Lighten Your Load

Today we’re bringing you some cozy, magical, uplifting reads. So grab some tea, settle in, and prepare to be spellbound!

CAN’T SPELL TREASON WITHOUT TEA BY REBECCA THORNE

Available for download on Edelweiss know more. LibraryReads votes due by April 1st.

All Reyna and Kianthe want is to open a bookshop that serves tea. Worn wooden floors, plants on every table, firelight drifting between the rafters . . . all complemented by love and good company. Thing is, Reyna works as one of the Queen’s private guards, and Kianthe is the most powerful mage in existence. Leaving their lives isn’t so easy. What follows is a cozy tale of mishaps, mysteries, and a murderous queen throwing the realm’s biggest temper tantrum. In a story brimming with hurt/comfort and quiet fireside conversations, these two women will discover just what they mean to each other . . . and the world.

THE SPELLSHOP BY SARAH BETH DURST

Available for download on Edelweiss here. LibraryReads votes due by June 1st.

Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people, and as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn’t had to. But a revolution is brewing and when the library goes up in flames, she steals whatever books she can and flees to the faraway island where she grew up. The empire with its magic spellbooks has slowly been draining power from the island, and now she’s determined to find a way to make things right. Opening up a spell shop comes with its own risks—the consequence of sharing magic with commoners is death. And as Kiela comes to make a place for herself among the quirky townspeople, she realizes that in order to make a life for herself, she must break down the walls she has kept so high.

THE HAUNTING OF HECATE CAVENDISH BY PAULA BRACKSTON

Available for download on Edelweiss here. LibraryReads votes due by June 1st.

England, 1881. Hereford cathedral stands sentinel over the city, keeping its secrets, holding long forgotten souls in its stony embrace. Hecate Cavendish speeds through the cobbled streets on her bicycle, skirts hitched daringly high, heading for her new life as Assistant Librarian. But this is no ordinary collection of books. The cathedral houses an ancient chained library, wisdom guarded for centuries, mysteries and stories locked onto its worn, humble shelves. The most prized artifact, however, is the medieval world map which hangs next to Hecate’s desk. Little does she know how much the curious people and mythical creatures depicted on it will come to mean to her. Nor does she suspect that there are lost souls waiting for her in the haunted cathedral. Some will become her dearest friends. Some will seek her help in finding peace. Others will put her in great peril, and, as she quickly learns, threaten the lives of everyone she loves.

CAN’T SPELL TREASON WITHOUT TEA by Rebecca Thorne; 9781250333292; 7/23/24
THE SPELLSHOP by Sarah Beth Durst; 9781250333971; 7/9/24
THE HAUNTING OF HECATE CAVENDISH by Paula Brackston; 9781250284020; 7/23/24