Violet Thistlewaite is Not a Villain Anymore : A charming, must-read 2025 cosy fantasy romance debut with grumpy/sunshine vibes, small-town magic, and heartwarming second chances

She traded curses for carnations. But old magic dies hard...

Guy Shadowfade is dead, and Violet Thistlethwaite doesn''t know what to do with herself. Having spent her life as the dark sorcerer''s right-hand witch, she''s now at a loose end. One thing she does know for sure: she doesn''t want to be evil anymore. For once, she wants to sprout peonies instead of poison.

The quaint town of Dragon''s Rest, she decides, will be her second chance at life - a place where she can set down roots, open a flower shop, keep her sentient (and mildly homicidal) houseplant out of trouble, and quit dark magic after a lifetime of villainy.

While Violet''s vibrant bouquets and feats of plant magic soon charm the welcoming townsfolk, nothing she does seems to impress the prickly yet dashingly handsome Nathaniel Marsh, an alchemist sharing her greenhouse. What Violet doesn''t know is that Nathaniel is desperately seeking a second chance of his own.

But just as Violet thinks she''s pruned away all the thorns of her nefarious former life, a mysterious blight threatens her new home and a figure from her past comes knocking. Violet and Nathaniel must work together through their fears, their pasts, and their growing feelings for one another to save their community. But with everything she''s built on the line, Violet can''t help but wonder...does a villain like her truly deserve to grow her own happily ever after?

A cosy, heartwarming romantasy perfect for fans of Assistant to the Villain and Emily Wilde''s Encyclopaedia of Faeries.

Tropes:
✨ Cosy Fantasy Romance
✨ Small-Town
✨ Low spice
✨ Villain Redemption ARC
✨ Only One (b̶e̶d̶) Greenhouse
✨ Found Family
✨ Grumpy x Sunshine