The Bookshop and the Barbarian

By: Morgan Stang

Narrated by: Ell Potter

Explore its many rooms, pick something nice off the shelf, and have a little read by the fire at the Cozy Quill Bookshop.

Running from strife in her homeland, Maribella Waters becomes the new owner of the fabled Cozy Quill. After finding squatters on her property, she employs Asteria Helsdottir, a giant, barbarian warrior woman more accustomed to swinging an axe than opening a book. Together, the odd couple must make a success out of the bookshop—and survive a dizzying procession of seasonal festivals.

But the local evil noblewoman has other plans in mind. Threatened with being run off the land, Maribella and Asteria must use their wits to outsmart Lady Malicent and keep their business open. Along the way, the whole town lends a hand, and friendships are forged … along with a few secrets revealed.

The Bookshop and the Barbarian is a low-stakes, comedic, and cozy fantasy with a slice-of-life, sapphic romance. It is about the celebration of books, autumn and winter, community, friendship, and unexpected romance.

©2023 Morgan Stang (P)2025 Blackstone Publishing

cozy, unique story telling

The narriation for this was good! The pace and cadence was well done. The accents were done well as well. The cadence for the barbarian was a little stunted, but I know it was a choice based on the character.

This was such a fun cozy read! Maribella has bought an old bookstore in the town of Leafhaven that has been closed for 20 years. She has a vision for what this shop could be, but must first hire a "murder hobo" (such a great callback to D&D) or an adventurer (commomely known) to help secure the property and keep it that way. Asteria has left her tribe because they are waging war she wants no part of, and while she may not be a fast reader, she is great with a large hammer. She has the best fighting idea of striking others in the face with a table that had me laughing out loud.

The author has such a unique writing style! They are engaging with the reading, in fourth wall breaks, but also has books being read within the books that were well thought out and vividly described. The new friends and townsfolk were colorful and full of personality and stories of their own. I loved the humor laced in here as well as the sweet romance between the two main characters. Overall very low stakes but also quite charming.