Genre: Fantasy

The Keeper of Magical Things, by Julie Leong

A lovely, warm, cozy sapphic fantasy about kindness, community, and learning to be your true self

Sweep of the Heart, by Ilona Andrews (Graphic Audio edition)

The latest Innkeeper novel was a blast; I could hardly stop listening! After Sean’s mentor Wilmos is kidnapped, Dina, Sean, and Gertrude Hunt Inn must host an intergalactic Bachelor competition to gain access to the planet where they believe Wilmos is being held.

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping, by Sangu Mandanna

What a lovely, warm hug of a book! Cozy, heartwarming, and enchanting (but never saccharine or twee), A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping centers around found family, love, acceptance, healing, and the strength of rebuilding yourself after disaster.

Harmonic Pleasure, by Celia Lake

I loved this latest Albion novel from Celia Lake, which features music, magic, history, and romance in 1920s London.

Carry On, by Celia Lake

I really love this quiet, thoughtful, slow-paced (but never dull) novel. Technically, it is a historical fantasy romance, but the romance is only one facet of the relationship between the main characters, and only one facet of the plot. There’s also a bit of a mystery threaded throughout, although the book isn’t quite a mystery novel, either.

Weaving Hope, by Celia Lake

Weaving Hope is a very gentle, very slow-burn closed-door romance set in magical 1920s Britain.

The Teller of Small Fortunes, by Julie Leong

I loved The Teller of Small Tales, Julie Leong’s debut novel. It’s a cozy quest fantasy with a found-family vibe, set in a vaguely British renaissance-era world.

Buried Deep and Other Stories, by Naomi Novik

Naomi Novik’s Buried Deep and Other Stories is a stellar collection of short fiction that displays all of her skill as a writer as well as the breadth of her imagination. I read it slowly, savoring each story.

Wooing the Witch Queen, by Stephanie Burgis

Wooing the Witch Queen was an absolute delight, from its sweet, sensitive, traumatized cinnamon-roll hero to its introverted, reclusive, but decidedly not evil heroine.

On the Edge, by Ilona Andrews

It took me a little while to get into On the Edge, but once I did, I was totally hooked. This paranormal romance has great worldbuilding, compelling characters, external threats and internal conflicts that each inform and heighten the other, and a romantic pairing that I was initially dubious about and ended up loving.