the spellshop – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Cozy Fantasy
Length: 384 pages
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: July 9th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Spellshop is a cottagecore cosy fantasy following a woman’s unexpected journey through the low-stakes market of illegal spell-selling and the high-risk business of starting over . . .

Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people, and as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn’t had to.

She and her assistant, Caz, a sentient spider plant, have spent most of the last eleven years sequestered among the empire’s precious spellbooks, protecting the magic for the city’s elite. But a revolution is brewing and when the library goes up in flames, she and Caz steal whatever books they can and flee to the faraway island where she grew up. She’s hoping to lay low and figure out a way to survive before the revolution comes looking for her. To her dismay, in addition to a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor, she finds the town in disarray.

The empire with its magic spellbooks has slowly been draining power from the island, something that Kiela is indirectly responsible for, and now she’s determined to find a way to make things right. Opening up a spell shop comes with its own risks—the consequence of sharing magic with commoners is death. And as Kiela comes to make a place for herself among the quirky townspeople, she realizes that in order to make a life for herself, she must break down the walls she has kept so high.

Perfect for fans of Travis Baldree and TJ Klune, The Spellshop is a romantic and cosy fantasy.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

OH SO COZY.

I love a great cozy fantasy and this was definitely it. The audiobook was my favorite and I loved that format, highly recommend!

This had a lovely set-up. I liked the coastal small town, and how tight knit the entire community was. There was a cute bakery and quirky characters and I feel like this really hit the nail on the head for how cozy fantasy is supposed to feel. I liked the simple nature of the plot and how much depth we got from the characters.

The little sub-plot romance was super sweet too. It had great push and pull with just a little bit of tension. I loved how they came together and worked together to keep their town safe. This was wholesome and gosh I was very much in love with the cottage vibes. And Caz?? A sentient plant?? Stop it right now, I loved him. These are the kinds of things I love seeing in books like this. Such a gem.

Overall audience notes: