It's now my undying wish to have a sentient spider plant best friend. This cozy fantasy novel features a librarian seeking shelter after fleeing the capital city of a fictitious land with as many books as she can to protect them from a revolution. What knowledge does she seek to protect? Mostly spellbooks with knowledge and history of how magic is used to help make this magical world work. She finds her way back to the island where she was born with her books and plant friend, Cas, in tow. It's from here that she needs to decide, does she maintain her introverted ways or finally learn that asking for help and making friends isn't as hard as she once thought. For fans of Legends and Lattes, cottage core, and cozy fiction lovers.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this title.

This book was truly PERFECTION. This cozy fantasy had everything I wanted and it delivered it in a pastry filled with jam. The characters were all lovable, the setting was magical, the plot was cozy and everything was perfect in the end. Kiela was so relatable with her love of books, general avoidance of social interactions, kind spirit and brave heart. Caz was the perfect side kick not only hilarious but fiercely loyal. The pinches of romance were perfect and I loved every single side character that made this world feel so hopeful and magical. If you love cozy fantasies or just want something easy to read that will both deeply entertain and uplift your emotions this book is a MUST read.

I’ve loved Durst’s YA for years, so I was excited to pounce on this Adult Fantasy from her! Especially when it sounded extremely sweet and lovely – and was going to feature magic books! What’s not to love?

And The Spellshop lives up to every promise it makes.

This isn’t a Super Sirrus book, and although it touches on heavier or darker themes occasionally, you’re never left in any doubt that things will always turn out all right; difficulties are always overcome, attempts always work, and people always do the right thing in the end. It’s pure wish-fulfilment and escapism – and there’s nothing at all wrong with that! But you do need to leave your cynicism at the door and pop on your rose-tinted glasses before reading, or you’re not going to enjoy yourself properly.

>As she watched, he mixed in scallions that he produced from a pants pocket, as well as a tomato.

Caz scooted forward. “You had a tomato in there?”

Larran shrugged. “You never know when you’ll need one.”

“I think you really do know,” Caz said. “How many tomato emergencies do you encounter?”<

The world Durst has created here is a sugar-spun dream, beautiful and full of wonder, with enchanting beings and whimsical details everywhere you look. We don’t see much of the capital of this archipelago-empire, Alyssium, because Kiela and her bestie Caz flee it in the first chapter – but Caltrey, the island where Kiela was born and where she runs to after rebels take over the capital, is a delight. There are merhorses in the bay, who sparkle and hanker after tomatoes; cloud-elementals who’ve made a home in the local forest; and semi-feral winged cats who hang out in the town square.

>“This is a ridiculous conversation that I regret beginning,” Caz said.<

But all is not well in Caltrey; it’s been years since the empire sent their sorcerers to dispel the magic storms, bless the orchards, or assist the merhorses in becoming pregnant (and giving birth). Kiela and Caz escaped with a whole bunch of spellbooks from the library where they worked in the capital, and they very quickly agree that they need to use the spellbooks to help, if they possibly can. Neither of them are sorcerers, though, and they have to make sure any of their magical ‘remedies’ they sell don’t look like terribly illegal magic. Cue experimentation! Also, since they need a cover and a way to support themselves, they open – a jam shop.

It’s adorable. ADORABLE. I don’t know if jam shops exist in the real world, but the one Kiela and Caz put together (with some help from the very pretty, heart-of-gold neighbour) tickled me pink. And I was pleased that Kiela and Caz couldn’t start fixing everything right away – seeing them experiment, tweaking a spell until it worked the way they wanted (while figuring out how to cast it at all!) added a touch of realism that I appreciated.

>“You know, plants aren’t nearly as emotional as humans. You should try to be more plant.”<

Of course, Kiela has blue skin and Caz is a sentient, slightly snarky spider plant, so realism is not very important here. It’s more important that everything be charming. What species is the four-armed harpist? No idea, but she’s a wonderful musician. The healer with stag horns and wings? Who knows, and don’t worry about it. It’s far less important than the friendships Kiela makes on the island, the neighbour who is clearly head-over-heels for her, and the good deeds Kiela and Caz get up to with their spellbooks when no one’s looking. Durst keeps the worldbuilding minimal, and it works; you won’t get answers if you’re curious about how magic works or why Kiela is blue, but nevertheless, the setting is good and solid. Keeping it simple was definitely the right call here.

There’s a last-minute attempt at High(er) Stakes plot with a sort-of villain, and a few moments where characters touch on heavy topics (mostly to do with censorship and how magic is unfairly illegal for normal people) but when all’s said and done, The Spellshop is the epitome of cosy fantasy – all candyfloss and hot chocolate, comforting and feel-good in the extreme. I had a delightful time with it, and so long as you enjoy cosy, low-stakes fantasy, I think you will too.

Holy cow this was so freakin cute!
Cottagecore my krytonite right now ~
A librarian that runs away in tow with a couple of spell books and her trusty spider plant side kick.
Open such a cute jam shop!

Found family is a strong theme. Epic fantasy with low stakes my fav. There are MERMAIDS! Magic. Light slow burn romance. And the plants are sooo adorable lol especially Meep! Small town (island) trope.
Gave me studio ghibli vibes!!

I will definitely buy a copy when it comes out!!

Omg!!! I haven’t been this obsessed with a book in a loooong time.
This is the perfect cozy fantasy.

It reminds me of cozy video games. You go to a new place, clean up your house, your land, you work the land, sell your goods in town, experiment with magic, make new friends, and find love.

It was PERFECT.
I know the book is done, but I still want to just read about their everyday life. What sort of jam is she making? What sort of pastries?

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst, a really enjoyable read! Durst does an outstanding job of reaching out and grabbing your attention in each book she writes and this one is no exception.

With spell books, enchanted gardens, sentient plants, cinnamon buns, homemade jams, and a hunky neighbor who likes to build shelves, The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst is the cozy fantasy of every bookish cottagecore girlie's dreams.

Librarian Kiela finds herself having to flee the safety of her book stacks when revolution strikes the capital city. Saving as many books as she can along with her spider plant assistant Caz, the two sail away to the safety of Kiela's birthplace - the remote island of Caltrey. Initially, she plans to hunker down in her family's abandoned coveside cottage until she can safely return the books to the capital, but the longer she spends in Caltrey, the more she comes to realize she may have found a place to call home.

This was such a cute read! Kiela sort of grated on me at first, as she begins the story introverted to the point of blunt rudeness when people are just trying to be nice to her, but she grows throughout the story in a lovely way. Her spider plant Caz is charming and snarky, her merhorse herder neighbor Larran is an absolute dreamboat, and the rest of the islanders rounding out the cast are all very sweet. Watching Kiela open her heart up to her neighbors and the island itself as she wove spells to heal it was an absolute delight.

Overall, I thought this balanced cozy fantasy vibes with an actual plot quite nicely. The Spellshop might be cloyingly sweet for some readers, but I had a lovely time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books/Bramble for the ARC!

Thank you @brambleromance @macmillan.audio #partner #macaudio2024 for the gifted copies of this book!

Holy mystical frijoles! This book was like stepping into a magical fairytale and being swept away on a glorious fantastical journey. It felt reminiscent of Hansel and Gretel, mixed with beauty and the beast, a little mermaid and a dash of Smurf’s. 😂 I know that’s may sound ridiculous but there is the MOST adorable talking cactus that completely stole my heart (beauty and beast talking teacup vibe), merhorses (little mermaid), a talking spider plant, this cottage in the woods that felt extraordinary (like Smurf’s and Hansel and Gretel). This book literally stole my heart. I was not expecting to absolutely devour and love this story like I did. This book is unique in the most charming way. 🫶 Let me also tell you that the audiobook MADE me so engrossed in this world. I cannot get over “Meep” the cactus. I mean for real the cutest most adorable thing ever. Can you tell he was my favorite? 🌵I 💯 think you need a physical copy of this book because the cover is gorgeous and it has PURPLE sprayed edges but you also need audio because…oh my goodness there is a talking cactus. 🤗

If you love a lighthearted, found family, romantic, quirky, magical story you need this book. PS. It has a talking cactus. 🤩

a fun, cozy read that can help you pass time. The vibes in parts of it are just as lovely as the cover suggests, but it does nothing new. And while not all books have to be groundbreaking or do everything original, they do have to work, and parts of it did not. Despite these shortcomings, I read it cover to cover, so you might want to give it a shot.

The fantasy world this is set in is really lovely, and I definitely wanted to learn more about the animals and plants as our main character moved throughout the book. I would say this is definitely for fans of Legends & Lattes or You Can’t Spell Tea Without Treason, though obviously the main couple of this is not queer. The world, however, is queer normative and there is a queer side character.

The pacing was a little roughshod—it felt like we were just bouncing from idea to idea to idea without a real sense of a unified story arc—but the author was very clear in the internal monologue of the main character what she wanted the takeaway of each of the events to be. The story has a sweet romance which is a central plot point but not the only thing moving the plot forward, and this is not a spicy book. I would say it is generally written in a straightforward manner than would not be inappropriate for YA readers, if they were interested in the subject matter.

Thank you to Bramble and Macmillan Audio for the review copy!

This one is definitely for the “Legends and Lattes” crowd - it is all vibes. I switched between reading it, another romance, and rereading the Game of Thrones series, so it was exactly what I needed while I gaslit myself into thinking that maybe the Red Wedding wouldn’t happen during this read of A Storm of Swords.

I felt a little lost by the worldbuilding - we were dropped in and introduced to a very fantastical world that became more clear as the story unfolded. There were a lot of details that our narrator remembered or didn’t remember that I found confusing, but seemed to come from moving back to her childhood home. Her old memories were fuzzy because of how young she was, but I kept waiting for some sort of magic spell / amnesia plot line to unfold. Especially because she describes herself as someone who remembers details more than most!

The romance was cute, but the meet cute felt sudden and instalovey from his end - it took a bit to get the backstory necessary for me to really care.

The book took a big turn around the 50% mark - it went from cute to endearing, and I went from considering DNFing to absolutely loving it and couldn’t put it down. The found family feel and talking spider fern really stole the show for me! I would recommend it to someone looking for a cozy fantasy with some romance.

🎧 I liked the narrator a lot. I do think I would have benefited from reading the beginning with my eyes, which is typical for me while reading fantasy. But overall the story was clear and the performance gave life to all of the characters in such a fun way!

Durst has been one of my favorite authors after reading her for my Alex Award lists. Here, she imagines a world with flying cats and merhorses (and merpeople), centaurs and other creatures. Magic is accepted... sort of. Only official sorcerers are supposed to wield it, and others are subject to punishment by the Imperial Investigators. Except, well, the Empire seems to have fallen (the Emperor literally falling out the window).

The found family here is wonderful: who among us doesn't want a Caz in our lives? Meep is one of the cutest cacti I've ever read. And Keila's experimenting with magic to subtly help the people of her home island is done so well, as is her becoming less of an introvert (Caz excepted). No great adventure here, no heroics, just a fun fantasy world.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

“The Spellshop” is a wholesome, cozy fantasy romance with cottagecore vibes and themes of found family and community.

It’s all a bit twee, and Kiela has a serious case of vocational awe 😭 The writing style feels like the author is making it up as she goes, but it’s kind of fitting.

This felt like a book I would have loved as a child, and for that it grew on me. It’s clichéd and not exactly expertly crafted, but it’s very approachable and I read it quickly.

I’m new to the cozy fantasy genre! I’m not a big reader of romance. This was a sweet palate cleanser.

*Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC*

A cozy coastal fantasy was *just* what I needed. A bit slow to start, I quickly fell in love with the island and its denizens. That bakery and its cinnamon rolls sounded DIVINE! Caz and Meep were the stars for me, but Kiela definitely grew on me. I also enjoyed the simplicity and natural roots of the magic system. It made it easy to follow and understand why just anyone could cast a spell. I wish we'd gotten a bit more history about the empire and why they banned magic, but it was probably just about control. Regardless, it's a cute read that won't cause you any stress and that's nice every so often.

But I do now need to buy a spider plant and name him Caz, thank you very much.

I love cozy fantasy and this debut with romance mixed in was such a pleasure to read. I really enjoyed the main character Keila, a former librarian turned businesswoman opening a magical jam business set against a small island setting. Returning home is a trope I often read and I enjoyed how this book touched on that with Keila fleeing to her birthplace and adjusting to a new life, community and self-discovery. And can we talk about her companion, a spider plant? Loved it! The world building and cozy magical system brought the exact cozy vibes I was looking for when picking this up.

I really wanted to enjoy this! It was one of my most anticipated reads. I’m definitely in the minority here. Usually I love a good cozy read, but, I need my characters to have depth. I just didn’t find myself caring about Kiela at all. Her character didn’t give me any compelling reason to love her. The entire beginning, with the escape during a revolution fell flat. I would have rather the book start with her arriving at the island, since the scenes of her escape did absolutely nothing for me. When I realized I was skimming massive chunks of paragraphs, I decided it was time to DNF. I’m so sad. But, at least the majority of readers are loving this one, and it is probably just a “me problem”

Thank you to Tor for giving me an advanced readers copy.

I have read Sarah Beth Durst’s middle grade fantasy novels so when I saw Spellshop, I jumped at the chance to read the ARC. My intrigue with reading Spellshop was also encouraged by the beautiful special edition Barnes and Noble is releasing with purple sprayed edges and the most whimsical cottagecore cover I’ve possibly ever seen (complete with a winged cat).

Writing a cozy novel in which the reader truly cares about the characters and is interested enough to continue reading despite the low stakes plot is challenging to say the least. But I enjoyed the world Durst creates in the magic-depleted remote island of Caltrey and loved the addition of Caz, a sentient and verbally communicative spider plant the size of a dog.

Readers meet librarian Kiela as she is saving ancient magical texts and grimoires from a burning city, Fleeing with Caz to the only other home she’s known, she arrives on Caltrey and wastes no time setting up cottage, hiding the secret of where she is from and what she has brought with her. She is very quickly inundated with meeting locals, Larran - a local caretaker of the merhorse herds - chief among them.

Spellshop is marketed as romantasy but be aware that while romance is part of this tale, it is quite chaste (kisses and thoughts about how attractive someone is). This is not a steamy romantasy by any means. It’s cozycore and cottagecore at its finest.

I give this book 4.5 stars and have rounded up here.

Thank you to Durst, Tor Publishing | Bramble, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this cozy fantasy. The characters, plot, and worldbuilding were very well developed. They immediately sucked me in, and made me fall in love with this story. I especially loved the characters Kiela and Caz, and the cozy atmosphere of Kiela’s cottage. I will definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone. And especially to lovers of fantasy books.

This was everything my cottagecore fantasy heart needed and just a little bit more.
Kiela is first and foremost a librarian. When she and her talking plant companion Caz have to flee the library they save as many books as they can and board a boat to the small village where she grew up. While there she learns how to be part of a community again and does what she can to help the people she grows to love.
This definitely felt like a debut novel, in the sense that all the ideas were there and I loved every second of it but some things were repeated a few too many times and could have used some ironing out. However, it's still a 5 star and I HOPE she turns it into a series! I could read so much more in this world

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Cute, cozy, and quick, this was a sweet book that made me smile. A winning combination of lovely characters, a great setting, and a satisfying arc, The Spellshop was a lot of fun to read. I had only some minor quibbles with Kiela's rather silly logic throughout the first two thirds of the book, but it was such a treat that I can absolutely look past those. 3.5/5.