Cosy fantasy – Everything Is Better With Dragons

Review: Magic, Maps, and Mischief, by David Green

Format:427 pages, Paperback
Published: October 8, 2025 by Independently published
ISBN: 9798269020877

Book Description

What Would You Do To Discover Your Heart’s Desire?

Greton of Willow is in a spot of bother. Caught in the act while escorting a family of elves to safety, Greton flees for greener pastures with only his scant magic and brilliant mind to his name.

And a question. The question.

‘What is your heart’s desire?’

A life-long outsider, Greton sets out to uncover what lies at the centre of his heart. Is it adopting a tawny owl? Owning his very own map shop? Forging a found family with others as similarly scorned as himself? The possibilities are endless. Determined to put his marvellous mind to the task, Greton discovers a way to reveal anyone’s heart’s desire, but not everyone’s longings are as pure as his…

Something odd is occurring in Greton’s new home of Barrow’s Hill, and, before long, the old man in search of a comfortable new life finds himself swept up in danger and mischief.

My Review

Firstly, a disclaimer. I know the author, he’s the BFS Secretary, and currently running a writing course I’m on. I had an advanced ebook of this novel last year. Unfortunately, I struggle to read ebooks, so I got a physical copy at World Fantasy Con in October/November just after it was published. Dave has signed it and everything. I also heard some of the story at Fantasycon in Chester last year. So I knew from what I’d already heard and read that I’d enjoy it.

We meet the Sparker, a magic user, Greton on the island of Haltveldt. He’s forced to join a raid looking for elves. The Emperor has been committing genocide and some of the Sparkers are happy to help. Greton is not. He helps a family of elves flee but is caught by one of those murder-happy Sparkers. Greton is forced to flee to Valen, a state on the main continent. On the way he makes a friend in Atlas, the tawny owl and finds a patron, an explorer looking for accurate maps. On the way he ponders the question asked by one of the elves, what does his heart desire?

Greton loves maps. He is an extraordinary mapmaker. In Valen, Greton makes his way to Barrow’s Hill. Here he settles into a shop next door to a tea shop and across the road from a book shop. He’s very happy, and sets about creating maps, before trying to develop an ink that will show him his hearts desire. Along the way he makes some good friends and helps uncover a mystery – who is robbing the homes and shops of Barrow’s Hill and getting in and out unseen? He also discovers his heart’s desire was right in front of him the whole time.

There are some things that are obvious to the reader that Greton is oblivious to, but it’s part of his character. His instincts can be good but he’s uncertain about them because of the bullying he’s experienced. He’s a rather sweet old man who wants to make maps and help people. Aria is an energetic, fun character who balances Greton’s steadier nature, between them, they work well and successfully. With Petra across the road, they form a chosen family that is stable and loving. Greton is an autistic character, Aria is an ADHDer, and this book is a celebration of ND life and friendships. The characters have settled into my brain and I want to read more about their lives.

I enjoyed the cosy tale and the mystery was well-formed and the explanation entirely sensible. I picked up the clues that some people were dodgy fairly early on, but the execution of the mystery had good pacing and a satisfying resolution.

The world building is strong and memorable. The settings are clearly defined and I enjoyed exploring them with Greton. I would like to go exploring with Greton and make maps with him.

I knew changing from an ebook to a physical book would be sensible – I started from where I left off in the ebook, while I was in Brighton and got about half of it read. I had blog tours to read for so I put this book down until Saturday, when I spent the afternoon reading the rest. I needed a couple of days processing time to write a review, but here it is. I enjoyed the story, the characters and the setting. I need to read In Solitude’s Shadow, which is set 200 years after this book. I enjoy David’s writing and I want to know more about the world of Greton and company.

If you want a cosy fantasy with explicitly ND (autistic, ADHD) and Queer (asexual, lesbian) characters, I recommend this book.

TBR Pile Review: Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil, by Oliver Darkshire

Format: 249 pages, Hardcover

Published: 19th June, 2025 by Hodderscape

ISBN: 9781399743839

Books can change lives. Magic books can change everything.

In a tiny, miserable farm on the edge of the tiny, miserable village of East Grasby, Isabella Nagg is trying to get on with her equally tiny and miserable existence. Dividing her time between enduring her feckless husband, inadequately caring for the farm’s strange collection of animals, cooking up ‘scrunge’, and crooning over her treasured pot of basil, Isabella can’t help but think that there might be something more to life. So, while she’s initially aghast when Mr. Nagg comes home with a spell book purloined from the local wizard, she soon starts to think: what harm could a little magic do?

As Isabella embarks on a journey of self-discovery with a grouchy cat-like companion, Darkshire’s imagination runs wild, plunging readers into a delightfully deranged world full of enchantment, folklore, and an entrepreneurial villain running a magical Ponzi scheme.

My Review

I found out about this book on Saturday from the Hodderscape Instagram feed and ordered it straight away from the local Waterstones. I picked it up after I went to The Festival of the Sea, got home, and read it in a single sitting.

I was promised Pratchettian humour.

There were footnotes. The footnotes were funny. There was a lot of folklore drawn on as well as invented. Which does smell of Discworld, but doesn’t quite scratch the itch. I did not get my Pratchettian story.

The story is of Isabella Nagg realising she doesn’t have to be a farmer’s wife after reading a magic book (stolen from the local wizard by her useless husband), fighting goblins and grifters, and dealing with past events as they come home to roost. There is a mysteriously disappearing wizard and a mysteriously appearing pony, a talking donkey, a grifter looking to set up a ‘new goblin market’ and the eponymous pot of basil.

It was quite, quite silly and I enjoyed the story immensely, even if it did at first feel contrived. Once I got into it, I could see the charm in this cosy fantasy. The social commentary and observations of life in small rural villages was pointed and entertaining, while the criticisms of unequal marriages was sharp.

TBR Pile Review: Cursed Cocktails, by S.L. Rowland

Format: 280 pages, Paperback
Published: February 18, 2023 by Aethervale Publishing
ISBN: 9798987850206

Description

When life gives you lemons, squeeze them into a stiff drink and stir.

After twenty years defending the frozen north against some of the most dangerous threats in the nine kingdoms, Rhoren “Bloodbane” has finally earned his retirement. While the blood mage’s service to the realm may have ended, burning veins and aching joints remain, and Rhoren soon learns that a warmer climate offers relief from his chronic pain.

And a chance at a fresh start.

In the warm and relaxing atmosphere of Eastborne, the umbral elf finds a new purpose and a sense of belonging. He may have left the frozen north behind, but he brings with him the skills and strength gained from a lifetime of defending the realm. Along with his most prized possession—a book of drink recipes inherited from his father.

Spilled cocktails may not carry the same weight as spilled blood, but opening a tavern brings a unique brand of challenges. With the right friends and a little bit of luck, he might just have a recipe for success.