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A review by mspilesofpaper
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC
When I heard about The Spellshop via TikTok, I was hooked. Low-stakes cosy fantasy with cottage-core vibes? Hell yes. I wanted to like the book so much. Unfortunately, the book fell utterly flat for me. Please, don't get me wrong: it is a cute cosy fantasy with cottage-core vibes but it isn't exactly a low-stakes cosy fantasy because the author included a rather big conflict towards the end.
What I did like was the wide variety of magical creatures that the author included in the book. Sentient plants? Yes. Merhorses and merfolk? Hell yes. Centaurs and other non-human beings that aren't just elves/fae? Yes.
And while I loved the inclusion of these elements, they highlight one of my issues with the book: the world-building. It is so extremely vague that it just disappoints me. A few points are explained as "magic created them" but that's it. I'm aware that cosy fantasy books tend to lack intensive world-building but I would appreciate it if authors of those novels would just put in some effort. I don't need Sanderson's massive worlds but at least enough to get an idea of the world where the book plays in.
Aside from the vague world-building, I didn't connect with any of the characters but especially not with Kiela. All characters are rather underdeveloped and require some editing to flesh them out but Kiela ... God, I disliked her so much at the end. She grew up loved by her parents (although partly it feels like she doesn't remember them very well, which is weird) and then lived very secluded in the Great Library of the Empire where she worked as a librarian. Her character relies very heavily on the "reclusive librarian who lives for books and hates people" trope and there's not much about her besides it. In the first half, she constantly reminds the reader that she hates to deal with people and doesn't trust anyone aside from her books. Unfortunately, she has zero skills to live on her own and requires constant help from the other characters, which in turn, is something that she hates. Most often, the help arrives in the form of her love interest to whom she is incredibly rude because of her distrust of people and because she's utterly set in her ways. The lack of social skills doesn't help either. It got annoying to read again how she berates herself again for trusting him despite him proving that he has no hidden agenda. Also, I didn't understand her logic concerning the books. First, she acts as if she is saving them from the revolution when it spills into the library, which is understandable in my opinion. As soon as she arrives at the island, she berates herself for taking the books with her because they are spellbooks and no one can know that she has them. Yet, she sets up a shop to sell jam and "remedies" (aka spells) to help the island. Of course, people realise rather soon what her remedies are but she still acts like "if we do not say it aloud, it is not true", which is the logic of a small child and not an adult woman. As for Larran, her love interest: he is a wet paper towel who has zero social skills either and cannot take a hint from her. The combined awkwardness from Kiela and Larran was too much and is utterly cringe-worthy.
As for their romance: what the fuck? It is instant love with zero chemistry and I don't understand why they fell for each other because their interactions are so awkward. I truly wish that the author would have left out their romance and the romance between two side characters (likely being the main characters in another book) and would have focused on friendship, found family and community as themes. It would have worked so much better, in my opinion, and not every book requires a romance.
Concerning the high stakes towards the end: it was so unnecessary and felt just like the typical third-act break-up in contemporary romances. It just added tension and stress for a few chapters until it gets solved rather smoothly and without any issues, because it is along the lines of "doing good deeds will always prevail".
TL;DR: Cosy fantasy with cottage-core vibes, insta-love, characters with poor social skills, sentient plants who can speak (either fluently or just "meep") and unrequired third-act tension plot. The main character basically oopsies her way into friendship and love. On the plus side: it is a fast and quick read.
When I heard about The Spellshop via TikTok, I was hooked. Low-stakes cosy fantasy with cottage-core vibes? Hell yes. I wanted to like the book so much. Unfortunately, the book fell utterly flat for me. Please, don't get me wrong: it is a cute cosy fantasy with cottage-core vibes but it isn't exactly a low-stakes cosy fantasy because the author included a rather big conflict towards the end.
What I did like was the wide variety of magical creatures that the author included in the book. Sentient plants? Yes. Merhorses and merfolk? Hell yes. Centaurs and other non-human beings that aren't just elves/fae? Yes.
And while I loved the inclusion of these elements, they highlight one of my issues with the book: the world-building. It is so extremely vague that it just disappoints me. A few points are explained as "magic created them" but that's it. I'm aware that cosy fantasy books tend to lack intensive world-building but I would appreciate it if authors of those novels would just put in some effort. I don't need Sanderson's massive worlds but at least enough to get an idea of the world where the book plays in.
Aside from the vague world-building, I didn't connect with any of the characters but especially not with Kiela. All characters are rather underdeveloped and require some editing to flesh them out but Kiela ... God, I disliked her so much at the end. She grew up loved by her parents (although partly it feels like she doesn't remember them very well, which is weird) and then lived very secluded in the Great Library of the Empire where she worked as a librarian. Her character relies very heavily on the "reclusive librarian who lives for books and hates people" trope and there's not much about her besides it. In the first half, she constantly reminds the reader that she hates to deal with people and doesn't trust anyone aside from her books. Unfortunately, she has zero skills to live on her own and requires constant help from the other characters, which in turn, is something that she hates. Most often, the help arrives in the form of her love interest to whom she is incredibly rude because of her distrust of people and because she's utterly set in her ways. The lack of social skills doesn't help either. It got annoying to read again how she berates herself again for trusting him despite him proving that he has no hidden agenda. Also, I didn't understand her logic concerning the books. First, she acts as if she is saving them from the revolution when it spills into the library, which is understandable in my opinion. As soon as she arrives at the island, she berates herself for taking the books with her because they are spellbooks and no one can know that she has them. Yet, she sets up a shop to sell jam and "remedies" (aka spells) to help the island. Of course, people realise rather soon what her remedies are but she still acts like "if we do not say it aloud, it is not true", which is the logic of a small child and not an adult woman. As for Larran, her love interest: he is a wet paper towel who has zero social skills either and cannot take a hint from her. The combined awkwardness from Kiela and Larran was too much and is utterly cringe-worthy.
As for their romance: what the fuck? It is instant love with zero chemistry and I don't understand why they fell for each other because their interactions are so awkward. I truly wish that the author would have left out their romance and the romance between two side characters (likely being the main characters in another book) and would have focused on friendship, found family and community as themes. It would have worked so much better, in my opinion, and not every book requires a romance.
Concerning the high stakes towards the end: it was so unnecessary and felt just like the typical third-act break-up in contemporary romances. It just added tension and stress for a few chapters until it gets solved rather smoothly and without any issues, because it is along the lines of "doing good deeds will always prevail".
TL;DR: Cosy fantasy with cottage-core vibes, insta-love, characters with poor social skills, sentient plants who can speak (either fluently or just "meep") and unrequired third-act tension plot. The main character basically oopsies her way into friendship and love. On the plus side: it is a fast and quick read.