Cosy Romantasy by Jade Summer : Full Review

Cosy Romantasy by Jade Summer: My Review

This review covers Cosy Romantasy by Jade Summer, in its French edition published by Dessain et Tolra. Note that this is not a colour by number book: there are no numbers, no colour codes and no reference images. Every choice is yours. With 40 romantic fantasy designs across 96 pages, in a small 20.3 cm square format, this book is aiming squarely at the cosy mood.

Specifications

Publisher: Dessain et Tolra.
Illustrator: Jade Summer.
Number of colorings: 40.
Number of pages: 96.
Format: 20.3 x 20.3 cm (square), 1.2 cm thick.
Print layout: Single-sided.
Language: French edition.
Release date: 15 April 2026.

Book overview

Strengths

The artwork is adorable, and the cover alone makes you want to open it. It delivers exactly the mood the title promises.
The book is printed on one side only, so alcohol markers can be used without bleeding through and ruining the design on the back. Plenty of room to play.
It includes 4 blank swatch pages. Since no colour code is imposed, they let you test your shades before committing, which is genuinely useful here.
There is also a challenge page, suggesting things like colouring a whole design with a single colour family. A nice way to break your own habits.

Worth noting

The real downside is the density of detail. On some pages it is hard to work out what a given area is meant to represent, and colouring becomes tedious for a while. The small square format does not help: the same designs would have breathed on A4.

Also worth knowing, and rather pleasant: the book opens on a checklist of all 40 designs, each with its number and title, and a box to tick once finished. Handy for keeping track.

Coloring page examples

Here is what the pages look like. You can clearly see the level of detail, and the romantic fantasy world running through the whole book.

Personal verdict

I really like the romantic fantasy theme. You might assume that a design without a colour code or a reference image is easy to colour, but Jade Summer's books stay fairly detailed, and the small square format makes that more noticeable. You sometimes have to guess what a detail is before picking a shade.

That said, the artwork is genuinely lovely, and that flaw becomes insignificant as soon as you accept bringing a bit of imagination to it. Nothing forces you to colour "correctly", and that is precisely the point of a book without a colour code.

This one should appeal to anyone who enjoys that cosy style of colouring. If you already know the illustrator's world you will be on familiar ground, and if not it is a good way in. I previously shared my review of Cozy Japan, by the same author, if you want to compare the two.