Let’s face it. We’re living in a hellscape.
When you’re getting hit with the worst news you’ve ever heard over and over again, I think it’s fair to choose media that lets you relax your shoulders for a bit. It’s called balance.
These kind of books are called “cozy”. Low stakes. There is action, otherwise there would be no book, but it’s at a pretty slow pace. In the end, everything works out. This formula is not exclusive to fantasy, but if you’re like me, you like to see a little magic in any book you read.
The world of Alyssium Sarah Beth Durst creates in her Spellshop series is exactly that. Both books are like a little welcoming hug, high on whimsy and low on insurmountable odds. However, there are troubles to overcome and they do echo the troubles we experience in our corporeal realm. To me, this is the work of speculative fiction – a safe space to process.
In The Spellshop, a librarian and their sentient plant rescue spell books from their burning library during a time of political unrest and open a secret spellshop in her small hometown. She uses illegal magic to improve life for her and her neighbors. This book really calls to mind the current wave of book bans and censorship we’re seeing in the U.S. and, as is the rules of a cozy, we get to see a happy ending.
In The Enchanted Greenhouse, is about another librarian, Terlu, who is turned into a statue for using illegal magic. She awakens on an island filled with greenhouses. The island’s gardener has sent for a wizard to figure out what has gone wrong with the greenhouses whose enchantments are failing one by one. Terlu accidentally brings a resurrection rose back to life and thus begins the adventure to fix the greenhouses and save the island.
There are cats with wings. There are honey cakes. There are dragons with treasures. These books are cottagecore on steroids and sometimes, that’s exactly what you need.