Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Representation: Minor F/F
PoV: Third-person, past-tense
Published on: 9th July 2024
ISBN: 1035042320
Goodreads
The Spellshop is a cottagecore cosy fantasy following a woman's unexpected journey through the low-stakes market of illegal spell-selling and the high-risk business of starting over . . .
Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people, and as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn’t had to.
She 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. She’s hoping to lay low and figure out a way to survive before the revolution comes looking for her. To her dismay, in addition to a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor, she finds the town in disarray.
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.
Perfect for fans of Travis Baldree and TJ Klune, The Spellshop is a romantic and cosy fantasy.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I’ve loved Durst’s YA for years, so I was excited to pounce on this Adult Fantasy from her! Especially when it sounded extremely sweet and lovely – and was going to feature magic books! What’s not to love?
And The Spellshop lives up to every promise it makes.
This isn’t a Super Sirrus book, and although it touches on heavier or darker themes occasionally, you’re never left in any doubt that things will always turn out all right; difficulties are always overcome, attempts always work, and people always do the right thing in the end. It’s pure wish-fulfilment and escapism – and there’s nothing at all wrong with that! But you do need to leave your cynicism at the door and pop on your rose-tinted glasses before reading, or you’re not going to enjoy yourself properly.
As she watched, he mixed in scallions that he produced from a pants pocket, as well as a tomato.
Caz scooted forward. “You had a tomato in there?”
Larran shrugged. “You never know when you’ll need one.”
“I think you really do know,” Caz said. “How many tomato emergencies do you encounter?”
The world Durst has created here is a sugar-spun dream, beautiful and full of wonder, with enchanting beings and whimsical details everywhere you look. We don’t see much of the capital of this archipelago-empire, Alyssium, because Kiela and her bestie Caz flee it in the first chapter – but Caltrey, the island where Kiela was born and where she runs to after rebels take over the capital, is a delight. There are merhorses in the bay, who sparkle and hanker after tomatoes; cloud-elementals who’ve made a home in the local forest; and semi-feral winged cats who hang out in the town square.
“This is a ridiculous conversation that I regret beginning,” Caz said.
But all is not well in Caltrey; it’s been years since the empire sent their sorcerers to dispel the magic storms, bless the orchards, or assist the merhorses in becoming pregnant (and giving birth). Kiela and Caz escaped with a whole bunch of spellbooks from the library where they worked in the capital, and they very quickly agree that they need to use the spellbooks to help, if they possibly can. Neither of them are sorcerers, though, and they have to make sure any of their magical ‘remedies’ they sell don’t look like terribly illegal magic. Cue experimentation! Also, since they need a cover and a way to support themselves, they open – a jam shop.
It’s adorable. ADORABLE. I don’t know if jam shops exist in the real world, but the one Kiela and Caz put together (with some help from the very pretty, heart-of-gold neighbour) tickled me pink. And I was pleased that Kiela and Caz couldn’t start fixing everything right away – seeing them experiment, tweaking a spell until it worked the way they wanted (while figuring out how to cast it at all!) added a touch of realism that I appreciated.
“You know, plants aren’t nearly as emotional as humans. You should try to be more plant.”
Of course, Kiela has blue skin and Caz is a sentient, slightly snarky spider plant, so realism is not very important here. It’s more important that everything be charming. What species is the four-armed harpist? No idea, but she’s a wonderful musician. The healer with stag horns and wings? Who knows, and don’t worry about it. It’s far less important than the friendships Kiela makes on the island, the neighbour who is clearly head-over-heels for her, and the good deeds Kiela and Caz get up to with their spellbooks when no one’s looking. Durst keeps the worldbuilding minimal, and it works; you won’t get answers if you’re curious about how magic works or why Kiela is blue, but nevertheless, the setting is good and solid. Keeping it simple was definitely the right call here.
There’s a last-minute attempt at High(er) Stakes plot with a sort-of villain, and a few moments where characters touch on heavy topics (mostly to do with censorship and how magic is unfairly illegal for normal people) but when all’s said and done, The Spellshop is the epitome of cosy fantasy – all candyfloss and hot chocolate, comforting and feel-good in the extreme. I had a delightful time with it, and so long as you enjoy cosy, low-stakes fantasy, I think you will too.
I think it deserved around 4.5 stars. I gave it 5.
Glad you enjoyed it!