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Warm hug of a book

Cover of The Spellshop
A review of The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

If you liked Legends & Lattes as much as I did, you'll love this book. Filled with mythical creatures like mermaids, merhorses, and magically-sentient plants, and served with cinnamon buns, friendship and a lot of love, it's sure to soothe just like your favorite tea.

Kiela is a librarian and true introvert who lives in the Great Library of Alyssium until rebels start the place on fire (yikes!) and she's forced to flee to her hometown village with Caz, her magically-sentient spider plant (who I love). She makes it to the cottage where she grew up and where she plans to hermit herself away. Except she's not good with DIY, and has no survival skills. Thankfully, with her too-helpful (yet handsome) neighbor, some books she's saved/stolen from the Library, and a cookbook that belonged to her parents', Kiela realizes she has more resources to call on than she realized.

Part romance and part fantasy, this story is overflowing with a love of books, reading and sharing knowledge, and comes complete with just a little dusting of political intrigue. It's a fantastic, fantastical story!

Aug 19, 2024