The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

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.

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 Review

Kiela is a librarian in a magical section, and her helper Caz, a spider plant, is entirely supernatural. But they must escape as flames and fighting overtake the library. I admire her for saving what she can. 
She ends up on quite the journey on the sea with her plant, and she saves books heading home. I wish this book had a map. 

This book has some cottage core and island vibes. She relies on nature and a small village to survive this new life, and her neighbor-slash-old friend Larran seems to be in her life whether she wants him there or not. 

Larran is a merman instructor and an island inhabitant. He is helpful and strong but has a knack for showing up when she has stuff to hide. The book has a bit of magic as she becomes more than just a librarian; she even practices some kitchen witchery and rides sea creatures. I like the outlandish village characters and their personalities in the story. 

The magical ambiance is like a warm embrace. It is felt so often as she navigates this fantasy world that you start to envision it as a reality. I love the supernatural descriptions and the specialties the author adds to this story, starting with plants. 

Most of this story is about her internal struggle with survival and illegal magic; however, the good often justifies the means for her new life and friends on this small island. There is also some external suspense as she dabbles in what is known to be illegal and could be found out at any time. 

 The story is a clean fantasy read, not even a little steam, just kissing. But it was an enjoyable read, even with the last bit of drama in the storyline. Larran and Kiela get their happy-for-now ending, and we start to see improvements in her life, love, and destiny. 

If you want to read The SpellShop by Sarah Beth Durst, you can find this book on Amazon. As an Amazon Assocaite, I earn on qualifying purchases.

If you like this book, you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories: Clean Romance, Fantasy, and Romantasy.