Really wanted to like this but there were a couple really jarring pov errors, and the "higher stakes" cozy fantasy just turned out to be

all misunderstandings the main character had about various things as a teenager

, which I found boring and unsatisfying, and after these things are resolved the book goes on way too long. LotR earned this kind of ending. Not so here. There was also mention of elves and gnomes, but we never actually meet any. It makes the setting feel less alive to do this - just leave them out if you're not going to show us how they exist in your world.