Book Review: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

The Spellshop
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publication: Bramble (July 9, 2024)

Description: The Spellshop is Sarah Beth Durst’s romantasy debut–a lush cottagecore tale full of stolen spellbooks, unexpected friendships, sweet jams, and even sweeter love.

Join Kiela the librarian and her assistant, Caz the sentient spider plant, as they navigate the low stakes market of illegal spellmaking and the high risk business of starting over.

“Sarah Beth Durst is the hidden gem of the fantasy world.” —Book Riot

Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn’t had to.

She and her assistant, Caz, a magically sentient spider plant, have spent the last eleven years sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite. But when a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz save as many books as they can carry and flee to a faraway island Kiela was sure she’d never return to: her childhood home. Kiela hopes to lay low in the overgrown and rundown cottage her late parents left her and figure out a way to survive without drawing the attention of either the empire or the revolutionaries. Much to her dismay, in addition to a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor, she finds the town neglected and in a state of disrepair.

The empire, for all its magic and power, has been neglecting for years the people who depend on magical intervention to maintain healthy livestock and crops. Not only that, but the very magic that should be helping them has been creating destructive storms that have taken a toll on the island. Due to her past role at the library, Kiela feels partially responsible for this, and now she’s determined to find a way to make things right: by opening the island’s first-ever secret spellshop.

Her plan comes with risks—the consequence of sharing magic with commoners is death. And as Kiela comes to make a place for herself among the kind and quirky townspeople of her former home, she realizes that in order to make a life for herself, she must learn to break down the walls she has built up so high.

Like a Hallmark rom-com full of mythical creatures and fueled by cinnamon rolls and magic, Sarah Beth Durst’s The Spellshop will heal your heart and feed your soul.

My Thoughts: THE SPELLSHOP was an engaging fantasy. Kiela lived as a librarian in the capital city. She worked in the Great Library of Alyssium until revolutionaries burned the libary. Kiela fled with some boxes of books and her sentient spider plant Caz. Her destination was the remote island where she was born and lived until she was eight.

Arriving there, she found the cottage she inherited in a state of disrepair and determined to fix it up. She had some help from Larran who knew her when she was a child and who cared for the herd of merhorses that helped the local fishermen. 

Kiela's relationship with Larran gradually improved as the solitary woman slowly began to trust Larran. And her circle of friends grew as she began to make a place for herself on the island. She decided that, even though it was forbidden, she would learn some of the spells from the books she rescued in order to help herself and the other people on the island survive.

Her spells ranged from accelerating plant growth which let her restore her raspberry patch so that she could make her living selling raspberry jam to magically fixing magical springs. She also made a spell to repair the trees on the island which had been failing since the traveling sorcerers had stopped visiting the outer islands. 

While there are greater events going on off the island where Kiela and Caz have taken refuge which impact her choices, the main concern of the story is Kiela's learning to trust others and build a new life for herself. 

I enjoyed this cozy, feel-good fantasy.

Favorite Quote:

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. The invited you in, fluffed up the pillows on the couch, offered you tea and toast, and shared their hearts with no expectation that you'd do anything more than absorb what they had to give. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.