Thank you Netgalley for this entertaining romantasy novel about a girl and her plant trying to escape the town they live, while also saving as many books as possible from the library she works at. When a revolution takes over their quait, happy town, Kiela and Caz flea with what books they can carry to her childhood home. There she finds a cute but nosy neighbor and a host of other people who will do whatever it takes to protect Kiela and Caz. The romance was sweet, but Kiela did drive me a bit crazy with some of her antics. She second guessed everything and her inner dialog was not necessary in this readers opinion, but over all absolutely adorable!

Even though I enjoy an occasional magic realism story I am realizing that cozy, fantasy books are not my thing. Much to my disappointment, I couldn’t get into this one, however, it looks like my feedback differs greatly as many have enjoyed The Spellshop immensely. The narrator did a wonderful job and Caz the spider plant made me smile and chuckle. The story wasn’t meaty enough or as fulfilling as the delicious cinnamon rolls. It didn’t keep me fully invested as I found my thoughts wandered frequently. I wonder if I would have enjoyed this more if I read it instead of listened. I am thankful to Bramble Publishers and the author, Sarah Beth Durst for this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was downright delightful
In the spell show we follow librarian Kiela as she rebuilds her life in the wake of a revolution that left he beloved library burned down. Having no where to go, she takes several cases of highly controlled magical books and her assistant, a sentient spider plant named Caz, to her childhood home. Upon her return home she finds her home massively over grown and dusty but much like she remembers. Despite her suspicion of others and desire to keep her book secret she finds herself befriending locals and deciding she wants to do her best to make life better for everyone in town.

I really loved this, it was very cozy and really what I’ve been looking for when people describe a book as cottage core. Kiela’s character development from anti-social librarian to a friend to many of the locals was really wonderful to witness. All of the relationships were delightful and wonderful to watch unfold, I really loved seeing Kiela learning to trust Larran.

The narration was delightful and consistent, the narrator does a great job with the various voices they use for all the characters along with imparting the feelings that Kiela is having throughout the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

Caitlin Davies is a lovely narrator with a voice that perfectly matches the type of story The Spellshop is. It's a cute coming-of-age story as Kiela discovers that having people in your life can enrich it in ways you didn't expect.

Cozy fantasy is NOT my thing, so I don't know what I was expecting here. Personally I'm not sure if it's a 3 star read, but I gave it that rating because I think people who enjoy cozy and/or cottagecore fantasy will very much like this! I feel like this is a mismatch of book & readers, so it's not the book's fault that it didn't land for me. The imagery and the island is super dreamy, though.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this wonderful, beautiful, perfect, ALC.

Caitlin Davies was a brilliant reader! Meep!

This story was absolute perfection. Meep. It is definitely staying in my top ten of the year. Meep. I loved Caz, Meep, and the magic. I adored Kiela and Larran and all the jam. I loved the found family!
Meeeep! I am so glad I pre-ordered a physical copy!

The Spellshop is a story about a woman who escapes the capital city in the middle of a violent revolution to the small, outer island where she was born. She has been in the city since she was 9 years old and has spent most of her time in the library. She is awkward around people and doesn't know how to interact with them. When she gets to the island she moves back into her family home that has been abandoned all these years but is afraid she will starve. She uses illegal magic to help her survive and to help the other people on the island who have been struggling for years. This book explores her interactions with the people who live on the island and how she learns some social skills. I really enjoyed the world building and pacing of this story. Watching Kiela figure out her life was interesting and fun. I really enjoyed this book but thought it was spoiled by a sentient plant who wanted to be referred to as a plural and the addition of a homosexual relationship that was not approved of by the women's families. I felt that these unnecessary additions did not add to the story and, in fact, took away from it in a pretty stark way. After the point in the story where these things came up the story fell flat as well. It became predictable and lacked the depth I felt had been developed earlier in the story.

What an adorable, fun, perfect cozy magical romance. All the characters were so enjoyable to follow. I love the dynamic between Kiela and her sentient snake plant assistant. This definitely gave magical hallmark vibes.

Caitlin Davies was such an enjoyable narrator. Great voice, pace, and flow. Her voice was perfect for this character and did a great job changing her voice for each character.

What an enjoyable read! Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Sarah Beth Durst for the ARC of the audiobook.

Absolutely delightful. The cover doesn't do it justice. A librarian flees the capital during a revolution and hides out in the remote island cottage from her childhood; the locals are a charming cast and the island setting is vibrantly drawn. Despite the "cozy" label, there's action and unexpected conflict to propel the plot. I thoroughly enjoyed this, despite the very predictable happy ending. The audiobook is adequate, with some differentiation of voices.

Thank you very much to Tor Books who kindly sent me an ARC to review and NetGalley for the audiobook access.

I loved this so much, the characters are amazing, fantastical creatures, and imagery. The storyline is one of my favorite ,a librarian and her talking spider plant ,flee for their lives saving crates if spell books , going home and starting over .I encourage readers to listen on Audio as the Narrator brings this story to life .

After a friend recommended this, I knew I needed to pick it up. The audiobook is absolutely delightful. The Spellshop is the coziest of fantasies, with low stakes, vibrant side characters, the sweetest little island, and the cutest romance. I petition that Caitlyn Davies narrate every cozy fantasy from here on out. Her performance was perfect and exactly fit the vibes for Kiela's story. When you're looking for something easy to listen to that is heartwarming and unique, reach for The Spellshop. You won't regret it!

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for my ALC. All opinions here are my own.

The reader was amazing! She really brought this story to life. I adored this book, it had all the best cozy vides. While the book was cozy it was also very interesting and engaging, The pacing was excellent, I could not put it down. The sentient spider plant was one of the best parts of this book.
This book had the best world:
- books, libraries and a very devoted librarian
- wonderful small town on a remote island
- found family
- magic and magical creatures (including cats with wings)
- a sentient plant as one of the main characters!

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, Bramble Books, and Sarah Beth Durst for providing me with the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book is the definition of cozy fantasy! I went in blind, not knowing what to expect exactly, and fell in love with the juxtaposition of fantasy elements (centaurs, flying cats, mermaids), with the humdrum of every day life. It's a great read that came to me just at the right time (lots of stress and this book, while having a rise and fall in low to high stakes, hit the chill spot.)

I really love the relationship between Kiela and her neighbor. I adore that she made her wants known immediately, setting reasonable boundaries around some of the romance tropes. It was super refreshing to read about clear communication and respected boundaries.

Caz is absolutely amazing and had me sold on the entire book by the first few pages.

Highly, highly, highly recommend. My Cozy Fantasy pick of the year.

You're not supposed to judge a book by its cover but "The Spellshop" is exactly what you think it would be: cozy, charming, gentle and imaginative. Unfortunately, the narration wasn't my favorite. It was fine but lacked a depth and emotion. Overall, though, this is a wonderful book.

I adored this book.

As an avid advocate of Legends and Lattes and the cozy fantasy genre as a whole, this book hit the nail on the head. It was low stakes enough not to stress me out, but had just enough tension to keep me incredibly engaged the whole way through,

I loved the way this novel explored being an introvert and how that can influence someones perspective on interactions, asking for help, and just generally going through life.

And who does love a sentient spider plant?

If you love cottagecore, rom-com, magical spell vibes, this is the story for you.

Tropes
✨ Cozy Fantasy
✨ Cottagecore
✨ Found Family
✨ Slow Burn No-Spice Romance
✨ Spells and all things magic

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 0/5

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst, narrated by Caitlin Davies, is a cozy magical fantasy romance that will keep your serotonin levels high and stress levels low.

Kiela expected to live her whole life lost in the stacks of her library. When a revolution kicks off, the empire and her dear library is set ablaze. She’s forced to escape with her assistant Caz, a sentient spider plant, and as many magical books she could grab before fleeing. Back in the small island she was born on, she must find a way to help the people with illegal magic while finding a way to also help herself.

I found this absolutely adorable and cozy and just the perfect read for me. I believe this has similar themes to Legends & Lattes, but I’m still in line at my library for that one. The narrator was so perfect and really drew you into the story.

I loved Kiera’s development as she transitioned to being alone in her own little world to having to fend for herself and make friends. Caz was also a very sweet and caring character who goes through his own little growth.

This is without a doubt one of my top reads of the year. Don’t forget to pick up your copy as it’s in stores meow! ❤️ Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this lovely audio ARC!

A cozy fantasy with the best mix of characters! I loved them all and how they help the island come alive again. A touch of romance, lots of found family and amazing magical creatures. This story gave all the warm and fuzzies!

I adored this story. It’s fantastical and whimsical and just all around a wonderful summer cozy read. It gave me all the warm fuzzies with the found family vibes and the little sprinkle of a slow burn romance. There fantastical creatures and the setting is beautiful and did I mention a talking plant?! I just loved this. I have to purchase my very own copy for my shelves so I can revisit this place and these characters again.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early recording of the audiobook. I adored the narrator and am so glad I was able to listen to this story!

All opinions are my own!

I absolutely adored this audiobook. I think if I had read the physical copy it would have been a bit slow for me, but I thought the narrator did a great job with the material. Story and characters were cute and easy to digest. Definitely a great cozy fantasy.

OMG! This book is amazing, it’s cozy, cute and totally swoon worthy. This was a perfect low stakes summer read that feels like a mini vacation. Keila is a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssum, a revolution happens, and she must flee the city with a cache of stolen spell books and a sentient spider plant named Caz. They travel by boat and watch the city burn not knowing where they will go and what they will do, until Kiela remembers her parents’ house back on the island of Caltrey. When they arrive, they must start to build a new life and forge new friendships on an island with unstable magic. Slowly they develop a plan to survive with some funny things happening along the way. The small-town vibes create a fast found family with a brooding handsome love interest who happens to be the neighbor. The fantastical creatures abound in this book and bring a smile to my face every time I think about them. The banter was believable, but I favored the smart aleck dialogue of Caz. The world building was on par with higher stakes fantasy novels and it’s definitely a world you want to get lost in. I listened to the Audiobook production by Caitlin Davies, and she knocked it out of the park. She brought The Spellshop to life and made the story feel like magic.