Kiela never imagined the rebels would burn the library. She did pack away some books, just in case. But she never thought that she and Caz, her magically enhanced plant friend, would have to evacuate. And if they did, it would only be for a short amount of time. Now Kiela realizes that she didn’t really prepare for this outcome: she has very little food, no clothes, and no plan. Eventually, she decides to return to the island of her childhood. After her family moved to the capital, she never returned to the island. But her family still owns a house where she can hide out unbothered.
Now Kiela has a neighbor who won’t leave her alone, the townspeople remember her parents and are curious about her, and the island desperately needs a magical infusion.
If you can’t beat them, join them. Kiela decides to open a jam shop to make a living. As long as she has customers, she might also offer some remedies to make life easier for them. The more she starts to help, the more she wants to stay. But staying has never been an option – not when she’s using magic illegally and the books are questionably hers. Sooner or later, someone is going to discover her secret.
Sarah Beth Durst pens a cozy fantasy novel that feels like a warm hug. Kiela starts out grumpy and craving her solitude, but the townspeople touch her heart. As it grows, she starts to put down roots and build friendships. The friendships drive the story, but the romance is a close second. She’s grumpy and he’s sunshine. He helps thaw her heart. As her heart thaws, Kiela starts risking more, knowing that it could lead to her demise. I never wanted this book to end; I can’t recommend it enough.
The Spellshop is Sarah Beth Durst’s romantasy debut–a lush cottagecore tale full of stolen spellbooks, unexpected friendships, sweet jams, and even sweeter love.
Join Kiela the librarian and her assistant, Caz the sentient spider plant, as they navigate the low stakes market of illegal spellmaking and the high risk business of starting over.
“Sarah Beth Durst is the hidden gem of the fantasy world.” —Book Riot
Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn’t had to.
She and her assistant, Caz, a magically sentient spider plant, have spent the last eleven years sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite. But when a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz save as many books as they can carry and flee to a faraway island Kiela was sure she’d never return to: her childhood home. Kiela hopes to lay low in the overgrown and rundown cottage her late parents left her and figure out a way to survive without drawing the attention of either the empire or the revolutionaries. Much to her dismay, in addition to a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor, she finds the town neglected and in a state of disrepair.
The empire, for all its magic and power, has been neglecting for years the people who depend on magical intervention to maintain healthy livestock and crops. Not only that, but the very magic that should be helping them has been creating destructive storms that have taken a toll on the island. Due to her past role at the library, Kiela feels partially responsible for this, and now she’s determined to find a way to make things right: by opening the island’s first-ever secret spellshop.
Her plan comes with risks—the consequence of sharing magic with commoners is death. And as Kiela comes to make a place for herself among the kind and quirky townspeople of her former home, she realizes that in order to make a life for herself, she must learn to break down the walls she has built up so high.
Like a Hallmark rom-com full of mythical creatures and fueled by cinnamon rolls and magic, Sarah Beth Durst’s The Spellshop will heal your heart and feed your soul.
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