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itsgalactic 's review for:
The Spellshop
by Sarah Beth Durst
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While I had seen "The Spellshop" come up in cozy fantasy lists, it never really grabbed me. I decided to give it a try when it was part of the Fall Read Along for Pagebound.
I will say what this book does well first. I think setting up that magic affects the world around it so that when you have a major metropolitan area where rich people are using it in great amounts, it upsets the natural world in areas far from it. Then you have those same rich people then believe that the systems meant to curtail the disasters and upset caused by their excessive magic use are a waste of resources and then they destroy those systems without care about the harm dismantling those systems does. Honestly, this part of the story has aged like a fine wine and I really did love the themes of choosing to help your community in the face of such uncaring systems really lovely. I also did like how the author had Kiela's irrational fears mixed with what turn out to be rational ones. I think that was a very smart choice as it introduced these fears naturally so them coming into play later, helps make the stakes feel real.
However, I do feel the book could have really used some more editing. There were times when jokes were explained but not in a way that came across as Kiela's voice but more so we didn't miss the joke. Additionally, characters had to spell out Larran's feelings for Kiela to her to a point where we get Larran's backstory from another character instead of as something vulnerable shared between them. As a result, while Larran is perfectly nice, there really is a lack of chemistry between our main pair. It just feels too by the numbers until the end. I also do find some points where there is something really interesting (like there being blue people like our protagonist) but there is no explanation. While you don't want to dump exposition, it did feel weirdly incurious for our protagonist as blue humans could have been a result of magic gone wrong ages ago or a side effect of spell that otherwise cured a region of disease. Another moment that strikes me is when she wonders what is up with Larran and Larran is about to say what his connection to her and her family is to Caz only for her to interrupt him.
As a lover of the Cozy Fantasy genre, I would only recommend this to people who absolutely love the genre and you are looking for a new book after reading through others. If you are looking for a book to change your mind about Cozy Fantasy, I suggest looking elsewhere as this will not be the book to do it.
I will say what this book does well first. I think setting up that magic affects the world around it so that when you have a major metropolitan area where rich people are using it in great amounts, it upsets the natural world in areas far from it. Then you have those same rich people then believe that the systems meant to curtail the disasters and upset caused by their excessive magic use are a waste of resources and then they destroy those systems without care about the harm dismantling those systems does. Honestly, this part of the story has aged like a fine wine and I really did love the themes of choosing to help your community in the face of such uncaring systems really lovely. I also did like how the author had Kiela's irrational fears mixed with what turn out to be rational ones. I think that was a very smart choice as it introduced these fears naturally so them coming into play later, helps make the stakes feel real.
However, I do feel the book could have really used some more editing. There were times when jokes were explained but not in a way that came across as Kiela's voice but more so we didn't miss the joke. Additionally, characters had to spell out Larran's feelings for Kiela to her to a point where we get Larran's backstory from another character instead of as something vulnerable shared between them. As a result, while Larran is perfectly nice, there really is a lack of chemistry between our main pair. It just feels too by the numbers until the end. I also do find some points where there is something really interesting (like there being blue people like our protagonist) but there is no explanation. While you don't want to dump exposition, it did feel weirdly incurious for our protagonist as blue humans could have been a result of magic gone wrong ages ago or a side effect of spell that otherwise cured a region of disease. Another moment that strikes me is when she wonders what is up with Larran and Larran is about to say what his connection to her and her family is to Caz only for her to interrupt him.
As a lover of the Cozy Fantasy genre, I would only recommend this to people who absolutely love the genre and you are looking for a new book after reading through others. If you are looking for a book to change your mind about Cozy Fantasy, I suggest looking elsewhere as this will not be the book to do it.