Sarah Beth Durst

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY AND INDIE BESTSELLER! A #1 LibraryReads pick! An Indie Next pick! 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. Join Kiela the librarian and her assistant, Caz the sentient spider plant, as they navigate the low stakes market of illegal spellmaking and the high risk business of starting over. “Sarah Beth Durst is the hidden gem of the fantasy world.” —Book Riot Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn’t had to. She and her assistant, Caz, a magically sentient spider plant, have spent the last eleven years sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite. But when a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz save as many books as they can carry and flee to a faraway island Kiela was sure she’d never return to: her childhood home. Kiela hopes to lay low in the overgrown and rundown cottage her late parents left her and figure out a way to survive without drawing the attention of either the empire or the revolutionaries. Much to her dismay, in addition to a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor, she finds the town neglected and in a state of disrepair. The empire, for all its magic and power, has been neglecting for years the people who depend on magical intervention to maintain healthy livestock and crops. Not only that, but the very magic that should be helping them has been creating destructive storms that have taken a toll on the island. Due to her past role at the library, Kiela feels partially responsible for this, and now she’s determined to find a way to make things right: by opening the island’s first-ever secret spellshop. Her plan comes with risks—the consequence of sharing magic with commoners is death. And as Kiela comes to make a place for herself among the kind and quirky townspeople of her former home, she realizes that in order to make a life for herself, she must learn to break down the walls she has built up so high. Like a Hallmark rom-com full of mythical creatures and fueled by cinnamon rolls and magic, Sarah Beth Durst’s The Spellshop will heal your heart and feed your soul. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Spellshop

Holly 

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.

"So, tell me what's a weed and what isn't," Kiela said. 

“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 hoy 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. 

“Because knowledge is power, and the powerful want- -wanted-to keep it all to themselves." Their greed had brought about their downfall. 

"Of course knowledge is dangerous." Kiela felt herself grinning. She'd never done anything the least bit dangerous before. It felt like a deep breath of sea air. Maybe the taste of the breeze is going to my bead. "But ignorance is even more dangerous. In this case, ignorance means failure, and failure means no food, no way to stay here, and nowhere else to go.”

Caz climbed onto the table.I have many surprising skills--for Example, I play the harp but construction is not one of them." He waved his leaves. "I’m too floppy to wield a hammer." "I don't think we have a hammer. Or wood, though there is a forest right on the other side of the garden. ButI have no idea how to make boards out of a tree. I imagine it's quite a bit of work... You can play the harp?" He demonstrated plucking imaginary strings. "A small one.' "Where in the world did you learn to play the harp? And when?" "I had a life before I met you." "You literally did not," Kiela said. "There were a few weeks before I met you, thank you very much."

Thank you," Caz said. "You know, plants aren't nearly as emotionally exhausting as humans. You should try to be more plant .”

She laughed. "Good advice. All I need is some chlorophyll.”

“Excellent. You’d look great in green.”

 Opening the notebook, she stroked the smooth, crisp, blank page. There was something so very beautiful about a notebook without a single note in it. It felt like touching pure potential.

“You don't know me. So Im telling you about me. So youll know me and why it's better if I leave. I read and I forget anything else exists. And Idon't forgive anyone who isn't careful with books. I hate people who tear out pages, who bend corners, who break the spines." 

Annie Gauthier

the practical thing would be to claim her parents’ bed as hers. The big bed had lots of extra room for her and — her eyes slid to Larran… Don’t be ridiculous, she scolded herself. Lots of extra room for her and whatever stack of books she wanted to read late into the night.

Its tears rolled down the bark, and where they touched the soil, delicate white flowers bloomed. She’d never seen flowers like it: they were clusters of petals that flowed with the soft, white light of the full moon.

The Spellshop quotes

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