Hidden Themes in Cozy Fantasy | T...

Hidden Themes in Cozy Fantasy | The Hocus Pocus Handbook by Ann Aguirre

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In Bed With Books por Melissa
T10 · E106
17 sept 2026
47:40

Notas del episodio

Join me and author Ann Aguirre to talk about her latest book, The Hocus Pocus Handbook. The book follows Thea, a human member of the Winter Court. After being replaced with a changeling as a baby, Thea has grown accustomed to the ways of faerie - their customs and rules, and the ways she can bend the rules for her own acts of “good trouble.” But when she takes things a little too far, she’s forced on a quest with the broodiest knight in the court. With the threat of being exiled back into the human world looming over her head, Thea must find her missing betrothed and try not to fall in love with someone else in the process.

Aguirre and I had chatted about how she tied in heavier themes of classism, privilege, and The Other to her cozy fantasy. Afterall, who decides what’s cozy? We explored this theme of The Other through Thea, the main character, but also through Kerboros, the brooding enforcer for the Winter Court who’s trapped in servitude as punishment for his father’s crimes. The more they work together to find her betrothed, the more they start to understand each other, which threatens the very thin ice they’ve found themselves on.

Buy The Hocus Pocus Handbook now: https://bookshop.org/a/54661/9781464224119

Learn more about Ann Aguirre here: https://www.annaguirre.com/

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Palabras clave

book podcast
author interview
cozy fantasy
ann aguirre
the hocus pocus handbook