Cozy on the high seas…

About Sea of Charms, book 3 in The Spellshop world

Sarah Beth Durst brings cozy fantasy romance to the high seas in Sea of Charms, the third magical adventure in the New York Times bestselling Spellshop series!

Marin had always belonged on the great blue sea. When the man she thought was the love of her life schemed to ruin her parents’ business, she did what her heart knew best: she fled to the sea.

Now working as a supply runner on her own boat, Marin sails from island to island, delivering a varied array of goods: letters, flour, stories, and even the occasional enchanted statue. It’s a lonely life, but it’s hers. Besides, she’s got the company of Perri the sea serpent and Ree the sailor shrub. They’re the best crew she could ask for.

On one of her routine trips to the capital of the Crescent Islands Empire, Alyssium, Marin finds the city on fire and a revolution underway—so she offers transportation to Dax, a composer friend who refuses to leave behind his instruments. What starts as a rescue evolves into a deal: Marin will keep Dax on as a (temporary) member of her crew if he becomes her pretend boyfriend at the End-of-Harvest Festival back home.

Against her better judgment, Marin finds herself intrigued by his stubbornness, his passion for stories, his charming smile—and realizes that perhaps she isn’t saving him. Maybe it’s the other way around.

Sea of Charms is a cozy fantasy romance about finding your crew, your family, and moreover, finding yourself.

Listen in whatever order your heart desires, but don’t miss The Spellshop and The Enchanted Greenhouse.

The Spellshop books

Cozy Fantasy is one of my go to genres right now. This is in part because of The Spellshop.

The Spellshop follows Kiela and Caz as they try to flee from the start of a brutal revolution in the capital city. The main problem is that…

…well, Kiela is a librarian and the library is on fire. Their story continues on Kiela’s home island as they try to hide the magical books they’ve saved from the fire.

The Enchanted Greenhouse actually starts before the beginning of The Spellshop. In this book we get to learn about what happened to Terlu, the person who cast the spell to bring Caz to life. Her journey continues on an island with magical greenhouses that are failing. Terlu is determined to save the plants, even if it means using illegal magic (so, any magic) to do so.

Sea of Charms is interesting because we aren’t on an island. Rather, Marin sails the sea on her beloved boat Silver, with her best friend Perri the sea serpent. Because this book is set on a boat, Durst has shown much more of the world as Marin and her (eventual) crew of found family bounce between islands. We even get Marin’s perspective of dropping Terlu off at the greenhouse island and a jam filled interaction with Caz and Kiela.

I love that in this new cozy adventure we get to see “behind the scenes” in a way. Some of the mysteries regarding the revolution are addressed, but we also get to see NEW islands. Plural!

You can follow Sarah at SarahBethDurst.com or on (pretty much every) social media: @SarahBethDurst.

Preorders of signed copies are available at BooksOfWonder.com.