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Review: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

June 30, 2024 by Eleni A.E. Leave a Comment

Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:
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.
Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she and her assistant, Caz—a magically sentient spider plant—have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite.
When a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor who can’t take a hint and keeps showing up day after day to make sure she’s fed and to help fix up her new home.
In need of income, Kiela identifies something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries.
But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela risks the consequences of using unsanctioned spells and opens the island’s first-ever and much needed secret spellshop.
Like a Hallmark rom-com full of mythical creatures and fueled by cinnamon rolls and magic, The Spellshop will heal your heart and feed your soul.

Review:

Hello again dear reader or listener, I am here today to regale you with tidings of cozy things to come. Thanks to the lovely folk at Tor Bramble in fact, not only did I get an arc of Sarah Beth Durst’s upcoming romantasy debut, but it was a physical copy at that! Given I live in Italy and shipping can be ridiculous, that never happens so I was quite delighted at the surprise.
Having read and loved Durst’s Race the Sands previously, I rushed to request an arc of The Spellshop and I can happily say this book delivers on everything it promises.

Durst said she wanted to write a book that felt like drinking hot chocolate and not only did she succeed at that but I would go a step further and say this book evokes the feeling of sliding into a freshly made bed after you’ve had a long shower or bath. It’s cozy, it’s soft, and it is comforting, without however sacrificing that tiny thread of tension necessary to keep your attention hooked. It may be a cinnamon bun filled magic tale presenting an array of non-human and diverse characters but it also tackles very real feelings and stakes that might not seem very big in the wider picture of SFF but they feel big to the individual going through them. In fact, this book deals with grief and anxiety of various kinds respectively, and Durst manages to fully flesh out several of her characters with just a few key beats of dialogue informed by those emotions. In other words, she shows without telling to an amazing degree, even with a tale as seemingly simple as this.

Durst’s character work is the reason I continue wanting to read her books, but her worldbuilding is just as wondrous and beautifully rendered, in this case through the eyes of librarian Kiela who has spent most of her life within the walls of her library and, only because she is forced to flee its safety, does she start to rediscover what life on the outside is like. Kiela the bookworm is strongly relatable, especially to us readers who would rather avoid social situations to stay home with a snack and a book. But The Spellshop is also a tale about the importance of connection and relationships and how it is worth leaving your comfort zone every once in a while, to nurture said connections. The inhabitants of Caltrey and all their little quirks enriched this tale and they made their way into Kiela’s heart until she realizes she can’t or won’t leave them behind because despite her stubborn intentions she ends up caring deeply for them. And we can’t blame her, they are all quite endearing.
Furthermore, in a lot of ways, be they plot related or aesthetic, this book reminded me so much of Howl’s Moving Castle which is always a win for me.

With moments reminiscent of home makeover shows moreover, this novel brought cottage core to a whole new magical level, complete with sassy sentient plans, spirit bears, merhorses and mermaids, and many other fairy or folk tale creatures. I would go as far as saying that these parts of the book were my favorites, but only because I found the romance plot a tad too sugary toward the end for my taste, albeit a very tender and healthy one which is never a bad thing. Kiela and Larran’s dynamic definitely hits you in the feels. Especially in its early stages because he is just a cinnamon roll made human and Kiela (understandably) struggles with accepting his selfless acts of service. Durst focuses a lot on boundaries – be they romantic or platonic – and navigating one’s feelings that prompt them, which I found both refreshing and unapologetic. We often feel the need to explain ourselves whenever we set a boundary with people, regardless of whether it is warranted or irrational or not, and I think this book will speak to all of us who need to remind ourselves that setting them is not out of malice or pettiness but rather an attempt at better relationships and dynamics.

I wish I could go into more detail about all the things that make this book such a delightful and relaxing read because generic platitudes do little to pique one’s curiosity, however I will say this:

With The Spellshop, Durst brings us a tale of bravery and change in the face of life altering events and she does so through characters that are endlessly relatable by virtue of highlighting how we all are but an echo chamber of all those who came into our lives and left something behind, all the events that shaped us into who we are, and all those feelings that we sort through each day regardless how ugly or good they might be. And, finally, this is a book about how sometimes settling or even languishing into certain roles is more dangerous than squaring your shoulders and trying the daunting thing.

So, dear reader or listener, if you are looking for a book full of heart, that evokes all feelings pleasant and the romanticized mundane reminiscent of some Ghibli movies, but that also allows for some introspection, then you definitely need to grab a copy of The Spellshop, out July 9th, and with lavender sprayed edges to boot! Seriously, this book is downright beautiful both on the inside and outside. Also did I mention there are winged cats? Because there are winged cats and they are hecking adorable.

Until next time,
Eleni A. E.

P.S: Have a couple bonus pictures of my gorgeous ARC copy because I couldn’t resist pairing it with my overgrown house.

Filed Under: Cozy Fantasy, Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Reviews, Romantic Fantasy Tagged With: Bramble Romance, Sarah Beth Durst, The Spellshop

About Eleni A.E.

Eleni loves all things literature related (she's got an MRes in SFF to prove it) and she spends hours contorting her spine in the worst positions possible to read, write, or just binge watch movies and series. Loves a good trope done well but the list of her favorites is far too long. Always happy, and more importantly curious, to learn/try new stuff so there are very few things she dislikes.

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