Category: Book Recommendations

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:

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

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

Redwall by Brian Jacques

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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The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

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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A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

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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Nettle and Bone by T Kingfisher

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.

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What cozy read are you excited to check out this month?

Happy Wheel of Time day! If you’re like me, then you’ve probably been obsessing about this show a few years ago when they actually made the announcement that it was going to be a show. But the happy day is here and I know we’re all going to rush and see what this is all about.

I’ve been reading lately that the show is “the next Game of Thrones,” which is my least favorite way to describe any high fantasy. In fact, it doesn’t make sense for Wheel of Time because the books written by Robert Jordan predate Game of Thrones. If anything, Game of Thrones is the next Wheel of Time.

The Wheel of Time show combines the first three books within the series, but I would highly recommend checking out the first one, The Eye of the World. It’s an incredible novel and if the show wasn’t based on these books, I would have added it. But if you’d rather read something else, here’s some other great books to read after finishing Wheel of Time!

The Lord of the Rings by J RR Tolkien

This one isn’t surprising especially since The Eye of the World is an homage to Tolkien’s work to create this genre of book. Filled with reluctant heroes, adventures across massive landscapes, the deep story of a world beyond what you read on the page. It’s no wonder Robert Jordan felt the need to page homage.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.

From Sauron’s fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spread far and wide. Sauron gathered all the Great Rings to him, but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.

When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.

The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.

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Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

If you loved Egwene and Nynaeve and the magical powers held by the women in this world, then I highly recommend Samantha Shannon’s epic Priory of the Orange Tree. Filled with females with magical powers, dragons, and a fantasy adventure you won’t forget, it will definitely keep that WOT high after you’ve finished the series.

A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

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The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Robert Jordan sadly wasn’t able to finish his epic series before passing. However, Brandon Sanderson was appointed to finish it for him after he died. The final two books in the Wheel of Time series were written by him, but Brandon Sanderson is also a great author on his own. His series, The Stormlight Archive, is only on its fourth book, but I truly recommend The Way of Kings to keep your Wheel of Time feels going.

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan’s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.

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Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

I think of Wheel of Time as a very character development story. You follow along with these five friends and see how they go from naive young people and turn into the heroes of their time. Of course, there’s some reluctance to that position from each of them and I thought Assassin’s Apprentice was a great story to compliment that theme.

In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a walking enigma.

Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals – the old art known as the Wit – gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.

So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.

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The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter

Of course, if you’re the chosen one, it comes with a lot of responsibilities. The chosen one trope is huge in the Wheel of Time and it’s also big in The Rage of Dragons. I highly recommend this one, especially since Evan Winter was inspired to write his book from reading Robert Jordan as a kid.

The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable fight for almost two hundred years. Their society has been built around war and only war. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine.

Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He’s going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn’t get the chance. Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He’ll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him.

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