Top Ten Tuesday: Cozy Reads

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Cozy Reads. Cozy fantasy is having a moment, but there are so many other types of cozy books too.

I tend to think of cozy fiction as anything with a focus on cuteness, baked goods, restoring an old building, settling in a small town, bookshops, cats… you get the idea!

Here are my top ten:

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna (review)
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (review)
The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong (review)
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald (review)
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst (review)
Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery (review)
Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne (review)
Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards
Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan (review)
The Vintage Village Bake-off by Judy Leigh (review)

What cozy books made your list this week? If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

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30Dec2024

End of year two-fer: My final two books of 2024

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

As I wrap up my year of reading, I’m squeezing in my final two book reviews for 2024! I finished both of these (one audio, one e-book) right before New Year’s Eve… and didn’t quite have the time to put together full reviews for each one. Here’s my quick take on my last two books of 2024:

Title: Meet Me at the Lake
Author: Carley Fortune
Narrator: AJ Bridel
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: May 2, 2023
Print length: 336 pages
Audio length: 9 hours 56 minutes
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Library
Rating:

Fern Brookbanks has wasted far too much of her adult life thinking about Will Baxter. She spent just twenty-four hours in her early twenties with the aggravatingly attractive, idealistic artist, a chance encounter that spiraled into a daylong adventure in Toronto. The timing was wrong, but their connection was undeniable: they shared every secret, every dream, and made a pact to meet one year later. Fern showed up. Will didn’t.

At thirty-two, Fern’s life doesn’t look at all how she once imagined it would. Instead of living in the city, Fern’s back home, running her mother’s Muskoka lakeside resort—something she vowed never to do. The place is in disarray, her ex-boyfriend’s the manager, and Fern doesn’t know where to begin.

She needs a plan—a lifeline. To her surprise, it comes in the form of Will, who arrives nine years too late, with a suitcase in tow and an offer to help on his lips. Will may be the only person who understands what Fern’s going through. But how could she possibly trust this expensive-suit wearing mirage who seems nothing like the young man she met all those years ago. Will is hiding something, and Fern’s not sure she wants to know what it is.

But ten years ago, Will Baxter rescued Fern. Can she do the same for him?

This second-chance love story is warm and touching, and made for an engaging, emotional listening experience! Will and Fern spend one perfect day together, and agree to meet one year later to reconnect, after giving themselves time to get their lives on track and start working toward fulfilling their dreams.

It never happens. Fern shows up, but Will doesn’t, and she’s heartbroken. But ten years after their initial meeting, shortly after the tragic death of Fern’s mother, Will checks in at the lakeside resort which Fern has inherited. Her initial reaction to seeing him again after so many years is anger and hurt, but as the two spend time together, their chemistry and connection is rekindled. The question is — can they get past the past?

I really enjoyed this summer-infused tale of love and family and belonging. Some of the communication issues between Fern and Will were annoying, but ultimately, there were reasons for all the ways things went wrong, and it feels good to see how Fern grows enough to figure out what she wants and what she needs to do and say to support that.

The setting is lovely, and made me yearn for a summer retreat to a beautiful lake. Carley Fortune was a new-to-me author in 2024, and I’m looking forward to more in 2025!

Title: The Spellshop
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Bramble
Publication date: July 9, 2024
Length: 384 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Rating:

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.

I bought a pretty hardcover edition of The Spellshop a few months ago, and finally got a chance to sit and enjoy it in all its cozy warmth and adorableness!

Without going too much into plot (just see the synopsis above), the main things to know about The Spellshop are: 1) cinnamon rolls 2) jam 3) flying cats 4) merhorses 5) a vine-covered cottage 6) talking plants 7) LOTS of books. Are you convinced of this book’s coziness yet?

The Spellshop is a sweet, lovely read, not terribly serious or strenuous. Even when bad things occur (or seem likely to occur), the characters use wits, creativity, friendship, and love to overcome and thrive. There are some uplifting messages about community, respect, and honesty, delivered with kindness and without getting overly saccharine.

All in all, a warm, snuggly way to wrap up the year!

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21Dec2024

Book Review: The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Wishing Game
Author: Meg Shaffer
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication date: May 30, 2023
Print length: 320 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Purchased

Years ago, a reclusive mega-bestselling children’s author quit writing under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly he resurfaces with a brand-new book and a one-of-a-kind competition, offering a prize that will change the winner’s life in this absorbing and whimsical novel.

Make a wish. . . .

Lucy Hart knows better than anyone what it’s like to grow up without parents who loved her. In a childhood marked by neglect and loneliness, Lucy found her solace in books, namely the Clock Island series by Jack Masterson. Now a twenty-six-year-old teacher’s aide, she is able to share her love of reading with bright, young students, especially seven-year-old Christopher Lamb, who was left orphaned after the tragic death of his parents. Lucy would give anything to adopt Christopher, but even the idea of becoming a family seems like an impossible dream without proper funds and stability.

But be careful what you wish for. . . .

Just when Lucy is about to give up, Jack Masterson announces he’s finally written a new book. Even better, he’s holding a contest at his home on the real Clock Island, and Lucy is one of the four lucky contestants chosen to compete to win the one and only copy.

For Lucy, the chance of winning the most sought-after book in the world means everything to her and Christopher. But first she must contend with ruthless book collectors, wily opponents, and the distractingly handsome (and grumpy) Hugo Reese, the illustrator of the Clock Island books. Meanwhile, Jack “the Mastermind” Masterson is plotting the ultimate twist ending that could change all their lives forever.

. . . You might just get it.

For all the adult readers who miss the sense of wonder and delight that a good children’s books series can bring… have I got a book for you!

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer is a quest story for kids who believe in wishes… and then grow up. In this sweet, inventive, lovely tale, the reclusive author of the bestselling Clock Island children’s book series announces that he’s written a new book after a six-year gap… but there’s only one copy, and it will be gifted to the person who wins his contest, which is open to only a select few.

Jack chuckled. “The book exists. And there is only one copy of it in the world. I typed it up and hid it away.”

“And you’re seriously going to entrust it to some stranger?”

“No, but I shall whimsically entrust it to some stranger.”

Shades of Willy Wonka, right?

One of author Jack Masterson’s most devoted fans is Lucy Hart, a kindergarten teacher’s aide whose deepest, most heartfelt wish is to adopt Christopher, an orphaned seven-year-old who’s become the light of her life. Reality interferes in the form of finances: Without an apartment of her own, steady income, and a car, Lucy has no chance of getting approved to foster or adopt. Perhaps, the social worker suggests, it would be kinder to tell Christopher that it’s just not going to happen.

Just as Lucy is verging on despair, the news of Jack’s contest breaks. And Lucy has a secret: At age 13, she ran away to Clock Island and met Jack Masterson. Thanks to being able to solve his riddle, she is one of the four people chosen to compete — and if she wins, she’ll own the exclusive rights to his new book, which she can then sell for enough money to make her dreams of a family with Christopher come true.

Without delving too much further into plot details, let me just say that The Wishing Game is heart-warming, enchanting, whimsical, and full of joy. It’s a book for and about adults, but retains the sense of childish wonder that the best children’s books provide. It’s also a gift for those who love and cherish books, and who believe that stories are more than words on a page.

“Why do only brave kids get their wishes granted?” she asked.

“Because only brave children know that wishing is never enough.”

I loved so much about The Wishing Game. The characters are terrific, especially Lucy, Hugo, and Jack. There’s a romantic storyline, but it’s just one part of the whole, and fits well within the overall weave of the tale. Hugo’s artwork sounds amazing, and I wish it were real! Meg Shaffer does a fantastic job of taking fictional works of art — both Hugo’s paintings and Jack’s books — and making them come to life through her vivid descriptions.

The narrative brilliantly weaves together Lucy’s past — especially the very deep childhood wounds she carries — and the future she hopes for, incorporating a child’s wishes and beliefs into the fabric of an adult life. I loved how all the various pieces come together by the end. Realistic? Maybe not, but this is a book about dreams and wishes. It works.

I came to The Wishing Game after reading the author’s more recent novel, The Lost Story. I do still love The Lost Story best, but The Wishing Game is lovely and wonderful in its own special way, and I’m so happy to have made time to read it.