A review by wardenred
The Bookshop and the Barbarian by Morgan Stang

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It's the best way to shop for a book, honestly. You see something that might look interesting, so you pull it off the shelf, sit in one of those chairs there, and read it a bit. Then you either buy it or you don't.

This is billed as cozy fantasy, but I’m of  firm opinion that it’s actually a fantasy comedy with some cozy elements—you know, like running a bookshop in a quaint small town with pumpkins and goblins. Otherwise, it’s all just slapstick, tongue-in-cheek humor and poking fun at common fantasy tropes—and I must say, it’s amazingly entertaining. I may not have got much of those cozy fantasy feels I was after, but I laughed and snorted and giggled more times than I can count as I read. So I’m definitely going to recommend this to anyone who wants to just unwind. Just keep in mind that this book clearly doesn’t take itself seriously and you shouldn’t, either.

My favorite thing here is the writing. I hesitate calling this third person omniscient since for the most part we keep close to the protagonist and are aware of what’s going on in her head and such, just like with third person limited—except the protagonist and the narrator are two different entities. And as the narrator helpfully informs us early on, we don’t *really* know what Maribella is thinking and feeling, we’re just going with the narrator’s best assumptions.And the narrator does occasionally pause the tale to offer some voicey opinions and asides, or just to remind the reader to drink some water and have lunch, as one does. All of that weirdly reminded me of some of the funniest, best flowing tabletop RPG sessions I’ve been in, which definitely contributed to the good vibes.

Also, the goblins here are super fun. Love the goblins.