2:13 OMG thank you!!!!!! I fully agree. Hearing the white man write the female sapphic story left me walking away from both, Bookshops and Bonedust, and Legends and Lattes feeling underwhelmed. It didn't feel right, and everyone keeps gushing about it. I'm glad to see someone else picked up on that.
@@CatRissaWearsSpectacles it was absolutely underwhelming. It must be what he believes lesbians love is. Far too saccharine for my taste. My romance needs a bit of substance!!
I loved L&L. I read it the week leading up to the election. It was the mental and emotional balm I needed. Would I’ve liked it if I read another time - don’t know. It was my first foray into cozy fantasy, so don’t have anything to compare it to.
I used to be a monster romance (or rather monster erotica reader) until contemporary romance readers started coming in and ruining it, making it just as bland as boring as almost every other contemporary romance being spat out nowadays with smut on top of smut that isn't even fun and is also often skipped over lol (some authors will literally just say "and then I came five more times"), and the plot? what plot? now that I think about it though, the writing wasn't stellar before either, but it was at least suspenseful, and now most monsters went from being terrifying to being sweet and cozy. Monster romance/erotica used to be closer to horror romance/erotica, and now it's like "my neighbour is an orc and I hate him for no reason, but he's kind of hot and he physically can't cheat on me." They stopped pandering to my twisted fetishes to pander to other women's fetishes, and that makes me mad. I had monster erotica for that, now I have nothing. But then again, I also stopped reading it because I realized now I need my books to have actual plot, so there's that. Whatever the case, monster romance is almost as bland as boring as contemporary romance, which sucks
@@SolarmatrixCobra Yessss! I’m not asking for much, I’m just asking for SOMETHING. ANYTHING. It’s all very milquetoast now. I don’t need a story I could over hear in the line getting coffee, ya know? I need passion and vengeance!!
@@jescadawn Just to be clear, I'm not trying to say these readers are wrong for enjoying what they enjoy, but I am going to keep talking about how much I dislike the things they enjoy nonetheless. I get that some readers want to "shut their brain off" as they say or want to read a "story" that has no plot and is just two characters getting to know one another, but I'm never going to stop criticising it for how boring it is. I mean, is it so hard to give a book a story goal, a bit of stakes, and some opposition? It can even be related to the romance! I don't understand this aversion towards characters having a goal and slowly progressing towards said goal. And no, characters just doing whatever and stumbling into a relationship does not a story goal make I'm not a fan of cozy anything, but calling something "cozy" should not be a free pass to have no plot at all. Every protagonist should want something, even if it's just a pack of gum. Every story should have stakes, even if that stakes are as low as being late to something. Every story should have an antagonist, even if that antagonist is a deadline to something. This is why I hate people being unironically proud of a story that's "no plot just vibes." That's not a story, that's a collection of random events that happen to follow the same charaters. That's like me brushing my teeth in the morning and going to work, then going to bed being called a story.
@ Yes, completely agree! That was my problem with morning glory milking farm. There are built in issues that could arise and she didn’t even attempt to use it!
I have two series to suggest that are more on the "cozy" side. The House Witch by Delemhach This one isn't completely "cozy", but I still feel like it had that cozy feel. It follows a house witch, called Fin who just wants to cook. He applies for the position of royal cook and makes his kitchen his "home"; where he can use his magic. To cook, clean, and protect. Essentially, his power is to create a safe and comfortable "home". Despite his attempts to keep to himself he keeps finding himself more and more involved in matters of the kingdom.....and a kickass woman. I'll also add there is a cat who I wish had its own book lol. It's a slow burn romance, fade to black. It's a trilogy and has high stakes but it feels comfy to me. The other took me by surprise because I didn't think I'd like it. It was after I read Legends and Lattes and that "itch" for a cozy fantasy, and I stumbled upon it. Beers and Beards: An Adventure in Brewing by JollyJupiter I'm not a drinker and dwarfs aren't my favorite fantasy character, but I enjoyed these books. There are 3 available and 1 more to come. Peter was a brewer in our world until his death, where his last words were a dad joke. There are a lot of dad jokes. When he wakes up, he discovers he's a dwarf and worse, the beer is bad. His mission becomes to improve first beer and then the other alcohols. It has the adventure part you seem to want too but you follow Pete's friend, so you might like Balin more. Pete avoids the adventuring but not all the fights because, well they are dwarfs. It gets more action as the books go on while still keeping with the "cozy" aspect. Did I mention the dad jokes? Yeah, the characters get annoyed with them too lol. Hopefully those sound interesting. I suck at giving a snap of a book because I like to ramble. So, I tried to keep it to what you learn in the first chapter more or less.
@@thedarkestkinghtstar This is perfect, Thank you!! I’m going to see if my library has them. I’ve heard of The House Witch! I was avoiding because it seemed too cozy, but I will definitely give it a try!
@@jescadawn After book one it's less cozy and more protect the kingdom/higher stakes. But it's still fairly light for the most part. I won't say much more because I ramble and give spoilers. As someone who wanted the cozy, I was "disappointed" our MC, Fin, does less cooking and more "how can a house witch can help protect his 'home'." I love the magic too because it's fairly balanced. His magic is okay at defense, not meant for offense, and wonderful for yummy food. It's not perfect but it's still one of my favorite "cozy" fantasies. And if you like this one, I think you'll like the follow up trilogy. It takes place some 20 years after the original story. So, we still get to see Fin and the crew a bit, but it follows different characters. Less cozy and more high stakes but still "feel good". Though the ML annoyed me most of the first book lol. (The FL is the MC this time.) And if I read the "clues" right there will be at least another book, probably trilogy.
I read the honey witch in a 24 hr readathon and it was hell! There was so much potential but the pacing was horrible. And i was there for the romance THAT WASN'T EVEN THERE!
@@kylovestoread It wasn't terrible. When I am burnt out on more serious fantasies, I like a cozy one here and there. Legends and Lattes wasn't horrible, but I didn't buy the second book. It seriously lacked in the romance part of the cozy romance bit. It felt rushed and that they were together for the plot.
i immediately glanced over at my copy of the honey witch , , i read the blurb and got real excited as it was sapphic and witches ( ( which i adore ) ) and ive got two or so chapters in and im struggling but im determined 😭
The amount of taboos and lack of story in Credence. Is crazy . The fact that people defend it too 😂
@@itsraulreadsbooks it’s actually wild Raul!!!
2:13 OMG thank you!!!!!! I fully agree. Hearing the white man write the female sapphic story left me walking away from both, Bookshops and Bonedust, and Legends and Lattes feeling underwhelmed. It didn't feel right, and everyone keeps gushing about it. I'm glad to see someone else picked up on that.
@@CatRissaWearsSpectacles it was absolutely underwhelming. It must be what he believes lesbians love is. Far too saccharine for my taste. My romance needs a bit of substance!!
1:18 I hate instalove being conflated with the enemies to lovers trope. They're the total opposite of one another.
@@CatRissaWearsSpectacles yes!!! I agree completely and in this case I was blindsided which made it even worse 😭
I loved L&L. I read it the week leading up to the election. It was the mental and emotional balm I needed. Would I’ve liked it if I read another time - don’t know. It was my first foray into cozy fantasy, so don’t have anything to compare it to.
@@laela2000 I think that’s fair! Timing does make a difference! Have you read Assistant to the Villain? That is a cozy fantasy I enjoyed!
@ I have not, but I haven’t heard good reviews about it from the Booktubers I watch.
@@laela2000 yes, I’ve heard it’s divisive but the tension in this did it for me. Definitely not the top 10 of the year but tolerable 🤣
I used to be a monster romance (or rather monster erotica reader) until contemporary romance readers started coming in and ruining it, making it just as bland as boring as almost every other contemporary romance being spat out nowadays with smut on top of smut that isn't even fun and is also often skipped over lol (some authors will literally just say "and then I came five more times"), and the plot? what plot?
now that I think about it though, the writing wasn't stellar before either, but it was at least suspenseful, and now most monsters went from being terrifying to being sweet and cozy. Monster romance/erotica used to be closer to horror romance/erotica, and now it's like "my neighbour is an orc and I hate him for no reason, but he's kind of hot and he physically can't cheat on me." They stopped pandering to my twisted fetishes to pander to other women's fetishes, and that makes me mad. I had monster erotica for that, now I have nothing.
But then again, I also stopped reading it because I realized now I need my books to have actual plot, so there's that. Whatever the case, monster romance is almost as bland as boring as contemporary romance, which sucks
@@SolarmatrixCobra Yessss! I’m not asking for much, I’m just asking for SOMETHING. ANYTHING. It’s all very milquetoast now. I don’t need a story I could over hear in the line getting coffee, ya know? I need passion and vengeance!!
@@jescadawn Just to be clear, I'm not trying to say these readers are wrong for enjoying what they enjoy, but I am going to keep talking about how much I dislike the things they enjoy nonetheless. I get that some readers want to "shut their brain off" as they say or want to read a "story" that has no plot and is just two characters getting to know one another, but I'm never going to stop criticising it for how boring it is. I mean, is it so hard to give a book a story goal, a bit of stakes, and some opposition? It can even be related to the romance! I don't understand this aversion towards characters having a goal and slowly progressing towards said goal. And no, characters just doing whatever and stumbling into a relationship does not a story goal make
I'm not a fan of cozy anything, but calling something "cozy" should not be a free pass to have no plot at all. Every protagonist should want something, even if it's just a pack of gum. Every story should have stakes, even if that stakes are as low as being late to something. Every story should have an antagonist, even if that antagonist is a deadline to something. This is why I hate people being unironically proud of a story that's "no plot just vibes." That's not a story, that's a collection of random events that happen to follow the same charaters. That's like me brushing my teeth in the morning and going to work, then going to bed being called a story.
@ Yes, completely agree! That was my problem with morning glory milking farm. There are built in issues that could arise and she didn’t even attempt to use it!
I have two series to suggest that are more on the "cozy" side.
The House Witch by Delemhach
This one isn't completely "cozy", but I still feel like it had that cozy feel. It follows a house witch, called Fin who just wants to cook. He applies for the position of royal cook and makes his kitchen his "home"; where he can use his magic. To cook, clean, and protect. Essentially, his power is to create a safe and comfortable "home". Despite his attempts to keep to himself he keeps finding himself more and more involved in matters of the kingdom.....and a kickass woman. I'll also add there is a cat who I wish had its own book lol. It's a slow burn romance, fade to black. It's a trilogy and has high stakes but it feels comfy to me.
The other took me by surprise because I didn't think I'd like it. It was after I read Legends and Lattes and that "itch" for a cozy fantasy, and I stumbled upon it.
Beers and Beards: An Adventure in Brewing by JollyJupiter
I'm not a drinker and dwarfs aren't my favorite fantasy character, but I enjoyed these books. There are 3 available and 1 more to come. Peter was a brewer in our world until his death, where his last words were a dad joke. There are a lot of dad jokes. When he wakes up, he discovers he's a dwarf and worse, the beer is bad. His mission becomes to improve first beer and then the other alcohols. It has the adventure part you seem to want too but you follow Pete's friend, so you might like Balin more. Pete avoids the adventuring but not all the fights because, well they are dwarfs. It gets more action as the books go on while still keeping with the "cozy" aspect. Did I mention the dad jokes? Yeah, the characters get annoyed with them too lol.
Hopefully those sound interesting. I suck at giving a snap of a book because I like to ramble. So, I tried to keep it to what you learn in the first chapter more or less.
@@thedarkestkinghtstar This is perfect, Thank you!! I’m going to see if my library has them. I’ve heard of The House Witch! I was avoiding because it seemed too cozy, but I will definitely give it a try!
@@jescadawn After book one it's less cozy and more protect the kingdom/higher stakes. But it's still fairly light for the most part. I won't say much more because I ramble and give spoilers. As someone who wanted the cozy, I was "disappointed" our MC, Fin, does less cooking and more "how can a house witch can help protect his 'home'." I love the magic too because it's fairly balanced. His magic is okay at defense, not meant for offense, and wonderful for yummy food. It's not perfect but it's still one of my favorite "cozy" fantasies.
And if you like this one, I think you'll like the follow up trilogy. It takes place some 20 years after the original story. So, we still get to see Fin and the crew a bit, but it follows different characters. Less cozy and more high stakes but still "feel good". Though the ML annoyed me most of the first book lol. (The FL is the MC this time.) And if I read the "clues" right there will be at least another book, probably trilogy.
@ I might just have to get them all!!
Omg the first one title alone got me!!! Wtf?!?
@@LiterallyEscaping it’s a wild unnecessary ride
I read the honey witch in a 24 hr readathon and it was hell! There was so much potential but the pacing was horrible. And i was there for the romance THAT WASN'T EVEN THERE!
@@Lee._.readss Yesssss!!! EXACTLY how I felt! Didn’t you feel like she had more connection with that guy she met at the party in the beginning???
@jescadawn honestly the first part of that book is blurry i dont even remember him because it was so slow to start 😭
@@Lee._.readss Absolutely fair 🤣🤣 I probably would have forgot too if it didn’t piss me off so much.
I was also bored with milking farm it was too sweet
@@jennyreadsalot4 yes! Literally nothing happened except for the milking 🤣
I thought Legends and Lattes was fine
To each their own, I guess 🤷🏽♀️
YES LEGENDS AND LATTES WAS AWFUL
@@Sdmreads it really REALLY was!! I’m surprised so many liked it
I didn’t think about legends and lattes being written by a white man, but that def puts me off of it hahahahah
@@kylovestoread 🤣🤣 Have you read it or any of his others??
@ no i haven’t! I was thinking about it because i’ve heard great reviews tho!
@ people do really love it. I just think cozy isn’t for me 😭
@@kylovestoread It wasn't terrible. When I am burnt out on more serious fantasies, I like a cozy one here and there. Legends and Lattes wasn't horrible, but I didn't buy the second book. It seriously lacked in the romance part of the cozy romance bit. It felt rushed and that they were together for the plot.
@@thedarkestkinghtstar that’s such a bummer!!! I love the build-up to a romance, so maybe this one just isn’t for me. Thanks for your insight!!😊
i immediately glanced over at my copy of the honey witch , , i read the blurb and got real excited as it was sapphic and witches ( ( which i adore ) ) and ive got two or so chapters in and im struggling but im determined 😭
Finish it and let me know your thoughts! It’s canon at this point cause I was exactly where you are now 🤣😭