I'd been looking forward to Sarah Beth Durst's The Spellshop for quite a while, because I do love my cosy reads, and I especially loved the idea of a sentient spider plant being a major character. And Caz certainly didn't disappoint, and is an excellent sidekick. I also liked what we see of the world, the magic, and of course, the love of books.

In the end, I think I felt a bit dissatisfied because it felt like a world created just for the story -- I didn't have a good sense of what lay beyond its edges, and I don't just mean in terms of a map -- and because the romance felt rushed. It tries to add depth to that with some history between the characters, but it didn't ultimately ring true to me. Adding the depth didn't work because, OK, Larran remembers Kiela, but she doesn't remember him. So things should, at least, have taken more time on her side.

I do love Caz, though, and then the addition of Meep. It was a fun read as long as I didn't think too deeply into it, ultimately. And it is pretty cosy, despite the opening being a flight from a burning capital city during a revolution, and despite some peril for Kiela and another character.