Viv, eine wilde und tapfere Ork-Kriegerin, ist nach Jahren voller Abenteuer und Fährnisse des Kämpfens müde geworden. Sehr zum Unwillen ihrer Gefährten beschließt sie, das Schwert an den Nagel zu hängen – und dafür ein Kaffeehaus zu eröffnen. In der Hafenstadt Thune setzt sie zusammen mit dem Hobbit Cal ihren Plan in die Tat um und lockt mit dem exquisiten Getränk schon bald Krieger, Zwerge und Wesen jeglicher Art an ... und leider auch den bösen Elf Fennus, der von Viv ein geheimnisvolles Artefakt stehlen will. Eines Nachts steht das Kaffeehaus in Flammen ... aber auch wenn Viv sich mittlerweile in den Succubus Tandri verliebt hat, ist sie alles andere als eingerostet und nimmt den Kampf auf!
I love coffee, books, and fantasy... so this hit the sweet spot
4 stars
The book about a coffee shop in a fantasy world had the feeling of a coffee shop. Most of the characters were very likable, and just felt like somewhere I would like to visit.
What a joy. This novel is a warm cup of coffee on a rainy day. It's a comfortable shirt with too many holes in it to keep, but which is just too soft to throw out. It's queer coffeshop AU fanfiction for characters you've never heard of before yet immediately feel utterly at home with. Just a fantastic delicious cinnamon roll of a book.
This book did a great job of being relaxed and low-stakes, but still had that special magic where I couldn't wait for the next chapter, and I blew through this in two days. So far as being a chill-out book, it hit the target exactly.
I wish the author had committed to the romance a little more if it was going to be a part of the book, but maybe in the sequel.
Looking forward to the prequel story and prequel novel for a little more world-building.
This is a super cozy book. I have [b:Bookshops & Bonedust|65213543|Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes, #0)|Travis Baldree|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1678122626l/65213543.SY75.jpg|100097047] ready to go on my TBR last as I enjoyed this one so much.
If you are someone that wants a lot of depth, gore, and fighting in your fantasy, this is definitely more of a cozy book. I was on the search for a cozy book, and this hit the spot.
I did find myself somewhat bored by the second half, but it's also an easy read, so it didn't dampen the experience. The last part almost made me cry though, even though it was foreshadowed, I wanted to take action myself, so I definitely bonded with Viv. I want her coffee now.
The world building and dialogue are the most impressive parts of this book. You are truly allowed to escape.
A cozy fantasy about building a coffee shop from the ground up. It's got power creep, a mob, magic; it tickles your senses and calms your nerves. This'll definitely be a re-read.
While I am new to cozy fantasy as a genre, I thoroughly enjoyed the my first taste with Legends and Lattes. While I was on edge waiting for action I am so used to getting in fantasy, I was not disappointed when little came. I found myself wanting to try a hand at baking the treats found in the little cafe from Thune. And I am not known for my cooking nor baking skills. I highly recommend for a relaxing read.
I came to this book knowing that it is described as ‘cosy fantasy’ and there’d be few surprises. I didn’t know what cosy fantasy is but do now. Here, we have light-hearted, but not sexual, romance embedded in a fun slice of life story about Viv, an orc, opening a café (complete with a cook to make cinnamon buns and biscotti) perhaps, or perhaps not, with a little magical help.
The other characters comprise those enlisted to help in the cafe endeavour, as well as a few rogues and the members of DnD-style adventurers’ troupe that Viv previously belonged to. The trouble is there’s just not much here world- or character-building wise, and the book itself is very short. The only person we really learn anything about is Viv, and apart from a few references to height and strength, she might as well be human. One to enjoy on a …
I came to this book knowing that it is described as ‘cosy fantasy’ and there’d be few surprises. I didn’t know what cosy fantasy is but do now. Here, we have light-hearted, but not sexual, romance embedded in a fun slice of life story about Viv, an orc, opening a café (complete with a cook to make cinnamon buns and biscotti) perhaps, or perhaps not, with a little magical help.
The other characters comprise those enlisted to help in the cafe endeavour, as well as a few rogues and the members of DnD-style adventurers’ troupe that Viv previously belonged to. The trouble is there’s just not much here world- or character-building wise, and the book itself is very short. The only person we really learn anything about is Viv, and apart from a few references to height and strength, she might as well be human. One to enjoy on a commute but could only recommend buying if you get a really heavy discount off list price, which thankfully I did. 3.5 stars, but grudgingly, I’ll round it up not down (mostly for the descriptions of the baking).
This was fun to read. Low stakes, comfy vibes. Best to be enjoyed while drinking a hot cup of coffee. Like a good lo-fi song in book form. Don't expect this to be more than it is though, this is comfort reading.
Cozy fantasy novel about good coffee, good food and good friends. I would love to read more about Viv and her quest to make coffee the beverage of choice in this beautifully crafted fantasy world.
A cute story with D&D-style characters. An amusing and quick read, but predictable and forgettable. I'm not quite sure why this made it to Hugo finalist, seems way too weak.
Maybe it's time to accept that fantasy as a whole just isn't for me. I've tried grimdark fantasy, comedic fantasy, folklore fantasy, and even eastern Wuxia fantasy. Apparently cozy coffeshop fantasy (apologies in advance) isn't my cup of tea neither.
It also feels strange to attempt a review here. I feel like I'm being asked how I liked my sandwich when I was only served a single slice of bread. There just wasn't a lot going on here. Well over half of the front end of this book felt like it could have been a montage and I routinely remember thinking to myself, "okay sis, but we're gonna need a plot at some point..." When an inciting incident threatens to occur however, it's resolved almost immediately, and then we're back to trucking along with vignettes of daily life.
Also feel like I was teased with one aspect; our protagonist, Viv, …
Maybe it's time to accept that fantasy as a whole just isn't for me. I've tried grimdark fantasy, comedic fantasy, folklore fantasy, and even eastern Wuxia fantasy. Apparently cozy coffeshop fantasy (apologies in advance) isn't my cup of tea neither.
It also feels strange to attempt a review here. I feel like I'm being asked how I liked my sandwich when I was only served a single slice of bread. There just wasn't a lot going on here. Well over half of the front end of this book felt like it could have been a montage and I routinely remember thinking to myself, "okay sis, but we're gonna need a plot at some point..." When an inciting incident threatens to occur however, it's resolved almost immediately, and then we're back to trucking along with vignettes of daily life.
Also feel like I was teased with one aspect; our protagonist, Viv, is an experienced adventurer who wants to get out of the life before she winds up dead from it. Routinely we are reminded of her physical prowess and skill as a fighter, but we never see it for ourselves beyond the opening paragraphs of the prologue. I know she was making an active effort not to fall back into her old ways, but it still felt like a Chekhov's Gun that I was waiting to go off and it never did.
I don't feel like I came into this with any unrealistic expectations beyond, "low-stakes DnD-esque mystery with lesbians", which is essentially what's here, but I found it to be a very watered-down version of that. This is the literary equivalent of homeopathy.
Unrelated, and this doesn't impact my overall score, but this is one of those books where the last 20 or 30 pages are an excerpt for the next book in the series, but I didn't know that. So here I was physically holding a good-sized stack of pages thinking I had that much plot to work through, and instead met with an unexpected ending. I hate when books do that.