While I know everyone loves October for the spooky reads and December for the holiday reads, lonely November needs some love and what better way to celebrate this month between two big holidays (in most countries. The US has Thanksgiving) than with some super cozy books.
Grab yourself a cup of hot cider or a hot cocoa and get ready to cozy up with these gems:
This is legit the only book I’ve loved that was recommended to me by TikTok. It’s a massive comfort with a low stakes and a gaggle of quirky fantasy creatures who open a coffee shop together. If you love people working together towards a similar goal and fighting against those who are willing to destroy it (lightly, nothing too heavy here), I totally recommend this one.
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.
Find it on Amazon | Find it on Bookshop.org
I recently read this one and I 100% recommend it to folks who have read it as a kid and revisiting it for this time of year. With its rich food descriptions, heroic little critters, and a great big adventure to save Redwall, I think that anyone of any age can sit back and enjoy the simple majesty of this classic story!
Welcome to Mossflower Wood, where the gentle mice have gathered to celebrate a year of peace and abundance. All is well…until a sinister shadow falls across the ancient stone abbey of Redwall. It is rumored that Cluny is coming—Cluny, the terrible one-eyed rat and his savage horde—Cluny, who has vowed to conquer Redwall Abbey! The only hope for the besieged mice lies in the lost sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior. And so begins the epic quest of a bumbling young apprentice—a courageous mouse who would rise up, fight back…and become a legend himself.
Perfect for fans of T. A. Barron’s Merlin saga, John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series, and J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series.
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While a lot of people equate this time of year with The Lord of the Rings, I find The Hobbit to be a much cozier, more low stakes story to really immerse themselves in. What better way to find comfort than in the tiny tale of young Bilbo Baggins as he journeys off to a new world only to find himself on an adventure of a lifetime. I absolutely love this story and happily rereading it this November.
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” So begins one of the most beloved and delightful tales in the English language—Tolkien’s prelude to The Lord of the Rings. Set in the imaginary world of Middle-earth, at once a classic myth and a modern fairy tale, The Hobbit is one of literature’s most enduring and well-loved novels.
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.
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Something about the Scottish countryside always screams cozy for me and this one inspired by the Scottish tradition will whisk you away to an island divided into two groups as you follow a young bard who returns home for the first time in a long time. The magic is real in this book, but its pacing will bring those cozy vibes you may be hoping for with this list!
Jack Tamerlaine hasn’t stepped foot on Cadence in ten long years, content to study music at the mainland university. But when young girls start disappearing from the isle, Jack is summoned home to help find them. Enchantments run deep on Cadence: gossip is carried by the wind, plaid shawls can be as strong as armor, and the smallest cut of a knife can instill fathomless fear. The capricious spirits that rule the isle by fire, water, earth, and wind find mirth in the lives of the humans who call the land home. Adaira, heiress of the east and Jack’s childhood enemy, knows the spirits only answer to a bard’s music, and she hopes Jack can draw them forth by song, enticing them to return the missing girls.
As Jack and Adaira reluctantly work together, they find they make better allies than rivals as their partnership turns into something more. But with each passing song, it becomes apparent the trouble with the spirits is far more sinister than they first expected, and an older, darker secret about Cadence lurks beneath the surface, threatening to undo them all.
With unforgettable characters, a fast-paced plot, and compelling world building, A River Enchanted is a stirring story of duty, love, and the power of true partnership, and marks Rebecca Ross’s brilliant entry on the adult fantasy stage.
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I’m going to say the one word that this book reminds me of when I read it: Shrek. If you loved Shrek with its quirky characters on a mission to help out the kingdom, then this one is for you. With a young sister trying to save her last surviving sibling alongside a dog made of bones and an evil chicken, you’ll be whisked away to this fantasy world where it almost feels like a fun adventure fairy tale, then this one is for you!
This isn’t the kind of fairytale where the princess marries a prince.
It’s the one where she kills him.
Marra never wanted to be a hero.
As the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter, she escaped the traditional fate of princesses, to be married away for the sake of an uncaring throne. But her sister wasn’t so fortunate―and after years of silence, Marra is done watching her suffer at the hands of a powerful and abusive prince.
Seeking help for her rescue mission, Marra is offered the tools she needs, but only if she can complete three seemingly impossible tasks:
―build a dog of bones
―sew a cloak of nettles
―capture moonlight in a jar
But, as is the way in tales of princes and witches, doing the impossible is only the beginning.
Hero or not―now joined by a disgraced ex-knight, a reluctant fairy godmother, an enigmatic gravewitch and her fowl familiar―Marra might finally have the courage to save her sister, and topple a throne.
Find it on Amazon | Find it on Bookshop.org
What cozy read are you excited to check out this month?