Kiela, a librarian in a magical empire, flees a political uprising that leaves her city and library under siege. She seeks refuge on the remote island where she grew up and where her childhood home still stands. Accompanying her are Caz, a talking spider plant, and crates of magical books that Kiela has saved from burning. On the island, Kiela finds herself in need of some income, so she decides to sell homemade jam from her cottage while secretly using the spellbooks to concoct “remedies” to heal the trees on the island and make plants grow.
I adored this cute, cozy fantasy. This is the kind of book that needs to be read with a cup of tea and a pastry. Granted, there’s not a lot that happens in the book, but that’s okay. I was reading just for the cozy and magical vibes.
I didn’t expect to like Caz as much as I did. He brought so much joy and life to the book. Caz is more than a talking plant; he is a friend (at times, he is Kiela’s only friend) and a helper to her. I loved the banter between Kiela and Caz and how, even though he was just a plant, Kiela thought about him and his feelings so much. You can see this especially when Kiela had to rush home after the storm to make sure Caz was okay.
The magic in the book is heavily rooted in nature, and it was so interesting. I loved seeing how Kiela messed up the spells at first and how she had to tweak them to do what she wanted. There are mythical creatures galore in the book, such as winged cats, merhorses, centaurs, forest spirits, and a woman with four arms. There were lots of other interesting characters in the book that I hope we learn more about in possible sequels.
My favorite description of Kiela is “It wasn’t that she didn’t like people. It was only that she liked books more.” I feel like that describes a lot of us, right?
Sounds like a sweet story
It was super cute!