Review copy was received from Purchased. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst Narrator: Caitlin Davies
Series: Spellshop #1
Published by MacMillan Audio on July 9, 2024
Genres: Fantasy Romance
Length: 12 hours, 11 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
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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.
I saw the cover on The Spellshop awhile ago and was intrigued but I’ve had very hit and miss experiences with Cozy Fantasy. I was pleasantly surprised that this first book in the Spellshop series had a cute premise, a cool world and a group of characters that were cute and quirky.
Keila has lived a very shelter life. As a librarian in the Empire’s service, she lives in a little book cubicle she overtook and does everything in the library. She is a great protector of the books. So when unrest and revolution came she was ready. With some of the most informative and dangerous books from the library, she escaped to the small island she left as a child. Hiding from the revolutionaries, she is ready to try and build a life in a small cottage with her trustee assistant who just happens to be a sentient spider plant.
First, I applaud the author for thinking up a pretty unconventional sidekick and all the strange things that entails. She made a plant practically cuddly, for me that is not an easy task. Keila also had a lot of growing to do. As a booktrovert talking to people and having them in her space is not something she is comfortable with. Plus, she stole rescued some books from the empire full of spells that are illegal for regular people to perform. She is a little terrified that someone will stumble on them and figure that out so she abruptly dismisses the cutest and most eligible man on the island a few times.
There is a small romance happening. Right away it is clear that Larren is completely interested in Keila and remembers her from childhood. He is a bit of a beta boy and slightly a doormat from time to time. He was slightly broken and you could tell he was desperately seeking someone/something to love. While a bit cute at times, it wasn’t the most developed relationship as I thought he let Keila walk all over him more than once. But he did have a herd of Merhorses and that aspect of the story was fun.
The overall story and plot is cute as Keila tried to reinvigorate the island that has fallen into disrepair due to a magic imbalance. I enjoyed how much she and Cas (the Spiderplant) loved doing research and trying to improvise on some spells so they wouldn’t seem so showy and Keila could try to sell them as home remedies. Sometimes there were some unexpected yet funny results.
Definitely one of the better Cozy romances that I’ve read and a good entry point for the genre if you’d like to try it out.
“She didn’t really know anything about running a shop or magic or jam… But I do know books – and that meant there was nothing she couldn’t know, eventually. That was magic in and of itself.”
Narration:
Performance: ★★★★
Character Separation: ★★★★
Diction: ★★★★
Pacing/Flow: ★★★★
Sound Effects: None
Caitlin Davies is a pro at narration and it shows. The performance was easy and flowing with good pacing. She is a solid narrator and a good selection for this book.
Listen to a clip: HERE
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I was wondering about this one. You definitely have me convinced to pick it up. 🙂
I saw the cover awhile ago and thought how pretty. Glad I enjoyed the contents as well.
I’ve had my eye on this one for a while too. It has a cute cover. Thank for the review.
Both books in this series have great covers. Glad it didn’t lure me in with the cover and disappoint me with the contents. Both were cute.,
Glad you enjoyed this. I have it on audio.
Caitlin Davies is a solid narrator, I enjoyed the audio version. Although I think I probably would have had quite a few highlights if I did the ebook. 😛
Loving that cover! Plus the story sounds really good. MMmmmmmmMMMmmm maybe.
Haha…that was me for about 6 months on this one. 😛
I’ve seen so many good reviews of this and as I venture into reading more cozy fantasy, I need to give this one a try. Great review!
The Cozy fantasy genre has been super hit and miss for me. I was happy this fell on the hit side of the fence.