8 Cozy Fantasy Romance Books to Warm Your Heart This Winter

Filled with winged cats and talking plants, The Spellshop is the perfect cozy fantasy romance if you’re looking for a book that resembles farming video games like Stardew Valley. The protagonist has to learn how to farm, make jam, open a business, befriend townspeople, and save the little island she washes up on. All of that paired up with the sweetest, most comforting romance, and you have Sarah Beth Durst’s The Spellshop.

In this novel, a librarian runs off to a small island, escaping the rebellion in her city. There, she must stay hidden, alongside the books she took—the very much magical, illegal books she took. But starting a new life takes a lot, especially when she has an annoying, adorable, always-helpful neighbor.

Take a magical zoo, extinct animals, a phoenix breeding program, college arch-rivals, and love, and you get The Phoenix Keeper. This charming and cozy sapphic fantasy romance features a phoenix keeper and the hotshot griffin keeper who must team up to save an entire species. This romantic, cozy fantasy is perfect for animal lovers and burrows into your soul immediately after starting.

I was lucky enough to read an early review copy of this one, and let me tell you: You are not ready for it. Homegrown Magic is everything you want in a book: a cottagecore-inspired, cozy fantasy romance with farming game vibes. Doesn’t that sound amazing? If you have read and loved The Spellshop, this is the book for you.

The story follows Yael and Margot, who once upon a time were childhood friends. Each has a future carved out for them: Yael is the heir of their wealthy banking family, while Margot is trying to save her family’s legacy. Neither thought they would ever reunite, but one night, they do…and everything slowly shifts. This friends-to-lovers slow-burn romance is perfect for small-town romance fans!

Now, what if you want to read cozy fantasy romances featuring witches, baking, and love at first sight? Best Hex Ever is the book you’re looking for.

Best Hex Ever is about kitchen witch Dina, who has been hexed: everyone who falls in love with her immediately starts to have bad luck. When she meets Scott, she is committed to finding a way to unhex herself in order to have a chance at a future with him.

For Studio Ghibli fans, Water Moon is going to become your new favorite book. Hana Ishikawa has inherited her father’s magical pawnshop. A pawnshop that is like no other: you can sell your deepest regrets there. On her first morning as the pawnshop’s new owner, she finds the shop destroyed, an acquisition stolen, and her father missing. With a charming stranger helping her out, she journeys through the mystical world in order to find her dad.