Review: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

The Spellshop

by Sarah Beth Durst

Release Date: July 9, 2024

2024 Tor

Ebook ARC; 384 Pages

ISBN: 978-1035042326

ASIN: B0CK72J9SS

Audiobook: B0CL1DF783

Genre: Fiction / Cozy Fantasy

Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars 

Summary

Kiela and her assistant, Caz, a sentient spider plant, have spent most of the last eleven years sequestered among the empire’s precious spellbooks, protecting the magic for the city’s elite. But a revolution is brewing and when the library goes up in flames, she and Caz steal whatever books they can and flee to the faraway island where she grew up.

The empire with its magic spellbooks has slowly been draining power from the island, something that Kiela is indirectly responsible for, and now she’s determined to find a way to make things right. Opening up a spell shop comes with its own risks—the consequence of sharing magic with commoners is death. And as Kiela comes to make a place for herself among the quirky townspeople, she realizes that in order to make a life for herself, she must break down the walls she has kept so high.

 

My Thoughts

The Spellshop is one of those books I needed at this time; it was light, had very low drama, focused on friendships and self-discovery, and interesting magic. After having read some grimdark fantasy, I needed something light, fantastical, fun, and this one ticked off all the boxes.  I personally thought this one did what cozy fantasy was intended to do, create a fun, magical world that explored the development of the main character without really focusing too much on political issues or on the romance. 

 

Kiela is the main character of the story and at first, she is quite withdrawn having spent the past decade of her life in the great library protecting books and doing what she was told by the powers that be. Keeping to yourself and not creating trouble was the way to stay alive, but this also made her unaware of what was happening around her, and she became very isolated as a result. Upon escaping, realizing she needed others in order to keep herself alive, Kiela had to come out of her shell and go into the village and try to come up with ways to feed herself and stay alive. And this is where I really thought her character started to develop and became much more interesting. At first, she was sort of annoying, thinking she could stay hidden for the rest of her life just to protect her books, but realizing she couldn't do it on her own, making friends and responding to others in the village was the highlight of this book. I loved the secondary characters as they were so unique and interesting. And Caz, my favourite character in this book. How do you not love a talking spider plant who is afraid of water?   

The overall story is based on the found-family trope and I thought it was well done.  The book is somewhat slow at times, but I didn't mind at all as the world-building and the characters were very well developed. The story is brimming with all kinds of magic, everything from sentient plants to flying cats to mer-horses. While it could be a bit repetitive, this didn't bother me in the slightest; I adored the magical creatures that abounded in this book and found the way Kiela made a life for herself to be quite interesting. To be honest, I would like to purchase a place on this island and live there.  Personally, I am glad the main conflict didn't last long as it would have taken that cozy feel away from the story; I thought the author did the right thing with that story line. This is a book meant to be on the lighter side, without all the political stuff and fighting.

Verdict

The Spellshop was a lot of fun to read and a perfect break from those grimdark books I had been reading. It was light, fantastical, with a host of magical creatures, and even a light romance.  And while the story may have felt somewhat repetitive at times, it was whimsical enough to not bother me in the slightest. If you are looking for something sweet and wholesome, with found family tropes, then this book is definitely for you.