finished reading

I learned a new word:  cottagecore, which is defined as an internet aesthetic and subculture that romanticizes and celebrates an idealized, simple, pastoral life, often drawing on nostalgia for a time before modern technology. It focuses on values like nature, traditional homemaking, sustainable practices, and creativity, manifested through activities such as gardening, baking, and crafting, along with a distinct fashion style featuring natural fabrics and vintage designs.  Huh, who knew?

So, this book falls into a cottagecore cozy romantacy genre with a grumpy/sunshine trope.  That's a lot of words to say it's a sweet, feel-good story.  I enjoyed the world-building, filled with enchanting and whimsical settings and characters.  There are references to unrest and rebellion in The BIG CITY, where Kiela is a librarian, references to a ban on magic, and severe weather caused by wonky magic, but none of these heavy topics bring the story down.  Awkward and introverted, Kiela's character has a believable arc; she'll always be a bit of a curmudgeon--the grumpy/sunshine trope is played out with Larran as the loveable ray of sunshine.

From the publisher:

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.

Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she and her assistant, Caz—a magically sentient spider plant—have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite.

When a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor who can’t take a hint and keeps showing up day after day to make sure she’s fed and to help fix up her new home.

In need of income, Kiela identifies something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries.

But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela risks the consequences of using unsanctioned spells and opens the island’s first-ever and much needed secret spellshop.

Like a Hallmark rom-com full of mythical creatures and fueled by cinnamon rolls and magic, The Spellshop will heal your heart and feed your soul.