What Makes a Romance Novel Cozy?

If you spend any time browsing romance novels, you've probably noticed an uptick in the adjective "cozy," used to describe romance novels, especially now that we're entering the cozy seasons of the year, i.e., autumn and winter.

But what makes a romance cozy? Are there specific things readers look for in a cozy romance novel? Can the descriptor be applied to any sub-genre? Are there certain tropes that work well in cozy romances?

I'm here to answer all these questions.

And as always, we're starting with a definition.

What is a cozy romance?

A cozy romance is a romance novel whose setting, theme, and characters combine to create a story that makes readers feel comforted and warm when they read it. Basically, a cozy romance feels like being wrapped in a fuzzy blanket with a hot beverage by your side. Comforting, warm, safe.

Are there specific things readers look for in a cozy romance novel?

When readers pick up a cozy romance, they're looking for a heart-warming love story that's very low on conflict. So while the main characters can still have emotional wounds and wrestle with internal conflicts, those wounds will be easier to heal, and the conflicts easier to overcome, in part because the characters understand each other's emotions quicker and more easily than in your typical third-act-break-up romance.

Some cozy romance novels even feature one character with an emotional wound and internal conflict, and one or more that is wound and conflict-free, aka "flawless." This self-actualized character is therefore 100% able to support their love interest/s in doing whatever it takes to help them feel happy, safe, and loved.

And any external conflicts in cozies are easy to overcome, and inherently low drama. Because readers don't want an emotional rollercoaster when they pick up a cozy romance. It's why many cozy romances don't even have a third-act break-up; the characters might experience a brief hiccup in the form of a snowstorm, or cancelled town festival, but it only makes their connection stronger.

Romance readers are also looking for a cozy setting when they pick up a cozy romance. The most common cozy romance setting is a small town, but you can set a cozy romance almost anywhere there's a sense of safety and community—a specific neighborhood in a city, a restaurant, a camp, a snowy alien planet.

Can all sub-genres of romance be cozy?

Because what makes a romance cozy is a combination of its characters, theme, setting, and conflict (or lack thereof), almost any romance can be cozy. Regency historical? Yes. Sci-fi alien? Yes. Contemporary Christmas romance? Heck yes.

However, there are a few exceptions. Dark romance is by its very nature not cozy, and you'll have likewise have difficulty writing a cozy mafia romance that stays true to the sub-genre, which is inherently angsty. Cozy horror romance is another tough one, as is cozy gothic romance, because both are sub-genres predicated on plots that instill a sense of fear and foreboding in the reader.

Which tropes work best with cozy romances?

As with sub-genres, cozy romance works well with many, many tropes. Forced proximity, stranded, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, second chance—you name it, you can probably write a cozy romance with that trope.

But like with sub-genres, there are a few exceptions. The blackmail and revenge tropes, both classics of dark and mafia romance, are, like their parent sub-genres, inherently angsty and won't work well in a low-conflict cozy romance. As such, the mafia boss character trope will also be hard to fit into a cozy story.

The Hades and Persephone trope, and the rejected mate and unrequited love tropes, are all laced with internal conflict and tension, which isn't what cozy romance readers want.

Kidnapping is a grey area, cozy-romance wise; the trope is inherently dramatic, but it could work if a main character is kidnapped from a bad situation by a love interest who actually has their best interests at heart.

Marriage in trouble is another grey area; most marriage in trouble romances deal with serious issues that have come between the main characters, so a cozy marriage in trouble romance would have to focus on the characters caring for each other and healing their emotional wounds, rather than rehashing past fights, mistakes, or other issues.

The only other trope that I can't see easily working into a cozy romance is the stalker trope because, like gothic and horror romance, it's predicated on a character at least initially instilling fear in the main character, and romance readers don't want to feel that emotion when they're settling down with a cozy romance.

Now that you know what cozy romance is, what its readers want, and what sub-genres and tropes work well with the vibe, you're ready to write your own cozy romance. And if you need a little inspiration, check out these cozy romance writing prompts.

Until next blog post, happy reading and writing!