Books Should Be Shared With Everyone Who Wants To Open Their Minds And Hearts To Them

I recently finished reading Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst. This is OwlCrate's July adult book.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT

  Rating: 3.75/5 stars

This exclusive edition features an exclusive cover designed by @littleforestcat, with stenciled edges by @lichen_and_limestone, a reversible dust jacket by @llstarcasteril, printed artwork hardcover case design by @offthehookstudio, and end pages by @niraz. The book is also signed by author Sarah Beth Durst on an author page with an author's letter bound into the book, and bonus content for subscribers.

"Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people, and as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn’t had to.

She and her assistant, Caz, a sentient spider plant, have spent most of the last eleven years sequestered among the empire’s precious spellbooks, protecting the magic for the city’s elite. But a revolution is brewing and when the library goes up in flames, she and Caz steal whatever books they can and flee to the faraway island where she grew up. She’s hoping to lay low and figure out a way to survive before the revolution comes looking for her. To her dismay, in addition to a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor, she finds the town in disarray.

The empire with its magic spellbooks has slowly been draining power from the island, something that Kiela is indirectly responsible for, and now she’s determined to find a way to make things right. Opening up a spell shop comes with its own risks—the consequence of sharing magic with commoners is death. And as Kiela comes to make a place for herself among the quirky townspeople, she realizes that in order to make a life for herself, she must break down the walls she has kept so high."

The book begins with Kiela at the capital of the empire of this fantasy world. She works as a librarian and that library is under attack by rebels who are overthrowing the emperor. Kiela and her sentient plant assistant, Caz, load up as many books as they can and are forced to make a run for it to ensure their survival. The trauma of what they’re running from and what they see and hear as they escape is carefully worded so the sense of loss is present without being triggered, I feel. 

They head to the island of Kiela’s birth. Kiela and Caz have no idea how they’ll make a living, what to expect, and the feeling of being a refugee and being lost, but determination is strong. They also don’t want to talk about what was happening with the empire because they’re keeping their books a secret, afraid of repercussions. What also ends up being kept a secret? Their use of magic in those books starts laying the foundation of their new life because magic is forbidden from all but sanctioned sorcerers. Cause if you have a secret, you should totally double down on it right?

The island is brimming with characters, from a neighbor who’s constantly there offering a hand (and some blushes) to the baker who’s immediately offering friendship to mystical beings who need assistance to the crotchety old island man who’s the constant downer. This is such a cozy and atmospheric read that you can sink into and the side characters genuinely add to that. The descriptions of some of those characters though are weaker, like the neighbor who becomes a love interest, who has fine eyes and is large, but I don’t think we got any more than that. A lot of descriptions of his merhorses though, who were adorable.

The heart of this book is Kiela’s journey and growth from being very isolationist in her library niche to having to people all the time and sort out how to do basic living skills and also processing these huge changes in circumstances. Kiela is pushed out of her comfort zone constantly as she adjusts and eventually, she changes herself and ends up altering everything around her too. 

My only itty bitty wish was that the romance was more central because as fantastic as I found this, and as thrilled as I was with the growth of Kiela, I don’t read many books lighter on romance and I do find myself thinking of how easily X could be added here or maybe Y in that scene. I can’t help it. There is romance and it’s sweet (some kissing only) with a supportive and blushing MMC, it just wasn’t the main point of the story. 

The third-act drama was an interesting addition too, it felt a little out of place. It did give Kiela assurance I think that she could stay forever, without the weight of possibly being pursued for the books having over her. It also brings some extra support that makes more magic possible, but it was still incorporated in a clunky way. Still, I’d recommend this because the book is a squee-inducing kind of cuteness, great for the fall season, and the ending does have a short jump ahead that ends in this HEA way for Kiela.

Check out Spellshop, and discover what happens when you start your life over with a talking plant.

Happy Reading :)