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.

We follow Kiela who is instantly lovable and her companion Caz, a sentient spider plant as they navigate starting over on the island where Kiela grew up.

This book is full of magical creatures, low stakes and jam. The descriptions of all three are phenomenal and I absolutely loved every second with this book, hoping it wasnt going to end.

Do you need a healthy dosage of light fantasy involving magical creatures, finding family theme and adventure that give you comfort and relaxation during your reading time? Yes? Well it is your time to visit The Spellshop.

The owner of the Spellshop is Keila, a grumpy, naive and extremely introvert librarian who determines to keep her personal life as secret. But I can see her glimpse of compassion characte through her relationship with her plant assistant, Caz. As an introvert my self, i feel connected with her character instantly. Most people will think that she is unlikable character because she isnt fluffy and rainbows type of girl, she is a librarian, blue skin and need time to warming up to people. I totally understand and appreciate the author for presenting this type of FMC.

The plot feels light and east to follow. That's why it is called cozy fantasy. But the story also bring us beautiful message about bravery to open up your self, using whatever you have to help other people and found family, love and friendship in the process.

This is not my first time read unique and strong standalone from the author and wont become the last. I would love to recommen this delightful story to everyone who need warmth and wonderful easygoing aspect from their reads.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor from Pan Macmillan Publishing for providing copy of this ebook. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Expecting release date: 11 July 2024

I was super excited to read The Spell Shop by Sara Beth Durst because I LOVE cozy fantasy and romance so giving me a cozy romantasy is like heaven!

The writing was a little bit slower than I would’ve liked personally and the book dragged a little bit but it wasn’t too much of an issue. The romance wasn’t as big a part of the story as I would’ve liked (or was expecting from the marketing) but again this didn’t ruin the experience for me.

Overall, I liked this book! I can absolutely understand why so many people are enjoying this book because it was a very nice reading experience.

This is huge fun. Kiela and Caz are wonderful characters – particularly Caz. And the idea of a talking spider plant, created to be a lonely librarian’s companion is both amusing and poignant. Especially as the poor librarian was horribly punished for the deed and Caz ends up with Kiela.

Durst quickly establishes this quirky pair as hugely loyal to each other and in the face of an immediate peril, good at reacting as a team. While there are huge dollops of warmth and fun in this story, there is also plenty of adventure, which I thoroughly appreciated.

I also felt the romantic thread was handled very well. There weren’t too many misunderstandings or long, complicated gazing into each other’s eyes. And the miscommunication was frequently funny enough to make me laugh aloud. Kiela isn’t good with people and it isn’t until she sees Larran with someone else that she realises she’s jealous. I liked her initially grumpy nature and felt that Durst negotiated her becoming friendlier with a certain amount of skill. The islanders do tend to be rather two-dimensional – mostly super-chatty and prepared to risk a lot for someone they don’t know very well. Or spitefully nasty.

Any niggles? Well, I did find the food choices a bit exasperating. Making jam is actually pretty expensive. I know, I’ve done it. You need loads of sugar – it was never successfully explained why a struggling island economy would have access to pounds and pounds of refined sugar and the process also requires a lot of fuel. The cheaper, more efficient use of sugar and soft fruit would be to bottle it. However, I gritted my teeth and suspended my belief. Though I also wondered why a bakery on an island reduced to subsistence level would be cranking out pastries, instead of bread…

That apart, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the emphasis on community and surviving by helping each other. I thought the magic system worked well. It makes sense that when magic is a question of scholarship and skills which can be learnt, it would be strictly controlled by forbidding such knowledge to be freely available to the populace. All in all, this was a book that I finished with a grin on my face – I need to check out Durst’s other books. Recommended for fans of feel-good fantasy. While I obtained an arc of The Spellshop from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for sending me a copy in exchange for a review.

From the first page I knew that this was going to be one of my new favourite reads of all time - it has everything you could need in a cosy fantasy; a fantasy world where the stakes aren't too high, a cheeky side kick (in the form of a talking spider plant), a romance, villagers that are happy to enfold our hero within their community, spells, and books. oh, and a load of jam.
The writing style was gorgeous and I could really feel myself standing in the cottage or at the beach with Keila and Caz.

Absolutely amazing, I'm angry I didn't read this sooner but will be pushing it into everyone's hands!

It’s been a long while since i read a cozy fantasy and actually enjoyed it. I had requested The Spellshop hoping that I would like it because everything about it interested me, and luckily despite the reading slump I was in, it was the first book that I was able to properly read even if it took me a while. I think reading it both digitally and via audiobook helped a lot too which is something I know @salimateez (instagram) does and she’s been getting through her TBR so quickly this year.

The combination of beautifully descriptive writing and a fantastic narrator meant a very immersive reading experience which was everything I needed in this book. Her narration for each character felt so distinct that I never was confused whenever she switched between the, Listening to the audiobook was so calming and helped with slowing down any time I sat down to read/listen to it.

I loved the cast of characters and all their striking physical descriptions (including the main character). It really made it feel like a proper whimsical cozy fantasy novel, and the setting was honestly perfect with the small tight-knit community that our protagonist Kiela finds herself surrounded by. It truly is such a heartwarming book.

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst is a cottagecore fantasy novel.
 
I absolutely love the cover and the tagline of “Every home needs a little magic . . .” and this is such a cozy read and the whole story feels like a magical hug.
 
Kiela is a librarian, and she works in the Great Library of Alyssium and you can feel that she is a fellow book lover and that made me immediately like her. The world is on the brink of an uprising and the library ends up burning down and Kiela and her assistant Caz must start over.
 
This point in the book was a real cut to the story and while the beginning was very engaging and fast paced, it changed as soon as they arrived on the island, and everything slowed down immensely. Kiela opens her own spellshop and she is living her life day to day while also trying to improve the island’s circumstances and sometimes it seemed very random. Because then there wasn’t any more action the story felt dragged out at points. But the thing I liked most was how magic was explored in this book.
 
If you like cottagecore fantasy stories, definitely check out this one. 3,5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

This is getting added to a list of books I want to live in. Although maybe not at the start of the book. I did think that starting with a librarian fleeing a burning library was an odd way to start a cosy fantasy, but you know what, it worked. There was tension throughout the book because of the fear of getting caught, which balanced out the cosy-ness in a nice way.

I loved the cast of characters in this book. Kiela, the shy librarian, Caz the talking spider plant, Meep the cactus, an apple blossom bird and a gorgeous centaur lady who wears pretty dresses and skirts draped across the horse part of her body. I grew to love them all so much, down to the last merhorse.

The story is pretty great too. I was really interested in all the twists and turns of how it was going. Especially when I had over an hour left to read of the book and yet the danger had seemingly past.

A skillful work by Sarah Beth Durst!

I was sent a copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.....for a full review please see my Amazon and Goodreads accounts

I really enjoyed the cosy cottage core vibes of this book. The setting, the residents of the village, Caz, it was so cosy and whimsical!
Caz was a super interesting character and I loved him. The main character became a little annoying and I just lost interest in her. I did chuckle at the beginning with the 'oh yeah, I have a house on an island' moment. Every other character was more interesting to me
I did feel that the book was just too long though. It felt a little like it dragged on. I think if this was shorter, it could have become a comfort classic
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Really loving the cozy fantasy kick we're seeing in publishing at the moment. The Spellshop fits right, snuggled up alongside the likes of Legends & Lattes, and Can't Spell Treason Without Tea.

Featuring a slew of fantastical creatures, including:
Sentient and talking plants- we have Caz, the snake plant bff we all wish we had, protector of books and will always have your back. And then we have the cutest sentient cactus, Meep, who absolutely stole every scene. Merhorses, and merpeople, that really made me want to actully be in this world. And cloud bears, tree spiritis and protectors of forests? Excuse me? The best.

This was so very cute. I did have a couple of issues with the pacing, but otherwise this would've been perfect.

Kiela is a librarian but when a revolution sends her precious library up in flames she runs with as many books as she can carry along with Caz a magically sentient spider plant.
Kiela flees to her childhood home and with the help of old recipe book left by her parents and a bit of illegal magic she begins to make a new life for herself...
But How long can she hide her magic.
This was a feel good cosy fantasy full of the cutest and loveable characters. This book gave all the feels of a remote small town vibe but with magic. This is definitely a great comfort read if ever you need one. I read this at just the right time 🥰
Thank you to Netgalley, Pan MacMillan and Sarah Beth Durst for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A very cute cosy fantasy with a real cinnamon roll male love interest and a social awkward and wary, but very brave MC. Some drama but you never have the sense that everything won’t pan out – so if you’re looking for something that won’t raise anxiety, this is a good choice. The community spirit on the island is also lovely.

When the revolution breaks out, Kiela, an introverted librarian, thinks only of saving the books from the library where she works and returns to the island where she was born in the company of her best friend, Caz, a sentient spider plant. She plans to lead a quiet and inconspicuous life, just her, Caz, and the spell books she shouldn’t have taken, but things don’t go accordingly. First, her kind and handsome, but, too curious neighbour doesn’t leave her alone, offering her food and help fixing the house, and then the other islanders seem eager to welcome her and become her friend. And that’s how she finds herself opening a jam shop, which is actually a spell shop, as she covertly uses the spells in the books as remedies to help heal the island.

The Spellshop was such a fun and immersive read. A cozy fantasy with a little magic and the right amount of romance, friendship and found family, and even some suspenseful moments that kept me completely immersed in the story. I loved the atmospheric setting of the small village, the plot is well-developed, intriguing, and engaging, and the cast of characters is interesting and delightful. Larran, the helpful neighbour, is adorable. I liked Bryn, Eadie, and Ulina with their Pine Cone Coven and how they all become close friends. And I loved Kiela, her love for her books, her wish to help others, and her bond with Caz, who was my favourite character.

A witty and heart-warming novel, I can’t recommend The Spellshop enough!

The Spellshop felt like the ultimate in cottagecore x cosy fantasy with humour, adventure and heart on every single page.
When a revolution comes to Alyssium, Kiela and her best friend Caz (a walking, talking spider plant) flee the library where she works and bring as many spellbooks with them as they can. They return to Kiela’s island home of Caltrey where Kiela opens a jam shop which she uses as a front to bring spells to the island to help return it to its previous glory.
If you enjoy cosy fantasy, please check out this wonderful book! It’s so full of magic and loveable characters, I adored every page of this adventure.

"It wasn't that she didn't like people. It was only that she liked books more. They didn't fuss or judge or mock or reject."

Keila has spent the last decade as a librarian, working among spellbooks. But when a revolution happens and the library is set on fire, she is forced to flee, along with her talking spider plant assistant and as many books as they can carry into their boat. She goes to the only place she can think of, a small island that was once her childhood home.

I absolutely adore a cosy fantasy, and it's even better when it's also a romantasy! I had high hopes for this book, and it certainly did not disappoint. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. I was in a huge reading slump, and this book well and truly dragged me out of it, I couldn't put the book down.

I loved the whole premise of a jam shop/secret spell shop. It definitely added to the cosy factor of the story! The found family aspect in this book was amazing, it really helped Keila's character, as she progressed from a shy person, who didn't really want to interact with anyone, to an integral part of the town.

It was also full of so many wholesome quotes. The one above was definitely one of my favourites!

If cosy fantasy is your thing, I 100% recommend this one! It has been one of my favourite reads so far this year.

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?)

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 and Meep.

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

4 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2024/07/25/review-the-spellshop-by-sarah-beth-durst/
My Five Word TL:DR Review: perhaps the Perfect Beach Read

Because when you’re on holiday, resting on the beach, or round the pool, you want the type of story that makes you smile. That being said perhaps this is the perfect read for whenever you want a hug from a book.

Okay, cosy and romantasy are definitely the new black at the moment and it’s a trend that I’m really enjoying. Not that I’d want to read this style all the time, but, if you want an easy on the brain, perfect confection of a book this is the one for you. But, take my word for it now, this is sugary sweet, positively dripping with sticky syrupy saccharine gooeyness (and jam) so if that doesn’t sound like your ‘thing’ then you have been warned. As it is, in a nutshell (or a sugar spun basket) this is deliciously, almost impossibly, sweet. And, I don’t know, perhaps the stars just aligned because this worked really well for me.

Kiela is our MC. An introverted librarian. She loves books to such an extent that during a revolution she thinks more about rescuing some of the more precious spellbooks than her own safety. Kiela and her companion Cas, a sentient spider plant, flee to the remote island where Kiela spent the first few years of her life with her parents before they moved on to the big city. Their little cottage, nestled at the edge of the woods and perched atop a cliff lies abandoned and a little dilapidated but it feels safe. So Kiela sets about trying to make a new life, which isn’t easy for a young woman who has no real life experience whatsoever, but she is surrounded by well intentioned people who’d like nothing more than to help (not to mention a few books that also come in rather handy).

Of course there is an adorable love interest. A handsome, irresistible guy who loves animals, cooking, gardening and making shelves (not to mention dramatic rescues). The love element here is very slowly played out and quite a gentle aspect to the story (this isn’t a bodice ripper). In fact this is such a lovely and refreshingly clean read. It has a few ups and downs but nothing that really caused me too much tension, I felt secure that this would have a happy ending and I don’t think I’m giving anything away when I say this doesn’t disappoint on that score.

In terms of criticisms. I haven’t really got anything that spoiled the read for me, but, the world building is very superficial, the magic is more like baking a cake (and really anyone can do it with the right recipe – which I really kind of like), there are so many fantasy elements thrown in that’s it’s almost like a tick list was used. Is any of that a real issue? No. This is just a book that you need to pick up and go with the flow. Don’t be questioning anything or expecting detailed explanations. Simply, enjoy yourself.

A lovely read that certainly made me smile. To the author: A Hug of a Book : level unlocked.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

This book was marketed as a fantasy romance, but the romance only begins at 70% of the book and is very much a subplot
- thats a mark against it for me. If I pick up a fantasy romance specifically it's because I'm assuming that it's a decent amount of the plot.

I enjoyed this for a lot of the book, it has a lot of highlights:
- pretty descriptions of magic and yummy food
- cosy, homey vibes
- discussions on loneliness, community and the importance of sharing knowledge
- some mythical creatures
- lovely premise and setting

But for me overall I found this book didn't really work for me personally because;
- again, marketing led me to believe this book was something it wasn't
- the main character makes a lot of dumb decisions... Like a lot.. she's nice! But the decisions she makes are annoying IMO...
- a bit too long, some things got dragged out for me

I can see why a lot of people are enjoying this one though, there is a lot to like

Rating: 4.5 stars!

This is the SWEETEST, COSIEST, JAM-FILLED(?) fantasy book I’ve ever read. The vibes were immaculate.

Have I ever wanted to make jam before? No. Is it all I can think about now? Absolutely!

If you’re in need of a lighthearted, magical, cosy fantasy with the most wholesome found family, a dash of romance, and a sassy sentient spider plant… you’re in luck!

The Spellshop has quite literally everything I never knew I needed! It has THE MOST ADORABLE magical creatures…merhorses, unicorns, CLOUD BEARS!! 🧜🏽‍♀️🐎🦄☁️🐻

I sometimes find that cosy fantasy books can feel a little slow for me with the low stakes, but I was so invested in The Spellshop’s plot - the stakes were relatively low but JUST high enough to keep me engaged! It was truly perfect.

I think that cosy fantasy often gives off Autumn vibes but honestly I think this one is the PERFECT sweet summer read! The Spellshop is set on the beautiful island of Caltrey and I would do anything to visit and try some jam and cinnamon buns ☀️

This book had the perfect amount of romance. The love interest was just the sweetest and he looks after all the merhorses and AHHH him and Kiela are just wonderful together!