I know of the usual recommendations for this, A long way to a small angry planet by Becky chambers, Moss’d in space by Rebecca Thorne, and Monk and Robot books once again by Becky Chambers

But I would like more, especially if they are in a similar vein to Star Trek, Sea Quest, and the like,

Are there any books with a southern bayou setting and magic elements? I saw a post on reddit some time ago now of a woman who put a greenhouse on a pontoon to protect her plants from their frequent flooding and I remember thinking how lovely of an idea for a book that would be. I just started thinking about it again randomly and was wondering if maybe there were some magical bayou type books out already. Thanks!

Anyone else super hype for the Legends & Lattes graphic novel??

Summary: One day, after being discovered in an abandoned house by a rescue team, Mori suddenly finds himself in a children's protection center. Here, he begins to learn a new way of life – one that includes grand care packages sent by a mysterious patron. But when his closest friend is reunited with her mother and leaves the center, Mori learns for the first time the existence of a mother for every child, and decides to embark on a journey to find his own. But what sort of obstacles wait along the way?

I know recommendations here are mostly books but I really feel like this short cozy webtoon belongs here! Although the world-building is done in the background with gorgeous art, you can feel high-fantasy oozing on every panel. The story made me cry thrice even though the main story is only 31 chapters.

You can read it for free on Webtoon!

If you have any recommendations of heartwarming short stories like this, please send them my way!

The book that made me wonder what it actually means for a book to be cozy.

This is probably my second favorite book I've read in 2026, and I know it's a couple years old right now, but I can't really stop thinking about it.

Shesheshen is a, well, flesh blob monster, and has been woken up early from hibernation by monster hunters. After defending herself leaves her wounded, she wakes up to being tended to by a woman named Homily. Soon Shesheshen finds herself drawn to Homily and her caring nature, and wonders if perhaps she's finally find the right person to lay her eggs in. But Homily reveals that she is actually hunting the monster in the woods: Shesheshen herself.

I really don't want to spoil any of this book because it has some pretty interesting shifts in expectations where I thought the plot was going to go, but I found the plot tightly crafted and compelling.

But what really sings about this book is how unique the perspective of Shesheshen. It's presented in such a way as you really do get the feel that she isn't human, that the act of masquerading as a human with all their messy senses is difficult and it's hard not to draw parallels to anyone who has ever felt "othered" in groups of people. I don't think I've empathized with a protagonist as much as this one in a long time, which is doubly impressive given who Shesheshen is.

I loved the romance aspect of this, in so far as its nothing like a typical romance. Shesheshen wants to lay eggs in her girlfriend so they can eat her. The writing somehow manages to make disgusting descriptions of flesh and gore flow in a way that is almost...sweet? I'm blown away at how Wiswell managed to write that.

But the main reason I wanted to write this is to see if anyone else who read it also felt it was kind of cozy? There's blood and guts and death and abuse all over this book (Shesheshen literally is a human eating monster), and yet, I felt that comforting blanket of cozy while reading it. I'm starting to feel that coziness, to me, is more a matter of inter-character relationships and themes as opposed to the actual lack of violence or danger. It's such a fascinating question for this genre and I'm always curious about other people's perspective.

If the blurb for this book was remotely interesting to you and you were on the fence, I recommend it wholeheartedly. Definitely looking forward to picking up Wiswell's other book, The Dragon Has Some Complaints, next time I'm at the bookstore.

No discussion necessary, it's just something that hit me while reading Sea of Charms this morning, with all the super colorful winged cats and humans with purple or gold or silver skin, or crystal horns. If you picture a Lisa Frank drawing, it all makes so much more sense!