Back of Book: 

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success—not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

Book Number: One 

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance | LGBTQIA+ 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟 

A cozy fantasy tale filled with turning over a new leaf, falling in love, and of course, plenty of coffee shop vibes. 

Viv has had enough of the barbarian lifestyle in which she has always lived. After years of bloody battles and near death experiences, Viv wants a more stable lifes. One in which she runs a coffee shop. With the help of a few unexpected allies, Viv will not only build the cafe of her dreams, but also find a family in her companions. 

"Legends & Lattes" is a book that everyone has been talking about over the last couple of years. I thought that it sounded really cozy and cute, but I wanted to keep my expectations low with this one due to the fact that I didn't know how I'd feel about a fantasy book with really low stakes. I think this approach mostly worked. I didn't love this book with all my heart and it certainly has a few issues, but I had a nice time reading it; it really was a great escape from reality. 

Now, I'll highlight a few of the things I enjoyed about this one. I really like the found family aspect present in this novel. Viv wasn't really the closest with her adventuring party, so seeing her find a home with Tandri, Cal, and Thimble was beautiful. It would be so hard to transfer from a traveling, dangerous lifestyle to one of simple pleasures such as coffee, but I feel that it was done in a realistic, relatable way. I also like how short the segments in this book are. It makes it easy to progress quickly through the book and be satisfied with the bite sized helping this book serves up. 

One thing I was worried about going into this one was that it was going to be boring. I was never exactly bored while reading this one (well, maybe a little bit in the first few chapters while they were building the shop and not many of the characters had been introduced yet), despite the fact that nothing too shocking happened. However, I still feel like there was enough action in the latter half of the book that made it interesting. 

On the flip side, there were many things I didn't love. As I alluded to earlier, the beginning was too slow for my taste. The book was also fairly predictable, most of the problems were instantly solved with little to no brainstorming, and it read a little like "level up your bakery" for a while. These things all take away from this book being a spectacular read, but it makes up for it with the character relations and the cozy vibes. 

Overall, I can't say that I'm in love with "Legends & Lattes" but I did enjoy most of my time with it. It's pretty fifty-fifty for me with things I liked versus thinks I disliked. I'm certainly still willing to check out the prequel and see if that alters my opinion on the series' standing overall. I can see why many people are over the moon about this one, but it didn't sink its claws into me the way it did others. 

Back of Book: 

Short story prequel to Legends & Lattes. It is available in the book Legends & Lattes, second edition.

Book Number: Short Story Prequel

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Short Story 

Review: 🌟🌟

A short story showcasing Viv's bounty hunting days before she became a coffee addict. 

Personally, I really didn't see the point nor the appeal to this short story. We didn't learn anything new about Viv or any of her party members. The only thing this really did was give us a glimpse of Viv's life before "Legends & Lattes," but I think the prequel will also do that, so. . . yeah. 

Overall, this short story was pretty mid. I'm sure if you are a die hard fan of this series, you'd take any content you can get, but for me, this short story just kinda existed. 

Back of Book: 

When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek.

In Bookshops & Bonedust, a prequel to Legends & Lattes, author Travis Baldree takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books.

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.

What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.

Book Number: Two 

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | LGBTQIA+ 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

A cozy fantasy read featuring a dilapidated bookstore, a friendly skeleton, and a familiar orc that's frustrated with the fact that she can't be living out the thrill of a mercenaries life due to a horrendous leg injury. 

Before Viv owned a coffee shop, she was a ruthless mercenary. But even Viv had to start somewhere. . . After a stupid mistake that led to a painful injury at the start of her career, Viv is left in the seaside village of Murk. Bored out of her mind, she stumbles across a bookstore that has certainly seen better days. Not many people visit the store, but at least Fern, the rattakin owner of the shop, livens up the place with her eccentric nature and her colorful language. With nothing better to do, Viv starts to spend much of her time surrounded by books as she awaits for her mercenary band to finish hunting the necromancer that led to her injury. As time passes, Viv begins to think that it may be more likely for the necromancer to find her first. 

I am honestly shook by how much I enjoyed "Bookshops & Bonedust." I felt pretty meh about "Legends & Lattes," so I was beyond surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It literally had me tearing up by the end, but let's back up a minute. I think the things that make this one more appealing to me is the cast of characters, the overarching story plot, and atmosphere of the bookshop. These three things really make this book shine more than "Legends & Lattes" did for me. 

Within a short matter of time, I came to love all the characters in this story. This prequel allowed me to see a more snarky and aggressive side of Viv that was just so much fun. It was great to see a bit of her origin story, and it did a great job of hooking me on her as a protagonist despite not adoring her in the first one. Fern is such a colorful and loud character; it was hard not for me to fall in love with her. Especially with her deep passion for literature and the fact that she literally owns a bookstore. Her pet Potroast rather alarmed me, but I still adore this little rat girl so much. Satchel was such an unexpected addition to this tale, but I enjoyed his eagerness to help out and his semi-oblivious nature. Maylee, the dwarfish baker, was another great addition to the cast with her simple nature and caring heart. And I can't forget Gallina, can I? I must say, I really didn't have any attachment to her in "Legends & Lattes," but she did eventually steal my heart in this one. She's spunky, she's misunderstood, and it's so funny that she likes her novels "moist" (I still can't get over the fact that this is how they refer to smut books). All of these characters really add to the likability factor of this book, and the found family that they paint is priceless. 

The plot in this one was also much less crunchy than in "Legends & Lattes." They may have been trying to repair the bookstore, but it felt much less like they were leveling up in a video game and more like people renovating the place in real life. The necromancer plot line was also really interesting, especially with the ways that Satchel was tied into it. It still has plenty of cozy vibes, but has way more action that kept me wanting to discover what was behind the mysterious elements happening in this book. 

For a book girl like me, there is no place more cozy than an indie bookshop (except for maybe a library. . .). Reading a fantasy book that is set primarily in a bookstore felt very magical, especially with the orcs, gnomes, dwarves, and other fantastical creatures that frequented the locale. This hit much closer to home than the coffee store did, so this was another thing that elevated the story for me. 

The ending of "Bookshops & Bonedust" really touched my heart. It was hard to read about Viv leaving these people that she had grown so close to, despite the fact that I obviously knew that was where it would end up in the long run. But knowing something is going to happen and witnessing it happening are two entirely different things. The bookish sentiment that Fern imparts with Viv also really landed for me, but I won't go anymore into that because spoilers. And the epilogue? Man, did that hit me in the feels. It was fun to see the two stories collide in such a wholesome way. It also got me thinking about how the people we meet briefly in our lives can have such a longstanding impact on us. Even after all that time, Fern held a special place in her heart for Viv. I desperately need a third book in this series that takes place after "Legends & Lattes" but brings the characters from "Bookshops & Bonedust" into play again. I cannot imagine anything more cozy than a coffee shop residing right next to a bookstore. Sounds bad for my wallet. . . I have really come to appreciate Viv and her friends, so it would be great to get more of all of them. 

Overall, "Bookshops & Bonedust" knocked my expectations out of the park. I love the characters, the plot, the fantasy vibes, the bookish setting, the writing, as well as the things it made me ponder about life. This book made reading "Legends & Lattes" worth reading, due to the fact it wouldn't have impacted me as much if I hadn't read the initial story. This story will hold a special place in my heart, and I know that there are several moments I will think about for a very long time. If you read "Legends & Lattes" and didn't love it, I beg of you to at least consider giving this one a chance. I'm so glad that I did. I also have my fingers crossed for a book three! 

Back of Book: 

Return to the cozy fantasy world of the #1 New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes series with a new adventure featuring fan-favorite, foul-mouthed bookseller Fern. 

Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend’s coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!

If only things were so simple…

It turns out that fixing your life isn’t a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.

A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior surviving on inertia, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.

As together they fend off a rogue’s gallery of ne’er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when there isn’t a job to get in the way. 

Book Number: Three 

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | LGBTQIA+ 

Review: ?