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Love At First Lance: A Cozy Romantic Fantasy
Gryffin Murphy
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An innocent was about to be sentenced to death! (Actually, marriage, but that mattered very little, as the two words were synonymous for the princess.)
Every year, the seasonal kingdoms in the realm of Lore gather together for a tournament of whimsical games. The winner’s reward? The marriage to a member of the hosting court. When Princess Brigid of the Spring Kingdom publicly rejects the tradition of being offered as a mere prize, it has unforeseen consequences. A year later, her younger sister Blossom has been thrust into the role of the bride-to-be.
When she learns the roguish Night Prince has stepped forward to compete for Blossom's affection, Brigid takes matters into her own hands to protect her sister. In her quest to outwit unworthy suitors, she assumes a clever disguise and enters the tournament herself, prepared to throw any villainous contender from the running.
As the tournament unfolds, however, Brigid finds unexpected allies among her adversaries and discovers that true love can bloom in the most unexpected places.
Readers who love the cozy fantasy genre will enjoy this delightful journey filled with humor, enchantment, and of course, romance.
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\ \ ANNOUNCING OUR 2026 BOOK CLUB SEASON! 🎉 \ \ This year our focus is utilizing the library as much as possible, so we've chosen books that have released in past years to make those holds a bit shorter 🤞🤞🤞.\ \ If you're new here, welcome! We have a free book club for our members hosted in the Cozy Quill Discord . Once you're a Bindery member, just link your Discord to that community in the account settings and you'll be good to go!\ \ Each month, I'll create a forum for the book we're reading set in three-chapter clumps for discussion. (ie: Chapters 1-3). Feel free to pop in anytime and offer your thoughts, and be sure to engage with other readers as you go! It's a great way to make a new friend and bond over stories.\ \ I've carefully considered our books for this year, BUT these are absolutely subject to change. My goal is always to diversify our book club offerings, so if we discover a new story here or there that would improve on that mission, we're flexible. If a change does happen, you will know months in advance.\ \ At this time, we don't offer a virtual book club event, but if you'd like to host one let me or our Discord moderators know and we can help you set that up.\ \ Looking forward to more cozy reading with you this year!\ \ \ \ JANUARY: A FELLOWSHIP OF BAKERS & MAGIC\ \ In the heart of Adenashire, where elvish enchantments and dwarven delights rule, human baker Arleta Starstone works twice as hard at perfecting her unique blend of baking with apothecary herbs. So, when her orc neighbor (and biggest fan) secretly enters her creations into the prestigious Langheim Baking Battle, Arleta faces a dilemma. Being magicless, her participation in the competition could draw more scowls than smiles. And if Arleta wants to prove her talent and establish her culinary reputation, she'll need more than just her pastry craft to sweeten the odds.\ \ Though Arleta may not yet believe in herself, she makes her way to Langheim―with the help of a very attractive woodland elf―and competes. While on a journey of mouthwatering pastries, self-discovery, heartwarming friendships, and potential romance, Arleta will have to decide whether winning the Baking Battle is the true prize after all. But win or lose, her adventure is only beginning…\ \ Although this book is part of a series it can only be read as a standalone. Escape to Adenashire for a delightful cozy fantasy where every twist is a treat and every turn a step closer to home.\ \ \ \ FEBRUARY: SILVER IN THE WOOD\ \ There is a Wild Man who lives in the deep quiet of Greenhollow, and he listens to the wood. Tobias, tethered to the forest, does not dwell on his past life, but he lives a perfectly unremarkable existence with his cottage, his cat, and his dryads.\ \ When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes. Old secrets better left buried are dug up, and Tobias is forced to reckon with his troubled past—both the green magic of the woods, and the dark things that rest in its heart.\ \ \ \ MARCH: THE GRACE OF WILD THINGS\ \ Grace has never been good at anything except magic—not that anyone believes her. While other children are adopted from the orphanage, nobody wants Grace. So she decides to make a home for herself by running away and offering herself as an apprentice to the witch in the nearby woods. After all, who better to teach Grace to use her magic? Surely the witch can’t be that bad.\ \ But the witch is that bad—she steals souls for spells and gobbles up hearts. So Grace offers a deal: If she can learn all 100½ spells in the witch’s grimoire, the witch will make Grace her apprentice. But if Grace fails, the witch can take her magic. The witch agrees, and soon an unexpected bond develops between them. But the spells are much harder than Grace expected, and when a monster from the witch’s past threatens the home Grace has built, she may have to sacrifice more than her magic to save it.\ \ Inspired by Anne of Green Gables, this is a magical story of found family, loss, and the power of a girl’s imagination.\ \ \ \ APRIL: VERA WONG'S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS\ \ Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…\ \ Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?\ \ Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).\ \ But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.\ \ Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.\ \ \ \ MAY: LOVE AT FIRST LANCE\ \ Every year, the seasonal kingdoms in the realm of Lore gather together for a tournament of whimsical games. The winner’s reward? The marriage to a member of the hosting court. When Princess Brigid of the Spring Kingdom publicly rejects the tradition of being offered as a mere prize, it has unforeseen consequences. A year later, her younger sister Blossom has been thrust into the role of the bride-to-be.\ \ When she learns the roguish Night Prince has stepped forward to compete for Blossom's affection, Brigid takes matters into her own hands to protect her sister. In her quest to outwit unworthy suitors, she assumes a clever disguise and enters the tournament herself, prepared to throw any villainous contender from the running.\ \ As the tournament unfolds, however, Brigid finds unexpected allies among her adversaries and discovers that true love can bloom in the most unexpected places.\ \ \ \ JUNE: Drinks & Sinkholes\ \ Bev may not know who she was before she showed up in the quaint village of Pigsend five years ago, but that doesn't bother her much. She's made a tidy little life for herself as the proprietor of the Weary Dragon Inn, where the most notable event is when she makes her famous rosemary bread.\ \ But when earthquakes and sinkholes start appearing all over town, including near Bev's front door, she's got to put on her sleuthing hat to figure out what—or who—might be causing them before the entire town disappears.\ \ Drinks and Sinkholes is the first book in the Weary Dragon Inn Series.\ \ \ \ JULY: THE KEEPER OF LONELY SPIRITS\ \ Find an angry spirit. Send it on its way before it causes trouble. Leave before anyone learns his name.\ \ After over two hundred years, Peter Shaughnessy is ready to die and end this cycle. But thanks to a youthful encounter with one o’ them folk in his native Ireland, he can’t. Instead, he’s cursed to wander eternally far from home, with the ability to see ghosts and talk to plants.\ \ Immortality means Peter has lost everyone he’s ever loved. And so he centers his life on the dead—until his wandering brings him to Harrington, Ohio. As he searches for a vengeful spirit, Peter’s drawn into the townsfolk’s lives, homes and troubles. For the first time in over a century, he wants something other than death.\ \ But the people of Harrington will die someday. And he won’t.\ \ As Harrington buckles under the weight of the supernatural, the ghost hunt pits Peter’s well-being against that of his new friends and the man he’s falling for. If he stays, he risks heartbreak. If he leaves, he risks their lives.\ \ \ \ AUGUST: THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA\ \ Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.\ \ Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.\ \ Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.\ \ But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…\ \ \ \ SEPTEMBER: THE KEEPER OF MAGICAL THINGS\ \ Certainty Bulrush wants to be useful—to the Guild of Mages that took her in as a novice, to the little brother who depends on her, and to anyone else she can help. Unfortunately, her tepid magic hasn’t proven much use to anyone. When Certainty has the chance to earn her magehood via a seemingly straightforward assignment, she takes it. Nevermind that she’ll have to work with Mage Aurelia, the brilliant, unfairly attractive overachiever who’s managed to alienate everyone around her.\ \ The two must transport minorly magical artifacts somewhere safe: Shpelling, the dullest, least magical village around. There, they must fix up an old warehouse, separate the gossipy teapots from the kind-of-flaming swords, corral an unruly little catdragon who has tagged along, and above all: avoid complications. The Guild’s uneasy relationship with citizens is at a tipping point, and the last thing needed is a magical incident.\ \ Still, as mage and novice come to know Shpelling’s residents—and each other—they realize the Guild’s hoarded magic might do more good being shared. Friendships blossom while Certainty and Aurelia work to make Shpelling the haven it could be. But magic is fickle—add attraction and it might spell trouble.\ \ \ \ OCTOBER: TWIG'S TRAVELING TOMES\ \ Summary to be added...\ \ \ \ NOVEMBER: WINTERFROST MARKET\ \ At the enchanting Winterfrost Market, renowned for its Midwinter celebrations, Elsie is run off her feet at her family’s cozy traveling tea house.\ \ But the quaint town’s festivities lose their luster when her mother fails to return from her journey to Midwinter Haven—a fairytale land in the north, rumored to be inhabited by elves, witches, and fae.\ \ With Elsie’s worry as dark as her strongest tea, she enlists the help of the captivating tracker, Kit, to guide her northward.\ \ Stepping beyond her comfort zone, Elsie’s eyes are opened to magic she never thought possible. But she quickly discovers that Kit has secrets and suspects he may be one of the clever fae her sister warned her about.\ \ Is Kit her dream prince, or an enemy in disguise? To find her mother, she must be willing to gamble her heart.\ \ \ \ It's the night before Hogswatch. And it's too quiet.\ \ Where is the big jolly fat man? Why is Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say Ho Ho Ho? The darkest night of the year is getting a lot darker... Susan the gothic governess has got to sort it out by morning, otherwise there won't be a morning. Ever again...\ \ The 20th Discworld novel is a festive feast of darkness and Death (but with jolly robins and tinsel too). As they say: "You'd better watch out..."](https://cozyquill.binderybooks.com/item/OdJtUgCS7xLOoFILQgeD/)
Official 2026 Book Club List ✨📚
12 books
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Cozy Quill\ \ Meg\ \ • Nov 7 2025
\ \ Hi friends! We recently had our monthly "Reading Recap" hang with our Cozy Quill paid members and, boy, did they come through with recs!\ \ I wanted to share all these book recommendations with you asap because they just kept coming and they kept getting better. Thank you to everyone who popped into the virtual recap this month and shared the stories you're loving! Your contributions were very generous and I'm excited to offer the list to everyone in our cozy crew.\ \ Scroll down and you'll see all 38 books our Cozy Quillers recommend this season! You can purchase them right from the Bindery site (I do earn a commission on that, I think? I haven't yet so I'm not sure ha!) or just add them to your TBR. Love you all! Until the next reading recap...\ \ x, Meg](https://cozyquill.binderybooks.com/item/9c4JMh80PlKFSM7uicW9/)
38 Reads We're All Obsessing Over 📚
38 books
16
Cozy Quill\ \ Meg\ \ • Sep 18 2024
My favorite tea + fall KU recs!☕️
I’m so happy you’re here, friend.❤️🍂🍄
5 books
12
Posts about this book from across Bindery
Official 2026 Book Club List ✨📚
12 books
36
Cozy Quill\ \ Meg\ \ • Nov 7 2025
38 Reads We're All Obsessing Over 📚
38 books
16
Chanterelle Solace\ \ Sabie\ \ • Sep 17 2025
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Read for Palestine: September Readathon with a Fundraiser for Dignity4Palestine
Here’s something you can do as a reader for Palestine this September! 🍉🤎
I’m late to this but thank you to @starry.steph for sharing about this! Read for Palestine is a readathon happening throughout September and @opacarophvlia @readsbyross are hosting a fundraiser for us readers in which we can raise £2/€2 for every book we read during the month! The goal is to raise £5000 throughout this month
This money goes to Dignity for Palestinians, a community based initiative in Gaza that provides essential support like food parcels, clean water and health services to the people who need it! If you can’t contribute, share the word about this, spread it to your book club/reader community and get as many people aware of it!
And they are also hosting a Readalong for Forest of Noise if you want to participate and partake in it!
Every little step counts, donating for one book, a small amount or sharing helps contribute to the fundraiser 🤎
#readforpalestine #readingisresistance #booksarepolitical
5 books
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Chanterelle Solace\ \ Sabie\ \ • Aug 15 2025
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[Poll:\ \ What era are you here for?\ \ \ \ Here is the second post that gives you an update of everything happening in the background with Chanterelle Solace and from your (hopefully) favourite Cottagecore Creator \ \ Summary:\ \
- Exciting News in the Cottagecore world\ \
- New Exciting things in Chanterelle Solace\ \
- What I've been playing\ \
- What I've been reading\ \ \ Exciting News in the Cottagecore World: \ \ This is just going to have some exciting news from this week (it wont be everything BUT this is what caught my eyes in the busy world we live in) AND the fun part? Cottagecore gets the cozy and the darker, whimsical things in here! Let's go:\ \ Book Related:\ \
- Cozy Quill, a bindery imprint by Meg, is publishing a COZY ROMANTASY next fall (2026) by Gryffin Murphy, same author as Love at first Lance!! This book, which is bound to be WONDERFUL is called Twig's Traveling Tomes \ \
- India Holton has announced not one but TWO new books coming out in 2027 and one is a Cozy, Cottagecore Romantasy (be still my heart) with a shy librarian in it AND another is a horror romantasy (AHHHH)\ \
- Dragon Bone Publishing (an indie press that is publishing Human Scars on Planet Skin, which is a cozy sci-fi horror mushroomcore book) is publishing a book called The Awakening of Lora Abernathy, which features a werewolve with chronic lyme disease AND is a novella with cozy fantasy horror vibes (or well genre) AND that is ALL I am saying! You need to tune in to Micah's instagram to see the gorgeous instagram cover tomorrow \ \ \ Gaming Related:\ \
- Tiny Bookshop is finally out (as evidential by my initial gaming impression in here) AND I am quite loving it! Let's give this indie game a try and that dopamine boost I get from recommending the right books? Nothing beats it lol. If you do enjoy this game, check out Book bound! \ \
- Out and About is now out and it has mushrooms in the title, that is all I am saying honestly \ \
- Palia is releasing an update on August 18th! \ \ \ New Exciting things in Chanterelle Solace: \ \ We have been growing this past month and I am fully focusing on getting you guys on the Cottagecore side of things! This is a place for the whimsical, cottagecore things and we just had a giveaway for our free members in discord for hitting our 100th member (we are now so close to 200 AHHH). This is some exciting news coming up soon:\ \
- Mushroomcore Giveaway in September for paid tier members \ \
- Mushroomcore Merch with a small business company\ \
- Mushroomcore House Related fun merch with a small business artist \ \ \ If you've been on the fence about subscribing to Chanterelle Solace, this is the time guys! Not only are we building a mushroomcore empire BUT I am hoping to one day build a Cottagecore Imprint that focuses on marginalised authors and includes diversity in the books while shouting about the Cottagecore sub-genre in Fantasy, Sci-fi and Horror!\ \ Join us in the Whimsical Side, as we frolick in the forest and join our pet mushroom, that can talk! \ \ The Games of the Week: \ \ So I'm still playing Tales of the Shire and have neared the ending on the main story (which I'm VERY sad about because what do you mean this is the end?) and I still love the game but I still stand with my initial impressions I shared last week.\ \ I do wish the game divided more into the Lore of LotR and as a reader, I was pretty excited for this aspect, more than anything because having a cozy game that remains COZY and dives into lores is quite a unique touch and addition (or would have been).\ \ Also, why is the main story of the game ending SO soon? I am about 25-ish hours in and I did expect more game play on this, especially for the price point. I am somewhere between a completionist and a main story gamer, so I will likely play a bit longer but then retire the game, until one day (hopefully) we hear of an update!\ \ I have started playing Tiny Bookshop and it is quite a lovely game. I am not so far into it but I am liking that we have REAL book titles in the game, because that is such a unique touch to a game! However, here is the down side: there isn't much to do while waiting for customers to ask you for book recommendations and I am bad at managing money in real life, as I am in the game (LOL, send help)\ \ Chanterelle Solace Gaming Club is playing Palia but as I have legit just moved about two weeks ago and still have no Wi-Fi, I am not able to join in on this fun gaming month! Of course, the free online MMO game gets chosen for the month I am MIA with a wifi connection lol (so unpredictable as always)\ \ What I've been reading: \ \ So every couple of weeks my ND screams and I end up reading like 5-10 books in one go for a week or more and this is one of them friends lol. So here is the list of books I am reading now (and LOVING), such a good year in general for books for me:\ \
- Love at first Lance (some exciting news about this author and Cozy Quill Imprint under bindery below)\ \
- The Hollow Places\ \
- Paladin's Strength\ \
- The House Witch (book club read)\ \
- Girl in the Creek\ \
- Predatory Nature\ \ \ So, stick around my cottagecore friends. Next week, we'll have some more fun news!](https://cozysabie.binderybooks.com/item/o9a6xw6aJyKHmIEDZqEa/)
Cottagecore Updates from your favourite Mushroom Witch #2
7 books
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Cozy Quill\ \ Meg\ \ • Sep 18 2024
\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://cozyquill.binderybooks.com/item/vPK76yCVMcTrJwp2p9WZ/)
My favorite tea + fall KU recs!☕️
I’m so happy you’re here, friend.❤️🍂🍄
5 books
12