The Spellshop is the perfect cosy fantasy for fans of books like Legends and Lattes.

My favourite character has to be, Caz, the sentient spider planet. His back and forth with Kiela made me smile. I have to admit, being an introvert myself I found Kiela's personality relatable, from her awkwardness to her anti-socialness. The romance was very sweet, and if you're a fan of the he falls first trope you'll enjoy it. The food descriptions made me crave jam and cinnamon rolls, two things I love. As a bookworm I of course 100 percent understood Kiela's love of books and wanting to protect them at all costs. Again relatable. They were her comfort in the absence of human companions.

The Spellshop is the ideal read with a big cup of your preferred hot beverage!

This is a beautifully written, serenely cosy cottage core fantasy book of dreams. I loved the characters, the island setting, the world building and the magic system. This book feels like a huge warm cosy hug. I would love more books in this series if possible! The very definition of cosy fantasy. An incredible read.

I overall enjoyed this book - it's whimsical and pretty, and I always like to read books that explore non-human peoples. I think the setting was lovely, the Isle of Caltrey was so sweet and idyllic. The book fulfilled everything you want in a cosy fantasy, while managing to be heart-warming but not sickly sweet. I love any book about books and librarians, and this definitely scratched that itch. Caz was wonderful, too, and Larran was genuinely so wholesome it was adorable.

I do have a few complaints - you need to have a passing understanding of the things you write about. Chickens really shouldn't be kept alone (Kiela is neither cruel nor stupid, and I refuse to believe Larran would have agreed with a solo chicken), and I have questions about whether all the fruits and vegetables mentioned truly are harvested at the same time. My suspension of disbelief has no trouble with magic, but does not include agricultural mis-deeds, apparently. It made some aspects of this book seem under-researched, especially when a lot of this can be checked by a simple google search.

I wish we could have explored the world and the city a bit more, but needs must, and this book packed a really nice amount of plot into the book for its length. I enjoyed the book, and I'd read another one set in this world. A nice cosy read perfect for summer.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book felt like a comforting hug! It doesn't get much more cottagecore than a Librarian - and a sentient spider plant - using magic to restore the balance of nature. That's alongside aiding forest spirits and growing berries to make jam too! Not to mention the gorgeous small town romance sub-plot.

This is the perfect read for people who love:
- cosy games like animal crossing
- enchanting magic
- fantasy creatures (see: winged cats and merhorses)
- found family
- cinnamon rolls

This is a cosy fantasy read. I enjoyed everything, from the world building to the characters' relationships.

Kiela is an imperial librarian who loves books more than anything else. She spends all her time in the library, together with her talking plant. When the rebellion against the king affects the library, Kiela flees together with a few crates of books, back to the island where she was born. Here, Kiela starts meeting a multitude of people, and she wants to try to help them. The only problem is that magic is prohibited—only the imperial sorcerers can use magic and if anyone else tries, they can be imprisoned. However, Kiela can't let her island die now that she has finally found a home, so with the help of some long-term residents and an attractive childhood almost-friend, Kiela will do everything in her power to protect what she has come to love.

I enjoyed this book so much. I loved how Kiela grows in her own confidence and how she starts opening up to people. Caz, the talking plant, is amazing as well. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for a digital ARC of this book.

Ahhh this was SO lovely! This is the definition of a cosy fantasy. I was so in love with the little island and it's inhabitants. True Cottage core cosy.

Honestly, this is the best book i've read so far in 2024. I started reading it during a really turbulent period in my life and it brought me peace when I didn't think that would have been possible!

The vibes, the romance, the found-family, the island of Caltrey and THE JAM are PEAK cosy fantasy! I feel like i've been on this beautiful island with the characters and I was so invested in the story that it was a huge stuggle to put my Kindle down each night. I don't want to ruin any part of the plot but if you are a fan of Legends and Lattes then this is 100000% the next book you should pick up!

I really hope we hear more from these characters or get another book from this author because I am OBSESSED!

10 out of 5 stars!!

I didn’t know I needed to read more cottage core fantasy until I read this book. Everything in this story was cozy, warm and inviting. I didn’t read the blurb and pretty much went into this blind and I’m so glad I did.

We meet Keila who has escaped the Alyssium after it was taken over by revolutionaries, as well as her precious spell books from the library and her assistant, the spider plant, Caz.

We see her arrive back in her home village and try to start a new life as well as helping the now failing island come back to life. I loved everything about this. The characters, the found family and Larran. I want my own Larran.

But it was Keila, Caz and Meep who made the whole book for me. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more books by this author.

A fun cozy fantasy book, with a solid main character and compelling secondary characters. Felt a bit repetitive at times but it was very cute in a fluff and sugar kind of way.

This book creates a world that's very cozy and lived in, and getting to spend time in this universe felt like staying the night in a friend's house, in safety and good company. I had a great time relaxing into this book!

The Spellshop follows a young woman called Kiera as she returns to her hometown of Caltrey with a spider plant..

This is the first book I’ve read in this in genre and I can’t say I’m a fan, the story is crosses the line between whimsical and urgent while keeping up with the high stakes tension. There was lots of talk of the politics and magic going on in the world

I would have liked to see a bit more exploration of the politics within the world.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

Cosy fantasy at its finest. The cottage, island, characters, story and romance were all perfect, there was literally nothing I didn't enjoy about this book! Sometimes you just need a bit of sweetness and a change of pace and this certainly provided that.

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book quite simply takes your hand and tugs you gently on a journey through the most gorgeously described world filled with magic and sentient plants. This book is the warmest of hugs and the perfect book to just get lost in.

I really enjoy how Kiela is so introverted, it truly resonated with me as someone who really struggles to verbally communicate with people. What I really found beautiful though is that you see Kiela grow and begin to find her place and somewhere she feels she belongs. The changes that get her there are slow and gentle and a wonderful journey. She truly wants to do right by the people around her but makes some incredibly amusing mistakes along the way.

This book honestly has the sweetest, clumsiest romance I never knew I needed. Larran and Kiela are both absolutely adorable and their interactions are of such a innocent nature and their blossoming relationship warmed my heart and gave me all the fuzzy feels.

The dry sense of humour is incredible and the banter especially from Caz is one of my favourite aspects. This book had me at sentient spider plant and it did not dissapoint in the slightest.

This book was just the definition of a cozy fantasy. It was lovely and heartwarming and so sweet. After reading so much high fantasy within the last couple of weeks, this was the perfect little break.

Cottagecore at its finest. This book has such a delightful cast of characters that you can’t help but love. It has found family, love, friendship and the feeling of finally finding a home in the world. Kiera starts off as quite an antisocial prickly character but soon opens up and becomes just a wonderful character to read about. I also just loved the assortment of creatures in this book from merpeople to unicorns to winged cats, it was so fun. You truly do get swept up in the magic.

I will say it took me a little while to get into as there’s definitely not high stakes when it comes to this story which is not off brand for a cozy fantasy. However I soon found myself invested in the book. I would of also loved to here a bit more about the politics going on in the main city and would of liked a bit more worldbuilding but again I don’t think that really had much of a place in a book of this particular genre.

Overall, this was a joy to read.

This is a small-town romance with an endearing side of cozy fantasy elements, there were times I almost felt it was too sweet but I know others will adore that. I wanted a bit of drama to build back from but felt like that never came.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for approving my request for the arc of this magical book! ✨

Rating: 3.8 🍃

Themes: forbidden spells, enchanted creatures, jam shop, library, cute romance, friendship and community, foraging, cottagecore, small island.

Prefacing this by saying this should be a 4 star but I personally need a bit more plot and action. I understand that this is a cosy cottagecore fantasy and so the themes will not be violent or dark or cause a lot of stress when reading as it’s supposed to be a calm vibe. I unfortunately like the impact of an earth shattering plot and emotional damage, which understandably will not fit into this book and so it shouldn’t be penalised for that. However, I still need to rate it based on how much I enjoyed the reading experience.

The first 100 pages were a bit slow with not much going on plot-wise but the rest was fab. There were some risks involved and threads of a cute romance that made up the cosy quilt of this book.

I actually didn’t like Kiela very much at the beginning because of her unfriendliness and unnecessary rudeness (I couldn’t see what her issue was with Laran at the start) but I ended up really liking her character development by the end of the book. It also made sense since she’s spent most of her life tucked away in the library of Alyssium from the outside world.

I never thought I’d be reading a book with talking plants but here we are and surprisingly I didn’t hate it 😅 it added a more magical element to it which made it feel more immersive. There’s also lgbtq rep here which was awesome to see! This is a book I would love to visualise more clearly on a screen - it sets a beautiful scenery.

This book came as such a blessing at a very stressful time in my life. If you’re ever feeling stressed and need some calmness during the (magical) storm, I could think of no better book to recommend.

Kiela is a librarian in the city of Alyssium, but when revolution hits and the library is burned, she flees with several books and a sentient plant to the distant island she was born on, and there starts to create herself a new life.

This book had me smiling from the first page to the last. I adored Kiela and Caz and their entire found family, right down to the Cloud Bears. This is definitely a book to pick up whenever you need a joyful read!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

"The Spellshop" immerses readers in a charming fantasy world, following librarian Keila's journey after fleeing Alyssium amidst a revolution. Accompanied by the sentient spider plant, Caz, and the spellbooks they rescued (and stole), Keila returns to her hometown of Caltrey, uncertain of her next steps.

While categorized as cosy fantasy, the novel ventures into high-stakes territory, straddling the line between whimsical and urgent. While this balance adds intrigue, I found myself craving more depth in the world-building and lore. Surface-level explanations left gaps in understanding regarding the history, politics, and magic systems.

Despite this, the characters shine with distinct charm and personality. I absolutely adored Caz, he is such a great character, even though it took my brain a while to imagine what he would be like! Larran is just a golden-retriever man and I love him so much! At the start of the book I really wasn’t sure on Keila, but I warmed up to her by the end. The representation of the LGBTQIA+ community is great, with diverse characters and relationships.

Overall, I really enjoyed "The Spellshop" and the theme of found family, and acceptance shines through beautifully. Though I longed for deeper exploration of the islands' history, character motivations, and political dynamics, the happenings on Caltrey were wonderful to read and transported me to the whimsical island.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalleyand Pan Macmillan for the ARC.

If you like cosy reads; talking, sentient spider plants; merhorses; flying cats; yummy cinnamon buns and jam, then this is the book for you.
Oh, and don't forget the gorgeous cover!

The main character, Kiela, is a bit of an introvert, and she escapes the city and her job as a librarian with her talking spider plant, Caz, and some books, because of a revolution, and returns to her home Island, where she was born. She begins to find that the Island isn't how it used to be. It's not as healthy, and so tries to find ways to bring back it's magic.

The book has a cosy, fresh feel to it, and it was lovely to read, especially considering I had just finished reading a couple of intense fantasy books. The Spellshop definitely cleansed my pallete.
I could feel the sea breeze and the comfort of the cosy cottage which Kiela slowly restored. With the help of Larran.

It is a cosy, slow moving book which can be enjoyed during those moments when you want a calm fantasy book to read. And who can complain when there is a talking, sentient spider plant as the FMC's side kick!? 😃🪴

Utterly captivating!!

I think I was only 2 chapters into this before I preordered the hardback. Described as a cosy fantasy, it really does epitomise the genre.

Kiela is a cinnamon bun, book loving introvert librarian, with a sentient spider plant as a best friend. Rarely have I connected with a character as much as her, and I think she may be one of my all time favourite book characters! Fleeing a violent revolution, Kiela returns to the island of her birth, saving what books she can. Whilst meant as a fleeting visit, Kiela learns the island needs her and her spellbooks - and just perhaps, the island has something that she needs too.

There is magic, friendship, romance, cloud bears, flying cats, jam, baked goods, mermaids, merhorses and just wholesome characters with an equally wholesome plot.

I loved every aspect of this book. I read most of it out loud to my 12 week old baby, so I think I'll forever associate it with cosy baby cuddles, hot chocolate and sweet treats (yes, includjng cinnamon buns!). To me, this book is perfect and, whilst I maybe sometimes get carried away with 5 star ratings, this is truely deserving.

Highly recommend, especially for fans of Legends and Lattes.

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Also - I just want to jump into that cover -I think it's one of the most beautiful I've ever seen!