I picked up this book on the strength of the gorgeous cover and the promise of a cozy fantasy in a similar frame to Legends and Lattes. There is no denying this book is cozy, in the way of hot chocolate in a cafe window idly watching the world go by, and will definitely appeal to readers in the market for a gentle, low stakes comfort read, though I admit it was too fluffy for my tastes. I have seen this book described as Hallmark and I have to agree that hits the nail on the head: this book is woman from the big city returns to her small hometown and finds the true meaning of home, with romance on the side. For some that will be a key selling point and rightly so, though romance readers may find that aspect a little thin on the ground.

While I loved other cozy fantasies, I admit this moved too slow for my personal taste and leans a little too hard on telling more than showing. There are tantalising glimpses of further plot out there, the opening scene has more action than the others combined, and is paced differently from the slow plod of the rest. Slow pace will work for some readers, but I found it frustrated me, as did the lack of development for the characters, despite more than enough space to do so. The romance aspect comparatively moved faster than expected, from day one on the island, and as I went in not expecting a romance at all I found this detracted from the potential of the setting and scenario more than enhanced it. Again, romance readers will certainly enjoy this!

All that said, Caz is a highlight for sure, I loved the concept of a sentient plant, and I enjoyed the other magical aspects, the varieties of species and fantasy elements aparent in the world. I just have to admit that Hallmark is not my cup of tea so I will have to leave this book to the readership it was intended for.

*Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

Five stars. Six stars. All the stars.

I've been looking forward to this book ever since I saw the cover and read the blurb. I absolutely adore cozy fantasy, it's one of my favorite genres, and this did not disappoint.

This book is the ultimate cozy fantasy. It's everything warm and fuzzy and joyful. It's a warm hug, the type of book you pick up when you're having a bad day and just want to feel good. It's low stakes while still being fun and interesting. There's a talking spider plant, a sentient cactus called "Meep", books, a bakery that serves warm scones, magic, merpeople and merhorses, forest guardians in the form of cloud bears, an introverted anxiety-riddled librarian, and found family on a small island that makes you wish that you could squeeze yourself into the pages of the book and be part of the community.

The romance is sweet and heart-warming. The friendships are the type that you want in real life. The magic is the type that you desperately wish for if you have any type of love for plants and gardening.

I've already preordered a copy of this book and cleared off a space on my "cozy fantasy" shelf for it. I absolutely adored everything about this. I really hope this isn't the last we have of Caltrey and its residents.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this arc. All opinions are my own.

This tale about a librarian forced to flee with the spellbooks she protects to a village that used to be hers is not only warm, cozy fantasy that makes for a .captivating read, but also creates a world of magic and love populated with characters who had me rooting for them.
The protagonist, Kiela, is sweet, altruistic and resourceful. We are introduced to her in her native environment of the library, which then shifts to a world that she is unfamiliar with which really tests her resolve. From reconciling with people who she has left behind to creating a means of income to confronting the ideals she lived by for so long with surprising ease, watching her grow as a character is absolutely rewarding. Her plant assistant Caz is snarky and full of common sense, and provides a valuable counterpoint to Kiela's sometimes naive outlook, providing refreshing banter. The other inhabitants of the village - including her eventual love interest - were helpful and friendly. I feel like this aspect of the characters' personalities could have been developed a bit more, as it felt like the side characters mainly presented the aspect of being good people and didn't fully feel developed.
Overall, if you're looking for a cute, clean and wholesome romance, a fantasy book with a soft whimsical magic system and a happy ending, The Spellshop might just be the one to try.
Thank you to NetGalley, the writer and publisher for the ARC.

This was very nice and fluffy. Nothing terrible happens, all the potential antagonists turn out to be pretty decent people, and the rapid acceptance of our main character into a new life is comforting to read about, but you need to be willing to look past the unbelievable bits. Not the talking non-binary plants, centaurs, antlered winged men, goat boys, and ghost bears, I hasten to add--those were lovely bits of world-building--but the societal behaviours that depend on certain recognized patterns working in all the ways that make them good, and none of the ways that make them bad. In particular, I refer to the tendency for small-town insular societies to close ranks and look after their own. The reason for this (as I believe) is that they know exactly who their own are. They keep strict distinctions between insiders and outsiders. So it rings a bit false that a stranger to this small island would be able to benefit so quickly from the closing of ranks that such a society would give to one of its own. (But then, as I like to say about sexism, if you can imagine dragons, why can't you imagine a society without sexism?)

The effortlessly magical and chymerical properties of the beings in is this world are a lovely touch, but that led a bit to its own awkwardness. At one point the intelligence of merhorses to be described to a character in terms of dolphins, as if the character needed the 'unfamiliar magical' creature aligned with mundane animals. The reader does, of course, but I don't see why a character who has grown up on an island whose economy rather depends on using domesticated merhorses to herd fish would need to have their features explained by comparison to fully wild animals who do not even show up in the book outside this comparison. That exposition was clumsy.

Still: small quibbles, in an otherwise fluffy blanket of a book. This is a very solid installment in the cosy SF genre, and if you need something cosy and undemanding, this book will provide it.

Thank you to NetGalley, PanMacMillan and Sarah Beth Durst for this e-arc.

This is the PERFECT book to read going into Spring!! I absolutely adore the cliffside ocean setting, I almost forgot how much I love them when books are so typically set by the ocean when there's doom and gloom around. But this was completely different, cosy, magical, and almost like getting a warm hug. I am enamored by Caltrey and wish that I could live somewhere so peaceful with the people so accepting. The perfect blend of found family, unexpected romance, a little bit of mystery and some stakes but not too much that you lose sense of the surroundings. In fact, despite the low stakes, it made me feel even anxious at the prospect of the potential loss because of how incredible the people and the village, and the home were.

Can we also talk about how perfect Caz and Meep are? I need a whole book with their story please!

I adored this so much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for approving me for my first ARC.

This cosy fantasy was suggested for fans of Travis Baldrees and TJ Klune. Honestly I liked this more than Legends and Lattes (doesn’t quite beat House in the Cerulean Sea but it’s up there). The pacing was better. We get plopped into the world right away and it moves quickly to where Kiela returns to her old home which is where the story begins. Did I mention it’s set on an island?

There’s similarities to L&L with setting up a new place but the stories feel very different. Caz, the spider plant, is such a wonderfully drawn character. I love sentient houses in literature but have never come across a sentient house plant. You can’t not love Caz. Plus there are some other cool creatures: merhorses, cloud bears, winged cats.

We meet sweet shy Larran early on in the novel, and it’s so tender watching their romance go. His awkwardness and her resistance to people.

This book is such a perfect cosy fantasy/cottagecore book: library, growing garden, making jam, and a talking plant. Perfect to read during spring/summer. What I call a warm sunshine of a hug novel with a dash of adventure.

I rated it 4.5/5 stars, rounded up. I wish it every success because I think there will be many fans!

This book is exquisite - the pacing is perfect, the characters are interesting and loveable (other than Fenerer who was unbearable), the setting is cosy, and the plot had me invested from start to finish.

Kiela escapes her burning library and battle frenzied city with five crates of rescued/stolen spellbooks, her best friend who is a talking plant, and a small satchel of essentials. They set sail for her hometown, and slowly begin to rebuild their lives and their hearts.

Romance wise, it's understated and built on awkward friendship and respect which is adorable and much more relatable than a love at first sight trope. I really enjoyed seeing the progress between Kiela and Larran, and the other relationships that blossom on the side are just as sweet.

I also loved how the small town vibe and magical whimsy were paired with the very real trauma Kiela and Caz have experienced, and how despite all the struggles (from a blocked chimney to devastating magical storms) both keep their spirits high. This book is just so full of positivity and quiet humour, even when the plants make murderous threats - yes, there is conflict, but the story as a whole is so feel good that you won't want to put it down. Plus, the magical creatures and atmospheric forest/seaside backdrop will leave you utterly transfixed.

Until recently, ‘Romantasy’ ‘cosy fantasy’ and ‘cottagecore’ weren’t terms I was familiar with, and if I was told to read a book of those genres, I may have been a bit dubious. However, I am finding these fantasy spin off genres contain all the elements I love in a good story. There’s something very appealing about the combination of fantasy world, compelling storyline, love interest and cosy cottage existence with a business hustle thrown in! The Spell Shop’ by Sarah Beth Durst made me want to move to an island, renovate a cottage and open a small business!
The author’s world building is great; the rules of magic, island nation caught amid revolution and the descriptions of the island of Caltrey with its fantastical creatures and residents give the reader enough detail to picture and believe in the world in which the story is set and want to know more, without detracting overly from the storyline.
I especially loved the Merhorses (which aid fishermen with their catch) and the fact that Kiela is blue-skinned. The sentient plants Caz and Meep were for me however the stars of the book. Who wouldn’t want a cute sentient cactus willing to help you round the house? The range of characters, whether humanoid, animal or plant, show the author’s vivid imagination and it is great to see the exploration of LGBTQ+ themes in both humanoid and plant characters!
For me, the story contained a good mix of action, cosy cottage descriptions and romantic interest. However, it may have been nice to see more of the other islanders and their thoughts on Kiela and Caz as the newcomers. Apart from the key players (both good and bad), they seem remarkably disinterested and unbothered by their sudden appearance on the island and we don’t hear their thoughts. I am also not sure how believable it is, even in that world, that someone can survive by selling jam and a few spells, something which isn’t fully explained. However, it doesn’t detract overly from the enjoyment of the book.
Overall, a good heart-warming read with interesting themes and strong characters. It would be nice to see this world explored further in another book!

Release Date: 9 July 2024

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and editor for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

The Spellshop was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 since I saw its cover in early 2023. You can guess how excited I was when I saw that my request for this book had been approved!

I was immediately sucked into the story thanks to the author's great writing style which created vivid images of the scenes and characters into my mind. There was just enough plot to keep me interested for the entire book, without having the weight of, let's say, an epic fantasy plot. I was invested and thoroughly entertained for the entirety of the book and really don't have negative things to say.

The story is completed by a great cast of characters to which it's easy to grow attached. I loved the found-family and friendships aspects and the characters were interesting and well fleshed out, allowing me to have feelings towards them with one character I wasn't sad to see leaving the island. Kiela was a very relatable heroine to me because of her shyness and introverted personality. Her inability to understand social and human cues and Caz's reaction were very funny and added a human dimension to the fantasy. Caz and Larren were great secondary characters and I liked how they were supporting Kiela, being there while giving her the space to grow.

In brief: I loved this enchanting and colourful story about a librarian who ends up leading a simple life on an island and building her small business. It's an utterly cosy fantasy and just makes me want to read more of this genre. If what I said wasn't enough to convince you to pick this book, I'll add one last thing: there's a full cast of magical beings, including flying cats!

My rating: 4.5/5

I absolutely loved this book, it felt like a warm hug from cover to cover ❤️ cottagecore fantasy romance definitely seems to be a growing market in books and I wouldn't be surprised if this one did amazingly well once it's released! The cover alone is enough to sell it!

I loved this book, it is such a cozy read, imagine sitting in the garden, nice glass of wine and this book and it’s your perfect afternoon read. I am not going to give the story away but it is a must read that I would highly recommend. Please go out and get this book you will enjoy it

I'm so overwhelmed.

This was so lovely, so cozy, so delightful like this is the kind of advanced cozy fantasy read ive been craving since..... Welp forever.

Tired of reading high fantasy? Need a break? Well you've come to the right place. Come and rest at Kieras delightful cottage, where for 384 pages (that will pass in the blink of an eye) you get to :

- ride your (hot), kindhearted, and socially awkward neighbors (who might have a huge crush on you) seahorses by the sea

- see and help a mermaid- baby!

- take care of your garden ( DEFINITELY without the use of any magic! Nope. No magical garden around here!)

- transform your cottage into being capable of supporting your cozy little business shop (that JUST sells jam! No books to be found here folks! Noone is sharing any magical remedies around these places!)

- Create delicious raspberry jam (in collaboration with the villages friendly baker of course!)

- With the encouragement of your talking, low-key murderous, book loving, spider plant companion ( it's a long story) , find your own little place in the village slowly yet surely with a unique found family the friendship of which is so heartwarming to read of.

- Help the nature of the village and in turn have cloud- made bear spirits AND a unicorn show their gratitude to you.

Overall? This was excellent and at its core a story centered around the importance of sharing knowledge, appreciating / caring about books and nature, and accepting yourself as well as finding acceptance from the community around you.

What an absolutely lovely book! This was delightful. A great book for people who loved the cosy fantasy vibes of books like Legends and Lattes and want more sweet and kind characters! Not only that but it has cinnamon rolls, a talking houseplant and books!

Kiela is a librarian who we meet as she’s trying to escape a revolution that’s set her library on fire, and save as many books as possible. Loaded with crates of books she sails to her former home, a small and distant island. The island is suffering as the Emperor has stopped sending sorcerers there for some time. Magic is needed to counter the impact of the intense magic use within the empire which disrupts natural cycles in the outer islands. Magic usage is banned for anyone who isn’t a sorcerer so the islanders can’t help themselves. Kiela has crates full of spell books and works to help restore the island, but it has to be in secret or she will be executed.

This is a lovely book with found family, becoming part of a community, a charming yet bossy house plant! I enjoyed this so much, the characters are wonderful and kind. There’s still danger throughout, Kiela faces many perils, from being discovered, and mysterious new arrivals who would harm her along with resentful islanders now that she’s claimed her family’s home.

Highly recommend this for fans of cosy fantasy!

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley.

I received an early e-copy of this book via Netalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was like a hug in a book! I loved it so much! Cozy fantasy is strongly becoming one of my favourite genres, and this book is a stunning example of this genre.
Kiela is such a relatable character. She is a librarian who prefers the company of books to people (don't we all!) and her best friend is a sentient spider plant named Caz. She flees back to the island where she grew up when her library burns, taking five crates of illegal spell books with her, with the intention of hiding away in her family's old cottage. But the island has other plans, and she quickly becomes part of the community and befriends a whole host of colourful characters.
The characters and relationships is what really made this book for me! I love Kiela's journey from shy loner to a central part of the community. Every character is so unique and well developed. I especially loved Caz, Larran and Bryn. The story was lovely, and it had the perfect amount of low-stakes peril, without me worrying too much for the characters.
I believe this is a stand-alone, but the world building was so fabulous that I would love for the author to return to this world, and these characters in a future book.

This is probably my favourite book I've read so far this year, and I can't wait to read more from this author :)

4.5 stars

The Spellshop is the perfect summer cozy fantasy read! It was hot chocolate on a winter night (or a good lemonade in summer because this book is set in summer), a warm hug, or a sunny afternoon. I loved all the fantastical elements in it. I loved that not all characters were human-like. There were centaurs, people with blue skin, etc. I loved imagining all the unique appearances. The other awesome thing in the book was the magic system. It was simple but very satisfying.
My reason that the book is not a five-star read is that after the appearance of Radane, I didn't enjoy the book as much as before. And the romance felt rushed.

Well, I absolutely loved this. The Spellshop had super cosy vibes and a low stake storyline that moved consistently. The characters were all saccharine sweet in the best of ways and the romance was slow, gentle and lovely.

The main character Kiela is a plant loving bookworm/entrepreneur with a penchant for gardening and turning her crop into jams so I couldn't relate to her more if I tried. I loved her character so much; tough and resourceful but kind with a heart of gold. Even if this book didn't have a story, I would have just loved reading about the idyllic cottage life she carved out for herself.

I would definitely recommend this for anyone who loves a cosy, easy reader. It reminded me of Legends and Lattes, both in how well written it was and how it made me want to curl up with warm baked goods and my book.

"The Spellshop" is a cozy fantasy written by Sarah Beth Durst. A sweet, placid and funny novel with little action and many tender scenes. A magical book, embellished by enchanting and evocative prose, which completely captivated me!

The world building is limited to the strict necessary, but still enjoyable. The story takes place in the Crescent Islands Empire, in turmoil after rebels attacked Alyssium, the capital, and killed the emperor. More specifically, the story is set on the small and remote island of Caltrey, which consists of a single village surrounded by nature. A peaceful, picturesque place, home to flying cats, mermaids, merhorses and much more. A place in danger because of the prolonged reckless use of magic by the empire. The magic system consists of spellbooks, prerogative of a privileged few sorcerers, based on the concept of balance.

Kiela, protagonist with her only third person pov, won me over. A librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, when the library goes up in flames during a violent rebellion, she flees with all the spellbooks she can retrieve and takes refuge on the remote island of Caltrey, the place where she was born and raised. Here she decides to settle in her family's old cottage, hoping not to be tracked down. Kiela is an introverted, reclusive and grumpy woman who prefers the company of books to that of people and has only one friend: her assistant Caz, a sentient spider plant, who escaped with her to the island. Gradually, the presence of the islanders and that of a neighbor who is as handsome as he is nosy, push Kiela out of her shell. The secondary characters, funny and lovable, convinced me. The found family and romance, light and marginal to the story, warmed my heart with their tenderness. My absolute love though goes to Caz, who made me giggle, smile and melt repeatedly with his interactions!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an arc!*

The Spellshop is like a cup of hot chocolate or a freshly baked bread with raspberry jam. A cozy fantasy with low stakes, a charming, bookish heroine, and her faithful friend, a talking plant. Written in the same vein as Legends and Lattes, and The House in The Cerulean Sea, this story is a must for lovers of cozy fantasy. Forced to start over, Kiela arrives at the peaceful island she grew up at with nothing but a stack of illegal spell books and Caz, her best friend- who just so happens to be a plant too.
On the island, Kiela is forced to do something incredibly dangerous… talking to people. Once a librarian, talking to people is not what she’s best at, and her first meeting with her new neighbor Larran, is awkward to say the least.
In her parent’s old cottage, Kiela starts a jam shop- at least that is what she tells everyone- and slowly, she discovers that perhaps it is possible to start over after all.

I loved the description when I saw it and was super excited to read it however from the start I felt a disconnect. I could not get into the stiry wholeheartedly, it felt a little young and imbalanced. Unfortunately not for me.

I don’t know what I was expecting from this when I asked for it but gardening, cottage decoration and renovation, jam making, baking, magic, and romance was what I got. Oh and an enchanted sentient spider plant.

Cozy fantasy was a genre I didn’t realise I needed, but this book is like one big gentle hug with enough peril and romantic suspense to keep you interested in the story.

Keila, a librarian with a passionate love and respect for books, and a sentient spider plant assistant called Caz who escape from the Imperial Library during a revolution make their way back to Keila’s home island.

So far so fantasy, but on the island they find her parent’s old cottage in good enough condition to start making it a place to live and hide the spell books they rescued (or if being unkind, stole). A lot of the book is taken up with making this cottage a home, and there are lots of descriptions of homey spaces which is just so comfortable to read.

They meet so many kind people on the island, especially Larran… We watch as relationships flourish around common grounds of cinnamon buns and raspberry jam.

There was some peril but these were perils that gave a reason for people to work together to show that kindness begets kindness and that it is rare for people to be downright ornery.

The main peril is that Keila decides to use magic from the spell books to help the island and islanders who have fallen on hard times, but this is a crime against Imperial law, but does the Empire still exist, does the law still exist, after all there has been a revolution!

I really liked this take on storytelling and it has given us a great world that we could return to again and again as it is set in an ‘Empire’ of islands.

Oh and there are flying cats!

I received this book from NetGalley and Pan Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.