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A review by chaptersofmads
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
“It wasn’t that she didn’t like people. It was only that she liked books more.”
Firstly, let us not talk about how long it took me to read this. The ironic thing is that when I returned the eBook to Libby they told me I had only spent 2 hours reading it.
So, truthfully, it may look like it took me a week to read this short, cozy fantasy but that's because I just wasn't picking it up.
Which leads into the review itself.
Everything about the set up of this story called to me. A librarian with best friend that is a sentient spider plant, using a jam shop to hide illegal magic, the conflicted feelings of returning home, and just the overall vibes delivered in a cozy fantasy setting. I've been a bit stressed lately and this seemed like the perfect remedy.
In some ways, it delivered. Parts of this book were extremely cute and wholesome. I loved Caz, I loved (some) of the islanders, and I really, really wanted to eat jam. The overall message of community and overcoming trust issues, as well as the underlying themes of magic being used to control the people were also a nice addition to the story.
Beyond that, I couldn't bring myself to care about anything? I don't know how to say this in a way that sounds nicer, but this entire book just felt empty. I remember some people speculating that the cover looked AI generated and unfortunately, that's sort of how I felt about the plot as well. I feel unkind saying this as I genuinely believe this was a project of the author's heart; however, the fact remains that this felt lifeless.
Something about the way the emotions developed, the plot conveniences, the conflict, even the dialogue at times felt like it understood the basics of how things developed, but not the nuances of them.
On top of that, for some reason, nearly every cozy fantasy I have read touches on darker topics than most of the high, epic fantasies I read.
Minor spoilers ahead: I touched on these in the TW section but this book includes discussions of child abuse, spousal murder, and the one lesbian character watched her wife be beaten to death by her own family.
I understand that coziness exists alongside painful topics and my rating is not lower because of this. This is more just me musing about something I've noticed.
Also, I mentioned this in an update, but we established a characters pronouns as they/them (it is literally written out basically like, "please don't use it, she, or him - only they/them.") And then a few pages later, the FMC misgenders them. This is not acknowledged and leaves me to think it was an accident or an editing error, but still weird and I don't know how no one else noticed this.
Overall, this was very much okay. I liked parts of it and while I wish I had connected with it more, I do think some of my issues were personal. If you're looking for a very basic cozy fantasy with a more whimsical world (other than all the darkness) than most, I think you might have a good time with this.
Firstly, let us not talk about how long it took me to read this. The ironic thing is that when I returned the eBook to Libby they told me I had only spent 2 hours reading it.
So, truthfully, it may look like it took me a week to read this short, cozy fantasy but that's because I just wasn't picking it up.
Which leads into the review itself.
Everything about the set up of this story called to me. A librarian with best friend that is a sentient spider plant, using a jam shop to hide illegal magic, the conflicted feelings of returning home, and just the overall vibes delivered in a cozy fantasy setting. I've been a bit stressed lately and this seemed like the perfect remedy.
In some ways, it delivered. Parts of this book were extremely cute and wholesome. I loved Caz, I loved (some) of the islanders, and I really, really wanted to eat jam. The overall message of community and overcoming trust issues, as well as the underlying themes of magic being used to control the people were also a nice addition to the story.
Beyond that, I couldn't bring myself to care about anything? I don't know how to say this in a way that sounds nicer, but this entire book just felt empty. I remember some people speculating that the cover looked AI generated and unfortunately, that's sort of how I felt about the plot as well. I feel unkind saying this as I genuinely believe this was a project of the author's heart; however, the fact remains that this felt lifeless.
Something about the way the emotions developed, the plot conveniences, the conflict, even the dialogue at times felt like it understood the basics of how things developed, but not the nuances of them.
On top of that, for some reason, nearly every cozy fantasy I have read touches on darker topics than most of the high, epic fantasies I read.
Minor spoilers ahead: I touched on these in the TW section but this book includes discussions of child abuse, spousal murder, and the one lesbian character watched her wife be beaten to death by her own family.
I understand that coziness exists alongside painful topics and my rating is not lower because of this. This is more just me musing about something I've noticed.
Also, I mentioned this in an update, but we established a characters pronouns as they/them (it is literally written out basically like, "please don't use it, she, or him - only they/them.") And then a few pages later, the FMC misgenders them. This is not acknowledged and leaves me to think it was an accident or an editing error, but still weird and I don't know how no one else noticed this.
Overall, this was very much okay. I liked parts of it and while I wish I had connected with it more, I do think some of my issues were personal. If you're looking for a very basic cozy fantasy with a more whimsical world (other than all the darkness) than most, I think you might have a good time with this.