Want to read a cozy fantasy book, with fun characters and talking plants! The story was so fun to read, and it was very easy to understand what was going on. It has a very cozy feel, even though there are some heavy topics. Really enjoyed the feel of this story and highly recommend it if you are into cozy fantasy books.

This was cozy, fun, and sweet. Exactly as advertised. I love this author and will continue to pick up their work.

The Spell Shop

When I saw the cover of this book I knew I needed to read it! It’s so pretty!
I did an immersive read with this one and it was WONDERFUL!
This was THE BEST cozy fantasy! I really enjoyed Kiela’s character and her assistant, Caz, who is a snake plant! I mean, who wouldn’t want a snake plant as a sidekick?!?!
The world building was so fun and the small town neighborhood was endearing. You also get to meet a ton of magical characters and I am still trying to figure out which are my favorite.

The narration by Caitlin Davies really brought the story to life and I just love when a story feels like a nice, big, warm hug!

In a Nutshell: A cosy fantasy with an unlikeable protagonist who redeems herself along the way. A whole load of cosy, a little less of fantasy. Interesting (but flat) humans, outstanding non-humans, decent but straightforward storyline. A nice light option for those who prefer cute fantasies and can read without overanalysing.

Plot Preview:
Kiela hates dealing with people. Thanks to her job as a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium in the capital of the Crescent Island empire, she avoids people at all costs, with her sentient spider plant Caz being more than enough company. But when the rebellion strikes and the library is up in flames, Keila has no choice but to escape with Caz and whatever books she can carry. The only destination that seems safe is her late parents’ home in the faraway island where she had spent her childhood years. She hasn’t been to this abandoned old cottage in more than a decade, but even then, she can sense that something is not right on the island. Luckily, Kiela worked in the ‘spell books’ section of the library, so the books she carried to safety contain magical spells. Yes, it is illegal for any non-sorcerer to cast spells, but this far away from the capital, no one would know, right?
The story comes to us in Kiela’s third-person perspective.


Bookish Yays:
🌳 Caz – Kiela’s assistant and spider plant extraordinaire. He goes so much more than being a talking plant, acting as an overly anxious friend and guide. His banter with Kiela is great fun. The biggest and best reason to read this book is Caz. (Technically, I should put this as a Mixed Bag. The downside of this is that I’ll never be happy with my ordinary, boring, non-talking plants now. I want Caz! 😢)
🌳 The fantastical creatures in the book, which include some we already know as well some innovative new ones. Winged cats and merhorses, anyone? 😍 I also include Meep in this category, and leave it for you to discover who or what Meep is.
🌳 The magic in the book, heavily rooted in nature and hence appearing even more delectable. I loved all the magic of the book, even when it wasn’t friendly.
🌳 The food references, from berry jams to cinnamon buns. My salivary glands rarely get affected by mention of Western dishes in fiction, but the descriptions in this one were yummm!
🌳 All things books – the magic of them, the value of them, the importance of treating them with care. Kiela’s person skills might be zero, but her librarian skills were top notch. Caz was the perfect assistant, being surprisingly passionate about books though he probably knew they are made from dead trees.
🌳 Because of the remote island setting, the story offers nice small-town feels, where neighbours can be helpful as well as inquisitive. The found family trope is used fairly well.
🌳 The indirect focus on the perils of resource hoarding by a select few, climate change affecting ordinary citizens, animals and nature suffering because of human misdemeanours, and parental abuse affecting children – all minor arcs but important and intriguing enough.
🌳 Can’t forget that stunning cover! It is almost like a painting. Don’t miss the adorable winged cat!

Bookish Mixed Bags:
🌱 While this is a cosy fantasy, it is heavily tilted towards the cosy side than the fantasy side. I like cosy fantasies so I was somewhat prepared for what I would get going into this novel. But I wish the writing had not worried so much about making things cosy that it forgot many other necessary requirements of a satisfying reading experience.
🌱 Kiela is a complicated protagonist, and not exactly a loveable one. She is quite grumpy and annoying at the start. She is also too impulsive, naïve, and a short-term thinker. While I don’t mind unlikeable characters (I think they offer far more depth to stories than goody-goody characters), the conversion of Kiela’s people-shirker persona to town saviour and friend is a bit too instant to be convincing. If you necessarily want novels to have likeable leads, this book might not work for you.
🌱 Larran and the other citizens of the town are much better and hence more likeable than Kiela, but their character dev is somewhat surface level. They are either 100% likeable or detestable, no in-between greys. This gets boring. Larran, being the male lead, deserved better character development, but we don’t even know what he looks like, except that he is huge.
🌱 The basic storyline is too simplistic. Except for the fantastical characters and the references to magic, the plot has a typical romcom storyline: a city girl moving to a small village, finding love in various forms, and deciding that her new location is way better than the life she left behind. I wish there had been some novelty to the plot, though the magical beings were imaginative enough to save the book.
🌱 The approach to the story is somewhat episodic, with several conflicts coming and going over the course of the 384 pages. Once a conflict is settled, it doesn’t pop up again. This works well in continuity, but it also feels formulaic after a point. I’m surprised that the major historical event at the start of the book – a revolution in the empire that ends with the emperor being killed and the city overtaken by rebels – is chucked aside after Keila moves to her hometown. Even during later mentions of the rebellion, there are no major details provided. If you begin with a political plot-point, surely that needs to be settled better.
🌱 The world building is highly developed on some points, and lacklustre on others. The townspeople (when they are non-human) and the fantastical creatures get exceptional description, but the ordinary humans barely get any detailing. We get great descriptions of the island setting, but hardly anything about its magical backstory. We know the whats of the magic, but it is taken for granted that we also know the hows and whys.
🌱 This is tagged as a fantasy romance. So I can’t really complain about the dominant presence of the romance, but I will complain that the romance was a bit too insta for my liking. It had elements of grumpy (Keila) vs sunshine (Larran), and was clean, so no steam-related worries.

Bookish Nays:
🍂 Though the writing is in third person, there are a lot of inner monologues, which also leads to loads of repetition. The proceedings are also somewhat slow because of this, though I didn’t mind the slow part.
🍂 Some plot points are too convenient to be convincing. A cottage that has been abandoned in the wild for more than a decade still has everything in working order and the bed isn’t even dusty? A character changes their stance on a topic at the most opportune moment? Eople pop up exactly when they are needed?
🍂 I think the book should have had a different title. Not only is it a spoiler (because Keila doesn’t take a call about “selling spells” until much into the book, but it is also inaccurate, since there is no actual “spell shop’ in the book.
🍂 The second relationship introduced at the end comes out of nowhere. I think it was introduced just to tick off one item on the inclusivity checklist, but it simply wasn’t needed. A similar forced inclusion is the mention of the pronoun preference of a talking plant. (I’m not kidding! At times, I feel like we are going too far with the inclusivity rep in fiction. Yup, I said it! Yes, we need to be inclusive and treat all gender and sexual orientations equally, but do we need to shove it into every single plot, even when it doesn’t even make sense?)

🎧 The Audiobook Experience:
The audiobook, clocking at 12 hrs 11 min, is narrated by Caitlin Davies. Her exuberant performance matches the cosy tone of the story. She does go a bit over the top during dialogue delivery, but I don’t mind this because it adds greater emotional depth and excitement to the conversations. Her voices for Caz and Meep were fabulous. If you want to give this book a go, I’d definitely recommend the audio version to audiobook aficionados. It would also be a great option for audio newbies as the timelines are straightforward and the characters, limited.


All in all, there are a few gaps in the writing approach of this novel, but there is also enough to enjoy. Caz alone should be a strong reason for you to pick up this ‘cottage-core’ (So many new labels these days!) fantasy-romance.

Recommended to cosy fantasy readers who don’t mind an extra bucketload of cutesy in their novels. This is Twee with a capital T! Be prepared to leave logic aside to enjoy it better.

3.5 stars, rounding up for Caz, Meep, and the audiobook.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan and Tor for providing the DRC, and Macmillan Audio for providing the ALC of “The Spellshop” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I found this one very hard to follow in audiobook format. Perhaps if it was a physical book, I could keep track of the plot a bit better! Cool premise though, and great characters.

This was a cute and fun, cozy fantasy. The world building was done very well. The characters and their world seemed vibrant. Everything practically came to life in my head because the descriptions were so beautifully conveyed.

Kiela was a bit annoying at first, but as the story went on, she became more and more likable. I loved the side characters, especially Caz, the sentient spider plant, and Meep.

The relationships between the inhabitants of the island were really the star of the book. The budding friendships and romances were handled quite nicely.

The narration by Caitlin Davies was wonderful! There were so many different types of characters, and she gave each a distinct voice. Her range is pretty fantastic!

The Spellshop is a heartwarming and charming little escape of a book that I recommend to anyone in need of some light fantasy. Do be aware, though, that you may come away from this with an urge to make jam.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, for this ALC. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was a very well done cozy romantasy. I may even put this above Legends and Lattes and that's high praise as nothing in the genre has lived up to that book.

To be blunt, Kiela sucks at first. She's very annoying and not very likable but as she spends time on the island, she blossoms into a real human being as opposed to the library troll she was. Early on in the book, the side characters kept me reading as I liked everyone else and by the end I was happy with the cast of characters and would even love a sequel where everyone just does more of the same.

The plot was predictable but I wasn't too bothered by that because I never expected to be wowed by some big plot twist.

Overall, this was enjoyable and may even be worth a reread one day.

Damn it… I was prepped and ready to be a hater. By every meaningful metric, I did not particularly enjoy the experience of reading this book. I felt basically no compulsion to pick it back up when I wasn’t reading, and thought about dnf’ing a couple times. And yet.

The Spellshop effectively asks: what if the Legends & Lattes formula was Hallmark instead of D&D? It kicks off with the fish-out-of-water city girl returning to her quaint island hometown. She moves into the house conveniently left to her by her late parents, struggles to integrate with the quirky townsfolk, and reconnects with the perfect golden retriever man who has secretly had a crush on her ever since they were kids together. But all of these romantic staples are infused with aggressively cozy fantasy - the childhood friend is a merhorse farmer, there are centaurs and other magical beings mixed in with the townsfolk, and the city girl integrates into the island culture by starting a spellshop. Every element of this story is familiar, and that’s very much by design.

By the end of this book, I realized that my problem with it was entirely a me problem. I’m just not a huge cozy fantasy person, and this is COZY. Having read a decent handful of other cozies, though, I can recognize the ways that The Spellshop actually surpasses a lot of its contemporaries. This is a subgenre that tends to struggle to say anything meaningful, and often fumbles its ethical subtext in its refusal to address unpleasant realities. When a book purports to be cozy, we have to ask: “cozy for who?” Legends & Lattes is a prime example: the entire plot literally hinges on a magical allegory for cultural appropriation, and the book is deeply uninterested in even taking that into consideration. Everything must remain glossy and easy and surface-level.

The Spellshop’s ethical subtext is thoroughly realized and fairly cohesive. This book is very decisively about fascism, about protecting the most vulnerable community members, and about each individual’s ability and moral obligation to break from unethical systems in the ways that we can. It’s about book burning and hoarding vs freely sharing knowledge. I won’t say it always exactly nails every point - it IS hard to balance critique of fascism with a centaur bakery - but damn if it doesn’t try, and I’ll absolutely give it the A for effort.

Don’t get me wrong, this is very much a glossy book. It’s sweet to the point of being saccharine. It’s aggressively cutesy, with winged cats and mermaids and lots and lots of jam and baked goods. The villains are very obvious, the romance is very simple, and everything will very obviously be ok in the end. Also, the main character was honestly pretty unbearable (in the beginning - her character arc is actually solid). But this book succeeds in what it sets out to do and then some. It’s light and charming but also actually thoughtful and meaningfully compassionate, and if you enjoy cozy fantasy at all, you’ll probably love this one.

I also liked the tree spirits a lot 🐻🌲

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook.
The Spellshop is an adorable cozy book about an introvert terrified by the prospect of leaving her comfort zone. But life has other plans.
Kiela just wants peace and to do what's right: protect the spellbooks under her care. Then she has to flee a fiery revolution that takes place in the background of the Spellshop, back to her isolated island hometown. She tentatively begins to socialize with neighbors old and new, then one thing leads to another and suddenly she's using the spellbooks to save her hometown.
This book is fun, adorable, and has relatively low stakes, but with enough plot to make you keep reading and wanting to know what happens next.

Series Info/Source: This a stand alone book. I got this audiobook for review through NetGalley

Thoughts: I loved this book. It was such and fun, cozy fantasy read. I am a big fan of Durst and have enjoyed a lot of her books. Some other Durst books I have really loved are: The Queens of Renthia series, "The Bone Maker", "Race the Sands", and "Spark". Durst is one of my "go-to" authors and is very versatile writing for a variety of age groups and covering different genres.

In this book we join Kiela the librarian who is trying to save magic books as the nation's revolutionists burn the library down. Her only companion is the sentient spider-plant, Caz, and they have no idea where to go to be safe. Finally Kiela decides to go to the remote island of her birth to ride out all the tumult. She hopes to hide in peace and quiet, but she has a very nosy and handsome neighbor, Lorren, who keeps trying to help her. When Kiela sees how her home island is suffering because of a lack of magic she decides maybe the magic books she saved/stole could be some help. Unfortunately using magic is illegal and things starts to turn sideways when another survivor shows up on the island.

This book has such a heartwarming and cozy feel to it. I loved watching Kiela grow and learn and Caz was hilarious. It was wonderful to watch the islanders band together to protect their own as well. The romance between Kiela and Lorran is sweet and special.

I absolutely loved all the magic in here. There are winged cats (super love), merhorses, magic jam, and singing apple trees. It was just a magical and comforting read.

I listened to this on audiobook and the narration was amazing. The narrator did an excellent job with conveying emotion and having distinct charactersvoices. The whole thing was beautifully read and I would highly recommend.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I absolutely loved this, it was a perfect cozy fantasy read. Yes, there is romance in here but at its heart this is a cozy fantasy with magic and a story about a character finding happiness. I loved the island, the magic creatures, and the way the islanders band together in times of danger. I would highly recommend if you enjoy cozy fantasies, or just heartwarming fantasies with fun magic.

“It wasn't that she didn't like people. It was that she liked books more. They didn't fuss or judge or mock or reject.They invited you in, fluffed up the pillows on the couch, offered you tea and toast, and shared their hearts with no expectation that you'd do anything more than absorb what they had to give.”

This delightful fantasy novel follows a young librarian named Kiela as she escapes her home city of Alyssium and the Library she loves. Alyssium is under attack by revolutionaries, so Kiela saves as many books as she can and flees by sea with her assistant Caz, a sentient spider plant who hops around on his root ball. Together, Caz and Kiela land on an island on the outskirts of the kingdom, where Kiela spent her childhood. Kiela quickly realizes that the emperor has abandoned the island, and the magic that the powerful hoarded has run wild among the innocent people she comes to care for. As she builds a jam shop, discovers more about herself, and makes new friendships, Kiela also delves into forbidden magic and potential romance.

Although this novel is often labeled as "romantasy," I would call it a cottagecore fantasy with a splash of romance toward the end. The story features magical creatures, plants, different species, and forest spirits, but the romance aspect is minimal. The pace of the novel is not fast, and it may linger on the edges of being a bit drawn out, but the captivating world makes you want to know more. The narrator did a fantastic job, especially in portraying Caz, who gets excited over research. The narrator really gives Caz some extra personality. Overall, the story is charming, endearing, and a bit long-winded, but the depth it adds is worthwhile. I believe this would make an amazing series, allowing us to learn the fate of the characters after the end of this book.

What an amazingly magical book!

The author created such a wonderful world, that I could probably read a second book of all the characters just living their lives on their island.

The audiobook was great and the narrator did a great job - especially with the anxiety ridden spider plant side-kick, Caz.

🌶️/5

✨ Magic 🪄
✨ Slow burn ❤️‍🔥
✨ He fell first ❤️
✨ Mermaids 🧜‍♀️
✨ Found family

* Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for my ARC in exchange for my honest review *

Possibly my new favorite cozy fantasy? This book is for the fairytale girls. It's for us cottagecore girls. This is a story that I wished I had as a friend throughout my life. It's the type of book I'll come back to again and again because it feels like home, and it feels like love and family and everything good. I cannot recommend this book enough if you want a place to escape the world and be reminded that magic exists, good people exist, and books that change your life for the better absolutely do exist, because this is one of them.

A magical ,charming ,witchy, fantasy ,mystery slight romance story with Kaela a librarian and Caz a sentient spider plant.
Really liked all the special characters.
A enjoyable easy read.
Good narrator and narration.
Voluntarily reviewed.

Cozy cottage core fantasy romance recommended for fellow fans of LEGENDS & LATTES and BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST. Featuring a librarian on the run and her snarky sentient spider plant best friend, this gentle, feel good romance is full of small town community, magic, books, and jam. The narrator does an outstanding job on the audiobook.

I know that cozy is used to describe books more.and more these days but honestly, this book was.like a.warm sweater on a.cool fall day. I could listen to Keela go on about making jam and putting together "remedies" for hours. In fact when Larren ran off to be a hero during the storm I was a.little perturbed thinking that now I was going to have to share my attention away from Caz and Meep and the books and spirits. Luckily for me it was all worth it! Thank you to Sarah and Netgalley and Macmillian audio for the ARC.

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst is a delightful and enchanting novel that immediately drew me in with its whimsical charm and heartwarming narrative. Durst masterfully combines elements of magic, adventure, and personal growth, creating a story that kept me entertained and left me thinking long after I finished it.

The story follows the protagonist, who stumbles upon a mysterious spellshop that promises to change her life in unexpected ways. I found the protagonist incredibly relatable and endearing, and I couldn't help but root for her as she navigated the challenges and wonders of a world filled with magic.

One of the things I loved most about The Spellshop was Durst's imaginative world-building. The spellshop itself felt like a character, filled with curious and fantastical items that sparked my imagination. The vivid descriptions and creative details made the magical elements come to life, and I felt like I was right there, exploring alongside the characters.

Durst’s writing is full of wonder and whimsy, yet she also tackles deeper themes such as self-discovery, the importance of choices, and the power of friendship. The balance between lighthearted moments and meaningful reflections gave the story depth and resonance, making it more than just a fun read.

The supporting characters were equally well-crafted, each bringing their own unique flavor to the narrative. Their interactions with the protagonist added richness to the story, highlighting themes of loyalty, courage, and the complexities of human relationships.

Overall, The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst was a magical and engaging read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Its blend of adventure, humor, and heartfelt moments made it a book that was both fun and impactful. If you're looking for a story that will whisk you away to a world of magic while also touching your heart, I highly recommend The Spellshop.

I enjoyed The Spellshop SO much! I'm not typically a *cozy* reader but I loved everything about this book. Cottagecore perfection. I wish I had a sentient snake plant!

The narrator was 5/5 stars.

World building in this book was great. I enjoyed being able to picture everything that was being described to me. The love story that was connected was good, but not the focus of the book. The Cloud Bears were probably my favorite character(s) of the book. I would love to visit the island. It sounded like a wonderful place to be.

If you like the found family trope, you will enjoy this book.

Thank you for the audio file, this is my honest opinion.
#MacAudio2024

4.5! This was such a cozy witch-ish story. I really liked Kiela, she was such a fun main character with just enough self doubt that she was relatable and easy to root for. There was a little bit of romance but there wasn't much and I think if there was more, it would take away too much from the story . I absolutely loved that her assistant/bestie was a talking plant. Caz was truly the best sidekick I've read about in such a long time. This is cottagecore literature right here!