Tag: cozy fantasy

Book Review: The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Cozy Fantasy
Length: 336 pages
Author: Julie Leong
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: November 5th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A wandering fortune teller finds an unexpected family in this warm and wonderful debut fantasy, perfect for readers of Travis Baldree and Sangu Mandanna.

Tao is an immigrant fortune teller, traveling between villages with just her trusty mule for company. She only tells “small” fortunes: whether it will hail next week; which boy the barmaid will kiss; when the cow will calve. She knows from bitter experience that big fortunes come with big consequences…

Even if it’s a lonely life, it’s better than the one she left behind. But a small fortune unexpectedly becomes something more when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon, they’re joined by a baker with a knead for adventure, and—of course—a slightly magical cat.

Tao sets down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as she lowers her walls, the shadows of her past are closing in—and she’ll have to decide whether to risk everything to preserve the family she never thought she could have.

Thank you Berkley for the gifted copy.

IT WAS FINE.

I’m realizing I am someone who wants to love cozy fantasy but that I really need some dark and tense action to stay fully connected to a story. This book is charming, and I didn’t have glaring issues. I just never became invested enough.

The plot felt a bit meandering and like scenes were added to get to a certain page count. I did enjoy the characters and the rag-tag group of souls who found each other and worked to find a lost child. There’s some good charm, and some good themes woven in too. I also liked the audiobook narration too.

Things came together well in the end and it definitely fits the cozy vibe if that’s what you’re after.

Overall audience notes:

  • Cozy Fantasy
  • Language: none – low
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: Wormwood Abbey (The Secrets of Ormdale #1) by Christina Baehr

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Cozy Historical Fantasy
Length: 208 pages
Author: Christina Baehr
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 6th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

As a Victorian clergyman’s daughter, Edith Worms has seen everything — until a mythical salamander tumbles out of the fireplace into her lap. When a letter arrives from estranged relatives, Edith is swept away to a crumbling gothic Abbey in the wilds of Yorkshire.

Wormwood Abbey isn’t just full of curious beasts and ancient family secrets: there’s also a tall, dark, and entirely too handsome neighbour who is strangely reluctant for her to leave.

An unexpected bond with her prickly cousin Gwendolyn gives Edith a reason to stay in this strange world — especially when it turns out that Edith herself may have a role in guarding her family’s legacy.

But not all of the mysteries of Ormdale are small enough to fit in her lap…and some of them have teeth.

WORMWOOD ABBEY, Book 1 of The Secrets of Ormdale, is a cosy gothic novel of mystery, dragons, and the perils of friendship, perfect for fans of EMILY WILDE’S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES and Maria Grace.

MIXED FEELINGS.

This wasn’t quite everything I hoped for, but also not a complete dud too? I think I do want to read book two because this one felt more like a prologue than a first book for a series. At barely 200 pages there was just a lot missing and I thought things ran dry.

I enjoyed Edith as a main character and can see her potential throughout the series. I also liked that there does seem to be a romantic plot line as the books goes on because you know your girl loves a romance.

I’m curious about the dragons and abbey and this gave some good initial inklings on those matters. It also had some light faith themes I wasn’t expecting but weren’t over done either.

Overall audience notes:

  • Cozy historical fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: low

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ALC Book Review: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Cozy Fantasy
Length: 384 pages
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: July 9th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Spellshop is a cottagecore cosy fantasy following a woman’s unexpected journey through the low-stakes market of illegal spell-selling and the high-risk business of starting over . . .

Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people, and as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn’t had to.

She and her assistant, Caz, a sentient spider plant, have spent most of the last eleven years sequestered among the empire’s precious spellbooks, protecting the magic for the city’s elite. But a revolution is brewing and when the library goes up in flames, she and Caz steal whatever books they can and flee to the faraway island where she grew up. She’s hoping to lay low and figure out a way to survive before the revolution comes looking for her. To her dismay, in addition to a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor, she finds the town in disarray.

The empire with its magic spellbooks has slowly been draining power from the island, something that Kiela is indirectly responsible for, and now she’s determined to find a way to make things right. Opening up a spell shop comes with its own risks—the consequence of sharing magic with commoners is death. And as Kiela comes to make a place for herself among the quirky townspeople, she realizes that in order to make a life for herself, she must break down the walls she has kept so high.

Perfect for fans of Travis Baldree and TJ Klune, The Spellshop is a romantic and cosy fantasy.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

OH SO COZY.

I love a great cozy fantasy and this was definitely it. The audiobook was my favorite and I loved that format, highly recommend!

This had a lovely set-up. I liked the coastal small town, and how tight knit the entire community was. There was a cute bakery and quirky characters and I feel like this really hit the nail on the head for how cozy fantasy is supposed to feel. I liked the simple nature of the plot and how much depth we got from the characters.

The little sub-plot romance was super sweet too. It had great push and pull with just a little bit of tension. I loved how they came together and worked together to keep their town safe. This was wholesome and gosh I was very much in love with the cottage vibes. And Caz?? A sentient plant?? Stop it right now, I loved him. These are the kinds of things I love seeing in books like this. Such a gem.

Overall audience notes:

  • Cozy Fantasy
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes #1) by Travis Baldree

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Cozy Fantasy
Length: 296 pages
Author: Travis Baldree
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: June 7th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

WORTH THE HYPE.

I enjoyed this quick fantasy read. I know it’s been dubbed cozy and I think that’s a great adjective for this whole read. I thought it was sweet that nobody knew what coffee was and that Viv took the chance at making her own shop to help herself and those around her do something different.

It’s a super quick audiobook (with great narration). As a heavy fantasy reader I think I was still missing that deeper plot line and overarching connection within the story. But I liked all of the nuanced characters who popped into the shop and even how they all came together when disaster struck. It was a good read, I think I’d be interested to see if there’s another book in the series. Still on I’d easily recommend to others. Legends & Lattes was a nice break and gave me those warm coffeehouse feelings.

Overall audience notes:

  • Cozy Fanasy
  • Language: some
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

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