A Soft Place to Land: Perfect Cozy Sci-Fi/Fantasy Books to Escape into This Spring 

If we looked up “cozy fantasy” in our genre dictionary, there’d be a picture of all TJ Klune’s books. This family, comprised of 3 robots and a human, embarks on an odyssey of rescue and reconnection after one of their members is captured. In the Lives of Puppets has echoes of Pinocchio within its story, exploring the complexity of love in an unforgettable narrative.  

The first in Becky Chambers’ Monk and Robot series, A Psalm for the Wild-Built is a Hugo Award winning novel that one of our booksellers describes as “a steaming mug of tea”. Short and deep, this one-of-a-kind story about the relationship between humans and robots is filled with tenderness and curiosity, speaking straight to the heart of anyone who picks it up. 

Roam space alongside a ragtag team with this first novel in a Hugo Award winning series. Life on the Wayfarer is full of chaos brought on by its diverse crew and thrilling expeditions, but it’s also full of comfort as the group must learn to depend on each other for survival. An imaginative and lively story of found family and trust, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a feel-good Space Opera that is perfect for readers who love emotional and mental journeys. 

This is the book that first acquainted us with TJ Klune, and what a whimsical introduction it was. Perfect for fans of The Umbrella Academy (but with softer vibes), The House on the Cerulean Sea is a breakout contemporary fantasy about a case worker for magical youth who gets sent to an island of six dangerous orphans. With found family and deep secrets, this is an ode to anyone who’s ever felt like a misfit.  

Perfect for fans of The League of Gentlewomen Witches and Alix E. Harrow, Half a Soul is a story set in Regency England with curses, faeries, and a dash of romance. One woman finds herself pulled into faerie affairs when a peculiar (and widely detested) man discovers her jinxed condition. The more time they spend together, the more she’s drawn to him in this enchanting novel that will delight anyone who wished for a bit of magic in Bridgerton.  

Travel to Jupiter to solve a murder mystery with a side of sapphic romance in The Mimicking of Known Successes. In the same vein as Sherlock Holmes (but you know… in space), an inscrutable investigator and her ex-girlfriend try to find a missing man in a case that puts Earth’s future on the line. Certain to keep you on the edge of your seat while becoming your newest comfort read, Malka Older’s debut is a genre-bending Sci-Fi novel perfect for fans of Becky Chambers. 

This stunning debut is perfect for anyone who loves folkloric tales and dark academia as an introverted professor travels to a small town to research faerie lore. Unfortunately, so did her rival. As she draws closer to uncovering the elusive faeries, she finds her attention split between them and the mystery of her adversary’s true identity. The start of a series, Heather Fawcett’s writing will cast a spell on fans of Erin Morgenstern and Sarah J. Maas.  

The original cozy fantasy, Howl’s Moving Castle has whisked readers away to its world for decades. When this eldest daughter gets hexed and is transformed into an old lady, her only hope lies in the moving castle owned by the Wizard Howl. Diana Wynne Jones has captured hearts with this story that reminds readers that things are not always what they seem. 

You think we could let you go without another Klune?! Under the Whispering Door is a cathartic exploration of love and grief that follows a ghost not ready to let go of the life he didn’t really get to live. An uplifting story featuring Death as a character, our booksellers insist this will become your newest favorite. In fact, we love it so much that it was B&N’s Speculative Fiction Book of the Year in 2021!