This was a cozy, quick, non-spicy romantic fantasy read. The characters are cute and sassy - love Caz and Meep, the sentient plants. The fantasy elements of weather magic are interesting - I think the cloud bears were my favorite. Light and fluffy but felt like there was more substance than any of the Legends and Lattes books, for sure.

Thank you to the publisher and to netgalley! A cottagecore fantasy romance YES PLEASE. The Spellshop follows MMCS a librarian Kiela and a spiderplant Caz as they are running away from the city and the political unrest to her home on a small island. If you enjoy fantasy and are looking for a wholesome and magical story to be transported into, try this book!!

Years ago I read The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst and enjoyed it. I always meant to continue with the series, but I never did, and then I kind of forgot about it. But then I saw The Spellshop on Bookstagram and it sounded so sweet, and knowing I already liked some of the author’s other work, I decided it was a must-read for me.

And I’m so glad I gave it a shot! I honestly didn’t expect to love it. I love cozy things, and while I sometimes want a sweet, cozy story, they usually stay firmly in the “liked it” category. But this book was so good. It was well written, the atmosphere was lovely and vivid (a summery cottage-core island with gardens and cinnamon rolls and jam), the characters were sweet (as was the romance), there are awesome creatures (a sentient plant and merhorses and cloud bears 🥹), and it’s filled with magic and books.

If any of that sounds good to you I definitely recommend this one ☺️💛

Thank you to NetGalley and Bramble for the eARC of this book.

A charming and cozy romantasy! With cottages core vibes, magic, and a sassy, sentient plant sidekick— what's not to love?!

Sarah Beth Durst is both prolific and talented. Her mastery of story is further emphasized by this lyrical cozy adventure that will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you want to dive into her whole backlist.

The Spellshop reads the way a sunbeam illuminates dust in the air on a sunny day.

Is it simple? Yes. Is it beautiful and mesmerizing and sweeps you out of your tangled thoughts for a moment suspended in sunlight? Absolutely.

Sarah Beth Durst has created a world of comfort and quiet peace between these covers. It is warm and luminous and will be perfect for anyone searching for the sweet and sweeping heartstring melodies of Howl's Moving Castle (Kaz gives such fun, joyful Calcifer vibes) or yearning to step into their soft cottagecore era. Durst's writing is gentle and bright and the plot progresses at a steady but forward-focused pace. There are hijinks and treats and recipes and spells interwoven into a story that had me grinning for pages on end. My soul felt happier after having read it.

Overall, this is a well-rounded and delightful romantasy debut that leaves me expecting more wonderful things from this author in the future.

You're not supposed to judge a book by its cover but "The Spellshop" is exactly what you think it would be: cozy, charming, gentle and imaginative.

Kiela and her plant friend Caz have fled the city after the library is destroyed. Saving as many spellbooks as she could, she heads to her hometown for safety. Determined to do everything alone so she doesn't endanger anyone, Kiela finds that it's a bit more difficult than she expected.

Finding small ways to help the island, Kiela discovers that help may not be so bad....especially if it's coming from Larren, the merhorse caretaker who remembers her from their childhood. As she tries to build a life in her old cottage and surreptitiously offer spells as remedies to help the island, she realizes that maybe she could stay here for good.

This was so sweet, and had all the good feels from found family.

Over all this book was good, but it wasn’t a good book for me.

The characters were written well, and the overall story line was enjoyable. But I struggled to get into it and stay hooked.

This is such a lovely fantasy! I loved all the characters and the small island setting was a perfect place for this story to take place. Kiela is a librarian and she has a friend named Caz who is a funny and sassy sentient plant. When unrest comes to the capital city and the library begins to burn Kiela and Caz escape to the only place she thinks will be safe. The place she grew up.

I loved how Kiela went from laying low and not wanting anyone to bother her, to helping not only the people that live on the island but also the island itself. From start to finish this book gave me that warm fuzzy feeling and I knew as soon as I finished that this is a book I would want to read again and again.

4.5 stars!

A charming and cozy fantasy romance set in an absolutely lovely world perfect for fans of cozy fantasy like Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries and Legends & Lattes!
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Summary:
Kiela is perfectly content in her job at the capital library, watching over a collection of spell books and passing her days in quiet solitude with only her assistant--a sentient spider plant named Caz--for company. However, when a revolution in the capital sets the library ablaze, Kiela has no choice but to grab as many of the spell books as possible and flea the city with Caz. With her parents gone and no place to go now that her home for the past decade is engulfed in flames, Kiela heads to the only other place she knows.

Retreating to her family's abandoned home on the island where she was born, Kiela is determined to lay low, keep her head down, and avoid attracting any attention to herself or the crates of very illegal spellbooks she has in her possession. Sure the people are nice, and her neighbor is... interesting. But relationships are not worth the risk of getting caught with the books. Except that, the more she gets to know the island's inhabitants and their struggles, the more she finds herself wanting to help, and she can't help but wonder if all of their answers could really be found just inside a book.
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I really enjoyed this book! It took a little while to get invested as the beginning moves slowly, and Kiela took a few chapters to grow on me, but once I started meeting the villagers, I was won over! I love the cast of characters in this book, which is good because it is a very character-centric story. While there is a plot, of sorts, the main focus of the storyline is on Kiela, her relationships with other characters, and her journey of finding her place. While I felt that some part dragged a bit, the slow, cozy pace and focus of the story was part of its charm, and I really enjoyed getting to know the island alongside Kiela!

What I Loved:
- Super cozy fantasy vibes!
- A great cast of characters! I absolutely adored the core group of villagers!
- A very sweet, cozy, slow burn romance storyline!
- I didn't know sentient plants was a trope I needed, but I loved it.

What I Didn't Like:
- The beginning was slow and it took a bit for me to get invested.
- The last 20% of the book started to drag for me, but it was quick enough to get through, and I liked the ending overall.

In all, I really liked this book a lot and highly recommend it to cozy fantasy readers!

Welcome to Kiela’s and Caz’s jam shop…with some secret old family remedies that definitely aren’t magic spells. I loved this story! Kiela a librarian at the great library of Alyssium and her assistant Caz, a sentient spider plant flee when a revolution strikes. They pack up whatever spell books they can from the great library with intention of hiding out until they can return the books back to the library. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately it isn’t so easy. What if holding on to magic books for just the elite is wrong? After planning on hiding out on an island Kiela grew up on they start to experiment with the spell books and start doing some good. But magic always is a power balance and they must keep what they are doing a secret.

This was the perfect cozy fantasy. I never realized how much I would love cozy fantasies until I started reading them. They feel like a warm hug and this was no exception. It was such a sweet read. I loved it from start to finish.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of The Spellshop. I will be purchasing this one immediately 🥹💖

I thoroughly enjoyed The Spellshop! It was a cute, magical adventure that started out as Kiela running away from her issues to standing up and fighting for what she cares for all while finding true love. Ahhhh! A good read!
Thank you to Sarah Beth Durst, Tor Publishing Group, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: Fantasy

Format: Audio

4🌟 - I liked it!

Thank you @brambleromance for the beautiful #gifted copy and @macmillan.audio for the complimentary audio!

This was the ultimate cozy summer cottagecore book! I truly felt swept away in this little magical island 🏝️ full of a memorable and fun cast of characters, a dash of romance, and magic brimming within the pages.
It made me crave jam and pastries 🥐 immediately!

It had found family, friendship, and a low-stakes but entertaining plot! This whole book feels like a warm hug and was just the mood I was in at the time!

If you’re a fan of Legends and Lattes, run to get this one!

Wholesome, heartwarming, and cozycore to the max!

Magical, wonderful, wholesome, delightful, cozy, heartwarming, lovely, adorable, etc etc etc!!!!

Kiela was a librarian at the capital, very dedicated and content with her job. But the uprising revolution eventually arrived at the library doorstep and the only choices she had was to burn along with the library, or to flee. She chose the later, bringing “only” 5 crates of library books (that were mostly spell books) & supplies and her assistant, a sentient spider plant. And the only destination she could think of was her childhood home, a tiny & remote island called Caltrey.

And so she rebuilt her life, one step at a time.

Kiela was a lovely MC, and i can relate to her. The Caltreyans were amazing folks. The magic system was simple yet intriguing, the magical elements were abundant yet blended nicely. The general vibe was truly cozy, the plot was low-stakes but still interesting enough to keep me eagerly turning the pages. For the setting, it really represented by the cover: warm and whimsical cottagecore, with beautiful landscapes. And of course i want to give a special shout-out to CAZ, THE SPIDER PLANT. He’s truly a diva and must be protected at all cost😭♥️

The list could go on and on but I think that represented my main points already, so. If there’s “imperfections” I didn’t notice it, all overshadowed by the goodness 🥹 love love love it

I had the absolute pleasure of reading an ARC of The Spellshop and I adored it so much!! One of the coziest most magical books. Reading this book felt like eating a freshly baked warm gooey chocolate chip cookie. With jam.

The world building just kept becoming more and more enchanting with the various creatures. Caz the spider plant assistant to the librarian is just the tip of the iceberg of lovable creatures that’ll steal your heart. Loved every single character and the diversity and found family and romance. I don’t want to say much more because not knowing what’s next is part of the magic. Though beware, reading this one may cause intense cravings for jam.

Many thanks to @brambleromance @torbooks and @netgalley for my #gifted (free) copy. Out now!

Look at that cover!!!! The second I saw that cover, I knew I had to read this and escape to that beautiful cottage! I have never read a cozy fantasy book ever, and I am SO happy I stepped out of my comfort zone to try something new. This book was absolutely incredible! The characters, the cottage, the fantasy animals, the ambiance of the whole book, just everything about this book I loved, I never wanted it to end. THE SPELLSHOP is out now, so I definitely recommend heading to your local bookstore right now to get it!

The Great Library of Alyssium is everything to Kiela. She lives and works there until the revolution begins, and she and her assistant Caz (a spider plant) are forced to leave because the library is on fire. Kiela has no other option but to return to her late parents' old cottage in Caltrey, a small, seaside town with three cobblestone streets. So she takes as many books as she can, including all the magical spell books. She just wants to be left alone, but she needs food, and the townspeople will not leave her alone, including her handsome neighbor. The town is lacking on a lot of essentials it needs to survive, but Kiela is scared to reveal the spell books that she has, so she opens up a jam shop. As she grows closer to the people and town of Caltrey, will she be able to help this town thrive again? Caz was my absolute favorite, I promise you, you will fall in love with this whole set of characters and animals.

4 -⭐⭐⭐⭐

“You had a tomato in there?”
“You never know when you’ll need one.”
“I think you really do know…How many tomato emergencies do you encounter?”

The Spellshop is an adult cosy romantasy standalone following librarian Kiela and her assistant, Caz, a sentient spider plant.

For the last ten years, Kiela has worked at the capital city's library protecting and cataloguing magical tomes. When a revolution ends up taking out the reigning monarch, Kiela, in a desperate attempt to protect the magic within the library, escapes with Caz and five crates of magical books. Not knowing where she should go, she decided to return to her old self and start trying to build something in the place of her youth. She soon discovers that magic that was once plentiful has been stripped back and is threatening the way of life in her small island town. To save the island she needs magic and what better way to do this sneakily than to open a jamp shop. Throw in an adorable neighbour and a bunch of sweet villagers and you have yourself a journey Kiela will never forget!

I had a lot of fun with these characters. Kiela is headstrong but compassionate as she tries to not only rebuild her life on her own but also help her community. Part of her journey is learning to accept help and it is a bit of a struggle for our girl.

Caz is an assistant who truly is an amazing side character that adds humour and support that Kiela desperately needs. He has no qualms with starting things and his willingness to go to bat for Kiela endears me so much.

Larran is the adorable neighbour who runs a merhouse farm. He tries so hard to connect and win over Kiela from the beginning that gave me such cinnamon roll energy. I found him to be such an easy character to connect with because he is awkward in the sweetest of ways. We as the readers see how he is trying to impress Kiela but it is going right over her head.

There are additional side characters that really help open up this world from me that I wanted to acknowledge. This book shined through the interpersonal relationship and I could not get enough of the village banter...BUT what really stole the show was Meep. He is MVP and you need to read about him.

"These aren't flaws. They're just... you. And I like you. Very much."

This book has no spice in it. There is some kissing but the romance is a slow burn. It gave me Hallmark movie style vibes with a larger "let's save the island" vibe. I found Larran and Kiela to be adorable together with banter and awkwardness. Think of it as a cherry on top.

The story itself is light-hearted with low stakes. I felt Kiela's inner journey to find her place really was the prime push of the story but we also explore spirits in the forest, revitalizing a town, and dealing with the impact of the revolution spilling into the islands. The banter was a delight, the twists and turns, the use of illegal magic for jam making, and the exploration of the character's pasts really helped open this world up for me and I had a blast. The ending is cheesy but in the way this book needed.

Overall if you want cosy romantasy this book will be exactly what you want!

Thank you Bramble for this arc!

Sarah Beth Durst's The Spellshop is like a Hallmark rom-com filled with mythical creatures. This cottagecore fantasy follows an unexpected journey through the low-stakes market of illegal spell-selling and the high-risk business of starting over. This is the authors first foray into romantasy. As a librarian, Kiela Orobidan had become increasingly withdrawn from social contact, especially after her parents died.

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 of Caltrey, where she was born and still owns the cottage she inherited from her deceased parents.

Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor, Larran Maver, 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. Unsanctioned use of this knowledge is strictly forbidden and severely punished, however, and the danger of discovery turns pressing when another woman (Radane) arrives on the island, claiming to be an imperial investigator. But who is she really?

To survive in very different conditions she realizes that she must learn to be ‘a person who takes risks’, and these include trusting others, as well as making use of the magic spells contained in the books she has saved which leads to the creation of Meep, a cactus like character who is gender confused. It helps when she begins to have a small group of friends who seem not only protective of her, but eventually form a sort of coven.

*Thoughts* This was more entertaining than I realized until I started reading. It's definitely on the side of being a rom-com or cozy romance. This is a magical world in which fantastic creatures abound. Kiela has blue skin and blue hair, Caz is a sentient spider plant; mermaids and merhorses swim in the seas; centaurs and four-armed harpists frequent the village bakery, whose owner has antlers and a body covered in soft downy fur; and in the forest cloud bears drift around. The relationship between Kiela and Larran strengthens to the point where Kiela fights to protect the merhorses which have been raised by Larran since he was a child. Definitely recommended.