A blank of blank and blank CANNOT leave soon enough. Not only does its make every single book sound the same and become difficult to differentiate between, but it also almost ALWAYS feels so forced and not remotely related to the actual plot but only chosen to fit the current trend of naming something with that formula. Definitely tired of it.

I love novellas. It forces writers to improve their writing, as opposed to some books that are bloated and unpleasant.

I'm definitely a fan of standalones being more of a thing in SFF.

I'm ready for fae stories to phase out. Don't get me wrong, I've read several fae books that I've really enjoyed, and I don't want it to disappear, I just think the sexy fae hype trend has dominated the genre for the last few years and I like books that keep exploring new ideas rather than repeating the same ideas over and over again.

I do not think this is a trend at all but one thing I'd love to see more of is a recap at the beginning of a sequel of the previous book. Ex: Hunger of the Gods had a 5-6 pages recap from what happened in book one. It was incredibly helpful to remember everything that happened in the first book as not everyone has the time to read the previous book again before the next one when they get released a year apart, and that is if you buy it right away at full price.

I have something I call the 700 problem. The overwhelming majority of books that I have read that are over 700 pages, definitely didn't need to be that long. This might be a hot take but I think most books that are over that length or just the author kind of showing off. Because most of them had at least 200 pages of fluff.

I'm afraid the cost of novellas is a bit prohibitive. I don't want to pay that much money for something that takes me only a couple of days to read. I do buy novellas, but only on Kindle. Some of my favorite novels of the past five years have been myth retellings: Circe, The Witch's Heart, Kaikeyi, and (most recently) Ithaca. As long as they have strong prose and interesting heroines, I'll read them. But I do agree, writers need to start moving beyond Greece/Rome in their search for myths to retell.

I believe its already started, but COZY FANTASY is about to blow up in traditional publishing. It has always had its audience, but they are going to over-saturate the market because they are always behind and have not had a chance to get their best book out in that genre.

Sadly, my Barnes and Noble (the main bookstore where I live) doesn't separate fantasy romance, so it's all mixed in. I wish it was separate so I know when I go to the fantasy section what to expect.

One trend that I've noticed recently and that I fully support is older, out of print books (especially by women) getting re-released. For example, a whole bunch of older OOP books by Martha Wells are being re-released by TOR, and the Doctrine of Labyrinths series is getting an e-book re-release.

I fully support more cozy fantasy. I enjoy a good fantasy with harder topics, but most of the time I want something that isn’t going to cause more stress in my life lol

I love a good, long book. You know, as long as it's interesting and of a decent quality. I can honestly say I wouldn't want a single page cut from any of the Stormlight books. Conversely, it takes a special author, such as T Kingfisher, for me to consider reading a book under 450 pages. I realise I'm probably in the minority, but I just love getting totally lost in a fantastic fictional world. If it's a really good book, I never want it to end!

I find that smaller fantasy books are the more creative and original experiences, because the authors have to rely on other things to bring the story to life. When you see a tome of a thousand pages, you can pretty easily guess that it's about a war/political struggle. The one exception to this I can think of is The Name of the Wind. If you look at the works of Gene Wolfe, Ursula K. Le Guin and Terry Pratchett, their most famous works are books that can only be described as _them._ I really think shorter stories are the true signifier of an author's capabilities, especially in fantasy. This isn't a book I've read, but I know people love The Emperor's Soul because, as bookswithzara once told me, it's Brandon Sanderson without the bullshit.

I was hunting through my parents' collection of old SFF books the other day, and I was struck that a lot of those books from the 50s through the 70s were under 300 pages. It seems like publishers focusing on really long books was a more recent trend than I'd realized.

I absolutely concur with your Mac & cheese thesis 😂

i need standalones (novella or not) bc the moment i hear that a book i have on my tbr is planned to be the first of a trilogy, i instantly feel exhausted without having even read the book yet lol i think a trend that i want to either start or to stay are duologies because a trilogy/saga/8+ books is too much of a commitment if i end up not even enjoying the story but feel like i have to finish it (sunk cost fallacy i guess). but duologies are that perfect middle where i can read the first book and think "well even if it wasn't spectacular, at least it's just one more book to finish the story. and maybe the second book will actually make the first book better." some of my favorite books are duologies bc i feel like that's a perfect amount of time for the author to write a plot + worldbuilding without feeling like they're trying to reach a word count with filler. and to answer the most important question: yes, if it's the main course, mac is in a bowl. if it's a side, it's on the plate with the rest of the food.

Maybe an unpopular opinion? I want all the length in books. I'm such a fast reader, I hate buying a book that only takes me 4-6 hours to finish. I want the longest books so that I can be immersed for as long as possible

I love a long series, maybe I’m psycho, but having a whole world to get lost into for a long time is so relaxing; although standalones that are set in the same world of another series (like Joe Abercrombies in between first law and age of madness) might be my favorite. You can have a rather quick but compelling story in one book while keeping some of that familiar world and character intrigue around

I don't mind the *concept* of cozy fantasy, but i already roll my eyes when i see a book *marketed* as cozy fantasy 😅

I'm so used to long titles because of Light Novels and Manhwa so it doesn't faze me anymore 😂 but I definitely see how those long titles can be a bit much to people. For the novella debate, I think it personally depends on the type of story we're getting into. I can't imagine a story like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings being contained to a short amount of pages. But a story like The Princess Bride works perfectly as a self-contained novel because of the content. I don't know if that makes sense, but I think it's more of the scope of the story that makes me feel like it should be short/long.

I'm that kid who doesn't start a series until all the books are out because I like to read them all back to back 🙈 Sorry Rothfuss 🤷

I think writers should not worry about whats popular as a trend and just focus on writing a good story. Chasing trends for any industry is normally a losing battle. If you write well people will buy it personally im never looking for something in particular, just a solid story even if its been done before.

Lois McMaster Bujold's "Penric" novella series is amazing. Her characters are so loveable and there is definite character progression through the series.

You just put into words something that I've been trying to for a really long time. Cozy fantasy IS a pushback against a grim dark. I never realized why I liked it so much before, but now I see that it's because I hated all of that grossness and cozy fantasy was away for me to enjoy my favorite genre (fantasy) without all that other stuff getting in the way. Not that I don't enjoy any darkness in my fantasy, but like you said it's hard to pull off.

I would like to see writers, and people in general, not a give a flying fuck about trends or industry standards or what is popular and make something original and true to the artist vision.

I definitely don't mind the novella trend. I've always struggled with short story collections (because if it's good, then I'm unsatisfied that it's so short), unless it's a little in between bit in a larger series. But my genres of interest have become really varied over the last few years, and I like having a more digestible fantasy option when I'm in the middle of other things and don't have the head space for a chunky tome. Which is also how I feel about cozy fantasy, lol.

There are also the novellas that are also a series! The Murderbot Chronicles by Martha Wells (5 novellas and a novel with another novel coming later this year), Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire (8 novellas) and Monk & Robot by Becky Chambers (2 novellas).

I just started reading again after I bought myself a Kindle for Christmas and it's interesting to hear people talk about trends when I just got back into reading. Novellas and Stand Alones I feel are amazing for the genre. None of my friends will read a book longer than 500 pages and series intimidate and scare people away. Having a lot of stand alones brings people into the genre but I understand if people feel like it's becoming a bit overdone. And bowls for Mac and Cheese only. It stays hotter for longer in a bowl cause there is less air moving around the mac to cool it down.

the length of the book depends on the story. Some stories can be told in fewer pages, while others need a world & have many characters and intertwining plots all playing out at the same time. Those will be longer.

First trend I've noticed this year is that I'm not noticing trends because I'm too busy reading good books from the nineties 😅

I also hope fantasy romance stops just getting labled as just fantasy. Online and in book stores. It feels like people are afraid to label their book a romance, even if that is the main plot. And then i, who just want a regular flavor fantasy book get stuck accidentally reading smut when i wasn't looking for that at all. If you wrote a fantasy romance, own it! They're super popular! Label your book as such!

I’m in France and a « romantacy » bookstore actually opened in my city. They do have more general fantasy but still heavily focused on fantasy romance. Also I’ve noticed that the French publishing market has recently adopted the hardback format (not something we really have) with the pretty edges etc. They call them « collector editions » but they can be found in bookstores for a bit more euros but not the same increase you can have with English book boxes. I’d say a mix of both but more leaning toward the regular hardback, just a bit boosted It is mostly for YA/ fantasy books or fantasy romance from what I saw.

I also want more standalones, sometimes I want a break from a series without starting a new one. Recently I read Sword of Kaigen and enjoyed it a lot. It is not fantasy but I really like Blake Courch’s standalone SF thrillers. Wish there were equivalent fantasy books.

The massive size of some fantasy books is what kept me from picking up the genre for so long. I actually started with some young adult and fantasy romance that were a lot smaller. And the whole thing with series kinda gets overwhelming. I just wanna read one or two and be good. The sheer size of the series for wheel of time made it a pass for me. And I definitely will be glad to see the name trend thing go. Originally I felt like it was kinda crappy that everyone used that format. Because some of the titles are so similar if someone say “hey check out this book” you go to the store or library and look for it and end up with something similar but not the right one? It almost seems deceitful in a way. That’s probably a bit harsh of a take but it’s kinda how I thought about it.

I am so with you about the witcher series! Short Stories >>> Saga.I love series in general too but I love a good standalone every now and then to switch it up!

Another great video on this channel 👍🏻

I also feel like cozy fantasy is influenced by the growing popularity of anime and manga. Having fantasy-setting cozy "slice of life" type stories has long been popular in anime/manga, and I feel like that has influenced western media more and more.

A trend I want to disappear is the "first-book-in-a-series secret". I don't understand why publishers hide the fact that a book is the first in a series when they market a new release, it actually makes me angrier when I learn about it and I don't pick those books up. Make it clear that it's book 1 and let me decide if I want to pick a series, don't try to trick me.

Love your videos! As a librarian I appreciate your insight

Homemade? On a plate! It's thicker than boxed, which should probably be in a bowl! Also, loved this topic and video!

Mac and cheese is streight out of the pot, over the sink like a true adult. Also the long title is due to Light Novels I think. "That time I got reincarnated as a slime." "Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?" "I'm A Behemoth, An S-Ranked Monster, But Mistaken For A Cat, I Live As An Elf Girl's Pet" Real light novel titles.

Mac & cheese is all about the consistency. If it’s soupy, like off the shelf Kraft Mac and cheese, it goes in a bowl. If it’s thick and rich where it won’t pool out, plate. Either way as long as you have a little hot sauce, it’s good eating.

At the end of 2021, when I was sick with that thing so many of us had, I read an entire series of fantasy cozy mysteries. It was entertaining and light and saved my sanity. I still need to check out the cozy fantasy books you've mentioned.

I have a problem with standalones and novellas because I am exactly that reader that falls in love with worlds and settings. I juat need more of that world. I need to explore it, see the different variations and iterations of it. Every detail is a new path to take and I want them all. I never feel satisfied with short works, in fact if I fall in love with a work and it ends too quickly (whter the story was finished or not) I just feel very depressed, like... it's over. That was so nice and interesting and amazing, and it's already over. I wasn't ready to leave, but I have to. That's probably not a healthy thing, but I read books and experience stories as a way to cope with my other stressors, it is my balance against life, and I think that's entirely valid. I just need long series - hell, I'll accept the slow decline into formulation if I have to, I'd rather get tired of a series and stop reading it than it end before I'm done. This is my escape, I don't want to have to leave. I don't want to need another different world either. I always hear this "but now you're done and there are so many ither amazing worlds out there and you can go to those." I don't want other worlds, the one I had was great. And oftentimes those other worlds people suggest to me are actually really uninteresting or honestly not that great, so now I'm adrift on the tumultuous oceans seeking anew world to escape to, not getting the escape I need to balance against my daily life. I'd muchrather have one big world forever than several smaller worlds separated by vast wastes of garbage, even if I could have thousands of them. I love writer like Tolkien who fall jn love with their world and give us so many stories and then trailing off into little notes and asides and shorts in that same world. That's what I love and want.

Don't know if it has anything to do with the English-speaking market, but very long titels are a trend for years now with japanese light-novels, a lot of which were translated, and maybe it had an influence that it seemed more "ok" to have a long title? Also, I love novellas x3 They let me try the author's writing style without having to commit to a series. What I really don't like about that trend is that even the e-book-version of them can be ridicucoulsy expansive. I get that the unit prices in printing sky-rocket with short books, but why the digital version, too? (I'm looking at you, tor...) aaaaalso the special editions ... in some cases, like with the novellas from Fonda Lee in the Green-Bone-Saga-Universe, there are only very very very expansive print versions and no digital version at all. Especially for international readers were shipping alone costs often times more than the book itself, that's just mean. :'D

Another good thing about novellas is that they can be a good intro to a new author. For instance, if there's an author someone wants to try, but they've got a whole bunch of large sci-fi or fantasy novels, but the reader doesn't know if they'd like said author's writing style, for example, if that author has novellas as well, the reader can start there and decide weather they want to continue with the author's bigger works.

I just finished Godkiller because of your recommend and really enjoyed it. The world building was amazing to me but it’s shorter than a lot of fantasy so I definitely think it can be done!

One thing that I also think has lead to the increase in number of novellas is the growth of audiobooks and ebooks (and their accessibility via various subscribtions & apps like libby, KU scribd etc) makes them more accessible to people. because as you said they tend to feel kind of expensive for the page count but and audiobook I can finish in an afternoon of chores feels incredibly accessible.

I'm making a comic not writing a book but all the advice is basically the same for both so i really enjoy book writing/ trope videos. I am currently in the process of making a comic based on Slavic mythology (percy jackson/the witcher vibes) and im planning to make a couple one part stand alone stories that introduce you to this world but are not plot heavy so you can just enjoy them kinda like novellas. I think short sozy stories can really pull you into a fantasy world without being overwhelming so i'm gonna try to do that. And if that doesn't work at least someone can enjoy a short fantasy story with no obligation to read anything further lol

The way you talked about Grrm and his bowl of unfinished mac and cheese 🤣💀🤣🤣🤣🤣

I've never seen one of your videos, I have no idea who you are, I don't know why the algorithm offered me this video... But I will FOREVER fight alongside you on the mac & cheese bowl vs plate issue! You nailed it

I completely agree with your assumptions about cozy fantasy. And until the trend is no longer financially viable for publishers we won't really see any honest and original stories within the sub genre. But we shall see. I love hearing your takes and you help me so much when it comes to navigating the parts of the fantasy zeitgeist that I can't keep follow on my own

On the topic of long titles: have you ever watched anime or read manga or Chinese or Korean novels? Because there are titles like “that time I was reincarnated as a slime” or “Reincarnated in another world with my smartphone” or “I’m the only one with genius DNA” or “An obseravtion log of my wide - a self proclaimed villainess” and I think that’s actually where those long titles come from

As far as mythological retelling goes, Roger Zelazny is the king. He's retold myths from China (Lord Demon), Egypt (Creatures of Light and Darkness), Greece (And Call Me Conrad), Hindu (Lord of Light), Navajo (Eye of Cat), Norse (The Mask of Loki), and a mix (The Dream Master). Covers em all! (well, a lot anyway).

I like the idea of a new adult marketing bracket (I don't think of NA as a genre the way I think of fantasy and romance.) I like it not only because my fantasy book written with 25-35-year-olds in mind, but because it opens up themes that are more relevant to me than, say, shooting a faire and having to go be his brother's lover. It's great that SJM made bank monetizing a fantasy like that, but NA gives me freedom to explore themes that real-world adults have. Like chronic loneliness, personal stagnation, and crippling debt. And if romance develops, it can feel more natural than contracted bondage. Like the relationship was developed by consenting adults who, you know, liked each other.

I'm very exciting for the cozy fantasy movement to pick up speed! I love reading feel-good books (especially when things are just not going that well) and its been ridiculously hard for me to find what I'm looking for. I inevitably end up going back to reading middle grade, because at least those feel upbeat. I'm reading fantasy to escape! I don't want to go into an even darker world! But I do hope the cozy trend doesn't die before I finally manage to publish my own cozy fantasy standalone/duology :) Been working on it for over ten years now and I might get it fully written someday. Started off as a worldbuilding project and I've finally managed to wrangle a plot that feels good for it.

I normally shy away from short stories that aren't tied to an existing series because I rarely read one that has character development, world building, and a well developed plot in the limited space. I'm a little more willing to try a novella that's a stand-alone because there's a bit more room to fit everything in. Becky Chambers' last few novellas are great examples of everything I want in a smaller package. Bonus that a couple are Cozy SciFi.

With your first point, I'm the total opposite. I am far more likely to pick up a book that is a novella or less than 400 pages than something that is 700+. Single books with huge page counts are intimidating to me

Alright, I disagree with getting rid of one-shot novellas, because I struggled to suggest a fantasy book to my friend, he only wanted a taste, but I couldn't recommend anything because all fantasy books were part of a series.

A lot of the earliest modern fantasy (late 19th century up to the 1940's or so) was in fact _heavy_ with novellas (both in serial form and single published novella form) - it was Tolkien who started the thick tome trend of fantasy novels. So it could be said the novella trend is just the genre going back to its roots.

SO EXCITED!!!💛🏝️🩵🩵🏝️💛📖📖🏝️📙📙📙🏝️💛🌞🌞🌞📖📖🏝️🩵🩵💛📖💛🏝️🩵🩵📙📙📚📚📚🩵🏝️💛📖🌞🌞📖📚📚📚📙🩵🩵💛📖🌞🌞📖💛🩵🩵📖💛🏝️

The JP light novel reader in me just took a long sip at the Irregular Witches mention. That is long? Ok, for western standards it is. For an LN it would be a blessing from the gods.

You think those are long titles? They aren't long titles. _These_ are long titles: _Gulliver's Travels, or Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships_ or _The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by Pyrates. Written by Himself._

I love reading and writing novellas, but my main genres are modern/contemporary paranormal romance and urban fantasy, and they just don't always need to be 50k-80k words when many of these stories could be amazing, tighter concepts and reader experiences at like 40k and under!

The excessively long titles started as a trend in Anime series, and Japanese light novels. It didn't seem to take long before it was adopted by many others.

You whispering, "George RR Martin and Patrick Rothfuss" made me giggle so much 🤣

Ah! I have only seen one 'cozy fantasy' Ineed some suggestions! I hope it expands for a while, I was never really a huge fan of the grim-dark, and I love things like cozy mysteries so many cozy fantasy could trend in a similar kind of way in finding something semi-exciting or mysterious to pair with the chill vibe. The problem I could see is the same for grim-dark, I don't re-read grim-dark and I rarely re-read cozy mysteries, so unless a cozy fantasy was above and beyond it'd probably be a romp and drop kind'a book.

I need cosy fantasy to stick around for a good long while yet, because I'm really enjoying that subgenre! Sometimes it's exactly what you need, something sweet and lovely that leaves you feeling good.

Try the Elric series by Michael Moorcock. The man is living proof that you don't need a thousand pages to tell a great story.

I'm very happy about the shorter fantasy novels coming out. As far as I'm aware, high fantasy novels tend to be massive and wordy due to J R Tolkien being set as the "ultimate" fantasy author for such a long time, so it's seen as sort of standard. But for me and a lot of other people, that writing style is exactly why I've largely stayed away from high fantasy for most of my life. I haaaaate pages of character musings that tell us nothing and get us nowhere and paragraph length descriptions of things that could have been a sentence. I have a very poor working memory, so that time spent away from continuing the plot, leaves me needing to go back and re-read what the characters are even doing in the first place. I hope it's something that stays and I hope it'll help tame the erm snootery haha of some high fantasy readers.

Interested in what your thoughts are on the Litrpg genre that seem to be starting to gain traction. Some of it is rubbish but I'm semi-addicted to it. Most seem to be self-published which I'm a great supported of e.g. Peace and Turmoil.. so ummm thoughts?

hiya just thought i tell u how amazing spinning silver is x so goooood x

I am definitely a fan of mac and cheese in a bowl with either hot dog or kielbasa slices....Awesome! Cheers!

I love a good novella if it's done well! I know that Tor started their novella program where the authors had a lot of control over what they wrote, in exchange for maybe a smaller paycheck/advance. That's how I understood it when Seanan McGuire was talking about it?? But from Tor alone, that's where Murderbot, Wayward Children, Monk & Robot, and more super popular novella series from well loved authors came from. I wonder if the uptick in novellas is partially due to that program and/or due to the success of those series

A book series that I highly recommend is "Under the Oak Tree" by Suji Kim. It's a translation of the Korean webnovel from Ridi Books, so the series is divided in parts. Currently there are 7 but each book is about 360 pages long. A great Fantasy Romance with a corresponding webtoon on Manta comics. It's actually the series that pulled me back into reading.

I don’t mind the long titles, and I’ve definitely noticed an uptick in them. For instance The Ten Thousand Doors of January is a long one but it makes sense and fits so perfectly for the story. But I also abbreviate too 😋

I've read so many books lately where it could have easily lost at least 100 pages, if not more than that. Fourth Wing and Gilded didn't need to be over 500 pages. Then you compare that to the quality of the Murderbot novellas, and I love that Martha Wells can tell so many cool stories and take us through different arcs in the 5 novellas/1 novel, which all combined equal like one of those massive tomes.

I print my books through the same source that many of the big publishers do. The cover is about 1.30 for average paperbacks. The cost per page is .014 per page. Anything under a hundred pages then the cover is the main cost, setting minimum price for the book regardless of size. Larger books the page price is more important. This said, I think publishers, price shorter works higher because they can, and they get to keep the extra margin. The size of the order only comes into play when you order more than a hundred copies when discounts begin at 2%.

I totally agree on all of these points. Especially regarding the one about the length of fantasy novels. I love a good long book, one in which you’re so invested and you know you have so many pages to digest. But unfortunately many books are longer than they need to be, which I instead find disengaging because I get bored. Authors, please don’t write books to be long for the sake of being long, only write it when necessary!

Neat video. Just wanted to say as an anime fan who is also a fantasy fan, "You know nothing of long titles."

I love long books but I also LOVE novellas 🥰 read so many good ones this year!

I am in favor of novellas. Some stories work best at that length. Some authors write particularly well at that length: Elizabeth Hand and Lucius Shepard, for example. I wish a publisher would revive the doubles format, as used by Ace. It involves the tête-bêche format, you know! It was revived by Tor about 40 years ago, and perhaps Tor is the right publisher to re-revive the format. If you think that two novellas in one volume would be interesting, look up Ace Doubles.

I really believe that shorter stories and stand alone books are here to stay. I believe so mainly because we see time and time again that the attention span of people is shortening, therefore I wouldn't be surprised that stories which involve less commitment will be the main trend in some years. This is not to say that shorter/longer series are better nor worse, I believe that it is independent of the book "quality".

Do you have any other Cozy Fantasy examples besides Legends & Lattes ?

Novellas & short books are too expensive. I can't pay that much for a book that Im going to finish in a day and sf/fantasy books are **rare** at my library .

I'm glad that the doorstep books aren't as dominant now as they used to be. Sometimes you just want to be able to pick up a book you can slip in your pocket and finish by the end of a trip! Regarding long titles - haven't many of the shorter titles already been taken? :-)

Any recommendations for a book that's a good introduction to TK Kingfisher? I'm interested in her books but I'm not sure which one to start with, especially since I don't read a lot of horror.

Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a great retelling of a Korean folk tale that I highly recommend! I ended up reading it in like two days I liked it so much

One of the features I'll be incorporating into the second/final story arc of my Waves of Darkness series is to go on the premise that many obscure hunting goddesses were actually an elite group of vampire enforcers.

I wonder at your thoughts about multiple novellas set in the same world, just different stories about different characters? I'd been thinking about doing something like that.

mac and cheese discourse is now vital to the community I dig novellae too! a bookstore near me used to do a monthly treat box that would have a novella and a few gourmet snacks.

I love long fantasy books as they keep my excited and on love with the characters and story 🏝️💛🩵💛🏝️📖🌞📖💛🩵📚📚📚📙🩵🏝️📖🌞🌞📖🏝️💛🩵📚📚📚📚🏝️📖🌞🌞📖🏝️🩵🩵💛📚📚📙📙🏝️🌞🌞🌞🌞

I often like long titles better than short ones, so I don't mind of that trend stays xD

Definitely in a bowl. 😂 I love fantasy stand alones and hope to see more of them. Same with cozy fantasy. I want more books that give me the warm fuzzies in between the dark and gothic books I read.

Mythology and folklore retellings… the High Kings by Joy Chant. I also read something very good set in a world of Australian Aboriginal folklore and fairy tales and I really wish I could remember what it was. I read a lot less than I used to and rarely pick up anything new outside of keeping up with a couple favorite series.

I have a story that's 100% finished but 30% done bc most of what I have left is world building. Novellas are fun to write, and while I will have a few novels, they'll mostly be novellas. I also need to look into Cozy Fantasy lol. It sounds so much fun.

I don’t mind shorter fantasy books but it does always make me nervous if the final book is shorter than the previous entry

Totally agree with you on the Mac n cheese... Depends on what is purpose is

I’m on board with Romantasy getting its own section in stores and searches. There are times I want nothing to do with it and don’t want to accidentally pick it up, not realizing it. Sometimes, I just want my Fantasy Hack & Slash without the Kissy Face.

I was eating a bowl of mac n cheese while watching this, and yes, it was in a bowl. As for "A Blank of Blank and Blank" as a title trend, I genuinely can't tell any of them apart. I have no idea who wrote which or which goes in what series, and that's the danger of copying popular trends.