Sarah Beth Durst is one of those strange authors for me. On one hand, I’ve really loved some of her books; I gave “The Bone Maker” a 9 rating! But on the other hand, while I started out enjoying her “Queens of Renthia” trilogy, by the end, I was incredibly frustrated by the series and gave the final book a 5 rating. But given how much I’ve enjoyed some of her books, she’s still an “auto-request” author for me. Plus, “The Spellshop” sounded like just the sort of cozy fantasy I was hankering for!

So, with that introduction out of the way, I’ll jump to the end of the review and say that this book fell solidly in the middle of things for me. It didn’t live up to the highs that I’ve enjoyed from this author, but it also was far from the worst. But let’s start with the things I unequivocally liked. And the first thing that comes to mind is the tone and “vibe” of this story. This book leans in hard to the “cozy” aspect of its subgenre, and, for the most part, does it very successfully. It’s whimsical, humorous, and full to the brim with lovable characters, including a wide cast of fantastical villagers, a beguiling leading man, and, of course, the hilarious sentient spider plant that is Kiela’s best friend. Durst’s style of writing is also well suited to this sort of light-hearted fare, and it was easy to want to sink into the lush scenes that were painted on the page.

There were two aspects of the story, however, that began to drag it down. One of them was Kiela herself. I have to say, I was honestly surprised by this turn of events since when Kiela was first introduced, she was hitting all of the right notes for me. Her devotion to her books was both compelling but also funny at times, and her general reflections on her circumstances were initially quite interesting and had me eager to follow her on her journey. However, once she really started to settle in to the run-down cottage, things took an extreme turn for the worse. What I had initially pegged as a love of solitude that was played up a bit for laughs I quickly realized was in fact Kiela being incredibly naive and, at times, fairly rude. I was shocked when I realized that she somehow thought she was going to live in this abandoned cottage and no one was even going to notice, that she’d somehow be able to sustain herself completely independently based on…what? It was honestly so silly that I was taken aback. From there, she proceeds to be “rescued” from this silliness by her kind-hearted, handsome neighbor who essentially feeds her and fixes her house. And she proceeds to berate him and be rude. I understood the first time, but then she seems to double down, and I found myself beginning to mentally root for her neighbor, thinking he could do better and should just leave her to her own foibles.

I also began to struggle with the world-building and plotting as the story continued. I simply don’t understand how this magic system operates in the way it does. It seems that all that is needed in this world to do magic is to know the correct incantation and say it. That being the case, it was incredibly hard to believe that this information had been successfully restricted in the way that it had. Beyond that, I began to question more basic things. For example, when we first visit the tiny local village, Kiela describes meeting a handful of very diverse fantasy beings. We’re talking a faun-like creature, another faun-like creature but with wings, a centaur, a being with four arms, Kiela herself (a blue humanoid being) and more. All of these on what we are repeatedly (!) told is a tiny, remote island. And, I’m sorry, I just couldn’t stop wondering about how the biology of this all worked! These sure sound like different species of people, and yet they’re all on a tiny island where you have to imagine there are very few of each and…well, you understand my confusion. It was things like this that left me feeling as if the actual cohesion of the world-building was sacrificed at the alter of cozy vibes. All of these people were adorable in their own right and clearly stood in for the type of “quirky villagers” you’d find in a similar cozy mystery. But this is a fantasy world still, these things need to make sense as well.

I also struggled a bit with some of the plot and Kiela’s own motivations and priorities. She begins the story hyper-focused on protecting the secrets of the books at all costs. Again, we hear all about this repeatedly (if you haven’t caught up, being a bit repetitive was also a sticking point). But as the story continues, she quickly flips to not only selling the spells of these books but outright teaching others how to use them (again, from a practical point, would this be a believable choice for someone whose only source of income is selling these spells??).

Overall, this was just an ok book for me. There were moments that were truly enjoyable, and when I wasn’t distracted by questions about the world or Kiela’s decisions, I could find myself sinking easily into the experience of the story. But that’s just it, it felt more like an experience than a fully-realized story. If you’re a big cozy fantasy fan, this might still be a great fit for you! But if you’re a fantasy reader who needs there to be more meat on the bones of your fantasy world, this one will come up lacking.

Rating 7: Vacillating wildly between enjoyably cozy moments and frustrating pitfalls in world-building and characterization, this book was a bit all over the place.

Link will go live on The Library Ladies blog on July 5.

After reading the acknowledgments, I agree with the author. This book is like a cup of hot chocolate and freshly baked bread with raspberry jam. It just made me smile and brought joy into my life. I adored this book so much. Wish I could go and visit the island and ride some merhorses.

If you like Legends & Lattes, but wished it had a little more stakes, highly recommend.

I cannot begin to describe how much I adored this book! It brings to mind the same type of contentedness found in a warm cup of tea, cuddles in a large cushiony chair, reading on a rainy Spring afternoon. Evoking the same feelings as The House In the Cerulean Sea, it's absolutely enchanting. I want---no, I NEED more like this.

You've all heard the story about the career woman who leaves the big city, moves back to her home town, and runs into a handsome rancher who might've had a crush on her when they were kids, right? Well, THE SPELLSHOP takes this classic Hallmark plot and makes it fantasy. Kiela is a librarian who tends spellbooks in the Great Library of the capital city. Her “home town” is the tiny island of Caltrey, located at the outer edges of the empire. As for the “rancher” who’s smitten with her—well, he tends a herd of merhorses, needed to help the villagers catch fish.

In other words, this cozy fantasy is a small-town romance crossed with second world fantasy. And the combination works! In her author’s note, Sarah Beth Durst explains that she wanted to write a book that comforted readers like a cup of a hot chocolate or raspberry jam on fresh bread. The novel certainly succeeds on that front. Once Kiela reaches her home island, cottagecore elements come to the fore, and THE SPELLSHOP abounds with scenes of gardening, cooking, magical experiments, friendship, and kissing.

But THE SPELLSHOP isn’t just about jam and pastries and talking plants. The book makes persuasive arguments about what our relationships to the people (and animals, spirits, and plants) around us. THE SPELLSHOP repeatedly insists that we all have obligations to other beings and if we CAN help them, we should. Even if they are strangers—or enemies.

The biggest surprise for me lay in how political the plot ultimately is. While I don’t want to give away anything about the last third of the book, the stakes end up being higher than I expected. Kiela is primarily concerned with preserving her home and the life she’s made there, but some of her decisions have far-reaching consequences.

There are moments of darkness in the story, including some terrible violence (mostly off page), but the novel ultimately asserts the goodness of the world and the people in it. Its ending is everything that fans of sweet romances could want.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for this review.

This sweet and adventurous fantasy novel is about Kiela, a librarian forced to flee her home in Alyssium after a revolutionary coup and return to Caltrey, the island of her birth with nothing but her best friend Caz, a sentient spider plant and the boatful of spellbooks they were able to save before the library burned. Kiela fears that the spellbooks in her possession, which are illegal for anyone but a sorcerer to possess, will be discovered by the locals on the island, especially an annoyingly helpful, and handsome seahorse caretaker who happens to be her neighbor and connection to her parents, who she lost years before. While Kiela attempts to remain disengaged from the other villagers on Caltrey, she sees how much they need her help through the magical knowledge she possesses, and how much she needs them. Risking it all, Kiela and Caz will have to do what wayward librarians do best: read, learn, and share their knowledge with others.

A lot of folks in publishing have labeled books like this cottagecore or cozy fantasy, and while there are cozy moments, I would call this caring fantasy more than anything else. This is a book about healing from trauma, reconnecting to one's past and celebrating interdependence with each other and the natural world. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to what else the author has in store.

Thank you so much Sarah Beth Durst, Bramble, and NetGalley for the eARC of The Spellshop. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Cozy fantasy readers, this one is for you! Reading The Spellshop feels exactly like snuggling under a fuzzy blanket with a comforting cup of tea on a rainy day. You know the characters you’ll meet will be warm and inviting, the setting will be beautiful and magical, and you’ll walk away from the story with your mind still half on the island of Caltrey.

I think one of my favorite parts of The Spellshop were the magical creatures. I couldn’t get enough of the centaurs, unicorns, merhorses, flying cats, cloud bears, and sentient plants! However, my absolute favorite was Caz, the talking spider plant and FMC Kiela’s best friend. That plant was an absolute delight! I had so much fun reading about Caz having conversations with Kiela as well as conducting scholarly research. I officially want to have a plant as a friend after reading the story!

Another highlight of The Spellshop for me was the friendly “townspeople”. Nearly everyone Kiela encountered was affable, polite, and willing to help with whatever task needed to be accomplished. Honestly, it was so refreshing to read about a place where kindness and assumed good intentions come first.

Bottom line: The Spellshop is cozy “cottage-core” at its finest. If you’re a fan of libraries, home improvements, research, baked goods, sweet romance, mythical creatures, magic, and jam, you need to add The Spellshop to your TBR!

In the pages you will find

📚 A magical library
🏡 A cottage in need of repair
🌵 Talking plants
🪄 Magical spells
🧁 Delicious baked goods
🧜‍♀️ Magical creatures
📖 Research
❤️ Clean romance (just kissing)
🤝 Found family
🫖 A cozy read you won’t want to put down

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

I typically steer clear of fantastical elements but one page into this librarian saving books with a sentient spider plant side kick, and I was hooked.

Kiela and Caz are creatures (one human, one plant) after my own heart. As a librarian, definitely resonate with loving the quietness of a slow day at the library. When rebels intrude on their solitude, they both have to hightail it before they're burned to a crisp. They escape, with as many books as they can, to a distant island and they are quickly welcomed into the community. Something dangerous lurks, though, and Kiela/Caz have the magical means to help the community out. This was a lot lighter than I was expecting, which isn't a bad thing. I definitely have been reading a lot of grittier fantasy and space horror lately, so this was a really nice detour from that. It's also been really cloudy and rainy here in Georgia, so it's been nice to sneak a few magical chapters in between checking in books. I liked the cast of characters, and I liked getting to watch them interact with one another--everyone felt well-realize and were supportive. This was a very middle-paced book, too, so if you're not someone who absolutely needs to fly at breakneck speed, you'll probably get a kick out of this story.
I really enjoyed this and I cannot wait to get our physical copies in here at the library, I just know that our fantasy readers and our cozy fantasy readers will really like this!

Kiela and Caz ( her talking, thinking, feeling spider plant assistant) have spent years holed up in the library. They mind their own business and let all the other librarians mind theirs. They like not having to talk to other people. They like taking care of the rare magic spell books they are in charge of. But, unfortunately, the world intrudes in the form of rebels who burn the library. Kiela and Caz must escape before they are burned alive. With little time, they save as many books as they can. With a library boat they sail away to the small island hoping to just be left alone. But they are welcomed into the community and loving it. The island is in trouble, though. Kiela and Caz might have the means to help.
This is a sweet and magical book. The characters (who are not all humans) are fun and supportive. They have a lot to learn and a lot to love.
I was able to read an ARC for this book and I am so glad I could. If you like a fun, light, fantasy you will enjoy this book.

I'm not much of a cozy fantasy reader, but I'll read anything Sarah Beth Durst writes, and I found myself pleasantly surprised with this one. I liked Kiela a lot, and Caz was my absolute favorite. Although not the most high-stakes plot, there was a significant conflict that I really liked. I would have liked to have had some more worldbuilding, but I guess that's why it's a cozy fantasy.

Loved this cozy read of a librarian and her sentient spider plant assistant on an adventure neither really wanted to go on. Kiela has very happily hidden herself away in the Great Library but when revolution hits the empire and her beloved library is burned, she and her assistant load up a boat with as many books as she could select in time and head off to find somewhere to hide. They end up on an outer island where Kiela was born but is slowly dying. Luckily, Kiela's saved/stolen collection of spell books might be just the thing to save her island and remind her that other humans aren't all that bad. I loved the entire cast of characters here and the turns of the story kept it moving at a good pace. Definitely a book I wish I could visit the setting!

In the acknowledgements Ms. Durst said that she wanted the book to feel like a really good cup of hot chocolate with a nice pastry and a dollop of raspberry jam on the side and I'd like to say she most definitely succeeded. As soon as I met Caz the sentient spider plant I was hooked, and the book just kept getting better and better from there. I have immediately put in on our list of books to order for the library this year and I plan on buying it for my personal collection as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan publishers for a digital ARC of this book.

Like a warm hug, the citizenry of Caltrey will embrace you, support you, and love you. Reading this felt like eating a PB&J made by a loving parent--sweet, predictable, and encouraging. I loved the upbeat and collaborative tone of this story. Joining Kiela, our removed librarian, as she grows with her garden and (pun intended) works herself out of jams along with her new friends was delightful. This book single-handedly sold me on the cozy fantasy genre! If life hadn't intervened, I would have gobbled this one up in less than a day. I truly hope this isn't the last we see of Kiela, Larran, Caz, Bryn, and of course, MEEP! Cheers to Durst. Maybe a Caltrey cookbook in the future?

A truly, lovely cozy gem of a story. Sometimes you just want to read something that feels like a warm hug and this was the exact vibe of this book. It also very much left me wanting to learn how to garden and make jam!

Imagine: you're sitting on a patio in the sun, there's a cat purring on your lap as you're sipping a large cup of iced tea and eating biscuits with homemade raspberry jam. If you feel a sense of happy calm at that image then you would love The Spellshop. An easy, low-stakes fantasy about a recluse librarian finding community, and yes, even love, on a small island with merhorses, winged cats and LOTS of raspberry jam.

Kiela discouraged interactions and friendships as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, which is why it was only the scent of smoke that warned her the library was burning. She escapes with her sentient spider plant assistant, Caz, five boxes of books and limited food and clothing. She returns home to outer islands, hoping to outlast the revolution and protect her magical treasures. But life has changed since her childhood and the island needs a mage to balance out the magic.
Kiela's not that, as a librarian she's willing to research and experiment as long as she can keep her books and secrets safe.

Why I started this book: I've requested too many Netgalley ARCs recently... and I knew that I needed to stop browsing and start reading.

Why I finished it: This is a gentle fantasy. Once Kiela and Caz have fled the destruction, they are busy rebuilding their lives and exploring new options. This feels like Legends & Lattes, a slice of life in a fantastical world.

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!