Recently, a new genre of book has been popping up everywhere… cozy fantasy! And no, that doesn’t mean the pages are made of pillows. Cozy fantasy is a genre that encompasses books with low stakes, heartwarming stories, and satisfying conclusions. The Spellshop is the first cozy fantasy I’ve read (and I’m an avid reader, so this might be a surprise!). It certainly won’t be the last.
Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she and her assistant, Caz―a magically sentient spider plant―have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite.
When a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy―and very handsome―neighbor who can’t take a hint and keeps showing up day after day to make sure she’s fed and to help fix up her new home.
In need of income, Kiela identifies something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries.
But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela risks the consequences of using unsanctioned spells and opens the island’s first-ever and much needed secret spellshop.
World, Character, and Plot
The worldbuilding in The Spellshop is fascinating. I absolutely loved the concept of a spell shop disguised as a jam store. This area of the book is really where the “cozy” feelings hit home. Every part of Kiela’s journey to restore the home and shop, as well as selling to customers, was just heartwarming and fun. I’d like to compare it to watching a home renovation show (like Fixer Upper) or a classic cooking show (like Pioneer Woman). You just forget the seriousness of the world and envelop yourself in the relaxing mundane. Quite the experience!
On the other hand, I will say that sometimes I forgot more than the seriousness… I lost the plot. Under all the layers of jam and new love, there was a plot about rebellion and escape. The book opens by throwing you into the plot, but it does seem to get forgotten for the entire middle of the story until the end, when it gets wrapped up. I actually loved the concept, I just wished for a little more sprinkled throughout.
As for the characters, they were super fun! Both Kiera (the main female) and Larran (the main male) were relatable and lovable. I felt like the author really was able to embody both of them in The Spellshop. Even the sidekicks were well-written. Caz, the sentient plant, was a great example of a sidekick that works. He moved the story, added humor and wit, and worked to push the main character and plot further. He is not the only plant sidekick, however; near the end of the book we are introduced to another plant called Meep (a sentient cactus). Meep is an example of a sidekick that doesn’t work. The character felt superfluous, and I feel like the author introduced the character solely as a means of pushing her political agenda. The reader was often fed those politics through that character, despite Meep never advancing the plot or story.
PAGED IN: The entire book is completely clean… except for one word! Randomly, the author decided to throw in a curse word, making this book have to be rated moderate profanity. Honestly, the language is so out of place you could almost read right over. I had to do a double-take. Seriously.
Let me get on a soapbox for a moment to discuss the use of profanity in books. While I will always be a strong proponent for clean stories, there have been several instances when I understand why an author chooses to use profanity (maybe for an extremely stressful circumstance, or heartbreaking event, or something in those lines). However, especially in fantasy novels when it is so easy to come up with world-specific words, I find it very hard to justify using normal curse words! It feels like a dearth of creativity, and it immediately pulled me out of this story. Considering The Spellshop is a cozy fantasy, I would have appreciated a little more thought in this area.
Conclusion
I genuinely enjoyed The Spellshop. It truly is a cozy fantasy, and I will certainly be picking up the second book in the series. While I wish the plot had been more consistent and the worldbuilding a touch deeper, I really did enjoy reading the book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a new comfort read!
You can buy The Spellshop here.
Marie