Wayward Bookshelf

Shade Spells with Strangers by Sarah Wallace This is a book of two strangers, Keelan and Silas, who connect briefly, and then spend a while finding their way to each other again. If you like a healthy dose of yearning in your romance, you'll like this one! This title also continues to explore the nature of human and fae magic in the world that Wallace and Callahan have created, and that is probably my favorite part of these books. Shade Spells takes it to a whole new level with the recruitment of several fae-human individuals who test out the rubric developed by Roger et al in the earlier books. This makes for a fun ensemble cast of characters of varying likability, and I love the discussions on different raw vs prepared materials that go into performing the spells, and how a preference for fae or human magic can affect the effectiveness of different elements. It's a very methodical magic system, well thought out, and lots of fun to read. Fans of cozy fantasy romances or deta...

Alchemy and a Cup of Tea by Rebecca Thorne I have to say I was happy to get my hands on an ARC of this one after the cliffhanger ending in book 3! (Thanks Netgalley!) In this one Kianthe & Reyna find that their roles as high-profile figures begins to catch up with the little slice of home they've carved out for themselves in Tawney. From kidnapping, conferring with dragons, and hunting down alchemists, to city planning and tourist crowd control, this book really has a little bit of everything. As these books have gone along, they have gotten decidedly less simple and cozy, but I guess that's true to life. As soon as we find something to settle into, something else comes along to shake us up. I really enjoy how the found family that began in book 1 has continued to grow in size and strength of bond. As well as the discussions on magic, it's origins, and uses. The scope of the book has it feeling a little scattered or less focused, as there are multiple pulls on Reyna a...

Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree This third installment in the Legends & Lattes takes a bit of a detour from the cozy vibes only routine, and follows our favorite rattkin bookseller as she goes on a wandering quest in search of that missing something when her life as a bookseller starts to feel a little stale. The tale has a little of a T. Kingfisher flavor to it in my opinion, it's like following a party on a dungeons and dragons campaign with a small splash of horror, but still manages to contain lots of cozy moments around the campfire with humor and thoughtful conversations. I have loved the entire Legends and Lattes trilogy so far, and while this one was a little different with some more adventuring and higher stakes, it felt very true to Fern's character. I loved meeting Fern back in book 2, and was thrilled when she got to take the spotlight. I also really liked the new characters introduced, and was especially entertained by Zyll - the chaos goblin. Wh...

Monk and Robot by Becky Chambers I first read the Monk & Robot books as the individual novellas when they came out, and absolutely fell in love with them. The gentle hopefulness of an imagined future, and the meandering conversation about nature, life, meaning and everything along the way were so healing and charming. I gave copies of those books to so many friends, and recommended them right and left. They are a couple of my all-time favorites. So I was thrilled when they packaged the two novellas together in this lovely paperback edition! It makes them more affordable, and even easier to gift. Set in a world where, in the pre-story, AI became sentient and humanity actually did the decent thing by setting them free, in book 1 we follow a tea monk named Dex as they travel around visiting different communities, until they eventually feel pulled to try something a little different. In learning more about the world, and meeting some new characters along the way, we discover a lush ...

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst Admittedly I am in my cozy fantasy era, and I love to garden, so this book ticked ALL of the boxes for me: Lovable characters who do lots of gentle growth while finding their place in the world, plus gardening talk, sentient plants, and a magical greenhouse on a remote island. Sounds like the perfect place to escape the world, and this book is a lovely little literary getaway in its own right. The Enchanted Greenhouse is a companion follow up to The Spellshop , and while it works just as well as a stand-alone story, continuing readers can enjoy mentions of favorite characters from the first book. Like Spellshop, the Enchanted Greenhouse manages to be a gentle tale set during a time of general upheaval. It starts off with a bit of a dramatic bang, which might put readers off if they're hoping for cozy vibes only, but it does even out pretty quickly as the tale goes along so I'd say to stick with it. Because the real story is about w...

The Viscount Says Yes by Sarah Wallace Viscount says yes is the 6th in the Meddle & Mend series, and involves characters we've already come to know and love from the earlier books planning a union that we've hoped would happen for some time. This was a very cozy read with lots of time spent planning the details of how our beloved characters will eventually make a home together as they gradually get more comfortable spending time with each other. There's actually very little meddling from the peripheral characters in this installment, and a lot of just offering support and kind advice. It was gentle and hopeful, and I so enjoyed reading it. The Meddle & Mend series has always felt like a cozy little safe place for my reader heart to land, but this book in particular was so restful. I'm in a season of life (mama to a newborn) where I'm reading much slower than usual as I try to sneak in a chapter here and there, but I still decided to stay up late to finish ...

Tea You at the Altar by Rebecca Thorne I went into this thinking it was the final book in the series, but in case there are any other prospective readers making the same error I did, Tomes & Tea it is a quartet and not a trilogy so there is still one more book coming! Which I'm honestly pretty excited about because I find these to be fun reads. I started reading this series as a cozy fantasy, and while it definitely still has some of those elements and the general vibe of coziness, the stakes have gotten a little too high in the continuing installments for me to really classify it as 'cozy fantasy' anymore. They're still a lot of fun to read, but I wanted to make the point in my review that there are some bigger world events at play, and our heroines play a direct role in those events. Things I really enjoyed: -More dragons! And I especially liked the discussion of dragons/magic/belief that happens around the reappearance of dragons in this world. - Reyna gets a ...

The Spellmaster of Tutting-on-Cress by Sarah Wallace This book was such a lovely read, probably even more so than I expected - and I've been hoping for Gerry's book ever since finishing Letters to Half Moon Street! In the series thus far, we've watched Gerry becoming pretty protective of her independence after having found purpose in taking over the running of the spellshop in Tutting on Cress, while also enjoying the support and proximity of her family and friends. And having a book focused on Gerry means we also got a lot of time with this world's magic system, which is always fun. Basil is our newest character, and is a very thoughtful and somewhat lonely man, who's found himself a little out of his depth after becoming the head of a family consisting of whole pack of little siblings and his widowed stepmother. I found it touching to watch this particular family's dynamic unfold, while also getting to know all 7 of the little siblings and their antics. One ...

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall I really enjoyed the world that Cathrall has created. With the under-sea setting, and all the lore that exists within both the scholarship and fiction of the world, I found it very intriguing. Without giving away any spoilers, let's just say I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book, and the promise of getting deeper into the world and it's lore. The epistolary format also made this the perfect book to pick up and read just a few minutes before bed during a particularly busy work season. By about the third letter, a mystery was revealed and I was hooked. I was pleasantly surprised that the investigative nature of the story meant that the letters, articles, and journal entries included are from a whole cast of characters, and not only going back and forth between two people. This added a lot more texture and nuance to both the world and the mystery that was unfolding, and allowed the author to remain really true t...

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst My rating: 4 of 5 stars Spellshop is a very cozy read that hit all of the right cozy fantasy beats: leaving an old life behind, starting over somewhere new, finding a community and a purpose within it, and a little no-spice romance. Bonus points for a sentient spider plant, bookish characters, mermaids, and a few other pretty cool magical elements. I did struggle initially with the main character's insular attitude towards other people, but she has a decent growth arc. So if you find yourself rolling your eyes at her at the beginning, I'd say to stick with it knowing she's going somewhere. And it's arguable that her frame of mind at the beginning does have a function in keeping the tone of the story lighter, because there are some rather high stakes things happening in the larger world, but her world view keeps our focus pretty small with everything else being more in the background. This was an easy read, and cozy cottagecore is an ...

Breeze Spells and Bridegrooms by Sarah Wallace  & S.O. Callahan I was highly anticipating this book, and it absolutely met my expectations! I've read solo works by both Wallace & Callahan, and was very interested in seeing what they came up with working together. The result is an alternate regency era London in which the fae and humans live alongside one another cordially, though not yet entirely integrated as one society. Our MC's are perfectly flawed individuals, each in their own way, and I couldn't help but root for them, and the way they learn to really see each other during one whirlwind of a London season. I also enjoyed the cozy academic vibes, and the discussions on the difference in the fae and human magic systems at play. I also really appreciated how the writers managed to create a world with some built in inequality, and then very thoughtfully found ways for our characters to be aware of it and try to address it in the course of the story, all while k...

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree This book was an absolute delight to read. We first met Viv in Legends & Lattes, and now we get to spend time with her again at a much earlier point in her adventuring career when, due to an injury, she's got to stay put in a little seaside town called Murk while she heals up. While she's there, she can't help getting to know some of the local folks and get just a little involved in their concerns. Baldree does such a wonderful job writing characters that are lovable folks you can't help but root for. I especially love how proactive Viv is when she gets an idea and just jumps right in to make it happen. And while there are just enough stakes to keep the story interesting, and a couple spooky touches that make this an excellent autumn read, this book still falls very much into the cozy fantasy vibe complete with cozy reading nooks, tantalizing baked goods and everyday folks supporting each other doing everyday things. Thi...