In Search of Whimsy: Reads for a More Magical Life

by Heather Fawcett

🎧 Audiobook

Emily Wilde is, in a word, completely charming. Okay, maybe two words, but that doesn’t make it any less endearing. Emily is a Cambridge professor who is an expert on the study of faeries and is writing the first encyclopedia of faerie lore. Her research has taken her all over the world and landed her in a small Scandinavian village; small enough that she has to chop her own wood to stay warm! But ultimately Emily is a fearless, loveable character who struggles with small talk, loves academics, and is exactly the type of person you would want to be friends with. I was surprised at how fun and charming this ended up being, but it’s a series I consistently recommend to friends now! 

by Diana Wynne Jones

🎧 Audiobook

Admittedly I was very late in both seeing this movie AND reading the book, but I can safely say if you liked one, you’ll like the other and vice versa. Each brings unique additions to the story but never takes anything away from its overall magic. Sophie is an eldest daughter, which I’m sure will speak to a great many of us, and has caught the attention of the Witch of the Waste. Unfortunately for her, the witch decides to turn her into an old woman, leading her to sneak on to the moving castle in the hills that belongs to the Wizard Howl. In order to break the curse, she needs to handle Howl and a fire demon and then face the witch head on. Sounds easy enough! 

by TJ Klune

🎧 Audiobook

This is easily one of my favorite whimsical books of the last ten years. The characters are endearing and compelling and form a beautiful found family that you can’t help but smile at. From gnomes to devils to tiny green bellhops, it’s a story that adults and kids can enjoy. Linus would never consider himself a hero, just a man slowly being drained by his boring nine to five job for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He truly cares for the well-being of the children, but he can’t allow himself to get attached. That is, until he meets Arthur Parnassas and the kids at Marsyas Island Orphanage. The children are special beyond what Linus expected, and soon he is forced to decide just how impartial he can truly be. 

by T. Kingfisher

🎧 Audiobook

At some point over the last six years, we’ve all attempted a sourdough starter. Some of us succeeded, others failed, but I think I can safely say none of us ever had a carnivorous, unreliable starter named Bob. In this smart and delightfully entertaining story we meet Mona, an apprentice baker who is a bread wizard, which sounds like it could be the job of my dreams. Typically, Mona lives a very quiet life in her aunt’s bakery where she makes gingerbread men dance. Which is whimsical for sure, but potentially also not the best use of her time. Initially I thought this would be a murder mystery after Mona finds a dead body in the bakery, but really this turns into a coming-of-age story where she gets to define what being a hero really means. Especially since she is the target of an assassin in her village. 

by Olivia Atwater

🎧 Audiobook

If you like a little regency with your whimsy, look no further than Half a Soul. A low-stakes, engaging combination of cozy mystery, historical romance, and fantasy in a story that follows a woman, Theodora Ettings, who is no longer able to feel anything thanks to a curse from a faerie that steals her soul. Think Bridgerton with a little more magic. As a result, she often finds herself in…precarious, and one might even say scandalous, situations. Her family hides her eccentric behavior by living in the country, until Theodora decides to accompany her cousin to the marriage mart in London. What could possibly go wrong? Quite a bit, actually, especially once Theodora stumbles upon a plague that is infecting the working class in London. 

by Ashley Poston

🎧 Audiobook

If you ever found yourself wishing you could explore the world of The Secret Garden, then The Someday Garden might just be the next best thing. If nothing else this will make you want to plan your own coastal road trip. Sophie Drear is on hiatus from her job to care for the famous grounds of Lilymoor House in Maine, in part because it’s her dream job and in part to fulfill a promise she made to her best friend. What she finds when she arrives is a quirky staff, an enigmatic owner, and a blue door that frustratingly keeps appearing and disappearing, with a man trapped inside a part of the garden that she swears she can’t find on her map. This was one of my favorite reads of 2026 because of the beautiful garden that you can’t help but want to escape to, the endearing characters, and Sophie’s growth as she navigates through a Drear-y (pun intended) time in her life.

by Sangu Mandanna

🎧 Audiobook

Somehow, most of the quirky and whimsical stories I’ve read take place in England or a version of it. It also seems to contain some of the most powerful witches and wizards. Take Sera Swan, for example, who used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain until she brought her aunt back from the dead. The very recent dead, I might add. Fast forward to the present where she has been stripped of her magic and now helps her aunt run an inn filled with an assortment of interesting guests. Including, but not limited to, a man who seems to be cosplaying as a knight from Dungeons and Dragons and a talking fox who was exiled from the same guild now keeping watch on Sera, and a host of others. Sera is determined to find the pieces to a spell that will give her powers back, but thanks to a few new guests, must learn that she doesn’t have to do it all alone. This is, in short, a perfect cozy and lighthearted read.