Title: The Spellshop

Author: Sarah Beth Durst

Series: Spellshop #1

Genre: Cozy Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: 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. -Goodreads

The Review:

What a wholesome and charming book!

The Spellshop was a full-on cozy fantasy with a subtle romance, found-family vibes, and pops of creative magic. Going in, I was expecting a heavy Romantasy with the love story dominating the entire plot. That was not the case at all. And actually, you might be surprised to hear this, but I think the romance could have been more prominent. Legends and Lattes, one of the first-movers in this new era of cozy fantasy (loved) had about the same level of romantic components (few), to give you a frame of reference. That said, the romance we got here was organic and sweet, and I came away from it with all the right feels.

My personal fantasies aren’t romance-driven. No, what I daydream about is a life of simplicity. A slow, methodical way of living that encourages mindfulness and peace. The Spellshop was the perfect dose of all of those “day in the life” vibes that let me just relax into someone else’s gradual attempts to build a meaningful life. Add in books, an enchanted spider plant, and other totally endearing characters, and you have yourself a fun, creative read. It was great.

The only thing I didn’t strictly love about the book were the slightly repetitive conflicts near the end. I got a bit bored for a minute. It’s a minor thing though, as she quickly reigned me back in with some cool magics, but I think it did solidify my rating as a four-star rather than something a bit higher. Even so, Durst is an author who tells the stories I’ve always wanted to write, and I cannot wait to read more for her in the future. I’m fixing to pick up the next stand-alone in this Spellshop set, The Enchanted Green house, very soon.

Recommendations: if, like me, you are completely aboard the cozy fantasy train, The Spellshop is a must-read for the subgenre. It was an absolute delight. Also consider her Race the Sands book. It’s not cozy fantasy, per se, but it is awesome fantasy and one of my favorite things I’ve read in recent years.

Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Frank, Jen, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, Mike, Elizabeth, Bee, Tracey, Dagmara, Poochtee, and Kinsey! <3

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