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In the acknowledgments, the author says she wanted to write a book that felt like drinking hot chocolate on a chilly day, and this is exactly that.

This is the best example of the cozy fantasy genre I’ve read! There were definitely some high stakes, but overall this still felt like taking a walk through the woods. Beautiful, enjoyable, and keeps you guessing as to what’s around the corner.

Kiela returns to the little town she was born in on an outer island to find it in much worse shape than she last saw it. There she finds nosy neighbors, bears made of clouds, and a long lost friend. While I still classify this as a cozy read, there is definitely a humorous level of shenanigans going on that will have you giggling as you read.

Never did I think I would love a sentient plant character- let alone two- the way I love Meep and Caz. The author does a great job of giving them depth and personality that leaps off the page, despite “meep” being the only sound one of them can say. In fact, all of the characters in this story were so lovable and each came with a unique personality and purpose.

The bureaucrats in the capital have messed with the weather so much, it’s caused Caltrey to fall into ruin. Kiela starts to try to fix Caltrey with illegal (and technically stolen) spells. This book has a strong focus on nature and there are many underlying references to climate change and the effect people have on the planet, which made this all the more interesting.

Overall, I really loved this read and the unique and loveable cast of characters. The author leaves you with a warm and happy ending and although I would love to read more, this story is wrapped up very nicely. Definitely look for this- with beautiful purple sprayed edges- in bookstores this June!

This book was so much cuter than I expected it to be! It’s so cozy and comforting and I couldn’t get enough. Kiela and Caz are likeable right from the start, being socially awkward shut-ins obsessed with books. I only loved them more as the story progressed. Satisfying, adorable, and full of some absolutely ridiculous (in the best way) magic. Will absolutely be recommending this to my own band of socially awkward book obsessed shut ins (coworkers at the bookstore) as well as customers.

Meh, 2.5 stars max. This book is trying to get in on the currently-popular cozy fantasy wave, but it was rushed.

I requested this without reading a description. I had read the author's middle-grade and YA books, back when I was ordering in those areas and providing class visits to that age, and I really liked them. I was excited to see something for an older audience. I could say that this book has strong cross-over appeal, or I could say that it doesn't know who it's supposed to be for-- both are correct. The main character is kind of in that New Adult space, but her age is never specified-- could by 17, could be 30. There's some light romance that doesn't progress beyond kissing.

The writing is extremely repetitive, churning over the same couple of the character's worries over and over. The dialogue is mostly fine, but occasionally jarring with something that feels too modern compared to the rest of the feel. The world/universe are cutesy and generically fantasy but never explained-- (apparently) naturally-occurring sentient beings in this universe include (at least) something human-ish (the main character is specified as having blue skin and blue hair, although the coloration of other human-type people isn't specified), a faun-type being (human-shaped deer, with fur all over, with small antlers), a human-ish person but with 4 arms, a centaur, and a being that is like the faun-people, but with bigger antlers plus giant wings. There's no explanation for this compilation of beings. The magic makes a little bit more sense-- ingredients have to be correct, and a spell has to be recited with correct pronunciation. Spell-casting knowledge was suppressed by upper classes, and spells have to be recited in a dead language, but apparently anyone can do it-- there's no hereditary magic, or some people with more natural ability than others. It doesn't quite seem plausible, though, that the people on outlying islands would have so completely quit practicing magic when visits from court-appointed magicians were so rare. I guess this is a universe you're not supposed to look at too closely.

The best parts of the book are a sentient plant who provides humorous commentary (although sometimes over the top) and general assistance, and a sentient cactus created on accident by substituting an ingredient in a spell. The cactus can only say "meep," but the first plant translates what they really mean.

eARC from NetGalley.

Reading this book is like being swaddled in your favorite blanket with your favorite cup of tea while watching it rain outside.

Keila and Caz (sentient spider plant!) narrowly escaped the violence of the revolution. Trying to protect the books she brought with her, she decides to go to the only other place she’s ever know as home. Caltrey is where she’s hoping to lie low and hide until it’s safe to return to the library. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, things don’t always go the way we plan.

Keila is very prickly for the first bit of the book. Used to being alone and not having any friends but Caz makes it hard for her to trust people, or even herself around others. Especially with the secrets she’s keeping. Slowly, though, she opens up to the other islanders and starts to flourish. There’s a dash of romance that was perfectly done. A couple instances of small amounts of tension in the story, but overall this book was just an absolute hug in book form. 100% this book is a 5 star read for me! Do yourself a favor and bump this up your tbr to read as soon as it comes out.

This is such an enchanting, funny, entertaining read. I loved it! It is a romantasy but it's so much more.
Spellbound is a story about loss, belonging, found family, and the power of community. MC Keila is likeable, relatable, and resourceful. She has social anxiety and the author Sarah Beth Durst writes about this candidly and respectfully. Caz is Keila's best friend. He's also a spider plant. What character he has though! I lived this duo.

This is a standalone book, but I would love to go back to this magical place!

This book is a clean read. There is some kissing. There is mention of one of the MC family that was abusive, nothing graphic at all.

This book absolutely lived up to the cover and synopsis - just a wonderfully told, cozy story that I thoroughly enjoyed! I can't wait for my copy to arrive!

Thank you for the early read!

My cutest and coziest read of the year! I absolutely loved this story and was hooked from page one!! Hoping for a special edition!

Thank you to Sarah Beth Durst and Tor Publishing Group for this advanced reader copy of The Spellshop, in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Spellshop lends a nod to the uber trendy cottagecore movement in it's atmospheric descriptions of stone steps leading up to an abandoned cottage in the woods, covered with vines and nestled within gardens. While the cottage belonged to Kiela's parents, it is now hers, in all of it's abandoned glory. While Kiela and her trusty sidekick Caz, a walking, talking spider plant, returned to the island from Kiela's childhood, things aren't as cozy as they'd like: sorcerers have ceased coming to the island creating an imbalance of magic in the world. What does this mean to the island? Trees have stopped growing and baring fruit, the herds of magical creatures have stopped growing, and the island's people have stopped trusting anyone from "the city."

While I wanted to like this book, especially since it's Spring out and this book is all about regrowth and new beginnings it simply fell short for me. Kiela has been living and working in the library for years since the passing of her parents, so her social cues are extremely off when she arrives to the island. She was rude and unforgiving to me, so it was difficult for me to want to read about her. I just felt like the book took too long to get into the main objective and I was lost before it could grab me.

I won't rate this novel as I think it'd be enjoyable to some, especially fantasy readers. But a fantasy reader I am not, and this proves that further for me.

This thoroughly enjoyable cozy fantasy is a joy to read. It has almost everything one wants in a comfort book; an introverted librarian heroine, a faithful companion (who is a sentient, ambulatory spider plant), books, lots of books, tea with jam, a kind hero who takes care of merhorses, and flying cats. When Kiela flees the burning library in the capitol with a boatload of rescued library books, she returns to the island of her birth where everything has been falling apart since the empire started keeping all the magic to itself.

This was a delightful and whimsical tale, with deeper themes. It took a while for me to get into it, but once I did, I started enjoying it a lot more. Loved the characters and the romance.

Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people, and as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn’t had to. But then the revolutionaries come for the Library, and the are bringing fire. Kiela and her assistant, a sentient spider plant named Caz, quickly load up a boat and as many books as they can possibly save and flee the burning city and library. They don't know where to go or who they are now until Kiela suggests they sail to the island of her birth, it's remote, small and hopefully safe. Thus begins the coziest seaside fantasy book. This novel was like a hot cup of coco on a chill day. Kiela is, understandably, a bit prickly at the beginning of the novel but as she gains more confidence and sense of belonging on the island she opens up into a wonderful character. I adored the magic system and the experimentation Kiela and Caz do with it. The secondary characters are more than just set dressing and feel fleshed out as well. Overall, this was a quick read but the whole novel felt like a hug. I wanted to move to the island with the characters by the end.

This was a fun read. The author built an interesting world with great characters without bogging things down too much in the world building. It was nice to read something I could enjoy without things being too tense or world ending.

I really enjoyed this story! I found it easy to read and the plot was interesting! I will definitely recommend it to friends.

When Kiela flees her beloved imperial library with her friend the sentient spider plant and a boat full of refugee spell books, she doesn't have a plan other than to survive the fires of a revolution. Her only safe haven is her abandoned family home on an outer island, plagued by magical storms and despair. But with perseverance, friends, and more than a touch of magic, she finds where she truly belongs!
For fans of cozy romances and light fantasy, this is a perfect feel-good story with endearing characters, humorous magical mishaps, and just enough intrigue to keep me turning the pages long past my bedtime. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for future works by Sarah Beth Durst!

Honestly, the word that best sums up my feelings about this book is ‘delightful’! The characters were wonderful, the stakes were (mostly) low, the romance was sweet, the world was interesting, and there were books and an occasional flying cat. What more could I need?

There are some larger picture implications behind the scenes that the story doesn’t focus on. You could have a political/magical intrigue story with a lot of drama and intrigue starting from the same events, and in a way I’d be very interested in that one too. But I’m happy with the cosy slice of life version we got, with the introverted librarian and her sentient spider plant creating a new life for themselves on a remote island.

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

When I reached the end of this book and read the author's note, I discovered that the intention was to create a book that felt like drinking hot chocolate. I have to say, I think it was a success!

The Spellshop is a cozy, beautiful book set on a (mostly) cozy, beautiful island in a magical world whose lore I could definitely stand to know more about! Kiela is an antisocial librarian in her empire's capitol, but when the revolution comes, she finds herself fleeing to the tiny rural island she grew up on. In a lot of ways, this is a quintessential city vs. country tale, but with magic and unicorns and mermaids. The magic system is interesting, the magical creatures are magnificent (the cloud bear tree spirits especially), and the romance (yep, sort of the classic boy next door) is sweetly awkward, which fits the characters. In the end, the major themes of the book are that found family is real family, and when united people are unstoppable.

For sensitive readers, there is off-screen references to violence and destruction, child abuse, and death by defenestration. Characters on screen do experience and recall dangerous and traumatic events, and the effects of those events.

This cottage core fantasy was exactly what I needed on a rainy day. Im really loving "cozy fantasy" where its low stakes and enchanting, with the small town romance making me smile ear to ear at its simple sweetness.
Sometimes high fantasy with all the world building is too much. Books like this are the perfect break that gives me everything I want from the genre, without needing all the brain power.
This books message about caring about nature wasnt preachy, it was perfect. Definitely want more from this author

Really cute story. I am in a place where I needed a low-stakes, cozy read, and this was perfect. A jam recipe at the end would have been a great addition.

Oh what a lovely, gentle fantasy novel! In tone, this reminds me of Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree: despite great things going on in the background, this is a quiet reflection on coming home and making a new life. The author says in the afterword that she wanted a book that "reads like drinking hot chocolate" and I can say she has succeeded. I picked this up and couldn't stop reading until I had finished. I will definitely be revisiting this one in the future! Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley & Tor Publishing Group for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

A very fun and relaxed cottagecore librarian read! The protagonist is a librarian on the run and oblivious to feelings and working with people until she crash lands back to her first home. It's sweet to see her develop and flourish in a loving community.

I will say this book fell off in the last 20% mark when it became weirdly high stakes and I wasn't a huge fan of that. Other than that, it was a calming and chill read.