Absolutely adorable cozy romance. I really enjoyed basking in the sun of Cultry, a little island escape, and seeing a community come together to make their world brighter. I struggle to write reviews of the books I love the most, as there's just too much to love to put into words, but I can tell you that this is a perfect book for fans of cozy fantasy.

I received a free copy on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was so cozy!!! I loved all the characters and how an introverted librarian became something more and learned to be happy! Jam, magic and sentient plants. This is a must read for all cozy fantasy readers.

Love Sarah Beth Durst so much which is why I had to pick this book up. For fans of cozy fantasy, please pick this up. Atmosphere is on point and is the perfect book to just curl up in bed with.

A cozy fantasy written by Sarah Beth Durst.
A sweet, placid and funny novel with little action and many tender scenes. A magical book, embellished by enchanting and evocative prose, which completely captivated me!

The book premise had me at "sentient spider plant". It took me a bit to get sucked into the story, but once I did I couldn't get enough of Kiela and Caz. It was a joy to read about their integration into Caltrey and get to know the island's residents alongside them. Highly recommended if you enjoy cozy novels with found family, flying cats, and main characters that also happen to be plants.. :)

The Spellshop is a brilliant cozy fantasy, perfect for fans of Legends and Lattes! I really needed a change of pace from the heavier fantasy books I had been dedicating my time to, so I picked this up well before the release date. This was the perfect, heartwarming balm for my soul.
The Spellshop follows Kiela, a librarian fleeing from the capital city of Alyssium as political unrest boils over into something more deadly. The library is burning and Kiela and her spider plant companion Caz flee with several crates of books to her home island of Caltrey. Caltrey is a small, backwater island where folks protect their own and Kiela’s parents never sold their family home, making this the perfect place to rebuild a life.
As one expects from a cozy fantasy, the stakes aren’t quite so big as saving the world, but they’re high enough to matter to the characters. Kiela’s main concern is fixing up her childhood home to a livable state, while finding a new way to make a living and keep the spellbooks hidden and covertly make use of them to improve things on Caltrey. Due to the political unrest, the sorcerer's no longer come out to the small, more remote islands and magical storms have begun to boil up suddenly and other spells that kept fruit trees growing or springs producing water have begun to fade away. Kiela’s new home is slowly dying and she must find a way to help it… so she starts a jam shop. It’s all a cover for her more illegal magical workings, which I totally love. She’s not great at subterfuge, but Caz the spider plant is a cutthroat negotiator and would definitely stab someone.
As one might expect, there’s also a darling slow burn romantic element to The Spellshop as well. It’s well done and fits the characters actions and personalities which is delightful! While it’s not the main focus of the plot, it does play a central role in the story overall. Larran, the handsome fellow, keeps the merhorse herd on Caltrey. Who doesn’t love a guy that cares for his animals AND can fix a chimney and build shelving??
I loved The Spellshop immensely, which is no surprise given how much I’ve enjoyed Sarah Beth Durst’s previous standalone books. She’s a talented writer and her range is vast - each book has been so different from one another but I’ve enjoyed all of the ones I’ve read. I can’t recommend this enough for any cozy fantasy fan, but particularly those who loved Legends and Lattes.

A little slow to start, I still ended up loving this story. Once you get past the little hiccups, the author does a good job of keeping readers engaged in this cottage core fantasy and romance.

The Spellshop incorporates, a beautifully storied world with uniquely interesting characters and othered beings. This story serves as a purpose to the growth we see of Keila's character on page. From the development of her romance with the mmc to finding community with the people in her home village after years. As a reader, imo, you can get caught up in the fantasy of The Spellshop. Well done and highly recommended.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read/review.

This book is delightful. Absolutely worth reading if you aren't in the mood for anything remotely heavy and want to escape into a fantasy that doesn't belabor the world building. The plot felt unique and the characters LOVELY. Go figure that I started to care about the fate of a spider plant and cactus. Big thanks to Netgalley for an early copy. If you liked Legends & Lattes you'll want to add this book to your TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor/Bramble & Sarah Beth Durst for the digital galley of The Spellshop in exchange for an honest review.

This magical, cozy fantasy follows Kiela & Caz (her sentient spider plant) as she works at the Library of Alyssium protecting all of the empire’s spellbooks. That is, until a revolution (You want a revolution? I’ll give you a revelation! Sorry – couldn’t help myself!) comes through & scorches the library. Kiela & Caz have to flee with only the books they are able to grab & save & retreat to an island Kiela grew up on to hide from the revolution, which is here she meets her hottie of a neighbor and sees that her town is in disarray. Unknowingly, Kiela has been partially responsible for the spellbooks she was tasked to protect draining power from her island home and she vows to make things right, so she opens a spellshop to share magic with the townspeople & also does some self-reflection for herself.

The cover art is STUNNING! And the story lived up to its premise. THANK YOU! I have been on a bend of bad books lately. I NEEDED this story. It was so whimsy & enchanting.

This book was a warm hug that I just couldn’t get enough of. If you’re in a book slump, this is absolutely the book for you! The premise is very interesting, it’s written well & all of the characters were so loveable.

This book will capture your heart & you will not want to let it go. 5 full stars!

I've been reading a lot of cozy mysteries and this is my first foray into the cozy fantasy genre. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I was sucked into the story. Very tongue-in-cheek that the main character, Kiela, was a librarian who didn't like "dealing with people" and that her job meant she didn't have to. The characters were all unique and fleshed out and I especially loved the idea of a sentient spider plant as Kiela's assistant. Overall, I would recommend this for anyone looking for a nice, cozy read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌈🌈🌈

In the acknowledgments, the author says she wanted to write a book that felt like drinking hot chocolate on a chilly day, and this is exactly that.

This is the best example of the cozy fantasy genre I’ve read! There were definitely some high stakes, but overall this still felt like taking a walk through the woods. Beautiful, enjoyable, and keeps you guessing as to what’s around the corner.

Kiela returns to the little town she was born in on an outer island to find it in much worse shape than she last saw it. There she finds nosy neighbors, bears made of clouds, and a long lost friend. While I still classify this as a cozy read, there is definitely a humorous level of shenanigans going on that will have you giggling as you read.

Never did I think I would love a sentient plant character- let alone two- the way I love Meep and Caz. The author does a great job of giving them depth and personality that leaps off the page, despite “meep” being the only sound one of them can say. In fact, all of the characters in this story were so lovable and each came with a unique personality and purpose.

The bureaucrats in the capital have messed with the weather so much, it’s caused Caltrey to fall into ruin. Kiela starts to try to fix Caltrey with illegal (and technically stolen) spells. This book has a strong focus on nature and there are many underlying references to climate change and the effect people have on the planet, which made this all the more interesting.

Overall, I really loved this read and the unique and loveable cast of characters. The author leaves you with a warm and happy ending and although I would love to read more, this story is wrapped up very nicely. Definitely look for this- with beautiful purple sprayed edges- in bookstores this June!

This book was so much cuter than I expected it to be! It’s so cozy and comforting and I couldn’t get enough. Kiela and Caz are likeable right from the start, being socially awkward shut-ins obsessed with books. I only loved them more as the story progressed. Satisfying, adorable, and full of some absolutely ridiculous (in the best way) magic. Will absolutely be recommending this to my own band of socially awkward book obsessed shut ins (coworkers at the bookstore) as well as customers.

Meh, 2.5 stars max. This book is trying to get in on the currently-popular cozy fantasy wave, but it was rushed.

I requested this without reading a description. I had read the author's middle-grade and YA books, back when I was ordering in those areas and providing class visits to that age, and I really liked them. I was excited to see something for an older audience. I could say that this book has strong cross-over appeal, or I could say that it doesn't know who it's supposed to be for-- both are correct. The main character is kind of in that New Adult space, but her age is never specified-- could by 17, could be 30. There's some light romance that doesn't progress beyond kissing.

The writing is extremely repetitive, churning over the same couple of the character's worries over and over. The dialogue is mostly fine, but occasionally jarring with something that feels too modern compared to the rest of the feel. The world/universe are cutesy and generically fantasy but never explained-- (apparently) naturally-occurring sentient beings in this universe include (at least) something human-ish (the main character is specified as having blue skin and blue hair, although the coloration of other human-type people isn't specified), a faun-type being (human-shaped deer, with fur all over, with small antlers), a human-ish person but with 4 arms, a centaur, and a being that is like the faun-people, but with bigger antlers plus giant wings. There's no explanation for this compilation of beings. The magic makes a little bit more sense-- ingredients have to be correct, and a spell has to be recited with correct pronunciation. Spell-casting knowledge was suppressed by upper classes, and spells have to be recited in a dead language, but apparently anyone can do it-- there's no hereditary magic, or some people with more natural ability than others. It doesn't quite seem plausible, though, that the people on outlying islands would have so completely quit practicing magic when visits from court-appointed magicians were so rare. I guess this is a universe you're not supposed to look at too closely.

The best parts of the book are a sentient plant who provides humorous commentary (although sometimes over the top) and general assistance, and a sentient cactus created on accident by substituting an ingredient in a spell. The cactus can only say "meep," but the first plant translates what they really mean.

eARC from NetGalley.

Reading this book is like being swaddled in your favorite blanket with your favorite cup of tea while watching it rain outside.

Keila and Caz (sentient spider plant!) narrowly escaped the violence of the revolution. Trying to protect the books she brought with her, she decides to go to the only other place she’s ever know as home. Caltrey is where she’s hoping to lie low and hide until it’s safe to return to the library. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, things don’t always go the way we plan.

Keila is very prickly for the first bit of the book. Used to being alone and not having any friends but Caz makes it hard for her to trust people, or even herself around others. Especially with the secrets she’s keeping. Slowly, though, she opens up to the other islanders and starts to flourish. There’s a dash of romance that was perfectly done. A couple instances of small amounts of tension in the story, but overall this book was just an absolute hug in book form. 100% this book is a 5 star read for me! Do yourself a favor and bump this up your tbr to read as soon as it comes out.

This is such an enchanting, funny, entertaining read. I loved it! It is a romantasy but it's so much more.
Spellbound is a story about loss, belonging, found family, and the power of community. MC Keila is likeable, relatable, and resourceful. She has social anxiety and the author Sarah Beth Durst writes about this candidly and respectfully. Caz is Keila's best friend. He's also a spider plant. What character he has though! I lived this duo.

This is a standalone book, but I would love to go back to this magical place!

This book is a clean read. There is some kissing. There is mention of one of the MC family that was abusive, nothing graphic at all.

This book absolutely lived up to the cover and synopsis - just a wonderfully told, cozy story that I thoroughly enjoyed! I can't wait for my copy to arrive!

Thank you for the early read!

My cutest and coziest read of the year! I absolutely loved this story and was hooked from page one!! Hoping for a special edition!

Thank you to Sarah Beth Durst and Tor Publishing Group for this advanced reader copy of The Spellshop, in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Spellshop lends a nod to the uber trendy cottagecore movement in it's atmospheric descriptions of stone steps leading up to an abandoned cottage in the woods, covered with vines and nestled within gardens. While the cottage belonged to Kiela's parents, it is now hers, in all of it's abandoned glory. While Kiela and her trusty sidekick Caz, a walking, talking spider plant, returned to the island from Kiela's childhood, things aren't as cozy as they'd like: sorcerers have ceased coming to the island creating an imbalance of magic in the world. What does this mean to the island? Trees have stopped growing and baring fruit, the herds of magical creatures have stopped growing, and the island's people have stopped trusting anyone from "the city."

While I wanted to like this book, especially since it's Spring out and this book is all about regrowth and new beginnings it simply fell short for me. Kiela has been living and working in the library for years since the passing of her parents, so her social cues are extremely off when she arrives to the island. She was rude and unforgiving to me, so it was difficult for me to want to read about her. I just felt like the book took too long to get into the main objective and I was lost before it could grab me.

I won't rate this novel as I think it'd be enjoyable to some, especially fantasy readers. But a fantasy reader I am not, and this proves that further for me.

This thoroughly enjoyable cozy fantasy is a joy to read. It has almost everything one wants in a comfort book; an introverted librarian heroine, a faithful companion (who is a sentient, ambulatory spider plant), books, lots of books, tea with jam, a kind hero who takes care of merhorses, and flying cats. When Kiela flees the burning library in the capitol with a boatload of rescued library books, she returns to the island of her birth where everything has been falling apart since the empire started keeping all the magic to itself.

This was a delightful and whimsical tale, with deeper themes. It took a while for me to get into it, but once I did, I started enjoying it a lot more. Loved the characters and the romance.