In no particular order, here are fun and cute books I liked recently. Feel free to reply with more similar books!
Demon Lord for Hire, E.M. Hardy: Kind fallen god pretends to be a demon lord to get paid with divinity. His latest contract becomes an adventure.
Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower, Tamsyn Muir: No princes are coming to rescue the princess. She has to do something.
The Teller of Small Fortunes, Julie Leong: A traveling fortune teller escaping her past discovers who she wants to be and gets a new family.
Lout of Count’s Family, Yu Ryeo-Han: Frequently misunderstood selfish-but-mostly-sweet transmigrator changes everything. (My first time reading a translated Korean novel!)
Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher: Shy quiet princess leaves the convent to kill a prince. With fairy tale magic.
It’s technically a HFY story, but about how humans create connections with each other, a “family by choice.” I have only read the first book, and didn’t get quite to the end so I’m not sure if there’s any drama.
When I was sick recently I watched a show called Love Me, Love my Voice. It’s Chinese/Mandarin, and you can find it on Viki.
For those of you who have an interest in Asian media. (I’ve been reading foreign books and watching anime/TV/movies and stuff since I was a teenager, when my little brother introduced me to it and got me hooked. And I’m also learning Korean as a hobby, because I like projects that are difficult, so I’ll watch Korean TV as listening and reading practice.)
You may have heard me bitterly complain about stories where romance is shoehorned in without chemistry or reason. But I actually do like romance stories. This is one. Absolutely nothing bad happens. All potential sources of conflict are almost immediately resolved, and it’s just slice-of-life cuteness from beginning to end. Good for if you’re too exhausted to read and can’t bear dramatic tension and angst.
I can recommend pretty much anything by Victoria Goddard. Her books are very cozy and everything works out well.
Hands of the Emperor is the one I most recommend. It can be quite thrilling because a nobody from the islands changes the world (with the power of bureaucracy - the story is entirely told by a bureaucrat, but I swear it’s amazing ).
I can’t recommend any manhwa or light novels because my taste runs decidedly dramatic and I don’t think any of them are cozy enough (though I do need to catch up with Lout of the Count’s family, I’ve been letting it accumulate chapters).
Terry Pratchett is always good for a comfort read.
I just started reading Hands of the Emperor based on your recommendation. I like it!
Here is the book I liked the most since my last post: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, Shannon Chakraborty
Not as cute as the other books but this adventure story is so fresh and fun I can’t recommend it enough for anyone bored of western tropes and LOTR copycats. The main character is a retired pirate who is a devoted mother with so much passion for everything she does. Her internal conflicts are believable. She wants to be a pirate, a good mother and daughter, follow her religion (Islam), have fun with handsome men and expensive alcohol, get super rich, hang out with her ship crew, and so much more.
The setting is the western coastal regions of the Indian ocean – southwest Asia and eastern Africa – vaguely after the crusades started but before the industrial revolution. Some of the characters, events, and many of the locations are historically accurate. But now with magic based on real myths and religions (Abrahamic and not) of the time. The novel is not “historical” but it perfectly captures the region’s melting pots of cultures, religions, and genetics that are still visible in our current world.
Overall, the novel is not meant to be deep or literary and I would say it is readable at a YA writing level. It has words from several languages and concepts from several cultures that give it flavour if treated as fantasy, but also make it so much more awesome for those familiar with any of the intersecting cultures. I highly recommend the audiobook that makes the non-English words a non-issue. Like, legit, get the audiobook. It is so so good.
Plus it mentions my tiny country which always makes me happy
I didn’t mention it because it didn’t feel very cozy, but I love that she divorced her husbands the Islamic way…while also throwing them overboard.
As an Arab I really love books that touch on my culture in a good way without…fetishising? the culture.
Amina reminded me of some of my more fiery relatives ( obviously not my own calm and level headed self… ;p ) and I really enjoyed her character.
But I actually do like romance stories. This is one. Absolutely nothing bad happens. All potential sources of conflict are almost immediately resolved, and it’s just slice-of-life cuteness from beginning to end. Good for if you’re too exhausted to read and can’t bear dramatic tension and angst.
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