February Reads: For The Love of Cozy Books

I don’t think I’m saying anything groundbreaking when I say that February often just kinda sucks. It’s dark and wet and cold, but summer is just too far off to look forward to. This past month hasn’t been terrible for me, but it has felt disjointed, incredibly busy, generally tough, and I honestly did not have the time or the focus to really connect with a book.

However, over the last week or so, I have felt a shift and had the most lovely series of book moments, all centered around the kind of cozy, sweet books that feel like a cup of tea and a warm blanket (there was some tea on the page as well)! I wanted to a few in the event that you too need a bit of a break.

The Food Lover’s Village Murder Mysteries by Leslie Budewitz

This cozy murder mystery is just great. It is set in Montana, it is delightfully zany, and the town in question has is reminiscent of Stars Hollow (the town in Gilmore Girls). There are a host of kooky characters, some fun longer term side mysteries that develop over the course of the books, and these are just the perfect delightful escape. I actually read the books about 2 years ago, but they get included here because this past week, thanks to a “bookstagram friend” of mine, I got the chance to go to a small book club zoom gathering where we got to speak with the author herself!

You can click the images above to find the book links and learn more about each book.

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I have read this book twice already, but recently, I have been very excited about the show coming out based on the book (I talked about it, and some other TV adaptations earlier this year), so I started listening to it again on a whim. I ended up binge listening at 3 in the morning when I couldn’t sleep one night, and finished in about 24 hours. Once again, I was just struck by how good it is. I truly don’t have a single thing I would change (expect for knowing more about what happens after the book ends) and that is fairly rare for me. It seems funny that this book about sex, drugs and rock and roll would be a cozy book, but at it’s heart, this book is really about human creativity and human goodness, and those are cozy feelings!

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

I loved The House in The Cerulean Sea and I finally found a reasonable read-alike! This sweet story is about a young, lonely witch who decides to take a chance on educating three young witches and ends up finding a family. It had a lot of charatcers so not everyone is as well developed as I would like them to be, but it was still SO sweet. However, unlike The House on the Cerulean Sea, this one is NOT kid friendly, as there is some spicier romance.

It also has tea. Cozy books about people who make tea for others is a niche genre I am absolutely here for (so far, I have The Monk and Robot novellas, The Tea Dragon Society and this book, so send me more!).

I hope these sweet and kind books help make these dark late winter days a little brighter! And if you find any more cozy books where people making tea plays a role in the book, please send them my way.

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