook is a housewitch who just wants to make some good food and keep anyone from uncovering his secrets. But people keep coming into his kitchen, and soon his past is catching up with him. Now, he’s going head to head against unruly knights, fending off a royal mage, and sussing out a spy in the castle. All that, and his love life is just starting to get complicated. What’s a magical cook to do?

After she has the misfortune to attract the ire of the Witch of the Waste, a girl named Sophie is transformed into an old woman. In order to break the spell, she needs the help of the heartless Wizard Howl who lives in an ever-moving castle. It will take managing the mercurial wizard’s moods, striking up a deal with a fire demon, and facing the Witch of the Waste head-on to return to herself. But Sophie soon realizes there’s more to Howl — and herself — than she ever could’ve imagined.

Reyna and Kianthe want only one thing: to open the coziest tea shop in all the land, filled with firelight and plants and good company. But their jobs keep getting in the way. As private guard to the queen and one of the most powerful mages in the land, they’re can’t exactly just hand in their resignations. At least, not without setting off a powerful royal temper tantrum. But after an assassination attempt, Reyna is ready to leave royal halls behind. Kianthe has just been waiting for an excuse to flee her responsibilities, and seeing her girlfriend taken hostage by an assassin is reason enough for her. Together they set out to open up the tea shop of their dreams in a town inhabited by more dragons than people. The going won’t be easy, but it will be entirely worth it.

A book about a cat and a bookshop? Could there be anything cozier? After his grandfather dies, a bookish high schooler, Rintaro Natsuki, is approached by a strange cat in the family bookstore he soon plans to close. Apparently there are books in need of saving — and only Rintaro can help the cat save them. Through a maze of books that appear at the back of the store and a series of strange mission, Rintaro is reminded of what makes books so special and why he shouldn’t give up on himself — or his grandfather’s used bookshop — just yet.

Described as a “cottagecore fantasy romance,” Flowerheart follows a girl who’s wild magical powers become untenable when they cause poisonous flowers to bloom in her father’s chest. A solution comes in the form of a difficult spell and a former friend who names an exacting price to his help. Clara would do anything to save her father — something Xavier knows all too well as her former best friend. But their bargain isn’t the only dark secret Xavier hides; a terrible darkness is consuming the queendom, and Clara’s wild, unpredictable magic may be the only thing that can stop it.

If you’re looking to fall in love with curmudgeonly robot full of sarcasm, look no further. This is one of my all-time favorite science fiction series and one my Dune and Star Wars loving dad has been listening to on repeat for basically two years straight now. (He just finishes one book in the series and goes straight into the next in one never-ending cycle.) The novels are fast-paced and full of equal parts action and humor. Truly, what more can you ask for?

A painter is blackmailed into joining a top-secret government program in this standalone SFF novel from sci-fi master Yoon Ha Lee. Jebi has no interest in rebellion, despite their sister’s rebel sympathies. But when the government threatens their sister, they suddenly find themself working for the occupying government’s war effort by helping bring an enormous mechanical dragon war machine back under control. It’s part fantasy, part science fiction, all robot excellence.

This more philosophical take on robots follows an Artificial Friend who’s seen nothing but the sun shining through the store window. Klara knows that one day she’ll be taken home by a child to become their companion, but the world outside the store walls is a mystery to her. And when she’s chosen by a sickly young girl, it soon becomes clear that what Klara doesn’t know could fill an entire book. It’s her optimism and naïveté, however, that make experiencing the world through Klara’s eyes so incredibly interesting.

On a spaceship far from home, a psychologist watches over a human and android crew. The rest of her crewmates tolerate their mechanical companions at best, and treat them with disdain at worst. But Dr. Grace Park has always been drawn to androids. And now, with her fellow crewmates disappearing and secrets about this mysterious mission slowly coming to light, they might very well be the only ones on this ship she can trust.

This is the coziest book about a robot you’ll ever read. It falls solidly into the hopepunk sub-genre that features hopeful sci-fi futures, particularly of people living in harmony with the environment. And on a planet where robots gained sentience and left society for the forests ages ago, society has learned to live in a more sustainable way. But for one tea monk searching for purpose in life, a trip to the woods leads to the meeting of a lifetime. No one has seen a robot in generations, but now Dex has. And the robots have a question: what do the humans of this world need? Dex isn’t at all sure they’re qualified to answer that question, but they’re happy to help this robot find out.

A pharmaceutical pirate fighting to keep drugs cheap is horrified when one of her latest drugs leaves a trail of dead bodies in its wake. She was fighting to make drugs accessible to the poor, but somehow this drug patent left people addicted to work and battling lethal overdoses. Hot on her trail are a stoic military agent and his military robot partner, Paladin, who will hunt down this pirate at any cost. But somehow, along the way, they find something else they never could’ve expected: love. And despite their differing reasons, all three are determined to stop a deadly and bizarre drug epidemic tearing the world apart.

What do gods and robots have in common? They’re both key players in this book. Between a booming genetic engineering industry and a renewable energy infrastructure, the future is looking promising in South Africa — but a washed up demigoddess and an emerging AI uprising could spell disaster for the entire country. That is, unless a young teen with the ability to control minds, a powerful Zulu girl, a pop star, and a politician with some serious mommy issues can stop it.

When a bodyguard’s client is killed right in front of her by a terrorist organization, she is drawn back into government work by the very government who betrayed her in order to take them down. The Machinehood has offered humanity an ultimatum: quit taking the pills that help humans survive and compete against artificial intelligence in the gig economy or the attacks will continue. But the Machinehood aren’t some group of Luddites; they seem to be part human, part machine, a combination the world has never seen. But who are they really? And is stopping pill production all they want? For once, Welga Ramirez is uniquely qualified to find out.

Amélie Wen Zhao is back with a new Chinese mythology–inspired YA fantasy! The story follows Lan: her kingdom was invaded long ago, and the colonizers outlawed their magic and killed her mother — but not before she left a strange mark on Lan’s arm, invisible to all except her. One day, she stumbles upon a practitioner named Zen. He can see the mark and recognizes her as a fellow practitioner of magic. Lan and Zen decide to travel to the last refuge of the Last Kingdom to learn the truth about the mark— and join the fight to overthrow the Elantian regime.

A sequel to Walking in Two Worlds, this emotional sci-fi is an absolute must-read. In it, Bugz is grieving her brother’s death. So once again she finds solace in the virtual world of the Floraverse. There, she’s building a bot named Waawaate. It has her brother’s image, but in reality it’s an incredible weapon against those who threaten her power. Bugz cannot wait to team up with Waawaate and Feng, but the latter is having problems of his own that threaten to turn his life upside down. That’s not the only problem though, because Waawaate is getting too powerful for Bugz to control.

The last YA SFF out in January is Maiya Ibrahim’s Spice Road! This Arabian-inspired fantasy follows Imani, a great warrior with a magical affinity for iron who’s on track to become the city’s next Shield. If only her brother’s shadow wasn’t big enough to darken her accomplishments. He had a magical obsession with spice and tried to steal it before he disappeared. He was presumed dead — until now. Imani has found signs of her brother distributing spice to other nations. She takes it upon herself (and her new team of kickass warriors) to find him and bring him back before he reveals the city’s location. What could go wrong?

I would honestly recommend N. K. Jemisin to anyone interested in fantasy, but I do think she is an excellent fit for Brandon Sanderson fans as well. She has a deep back catalog for fantasy readers who like to be consumed by single authors for long stretches of time. The urban fantasy books set in New York City, The Great Cities, is an excellent option for fans of multiple points of view coming together seamlessly to defeat the big bad. The Broken Earth Trilogy, The Inheritance Trilogy, and The Dreamblood Duology are all full of empires that rise and fall over thousands of years, powerful gods, battles for territory, and individuals resisting oppression at the center of it all. That is to say, if you like Sanderson’s epic worldbuilding and wonderful characters, Jemisin is an excellent option for you.

Tasha Suri is a British Punjabi author who writes South Asian–inspired fantasy novels that absolutely capture the big stakes, big magic, big empire-level government on-the-line energy Sanderson has in his adult high fantasy series. Her high fantasy series, The Burning Kingdoms and Empire of Sand, both interrogate the effects colonial rule has on the native magic systems and religious practices — often in a way where the people impacted attempt to overthrow or subvert the empire in charge. Suri’s work is perfect for fans of Sanderson’s many fantastical uprisings.

Although Saara El-Arifi is a 2022 debut author, I can already tell she is someone the fantasy world should fall in love with. The Final Strife is the first book in an epic fantasy trilogy inspired by her Ghanaian and Arabian heritage. The series is absolutely perfect for fans of Mistborn’s Vin and the crew she works with to overthrow the Lord Ruler. El-Arifi’s first novel not only has a revolution waiting to overthrow the ruling class but also an unlikely chosen one. The whole thing is a lovely ride (and it’s sapphic too).

M. K. England is really my recommendation for fans of The Skyward Series. They write queer YA sci-fi that will knock your socks off. The Disasters perfectly captures the energy of the unlikely group of pilots at Skyward flight academy. Then, Spellhacker is for everyone who loves the heist energy from Cytonic. In general, they are just great at building large casts of YA characters you immediately understand and fall in love with. Then they put them through the most life-threatening scenarios that could save or destroy their communities. Truly excellent all around.

The Cas Russell Series by S.L. Huang is tailor-made for fans of Legion. Listen, I know the Legion fanbase might not be incredibly large, but if you are a part of it, it is your lucky day. The trilogy of Sanderson’s sci-fi mystery novellas following a detective with multiple alter egos is an excellent comp for Huang’s sci-fi thrillers. The series follows an investigator who meets a gun-for-hire using her supernatural mathematical abilities to extract anything or anyone from any situation. Trust me when I say you will want to pick up an S.L. Huang book soon.

Truly, V.E. Schwab is an obvious choice for a Sanderson author comp, but they had to be included. Not only does their work span the Sanderson age range (from middle grade to YA to adult to graphic novels), but the tone and worldbuilding in their books is an excellent fit as well. The YA series I would recommend for fans of the cities and teens in The Reckoners is the Monsters of Verity series. Fans of Mistborn (and mistcloaks) will be down for the Shades of Magic series (and Kel’s coat). Also if you like Sanderson’s creative writing classes, Schwab has an excellent set of videos where they interview authors in No Write Way and discuss their writing process.

I am going to start my Patrick Rothfuss recommendation with a warning. If you start this series, I am not responsible for the fact that you may never finish it. The second book, The Wise Man’s Fear, was published in 2011 and the likelihood we will ever get a final book feels like it gets further away with every passing year. Now that that is all settled, the Kingkiller Chronicle is a great option for fans of the Cosmere. The series is told from the point of view of a magic young man who now owns a tavern but is telling a tale of a time before when he was growing up, exploring the world, and learning the extent of his power. It is a solid option for fans of Sanderson’s expansive high fantasy worlds.