Similar to Harry Potter and Nevermoor series? Light-hearted page turners with similar writing style and little mysteries throughout (but not in mystery/thriller/horror genre)

When I went through other posts, people mostly want a book similar in certain genre. I’m looking for books that have a similar *feel* to the HP and Nevermore series when reading. Something with multiple little mysteries interwoven that keep the pages turning, with heartfelt and light-hearted moments, characters you can really root for, a dash of comedy here and there, and feels “cozy”/”wholesome” overall. I’m all for it being a bit dark, but books like “Parfum” and “It” are too much.

Some books/authors that sort of fit the bill : The Book Thief, The Thief Lord (mostly non-fantasy fiction), Holes, My Father’s Dragon, No 1 Ladies Detective Agency (but got bored after the 3rd book), Roald Dahl, Gail Carson Levine, T.A. Barron, C.S. Lewis, Edward Eager, Bradbury, Crichton, E.L Konigsburg, Jerry Spinelli

*And while I loved the Thief Lord, I’m having trouble getting hooked in to Inkheart, even when Cornelia Funke wrote them both.

As for writing style, I can’t place exactly what JK Rowling or Jessica Townsend does, but they feel similar and I love both. I couldn’t get into the writing style of the Lord of the Rings, Eragon, nor Stephen King’s Fairytale (his other books are a bit too terrifying for me). *gasp* I know. Again, not sure why, but I felt bored whenever I tried.

Exclusions:
• Adult thriller/mystery/horror genres. They can get too disturbing. I want something I can read while drinking hot choco or while eating spaghetti.
• Anything to do with hauntings, ghosts, posessions. (Unless its done HP style, which had all of these, buuut somehow wasn’t scary)
• Rats or mice as one of the main characters, ie. Redwall.

Bonus if its available in German or a finished series.

I’m having a hard time putting it into words, but hopefully somebody gets the gist of what I’m getting at! I’ve never heard of the Nevermoor series until I randomly came across some recs for it here, so just seeing what else is out there!

by Elkniet