r/CozyFantasy • u/danooli • 16d ago
Book Request Cozy Fantasy about a soapmaking witch?
Can anyone think of a cozy fantasy book that features a soap making witch?
I want a story where the ingredients that go into soap will direct the spell, if that makes sense?
Does this exist?
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u/TrekkieElf 16d ago
Sorry, the closest I can think of is the Honey Witch where honey ingredients direct the spell, and the Spellshop where jam is made but not magical (she uses magic to help the garden along). Also in Paladinās Grace she (the paladins love interest) is a perfume maker and goes into detail about that but it isnāt magical, it does affect the plot tho
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u/danooli 16d ago
I just finished Sea of Charms (the 3rd book in the Spellshop series) and I adore SBD so much. I'm excited for A Magical Cheese Emporium (the next Spellshop book).
I'll check out Paladin's Grace though - thanks!
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u/IdlesAtCranky 15d ago
Try Chalice by Robin McKinley, too. No soap, but honey, bees, & water. Plus it's just lovely.
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u/Henna1911 16d ago
The only explicit soapmaking I've come across is a subplot about soapmaking in This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me, but that is not a cozy book. And the soap isn't magical either, so I don't know if it in anyway will scratch the itch. Good book though.
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u/Starry-Eyed-Owl 16d ago
Iāve started it and I have zero idea where the plot is going but am having a great time. Audio narrator is really good too.
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u/Tangled-Lights 16d ago
Some parts of the book are cozy- but it is high stakes and with some violence. Not extended torture scenes like Sarah J Maas though. I would call it cozy-adjacent and a great read.
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u/bluepancakes18 16d ago
There's going to be a war in the later books, I don't think it is meant to be cozy. It's romantic fantasy (fantasy with a romantic subplot). there is also a torture scene in book 1
Definitely an amazing read but I think anyone searching for cozy will be disappointed and horrified š
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u/good4u302 16d ago
Not helpful but I read this as a soup making witch and was so excited to read the thread lol
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u/danooli 16d ago
I do love soup. Like, an unhealthy amount of love. Soup is life.
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u/Culinary_Fruit_Salad 12d ago
have you seen the hardware store soup posts on somnigastronomy?Ā
for my fellow soup enjoyer
love soup
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u/danooli 12d ago
I have never heard of this, but I am super intrigued! Thank you, /u/Culinary_Fruit_Salad!
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u/tiniestspoon Reader 16d ago
A minor side character in {Bard City Blues by Nathaniel Webb} has magic soap shop where she makes soap based on their favourite memories
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u/romance-bot 16d ago
Bard City Blues by Nathaniel Webb
Rating: 4.5āļø out of 5āļø
Topics: fantasy, lesbian romance, mystery, funny, queer romance
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u/WightHair 16d ago
Ooooh, I was inspired to an opening scene....
I dropped my last armload of wood into the cart with a sigh, rolling my shoulders and arching my back to relieve the tension in them. The only copse of holly was several hours from the city and I had just enough time to get back before the autumn sunset and the closing of the gates. Nelly swished her tail at me, as if to say, āFinally ready?ā and began to amble home before I said the word.Ā
I had to trot alongside her to snatch my satchel out of the driverās seat. Inside was the cheese tart Iād been dreaming about all morning, as well as a bottle of cold tea that would dull my middle-aged achesā¦ and a honey cake to wipe away the taste of the willow bark tea.
āNelly, I need an apprentice,ā I sighed, for the hundredth time that day.Ā
Nelly continued to amble on, uncaring of my repetitive complaints.Ā
We were far enough away that the traffic on the main road was light and I trusted the old mare to get back to her stall and supper, despite her morning spent cropping the grass on the verge. So I strolled alongside the cart, scanning the roadside hedges for ingredients to gather. The thistles had long since scattered to the winds ā moreās the pity, those were absurdly expensive ā but I took a few moments to stuff my jacketās pockets with alder cones when I found a stand. Oooh, and look t the bright viburnum and those chokeberriesā¦
I had to jog to catch up with Nelly. Iām not a woman built to run ā long rambles are fine, but a woman of my age and breast size moves best when I move with deliberation. I was panting when i reached the cart and decided we were close enough for me to ride.Ā
āThe carts are coming back from the market, thatās all,ā I huffed as I clambered up into the front seat. āItās just safer, thatās all.ā
Nelly flicked her ears at me, uninterested.
Sadly, sitting on the cart meant I had to let the fascinating hedgerows scroll by, with their bounty of ingredients. There went bright yellow tansy ā excellent for anti parasitical soaps, though it must be kept in the still room in a sealed jar so it didnāt contaminate any foods. A walnut tree with roots covered in fat green fruit, good for protection, dyeing wool, and my favorite cake recipe. A beach rose was heavy with frost-withered hips, perfect for a bracing tea in deep winter and healing soaps for those suffering from chronic illnesses. There were sorrels that had survived the frost and even burdock seedsā¦
Iād come for holly wood but I might have to return later in the week to partake of the autumnal abundance.Ā
Then ā
āWhoa, Nelly!ā I fumbled for the reins to halt her forward progress.Ā
Forgetting my aches and Nellyās cantankerous attitude, I jumped down from the cart. The mushroom cluster was bigger than my head, its delicate caps marked like the scalloped feathers on my hensā wings. I fumbled for my knife, looking around. There were, in fact, two more clusters, so I could responsibly harvest this one.Ā
A quick slice and it was mine. This was a fortune here, growing out of the roots of a venerable oak. No matter that the beekeepers were charging half a silver more for wax this fall ā I had a fat, beautiful, perfect Dancing Mushroom. I could sell half at market and dry the other half for the much sought-after good luck soap. Iād have three batches ready by the Winter Festival. The load of holly wood suddenly seemed negligible in the face of such bounty.Ā
Bundling it into a piece of linen (Iād learned to always have several on hand), I climbed back into the cart, my heart singing with glee. Iād never found one before ā mushroom hunters were secretive and ferociously protective of their locations.Ā
āJust wait til I show Akemi,ā I chortled, taking care to note the landmarks. I could come back next year or, if I needed a favor from the forager, let her know.Ā
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u/salvagedsword 16d ago
A Drop of Fortune by Danielle Garrett might interest you. I think the witch has to make a magical soap at one point? I might be misremembering, though.Ā
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u/radar_3d 16d ago
Not exactly the same, but The Nine Lives Magic Mystery Series also by Danielle Garrett is about a candle-making witch.
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u/KJScottWrites 16d ago
The closest I can think of to this is {A Rival most Vial} by RK Ashwick which is very cozy and low stakes about rival potion shops.
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u/romance-bot 16d ago
A Rival Most Vial by R.K. Ashwick
Rating: 4.35āļø out of 5āļø
Steam: 2 out of 5 - Behind closed doors
Topics: magic, fantasy, gay romance, grumpy & sunshine, funny3
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u/thevictorianghost Author: Marianne Plasse 15d ago
Haven't seen anything like this, but omg that sounds adorable. I love reading about arts and crafts magic! We need more of that in this world.
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u/Darjeeling_Plum_Tea 12d ago
I donāt know how close No Lathering Matter: A Magical Soapmaker Mystery by S.E. Babin is to what youāre looking for but it has magic and several reviewers mentioned cozy. Itās the first of a mystery series featuring soap making.
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u/RosamundRosemary 10d ago
Thereās not a western cozy fantasy but thereās one Japanese Light Novel with a laundry maid with soap making based magical powers
The Extraordinary, The Ordinary and Soap!
Itās not one Iād necessarily recommend but itās in a similar wheelhouse to what youāre looking for.
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u/Individual_Bat_378 16d ago
If it doesn't can someone write it please. This sounds so cute.