The Case for Cozy
When you need a break from all the adventure
Ever since the advent of self-published indie books and the prominence of Booktok, a few new genres of literature have popped up. The LitRPG genre is one of the most prominent and popular, possibly only outshined by the monolithic giant that is Romantasy.
But smashed up in the midst was a surprising little indie hit that officially kickstarted a new genre: Cozy Fantasy. A genre where the stakes aren’t always that high and the vibes are more important than the actual plot–if there is one. And the book that is largely responsible for helping kick off this new genre was Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, a book I was not a fan of but a genre which I will defend for reasons below. I’ll even offer up a few suggestions based on what I’ve read so far.
At first, the idea of a fantasy book that isn’t centered on an adventure of some sort is likely to make a lot of old schoolers curl up like a vampire running face first into a crucifix covered in garlic. Not one of those fake ass vampires from the god-awful netflix Castlevania who apparently are repulsed by crosses because their brains get scrambled when they see too many 90 degree angles.
Much as I, a child and product of the action/adventure filled 80s, will espouse my never-ending love and adoration for action, adventure, horror, romance, westerns, and everything that comes implied with genre fiction and anything produced with those labels, you would like to think I’d be similarly repulsed. And indeed, works of fiction that aren’t interesting enough catch my ire. Just see my most previous article about encouraging indie authors to get their plots moving faster. So why defend this genre wherein the actual point is a lower stakes non-adventure promising none of what I love?
The answer might surprise you. I learned it after developing a rather deep love for Harvest Moon.
For those who aren’t in the know, Harvest Moon is a series of games dating back to the SNES era. Billed as a “Farming Simulator”, the games typically let you inherit a farm, raise livestock and poultry, plant and harvest crops, forage in mines and forests, talk to the local townsfolk and usually marry and eligible bachelor or bachelorette of your choosing. It’s a simple yet fun little time that can be surprisingly addictive and a bit of a time-sink. The series got most popular with its PS1 version Welcome to Mineral Town and its N64 counterpart HM64. (Same setting but character names are changed around for some reason).
Harvest Moon became my anti-rage. It was chill vibes personified. At a time in life when I had enough stress to cripple a bull elephant, the days where I needed to sit back and zone out with some relaxing music, Harvest Moon was the game I played. There’s no fail state. There’s no end. I played several iterations of this game across the years. Though I do much prefer its fantasy counterpart Rune Factory, which adds dungeon crawling to the mix to keep things interesting.
So, when I heard books were being made with “No adventure” and low stakes, low action, my curiosity piqued. Contrary to popular belief, just because I don’t usually partake in a genre doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to read it. I’m stupidly susceptible to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and always curious when something gets super-popular–especially in the book spaces. I wonder how and why. What’s the appeal? I’ve read romance novels, harem-lit, horror, basic bitch crime thrillers, romantasy…I even read Twilight. A bit silly but not the worst book I’ve ever read.
A cozy read is about vibes. It’s about chilling out when you read, if that’s the kind of thing you aren’t turned off by. When I want a book that isn’t a big adventure with twists and turns, I usually read an autobiography. Pro-wrestlers usually have good ones. (Mick Foley and Chris Jericho both have excellent autobiographies).
In the literary zeitgeist, the popular trend since Game of Thrones of other Grimdark/Morally Grey tales took hold of the genre by the throat and throttled it like a post-partum psychosis suffering mother who hasn’t had enough sleep has been to emotionally traumatize their readers. And readers have latched onto that at times, joking how much they love being devastated and emotionally scarred. GoT, Walking Dead, and Harry Potter made big money over the past 20 years bringing you great and wonderful characters so the author can gleefully hurl them into a woodchipper.
Watching pro wrestling taught me a few things that can be implemented for writing: fight psychology, a good/bad back-and-forth dynamic. But back-to-back emotional highs without a breather is exhausting. The best example is Wrestlemania XXVIII, which billed itself as having “Four Main Events”. Ignoring that bit of silly billing, on paper it looked awesome. The problem was by the time the actual main event (aka the LAST match on the card) finally rolled around, the audience was exhausted after a six hour show and consequently the audience reaction during that match was not as raucous as you’d think it should be.
I firmly believe as a reader that palette cleanser between books is a helpful and healthy thing. I’ve even had my books described as great palette cleansers. Brian Bell of Belltube once described The Black Crown this way and I’ll take it. I’ve long said I much preferred to deliver a book that will have you smiling by the end than laughing that I emotionally crippled you with devastating character deaths or plot twists. I liked the idea of a cozy read, but upon discovering the genre I wasn’t sure if it was for me. I had to find out, so I grabbed Legends & Lattes.
Legends & Lattes has two of my favorite things in the world: Orcs and Coffee. Sadly, this book was not a grand combination of the two. I was bored to tears. Having an Orc who wanted to give up fighting was one part. The tension would rise for about five minutes when a potential threat would rear its head and would summarily and quietly drift away like a fart in front of a standing fan with only a faint whiff of what might have been. The sapphic romance sub-plot did nothing for me either. Much as I don’t mind a romantic sub-plot, I’ve given same sex romances a chance time and time again over the years. I’m officially at the point where it’s clear I don’t connect to this narrative element and now if I see it used as a book’s selling point, I’m going somewhere else with my money.
I didn’t let that deter me. I looked elsewhere. Fortunately, I had several mutuals who had their own Cozy Fantasy books and turns out the best cozy read is one with a plot that isn’t dull as dishwater. I was already well acquainted with Z.S. Diamanti’s Stone & Sky series, which are quite cozy at times in the story. It made sense that he would pen a cozy book once that trilogy wrapped up and he dropped Guard in the Garden, a cozy read about a dwarf warrior injured in war and him dealing with a new place in the world where he can’t be the warrior he once was. (Diamanti is a former military chaplain and his experience really shines in this book). Despite not having any action, it is a moving book with a personal plot. He has since written three more Cozy reads (Wagons & Wyverns, Assassins in the Alehouse, and Mages & Mayhem)
Andrew Meredith dropped a cozy novella titled Quaint Creatures: Magical & Mundane about a half-giant who runs a fantasy veterinarian office and does dungeon inspections on the side. The book has a number of seemingly disconnected events that end up tying together in a plot involving local politics that surprised me. The book was also widely imaginative and well written.
Most recently, I reviewed Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife by Deston J. Munden and it proved to be the Anti-Legends & Lattes. A much more interesting tale about an undead Orc warrior given a sort of second chance at life who rekindles his love of cooking and chooses to run a restaurant. Contrary to L&L, Deston provides a plot full of political intrigue, found family, and some much needed action that showcases Orcs doing what Orcs do best.
As a long time reader, I know that someone will jump into a genre and weave a narrative that works for me. Cozy Fantasy and Romantasy are genres I knew had to have good authors telling good stories that would interest me even if the genre isn’t necessarily for me. It’s fine for a different genre to exist, provided it’s not entirely subsuming the actual genre (which has been my long standing contention with Romantasy in general). Cozy has its share of books that look entirely uninteresting and if I can pick up on that, I will pass them by. But the genre has its merits and I’ve always been a reader who places entertainment over emotional trauma inflicted via authors.
What about you? Have you tried a Cozy Fantasy? Or any Cozy read? Let me know in the comments if you have and what you think of the genre. Until we meet again.
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John A. Douglas is an independently published author and the author of the Age of Adventures fantasy series including its two starter books: The Black Crown and The Lionheart: Icon of Justice
Cozy fantasy was a bit of a tough one for me to grasp. Like you said about L&L, I was bored to tears by them, mostly. But I found some webtoons like the Archmage's Restaurant. Superpowered isekai mage just wants to run a restaurant in the fantasy world. The drama comes from the patrons, who bring in their problems for the archmage to solve with good food and maybe a blast of top level magic. Some friends and I wrote an anthology of cozy shop stories called Little Shops of Wonders by Worlds Redeemed. It was a bit hit and miss, but we had a good time. Mostly we weren't sure what cozy fantasy even was, lol!