I can’t say enough good things about The Spellshop. I love a good cozy fantasy and this did not disappoint. It’s the perfect equation of libraries, idyllic rural settings, fantasy characters and creatures, and jam making. I personally love a good home makeover moment and this did the trick. Overall, if you’re looking for a cozy read that 100% fits the cover, this is your book.

The Best Bits

A Few of My Favorite Things

A Main Character Who Doesn’t Know She’s a People Person

Kiela is a great primary character – a librarian who has spent her entire life living in stacks of books who is forced to flee to the childhood home she barely remembers, nestled in the woods of a far off island. She doesn’t understand people and wants nothing to do with them, but the island community chips away at her until she’s so connected, she’d risk her life to protect them. Throw in a romantic interest who is sweet enough to bowl you over and you have the perfect community to help her grow out of her risk-averse shell.

A Sidekick To Root For

I was obsessed with Caz from the moment he sidled into the first chapter. A sentient spider plant who is witty, sarcastic, and terrified of meat-eaters is a sidekick I could not have imagined given a lifetime of plotting fantasy novels. He is constantly adding humor, balancing out Kiela’s anxiety with encouragement and some of his own anxieties about the outside world. Throw in a cactus sidekick of his own and I barely made it throw my excitement. 

The House

Thanks to the beautiful cover, I was able to perfectly picture the cottage from the start and its transformation from a dusty, abandoned building to a warm and inviting home. Kiela returns it to life through cleaning, gardening, and the creation of a jam shop (which is a brilliant plot point) and it makes for a charming story. As someone who has spent countless hours playing video games just to clean up abandoned spaces, this subplot spoke to me and I applauded it. 

The Sometimes Subtle, Sometimes Overwhelming Magic

The Spellshop’s magic was very compelling, mixing literary knowledge with taught spell casting. You need to know the right phrases and read the right books, but real skill comes from practice and determination. It’s a mix of personal connection to the spell being cast and mastering linguistics, and that spoke to me as a reader. These aren’t overwhelming spells meant to destroy, kill and maim. Instead, they’re spells meant to heal and foster life.  We get to see Kiela’s passion for healing the land and the town through her spell casting, and that connected me even more to a story I already loved. 

Nature and It’s Many Wonders

The natural elements were honestly breathtaking. I found myself enthralled by the nature spirits and how the author incorporated them into the narrative. This is a world where trees, weather, and creatures all live in a harmony that’s being chipped away by greedy city dwellers who want the magic for themselves. The island is withering and Kiela uses her magic to bring it back to life. The forest spirits were done perfectly in a Miyazaki kind of way and I just wanted more and more of them. As a reader, it was exciting to imagine all of these rebirths as plants exploded back to life from a spell done too well. You get this great overgrown setting that, to me, is the epitome of cozy fantasy. Sign me up for a cottage in overgrown woods any day. 

The Cover

Like any reader, I love a good cover and this one was enchanting to say the least. The artist deserves mad props for so perfectly representing a book. I honestly bought it entirely because of the cover and don’t regret it one bit.