The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

Title: The Spellshop

Author: Sarah Beth Durst

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Standalone

Hardcover, 374 pages 

Publication: July 9, 2024

Source: Personal Library
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Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she and her assistant, Caz—a magically sentient spider plant—have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite.

When a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor who can’t take a hint and keeps showing up day after day to make sure she’s fed and to help fix up her new home.

In need of income, Kiela identifies something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries.

But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela risks the consequences of using unsanctioned spells and opens the island’s first-ever and much needed secret spellshop.

MY THOUGHTS

Cottagecore Cozy Fantasy seem to have taken over the book world recently and I've yet to read one until now. What initially drew my attention to The Spellshop was the beautiful painted cover; it screamed cozy, cute and whimsical. And it certainly delivered. The author said she wanted to write a novel that felt like drinking a warm hot chocolate, a novel that embodied kindness and that is exactly what The Spellshop was. 

I adored the world building and characters. Our heroine, Kiela, is a librarian. She spends all her times with and around books, so much so, she neglects the outside world and interaction with people and society. I mean, her only friend is a sentient spider plant name Caz. So, when chaos breaks out on her island and the library is raided, Kiela flees with Caz and a few ancient spell books back to her homeland. However, new obstacles appear as she doesn't know the first thing to do or how to interact with the islanders. And what transpires throughout the book is both a little endearing and vexing situation. Because Kiela has been sheltered most of her life, she is oblivious to social cues. There were scenes that were so awkward that it came across cringy...I mean even Caz, a plant understood more than Kiela! 

Since this was a Cozy Fantasy, you can imagine the stakes are low. The main premise involved stolen spell books, but the likelihood of discovery was truly little to none. The theme of the book was pretty much; community, family and being kind which I appreciated. We need more kindness in the world today and to be honest it was nice to read a book where for once the heroine didn't need to know everything, fight, or involved chaos or death. 

I enjoyed The Spellshop way more than I anticipated and has opened a new subgenre for me. I look forward to reading more Cozy Fantasy or something similar in the future. Overall, I do recommend checking The Spellshop out, it's a standalone where we get a nice conclusion with a HEA.