The spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

Series: Spellshop (#1)

Format: 376 pages, Paperback

Published: July 9, 2024 by Tor UK

Cozy fantasy/own

This was a cozy fantasy, I am a bit afraid of those because not a lot happens, but this was sweet.

Kiela is a librarian who flees the city with books as the city burns . She has a talking plant with her and goes back to the island she left long ago. She settles in her parents house and decides to make the best of it.

The islanders are nice, well except for one. There is a nice fisherman too. But she is always afraid the rebellion and the books she took will catch up with her.

I enjoyed it and it was a sweet and easy read. I will def read more

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.

Audio: Nobody´s quest by Alyssa Day

Narrated by: Maeve York

Series: The Nobody Chronicles, Book 1

Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins

Release date: 06-02-26

Publisher: Tantor Media

Categories: Romance, Fantasy /to review

Soli is an indentured servant and will be that for the rest of her life. She is a nobody, and something called a greymind that makes her mind slip away at times.

And then she is dragged away with others to try and put their hand in a box. And if they burn they are the wrong person. Well that is not good.

She is the chosen one, as she is not dead. But she probably will be as she and some others are going on a quest to save their missing Goddess. Through lands ravaged by war and monsters.

There will be some romantic tension growing on this quest. There will be danger, and hopefully some answers for her greymind situation. But as it ends the journey is not over, but just beginning.

I enjoyed it, and I wonder if they will get to save their missing Goddess.

The narrator was also well done, and she did different voices well.

For a hundred years, Altarra has burned. The goddess of war, Morrigan, has conquered kingdom after kingdom, leaving only ruin in her wake. Every prophecy says the same thing―nobody can defeat her. And after a century of failure, someone finally takes that literally.

When the goddess Artemisen chooses Soli Graymind―a nobody from the lowest caste who suffers from chronic depression―to lead one last desperate quest, the world laughs. But Soli won't be alone. She's joined by five others just as broken, just as A thief with no Guild. A noble with no wealth. A sorcerer with no hope. A warrior with no morals. And a prince with no kingdom―the one man she can't stop thinking about, even when hope itself is dying.

Together, they are Altarra's last chance.

Because maybe being a "nobody" is more powerful than anyone imagines―including themselves.

TMST

 

 

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating,

6/9/2026 What’s your favourite board/card game? 

Well, I only play kids games. Labyrint the board game is fun, UNO is fun. What else do we have? Scrabble is fun! Ohh I always wanted to pay Cluedo and see if we could play that.

6/16/2026 Have you ever been surprised by a book that you didn't expect to enjoy?

6/23/2026 Do you have any summer plans? If not, what would you like to do?

6/30/2026 Mid-Year Check-In: What books have you loved so far in 2026?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.

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Carole's Monday: Whisper of Sin by Nalini Singh

Author: Nalini Singh

Title: Whisper of Sin

Series: Psy-Changeling #0.75

Genre: PNR, Fantasy, Novella, Short Story

Format: ebook

Pages: 80

Published:  August 3, 2010

Where I got It: Borrowed from library

Summary: 

San Francisco is under threat from a violent gang…a gang that has no idea who they’re challenging. The DarkRiver pack of leopard changelings has already claimed the city as their territory, and they will fight with wild fury to protect its residents. Emmett, a lethally trained leopard soldier, isn’t about to let outsiders muscle in on his home ground—especially when they target a human named Ria.

Emmett has one word for the smart stranger with her curvy body and tough mine.

Possessive, dominant, unyielding in his demands and desires, Emmett is unlike anyone Ria has ever before met. But while the sexy leopard changeling makes her body ignite, his kisses molten and his touch addicting, she’s no pushover and she has a few demands of her own. This leopard has met his match…

Review:

I've really been feeling these quick PNRs of this series! Not sure why, but it's been all I want to read. 

Here we have Emmett and Ria. There is a violent gang causing trouble and thinking they can take on the DarkRiver. Things go from bad to worse when they target Ria. Emmett will never let anything happen to his human. His? Uh-oh. 

Emmett was fun, and I liked Ria a lot. I think I really adore human/changeling a bit more. We got a nice break from the Psy issues. 

Dumb gang. SMH. 

This was quick and just what the doctor ordered. 

This was short but perfect. Mystery, action, passion, and even some humor! It hit all the marks and quickly. 

I'll give this 5 stars. 

Reading Challenges:

- Library Love #14