Do You Love Found Family Fantasy With Beast-kin Characters? Here’s What To Read

Loving the monster is easy. Convincing him he isn't one is the hard part.

That idea sits at the heart of some of my favorite stories: a monster everyone fears, a small companion who refuses to be afraid, and a family that forms in the space between them. Add Beast-kin to the mix, and the story gets even better.

For this list, Beast-kin — beastfolk, demihumans — found family means stories where the non-human characters are people, not pets or sidekicks, and the family they build is the heart of the book. Some are cozy, some are adventurous, and a few have dungeons. All are warm stories in their own way.

Here's my countdown, from where it started many years ago, to my current pick for number one.

Where It Starts: Beast-kin Found Family for Younger Readers

Most of us began our journey long before we had a name for it. The idea that not all animals are beasts, that some are much more.

• Redwall by Brian Jacques. Long before Cozy Fantasy had a name, Redwall Abbey gave us Mice, Badgers, and Hares who were brave, hungry, and fiercely loyal to the family they'd chosen. The animals aren't pets or sidekicks. They're the people of the story.

• How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. A small, overlooked boy and a dragon everyone says should be dangerous — and a bond that changes both of them. If you've ever loved a story where the creature everyone fears turns out to be the softest heart in the room, this is where that started for many of us.

Both are written for younger readers, but they planted the idea that a monster can be someone's family. Everything else on this list grew from that.

The Classics: Monsters, Misfits, and Chosen Family

These are the stories most people already know, and the ones that made "the beast who learns to be loved" a whole genre.

• Beauty and the Beast. The original. A cursed creature who believes he's unlovable, and someone who looks past the fur and fangs to the person underneath. Every story on this list is in conversation with this one, whether it admits it or not.

• Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. A castle full of misfits who end up as a family, whether they planned to or not. It's whimsical, a little chaotic, and warm underneath the magic, and it has the same Ghibli energy I was chasing when I wrote Whispers.

• Pom Poko (film). A Studio Ghibli story about Tanuki fighting to save their home. It's not a book, but if you're curious why I fell in love with writing a Tanuki character, start here.

Beyond the Beast: When Animals Become More

LitRPG and progression fantasy have a quiet habit of letting animals grow into something more than the creature they were born as. If you like systems, levels, and dungeons alongside your found family, these are worth a look.

• Apocosmos by Dimitrios Gkirgkiris. Book one, Berserker, follows Alex and his Corgi, Louie, after Alex is pulled into a multiverse ruled by a system. Louie's awakening is the moment readers talk about most, and it's a good fit if you love a dog who turns out to be so much more than a dog.

• Beware of Chicken by Casualfarmer. A farm of animals, a cultivation world, and — a chicken, who is far more than he seems. This book is more on a cultivation track, but has isekai elements and it’s definitely a good read if you enjoy the somewhat absurd combined with a sweet side-romance.

• Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. Carl and his cat, Princess Donut, must survive the televised apocalypse of Earth by fighting their way through a huge dungeon. It’s a crazy idea that survives through found family and a generous dollop of humor. If you haven’t read this series yet — start now! (These books do lean darker.)

But My Number One, By a Hair’s Breadth: Edge Cases by Silver Linings

The Fabric of Reality is book one of a four-book LitRPG series that began on Royal Road and reached almost two million views there. Four oddball adventurers, including a sentient suit of armor, a Lizardkin wizard, and two others, get pushed to the limits of the system that governs their world, and the only way through is trust, shared secrets, and some healthy communication.

Why it's number one on this list:

• A Beast-kin lead. Vex is a Lizardkin wizard, written as a person with a past, not a prop.

• A found family that actually earns it. The four have to rely on each other to survive, and the bond that forms is the heart of the series.

• A slow-burn romance. Vex and the armor — Derivan — become partners over the course of the series, and the romance builds across books instead of landing all at once.

• Dungeons, a system, and warmth. It's proof that readers will follow a found family through levels and loot as long as the characters are worth following.

The audiobooks are narrated by Travis Baldree, who also wrote Legends & Lattes. This is another must-read if you love Cozy Fantasy.

Where The Path of Whispers Fits

Every book on this list has a piece of what I wanted to write. Redwall and How to Train Your Dragon gave me the idea that the creature everyone fears can be the softest heart in the story. Beauty and the Beast showed me how a bond can change someone who thinks he's a monster. Edge Cases and the LitRPG books proved that readers will happily follow a found family through dungeons and systems.

Whispers of the Silent Age puts those together in its own way. Ben is a cursed Minotaur who spent centuries trapped in a labyrinth. Fuku is a chaotic Tanuki with over two hundred years’ worth of wisdom that he rarely shows — because he’s too busy having fun. The world they walk into has dungeons, magic, and a light RPG feel, but the real quest is learning to trust each other. It's a slow burn, and it's a story where Beast-kin find a place to belong.

If you've read anything on this list and wanted a bit more warmth, more romance, or a Minotaur who needs a hug, this is the book I wrote for you.

Whispers of the Silent Age is book one of an ongoing series. The Path of Whispers is out now.

Start the Story

Small enough to carry. Big enough to fill his heart.

• Read it: Whispers of the Silent Age is Book One of The Path of Whispers, available wherever you buy ebooks.

• Join the -Kin: Sign up here for a free exclusive comic and a short prequel story.

And if you have a Beast-kin found family favorite I missed, tell me. I'm always looking for the next one.