There exists, dear reader, a peculiar sort of magic that asks nothing more of you than to curl up beneath a soft blanket with a warm cup of something delightful. This is the realm of cozy urban fantasy—stories where enchantment dwells not in world-ending battles, but in hidden cafés, secret bookshops, and the gentle discovery that one belongs somewhere after all.
If you have ever wished to escape into pages where the stakes are low but the feelings run wonderfully deep, you have found your guide. Here are the finest cozy urban fantasy books for 2025 and 2026, each one a doorway to somewhere rather magical indeed.
What Makes a Fantasy “Cozy”?
Before we venture forth, permit me to explain what distinguishes these tales from their more perilous cousins. Cozy fantasy concerns itself with heartwarming themes—finding belonging, savouring life’s small pleasures, and discovering family among strangers. The stakes are gentler here, focused on emotional healing and the quiet triumph of kindness over conflict. Think enchanted cottages, talking familiars, and found families who gather round for tea and biscuits.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Our journey must begin with the book that launched a thousand cozy dreams. Picture, if you will, an orc barbarian named Viv who has grown rather weary of swords and bloodshed. What does she do? Why, she opens a coffee shop, of course.
In the city of Thune, where no one has the faintest notion what coffee actually is, Viv assembles the most delightful found family: a succubus with remarkable people skills, a rattkin baker whose cinnamon rolls could make angels weep, and a hob carpenter. Together they build something far more precious than any treasure won in battle—a place where everyone belongs.
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
Before Viv dreamed of lattes, she was a young mercenary wounded during a hunt for a necromancer. Packed off to the sleepy beach town of Murk to recuperate, she finds herself spending her hours in a beleaguered bookshop run by a foul-mouthed bookseller named Fern.
What follows is a lovely coming-of-age tale about a warrior who discovers that life contains more than endless battles. There are books to read, book clubs to form, summer romances to kindle, and an improbable number of skeletons to contend with. The magic lies in learning that recovery sometimes means finding new dreams.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Linus Baker is a by-the-book caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, and his life is rather ordinary indeed—until he is sent to Marsyas Island Orphanage. There he meets six extraordinary children: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, a were-Pomeranian, an unidentifiable green blob who dreams of becoming a bellhop, and young Lucy, whose father happens to be the devil himself.
The orphanage’s proprietor, the charming Arthur, makes it abundantly clear he will do anything to give his charges a loving home. As Linus spends more time on the island, he begins to question everything he once believed about what makes someone dangerous—and discovers that family often appears where we least expect it.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Mika Moon has spent her entire adult life moving every few months, never staying anywhere long enough to grow attached. Such is the lot of witches, she has been taught—too much magic in one place draws unwanted attention. Then a peculiar message arrives in her inbox, and Mika finds herself at Nowhere House.
Here dwell three orphaned young witches who need someone to teach them control, elderly caretakers bursting with love, and a rather handsome librarian named Jamie who is decidedly suspicious of her arrival. Kirkus described this tale as “exceedingly cozy and heartfelt, full of people bursting with love who have trouble expressing it due to trauma in their pasts.”
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Emily Wilde is a Cambridge professor and the foremost expert on faerie lore. She is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of the Fair Folk, and she is absolutely dreadful with people. Social gatherings terrify her far more than the most cunning fae.
When she travels to the remote village of Hrafnsvik to complete her research, she has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk—nor spending time with her insufferably charming academic rival, Wendell Bambleby. The Guardian called it “a thoroughly charming academic fairytale, complete with footnotes and a low-key grumpy romance.” The fae here are properly terrifying in the old way, but the heart of the story remains wonderfully warm.
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
Kiela has always preferred books to people, which suits her perfectly as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium. When revolution threatens and the library burns, she and her assistant—a delightfully opinionated sentient spider plant named Caz—flee to the island where she grew up.
There she discovers a handsome neighbour who cannot seem to take a hint, an island withering from the empire’s magic-draining, and an opportunity: she could use her stolen spellbooks to help. With enchanted jam recipes and illegal magic, Kiela opens the realm’s first secret spellshop—risking death to share magic with those who need it most.
The Nameless Restaurant by Tao Wong
Hidden beside dumpsters and a fire escape in Toronto sits an unmarked wooden door. Behind it lies a restaurant with no sign, dated décor, and the most magnificent food you have ever tasted. The proprietor is a grouch, the regulars are unfriendly, and there is no set menu whatsoever.
Tao Wong crafts a cozy cooking fantasy perfect for those who loved Legends & Lattes. Here Malaysian flavours mingle with gentle enchantments, and the magic lies not in grand adventures but in the transformative power of a truly good meal shared with unlikely friends.
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
Young police constable Peter Grant is having a rather ordinary evening until he encounters a ghost at a crime scene. Before he can quite understand what has happened, he finds himself apprenticed to the last wizard in England, learning magic while solving supernatural crimes across London.
This series blends police procedural with urban fantasy in the most delightful manner. The tone is wry and humorous, the magic grounded in real London history and geography. IO9 called it “the perfect blend of CSI and Harry Potter.” While the stakes can occasionally rise, the charm of Peter’s voice and the cosiness of the magical London Aaronovitch creates make this essential reading.
Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
Reyna guards the Queen. Kianthe is the most powerful mage in existence. Both of them are thoroughly exhausted by their responsibilities and dream of something simpler—a bookshop that serves tea, with worn wooden floors and plants on every table.
After an assassination attempt, Reyna decides she is quite done risking her life for a self-centred monarch. Together with Kianthe, she settles in the icy town of Tawney, near dragon country, to open the shop of their dreams. Publishers Weekly noted that “readers of Travis Baldree and TJ Klune will feel right at home with this cozy sapphic romantasy.”
Slouch Witch by Helen Harper
Ivy Wilde is, by her own cheerful admission, the laziest witch this side of the Atlantic. Given her druthers, she would spend every day on her sofa watching television, eating junk food, and chatting with her feline familiar. Adventure is emphatically not on her agenda.
Yet when a magical mishap binds her to Adeptus Exemptus Raphael Winter—a pretentious, exercise-loving workaholic—Ivy finds herself dragged into investigating a theft from the Order she has spent years avoiding. Set in Oxford, this series has been praised as “a delightful piece of comedy that twists and tickles Urban Fantasy and odd-couple buddy tropes until they collapse in a fit of giggles.”
Witch Please by Ann Aguirre
Danica Waterhouse is a thoroughly modern witch who co-owns the Fix-It Witches, a magical tech repair shop. After a messy breakup that involved far too much family commentary, she has sworn off serious romance entirely. Three blocks away, Titus Winnaker runs Sugar Daddy’s bakery and believes himself cursed to remain forever alone.
Their attraction is instant and irresistible. But Danica’s family feud—where her grandmother thinks the only good mundane is a dead one—threatens to incinerate any chance of happiness. Library Journal gave it a starred review, calling it “a delightful, laugh-out-loud small-town tale.”
Finding Your Perfect Cozy Read
The wonderful thing about cozy urban fantasy is that there truly is something for everyone. If you long to open your own shop, Legends & Lattes or The Spellshop will speak to your entrepreneurial soul. If you crave academic mysteries with faerie folklore, Emily Wilde awaits your acquaintance. If you dream of hidden magical worlds existing just beneath the ordinary, Rivers of London or The Nameless Restaurant will show you the door.
These stories remind us that the grandest adventures are sometimes the quietest ones—that finding where we belong, learning to be kind to ourselves, and sharing a good meal with friends can be quite magical enough.
Now then, dear reader, your blanket is ready, your tea awaits, and there are worlds upon worlds to discover. Which enchanted doorway shall you step through first?
