Low Stakes (Or No Stakes) Fantasy for Some Summer Relaxation

Life is scary, and times are tough. For that reason, not everyone wants to read a big, grimdark fantasy series. Sometimes, something a little happier is just what the doctor ordered.

Cozy fantasy has exploded over the past few years, giving fans a happier way to experience the genre they love. Sometimes the setting is just simple and happy. Sometimes it takes place in a high fantasy world, but far away from the darkness where a normal story would be told. However it frames it, cozy fantasy is making itself known all over.

Feel like reading something a bit brighter? Never heard of cozy fantasy and want to give it a try? For every type of fan, here are some great cozy fantasy options to keep you warm, even when the summer sun has fallen far below the horizon.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

Image via Macmillan

What would happen if all robots were to become fed up with us? If all technology decided to up and walk away? 1000 years have passed since that event happened, and humanity has lived in low-tech, self-sustaining cities ever since. Our main character is a monk who grows tired of city life and decides to become a tea monk, traveling to the small farming communities around humanity’s outskirts, serving tea, and listening to people’s problems. One day, while traveling through the woods, the first robot anyone has seen in 1000 years comes to him with a simple question. What is it that humanity needs?

The book is a fun and meaningful exploration of what makes a good life, and what it is we need. Following this odd couple through the world is interesting and entertaining, with the problems and discussion mostly focused on the larger scale problems of what human society needs instead of danger and discord. The main character is endearing, the robot is a perfect naive outsider, and the book will just take you on a calm journey through the human psyche.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Image via Penguin Random House

A cozy book about faeries, though not the sexy kind many fantasy books seem to be about right now. The book takes place on an alternate planet, Earth, where faeries are widely accepted as real, and Emily Wilde is the foremost academic expert when it comes to them. Traveling north to investigate a type of faerie called the Hidden Ones, she becomes more entrenched in the community of the town of Hrafnsvik and more interested in her academic rival Wendell Bambleby than she expects.

For those who like the dark faerie books that are all the rage but want to tone it down a bit to cozier levels, this book will do wonders. There is a solid romance subplot, and a good chunk of mystery, tied together with a lovable academic curmudgeon for a main character. While it might lack the sex and edge that authors like Sarah J. Mass have, this book more than makes up for it in whimsy and joy.

Image via Macmillan

Legends & Lattes is by far one of the warmest, coziest books a person can choose. The story takes place at the end of an adventurer’s career when Viv, an Orc swordsman, decides to retire and open a coffee shop. Viv gathers a group of unlikely misfits to fill the roles in the coffee shop, each with their own talent that lets them blossom in the community-driven space of Viv’s coffee shop.

There is some conflict and reckoning, as any book needs, but the focus is still on the characters, their smaller issues, and their relationships that develop along the way. The book has a bit of everything, some romance, some comedy, some fantasy worldbuilding, all built into a very modern, understood setting. For someone who truly wants some warm, simple fun, Legends & Lattes is the perfect drink on a cool summer evening.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Image via Macmillan

The House in the Cerulean Sea is possibly the most popular title on this list, exploding in popularity a few summers ago. Take the X-men, then give them powers that aren’t useful in the slightest. This book takes place in an orphanage for these children, where our protagonist, Linus, has to decide if these children pose a threat to the world at large. Bonds are made, secrets are revealed, and a family starts to form.

This book drives people between happy crying and sad crying with alarming frequency, focusing on a group of children who just want to find their place in a world that doesn’t seem to want them. There’s so much charm to this cast of characters, making it nearly impossible not to be invested in their lives. If you want an emotionally intelligent book that looks at the families we make and how we find ourselves, this book will keep you hooked from page one.

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa

Image via Harper Collins

Do you love books? Do you love cats? Do you love magical cats that want to bring you to save the books they love? The Cat Who Saved Books is a magical journey through the importance of books and the many layers of meaning they can hold for us. Our protagonist, Rintaro, has inherited his grandfather’s secondhand bookstore. While it had once been his happy place, it has been nothing of the sort since his grandfather’s passing. Still, amid his sadness, a magical cat named Tiger calls on him to save books that should otherwise be enjoyed and loved.

The journey Rintaro goes on is enjoyable, often mirroring popular trials and tasks from books, movies, and other media. Through these journeys Rintaro learns of the importance of books, the memories they hold, and a little about himself. With a good amount of romance, introspection, and quick-witted comedy, the Cat Who Saved Books is a thoroughly enjoyable read.

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