Fans of cozy fantasy can make their jubilant return to the whimsical, comforting world of Sarah Beth Durst's The Spellshop via its romantic, joyful companion novel, The Enchanted Greenhouse.
Terlu breaks a law against common folk practicing magic and gives a spider plant sentience so she can have a friend at her lonely job at the Great Library of Alyssium. A judge sentences her to be transformed into a wooden statue as punishment. Six years later, she awakens in living form on an island housing a vast network of greenhouses that are inhabited by a winged cat, room after room of enchanted flora, and Yarrow, a handsome, grouchy gardener who looks at Terlu "as if she were a wish he'd been granted." The greenhouse collective is a magical wonderland, but after the death of its creator, it is failing. Yarrow's call for help got him Terlu and a spell to free her, which mystifies her, since he clearly needs a sorcerer. Terlu, who falls for Yarrow, becomes determined to save his home and its inhabitants even if it means breaking the law all over again.
Durst fills her setting with trappings fantastical and adorable. Watching as lonely Terlu finds the companionship she needs and works out the mystery of the greenhouses' failure will delight readers looking for both character growth and fantasy elements. Familiarity with the series isn't necessary to enjoy this stand-alone installment, but readers of The Spellshop who remember Terlu as a statue may find extra satisfaction in her story. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads