10 Must-Read Cozy Books for a Cottagecore Spring 2024

While I usually struggle with time travel stories, I couldn’t put down this latest adult fantasy / magical realism / historical fiction / romance mashup from Adrienne Young. 

I think the less you know about the plot going in the better, but here are some key cornerstones: A small mountain town in North Carolina, a family of flower farmers, magical red doors that randomly appear to allow the Farrow women the ability to travel through time and a searing second chance romance … if any of this titillates your literary senses, you’ll love this book!

What is more Cottagecore than English countryside manors, gardens, and fairies? In this story you’ll meet two young girls who, in 1917, stunned the world when they captured a picture of fairies in their garden and launched great global interest as to the authenticity of the photo. 

100 years later, Olivia Kavanaugh, finds the photograph in her late grandfather’s bookshop and begins her own research - discovering her own personal connection to the photograph and the girls at the center of this great mystery.

Sarah Addison Allen novels have that special combination of magical realism and southern charm that I adore, and I am so jealous of anyone who gets to discover her stories for the first time! 

Nothing is more Cottagecore than her debut novel Garden Spells that follows the Waverly women in their small hometown in North Carolina. Each possessing their own unique “gifts”, it’s a lovely story of belonging and becoming written with prose that is simply a sensory feast. If food, sisterhood, small town community, and magical gardens are your thing - check this one out pronto. 

While this is definitely the darker of the stories offered here in this list, Weyward is for all the Cottagecore fans who subscribe more to the “cottage witch” vibe. 

Weaving together the stories of three women across five centuries: Kate in 2019 fleeing an abusive relationship, Violet in 1942 escaping the suffocation of her family’s grand estate and societal limitations for women, and Altha in 1619 trying to survive the witch hunts after being accused. Each of the women have a magical connection to the natural world and their stories unfold as they reside in the same small cottage that has been passed down the generations since the 17th century.

 A blend of historical fiction and magical realism this bewitching story will appeal to Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen fans. 

This is a tender, slow moving story about a disparate group of people who come together through their shared love of Jane Austen stories. 

Set in post WWII England in a small, sleepy village this book is simply charming and completely joyful. While those with strong Jane Austen knowledge will benefit more from this novel, I (with passing knowledge from the movies at best) did just fine. Another nice, feel-good read to add to your TBR. 

Really, most of Kate Morton’s stories would fit the Cottagecore vibe as the majority of her novels center in old English country gardens, estates, and manors. 

Usually told in a dual timeline between past and present, a long unsolved mystery is slowly unraveled amidst the beautiful backdrop of the English countryside. For fans of slow historical fiction with beautifully detailed descriptive writing, I always love a Kate Morton novel. But if your idea of Spring and Cottagecore is synonymous with flowers, you cannot miss The Forgotten Garden. 

Maybe not your traditional Cottagecore story, but I believe this still fits the bill as it follows a passionate beekeeper, living on a small farm outside a small town, as she fights for her local environment and the protection of the precious, fragile bees. 

Interconnecting three stories - high school senior Jake who has been bound to a wheelchair after a freak accident, 24-year-old Harry who suffers from crippling social anxiety, and 44-year-old Alice who grieves for her husband and worries her life hasn’t turned out the way she’d hoped. Together, along with the healing power of nature and bees, they will find joy and solace and strength in one another. This is such a feel good story that deserves much more attention. You’ll learn so much about glorious, wonderful bees! 

If Cottagecore means a countertop full of cooling, delicious home baked goods then this new release from Olivia Ford is just for you. 

Septuagenarian Jennifer Quinn never expected to win a spot on the infamous TV show, Britain Bakes, and nor could she have imagined the semi-famous status she would gain from doing so. She just knew that after a lifetime love of home baking, she finally wanted to do something just for herself.

But as her fame grows, painful buried secrets from the past surface. I always gravitate towards anything that plays off The Great British Bake Off, but they seemingly always fail to deliver - not so here! Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame is tender, emotionally compelling and comforting, with deeply felt characters. A true balm for the weary soul.

Maybe THE most Cottagecore book on this list, this one is for anyone who loves slow, magical stories centring around gardens, lush forests, the slow comforts of baking, and friendship. 

While not exactly lighthearted, this story does have a very dark undercurrent, but it paces along with an almost meditative prose that enlivens and evokes all the senses of taste, touch and site, leaving the reader quite comforted. 

Mel, who has grown up with no family, bouncing among foster placements, finds her forever home when she returns to her best friend’s small town to scatter her ashes. Here she will learn the power of connection, friendship, and the healing powers of nature.

A little out-there, a whole lotta weird, magical realism and a plethora of flowers combine in this entirely unique story from Anna-Marie McLemore. 

Following the women of the Nomeolvides family who, for generations, have been responsible for the upkeep and care of the world famous gardens on the island of La Pradera. They hide a painful family secret: if any of them fall too deeply in love, their lover will vanish. Until a strange boy appears one day in their gardens …