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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐏 by Sarah Beth Durst was absolutely a bookstagram made me do it book, but I absolutely loved it 🌿🌵🍓🫐 - 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞’𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 . . . 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. - Romance is not usually my genre at all, and I definitely wouldn't usually go for romantasy, but one of the great things about booksta is coming across recommendations and suggestions for books that are different from your norm. In the acknowledgements, Durst said that she wanted the book to be an escape, like a warm hug, and like drinking hot chocolate or eating a fresh baked pastry. It absolutely felt that way, and it might just be the coziest book I've read. - 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬: 𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐬, 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 (𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐩) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐚𝐦. - The story follows Kiela, who has had to leave her home in Alyssium, and her job as a librarian, due to civil unrest. She never 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 expected that she would have to leave, but as an intelligent and cautious woman she had taken some precautions and made some preparations in case the worst came to pass. As the city and library burn, she isn't sure where to go, and where she can keep herself, her sentient spider plant Caz, or the books safe. Eventually she settles on Caltrey, her childhood home. - 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧, 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡, 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐞𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐛 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞. - Kiela was SUCH a relatable character for me, and I felt a strong connection with her. She is introverted, and she hates having an audience. She is also fiercely independent, but not necessarily because she wants to be, more because she has been forced into a position where it is just her and Caz against the world. That is, until she arrives on Caltrey and learns to trust in others and in a sense of community again. The other characters welcome her back to the island and support her in getting herself settled, even if Kiela feels like it is a little intrusive at first. Her childhood home has been standing empty since she and her parents left the island years before, and she has a lot of work to do to make it hospitable and safe. - 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 . . . “𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭” 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟. 𝐑𝐮𝐧-𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧. 𝐃𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭. 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐝. 𝐍𝐞𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝. 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝. 𝐀𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. 𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚. - Durst's worldbuilding is fantastic. The island of Caltrey (and the broader world) is so magical, and filled with wonderful and interesting creatures. I feel like Durst gives enough description for you to imagine her world, but it is not overly descriptive, so there is still some room for interpretation. I would absolutely love to see some illustrations or fan art though, as I feel like some of the characters (especially Ivor) could be imagined in many different ways. I also loved the little elements of folklore and myth that were woven into the story, like the tricks that the merhorses like to play where they 'submerge with riders on them'. One of my favourite chapters in the whole book was Chapter 15, where Kiela meets the Forest Spirits. - 𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫. 𝐀𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝-𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞-𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐬. 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬: 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐮𝐟𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐬. 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞. 𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐭, 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡, 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐧𝐞𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐄𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥. - All of the characters are so well-rounded, even those that are small in stature. Meep was so full of expression, despite only being able to say Meep aloud, and I loved their mischievous nature playing with Caz and the escapist chicken. Caz's story is also beautiful and tender, though fraught with sadness. In some ways he is a perfect parallel and companion for Kiela; they have both lost their parent/creator, they have both been forced to be independent, they found each other right when they needed to, and they both love books. Kiela is a very private person, and so she extends that privacy to Caz, but it does them both good to open up and talk about the things they loved and lost. - “𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐝,” 𝐂𝐚𝐳 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝. “𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐬 ‘𝐮𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝’ 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 ‘𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞,’ 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡.” 𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞. 𝐈𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐊𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, “𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 ‘𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐝’ 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧.” - I also loved the slow blossoming romance between Kiela and Larran. I loved that they were friends first, even though Kiela may not have remembered everything from their childhood together. And I was so glad that there weren't lots of tropes that dragged out their story. Durst balanced the tension and their caution perfectly with their desire to simply be together. Larran has had a lot of pain in his life, yet he chooses to be a good and kind person. This is such a strength, though some people won't realise the sheer determination and resilience this takes, especially when the people who were meant to care for you let you down. - 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢. 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞, 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 . . . 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞. 𝐈𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞. - Kiela's independence allows her to live authentically, and in accordance with her values, no matter what. She recognises the value of the islanders caring for each other, and looking out for one another, and this fits with her core beliefs that everyone should have access to the things they need to live a comfortable and contented life. With themes of friendship, community, found family, taking care of nature and reclaiming life after tragedy, The Spell Shop is a wonderfully warm and ultimately hopeful book. Just what we all need these days because it does often feel like people are selfish, living from a position of fear, and just out for themselves. - 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬! 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞. 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫. “𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞.” - Overall I definitely recommend The Spell Shop and I so badly want to be a member of the Pine Cone Coven 🪴🥐 If you pick up The Spell Shop make sure you have plenty of cinnamon rolls and pastries while you're reading it, as I kept wanting little sweet treats! I will DEFINITELY be reading Durst's sequel - The Enchanted Greenhouse - when it comes out next year, and my friend Lauren and I have already agreed we're going to read it together 🥰💕 Read more

Words are not enough to describe how much I love this book! The best one I read in 2024! It's so super cozy and adorable! A romantic fantasy about an estranged librarian and her sidekick, an anxious spider plant, who take refuge on the island where she grew up in. It's about found family, the power of community and feeling like you belong somewhere and opening up to others. It has winged cats, a cottage, talking plants, mermaids and merhorses, a jam shop, magic and forbidden books... Really, what's not to love? Read more

En av mina favoritböcker. Perfekt för en ”cozy” vibe. Rekommenderar verkligen! Read more

I’m in love with this book! Like the author said, it does feel like a warm hug. Loved the story, the world and the characters. The found family that will stick together and offer help, and love. A forest with magical creatures, cozy cottage turned jam shop with pine cones spells and sentient plants! A FMC librarian with blue hair, skin and freckles. A bit ruff around the edges, with awkward social skills but 100% harmless that learns to trust and build relationships ♡ Snuggle up with a soft blanket, a warm drink, your favourite candle and ambiance lights, you will not be disappointed. Can’t wait for the next book that is also set in the same world. July 2025 can’t come fast enough!! Read more