Craving magical small towns, heartwarming spellwork, or quirky witches with soft spots for tea and second chances?
Cozy fantasy has become a balm for readers who want the charm of fantasy without the grit of epic quests. As the second half of 2025 unfolds, it brings a wave of enchanting new releases that promise delightful characters, magical hijinks, and deeply personal journeys.
Whether you’re in the mood for a romance with a fae prince or a haunted lavender field, here are 10 cozy fantasy books to add to your TBR.
1. How to Find a Nameless Fae by A.J. Lancaster
Publication Date: June 26, 2025
A.J. Lancaster returns with a standalone set in the Stariel world, where magic-laced moorlands hide ancient secrets. In this book, a bookish archivist is tasked with identifying a mysterious fae who shows up at the estate with no name, no past, and a strangely compelling smile. As the puzzle deepens, so does the connection between them.
The setting is lush with gothic ambiance and old-world charm, and the magic system builds on folklore without ever turning grim. With themes of identity, memory, and trust, this book weaves a romance that blooms slowly but tenderly. Perfect for fans of slow-burn connections and fae courts that lean whimsical rather than vicious.
Why we recommend it: If you’re the type who reads A Court of Thorns and Roses and thinks, “Yes, but make it morally ambiguous and botanically enchanting.”, this one’s your cup of dew-laced fae tea. Highly recommended for romantics with a sharp mind and a soft spot for bargains that should probably not be made in moonlit gardens.
2. The Lavender Blade: An Exorcist’s Chronicle by E.L. Deards
Publication Date: July 8, 2025
The sleepy town of Grayshire has two exports: dried lavender and eerie ghost stories. Enter Fenna, a reluctant exorcist who returns home after her grandmother’s passing, only to inherit a sword imbued with ancient magic. The sword demands she take up the mantle of Grayshire’s last lavender exorcist.
This debut balances gothic intrigue with heartfelt introspection. Fenna’s journey is less about battle and more about healing, of grief, of old family wounds, and of haunted souls. The narrative leans atmospheric and poetic, like a foggy morning in a herb garden. A gentle tale of exorcisms, found family, and rediscovering one’s calling.
Why we recommend it: This is for readers who like their exorcisms poetic, their ghosts regretful, and their blades as beautifully named as indie perfume scents. Come for the haunted abbey vibes, stay because you’re now emotionally attached to a cursed herb garden.
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3. The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam by Megan Bannen
Publication Date: July 8, 2025
Rosie, a sarcastic florist with a penchant for magical sabotage, finds herself reluctantly partnered with Adam, an uptight hedge mage, for a community gardening competition that might save their village. Of course, their magic is as incompatible as their personalities, or so it seems.
Set in a town where enchanted flora can bite back, Bannen’s newest novel delivers banter, plant-based spells, and one of the most satisfying enemies-to-lovers arcs you’ll read all year. Beneath the humor is a story about trust, compromise, and rooting yourself after loss. Think You’ve Got Mail, but with carnivorous roses.
Why we recommend it: For anyone who believes romantic sabotage is a legitimate love language. Perfect for fans of banter so sharp it should come with a tetanus warning, and slow-burns that stretch just long enough to make you yell at the page (in the best way).
4. The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley
Publication Date: July 8, 2025
Brigitte Knightley infuses this enemies-to-lovers romance with slow-burning magic, set in a divided town where witches and wizards hold a generations-old grudge. When rival shopkeepers accidentally trigger a binding charm, they’re forced to live and work side by side until they can undo the spell, or fall in love trying.
The charm (pun intended) is in the details: hexed pastries, overly enthusiastic familiars, and an entire town that’s too invested in their love life. Knightley’s dialogue sparkles with wit, and her protagonists are stubborn in the best ways. Ideal for readers who want their romance brewed slowly and served with extra sass.
Why we recommend it: This one is for readers who consider “enemies to lovers” not a trope, but a sacred rite. If you like tension you could bottle and sell, or flirtation disguised as mortal peril, you’ll feel right at home.
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5. Hit Me with Your Best Charm by Lillie Vale
Publication Date: July 15, 2025
Vale’s newest novel introduces us to Izzy, a jinxed matchmaker in a magical dating agency where everyone gets a happy ending, except her. But when a grumpy cursebreaker walks through the door with zero interest in love, Izzy might finally meet her match.
Set in a bustling, magical city with charming side characters and chaotic spellwork, this book combines rom-com energy with magical realism. Vale explores the messiness of personal growth, even as she delivers laugh-out-loud moments and swoony tension. For fans of Emily Henry and Legends & Lattes with a rom-com twist.
Why we recommend it: A fizzy, glittering romcom for those who shelve their witchy reads next to 10 Things I Hate About You. Ideal if you’re in the mood for magical mischief with heart, heat, and at least one poorly timed love spell.
6. The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst
Publication Date: July 15, 2025
After a career burnout, Lark retreats to her late aunt’s overgrown estate, only to discover the greenhouse is sentient, enchanted, and a little passive-aggressive. The more she tends to its flora, the more it reveals a legacy of magical horticulture and buried family secrets.
Durst’s storytelling is rich with charm and subtle melancholy. Lark’s relationship with the greenhouse mirrors her healing from overwork and burnout, with magical mushrooms and talking vines thrown in for good measure. A cozy fantasy about boundaries, growth, and making peace with where you come from.
Why we recommend it: A must-read for green-thumbed dreamers and lovers of stories where the plants have more personality than most humans. If you enjoy cozy magic, healing arcs, and a warm hug in literary form, step inside: no watering can required.
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Subscribe to our weekly newsletter7. A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
Publication Date: July 15, 2025
Mandanna invites readers back into a world of gentle spells and warm tea with this standalone about a young witch who inherits her grandmother’s rundown inn for magical travelers. As she attempts to revive the place, she finds herself drawn into local gossip, unexpected guests, and the magic of hospitality.
Set in a small town brimming with hidden enchantments, this story is a balm for the soul. It explores community, chosen family, and the quiet magic of making people feel welcome. Bonus points for a cinnamon roll love interest and recipes between chapters.
Why we recommend it: For those who secretly wish they could trade it all for a bewitched B&B in the countryside. If you loved Legends & Lattes and think hospitality is the ultimate form of magic, this one checks in at five enchanted stars.
8. Arcana Academy by Elise Kova
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
The first in a new series, Arcana Academy follows Mara, a late-blooming witch enrolled in a secretive school for arcane arts hidden beneath a tea shop. Her classmates include talking cats, sentient chalkboards, and one annoyingly perfect spellcaster she’s definitely not crushing on.
Kova blends classic magical school tropes with her trademark emotional depth. While full of whimsy and mischief, the novel also delves into themes of self-worth, friendship, and finding your path in unexpected places. A great pick for fans of The House in the Cerulean Sea and Carry On.
Why we recommend it: This is the book equivalent of magical academia fanfic, but with real stakes, real sass, and zero patience for chosen one clichés. Perfect for readers who want an immersive system of magic with a side of snark and secret societies.
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9. The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar
Publication Date: August 5, 2025
Louis Sachar returns with his first fantasy for adults, and it’s everything you’d hope: offbeat, touching, and just a little mysterious. Tiger Castle is a crumbling manor full of secrets, and its sole resident is a magician who may or may not be real. When a skeptical librarian is sent to catalog the estate’s collection, reality begins to unravel.
This is a cozy fantasy wrapped in magical realism. Sachar plays with memory, perception, and the blurred lines between fiction and truth. Expect understated wonder and a story that lingers long after the final page.
Why we recommend it: Equal parts whimsical and unsettling, this one’s tailor-made for those who think middle-grade can and should mess with your head a little. Think Coraline meets The Little Prince, and yes, that’s a compliment.
10. Alchemy and a Cup of Tea by Rebecca Thorne
Publication Date: August 12, 2025
What happens when a reclusive alchemist opens a tea shop in a village that doesn’t believe in magic? Chaos, gossip, and unlikely friendship. Thorne’s latest is equal parts potion-making, tea-blending, and soul-soothing storytelling.
Told in cozy vignettes, the book follows Sera as she brews remedies and rumors in equal measure. As customers share their troubles, the lines between shopkeeper and therapist blur in charming and often funny ways. A love letter to quiet lives, self-reinvention, and finding magic in the everyday.
Why we recommend it: Because sometimes, all you want is an alchemist who fixes her problems with teacups and sarcasm. Fans of warm beverages, found family, and gentle-but-smart fantasy should prepare to be charmed (pun aggressively intended).
These ten cozy fantasy books offer more than just spells and sparkles: they invite you into worlds that feel lived-in, emotionally resonant, and full of hope. Whether it’s a haunted lavender field, a sentient greenhouse, or a magical inn filled with gossip and cookies, the heart of cozy fantasy lies in its kindness.
Each of these upcoming releases promises stories where healing and humor coexist, and where the smallest moments often hold the most magic. So grab a blanket, brew your favorite tea, and prepare to be charmed.
