Reviews - The Spellshop | The StoryGraph

14.2k reviews for:

The Spellshop

Sarah Beth Durst

4.12 AVERAGE

literaryleisha's review against another edition

3.75

hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

mybooksandimaginations's review against another edition

5.0

The Spellshop: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Content warnings: death of a parent (off screen), burning of a library, descriptions of death, ransacking, revolution descriptions (death, dying, burning, etc), ff relationship

As a librarian, Kiela’s duty was to save knowledge, and when the revolution came knocking, she saved as many books as she could from the burning library. She, and Caz, her talking spider plant, escape to her childhood home island of Caltrey, taking the very illegal spell books with them. When they arrive, Caltrey is in danger of dying out, and Kiela resorts to using her illegal spellbooks, illegally to help pick Caltrey back up. With the help of some islanders, and one very helpful man, Larran, Kiela finds a home, a safe place, and a place to sell jam.

I loved this book, like it was described in the front cover, it’s “a lush cottagecore tale full of stolen spellbooks, unexpected friendships, sweet jams, and even sweet love…. Like a Hallmark rom-com full of mythical creatures and fueled by cinnamon rolls and magic.” The book had striking descriptive language, beautiful friendships, a wide range of mythical creatures, like merhorses, interesting colored people, multi armed people, centaurs, and talking plants. It’s a story that feels like it comes from a child’s mind, full of wonder, but written as an adult, cohesive with a steady plot. I can’t even really accurately describe this book and how it made me feel, it was that good. Highly recommend.