Chungledown Bim reviewed Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (Legends & Lattes, #1)
Review of 'Legends & Lattes' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Cute, cosy, & a lil bit gay. Good stuff.
Audiobook
English language
Published June 16, 2022 by Pan Macmillan.
- ISBN:
- 978-1-0350-0734-9
Copied ISBN!
4 stars
(195 reviews)
High fantasy, low stakes – with a double-shot of coffee.
After decades of adventuring, Viv the orc barbarian is finally hanging up her sword for good. Now she sets her sights on a new dream – for she plans to open the first coffee shop in the city of Thune. Even though no one there knows what coffee actually is.
If Viv wants to put the past behind her, she can’t go it alone. And help might arrive from unexpected quarters. Yet old rivals and new stand in the way of success. And Thune’s shady underbelly could make it all too easy for Viv to take up the blade once more.
But the true reward of the uncharted path is the travellers you meet along the way. Whether bound by ancient magic, delicious pastries or a freshly brewed cup, they may become something deeper than Viv ever could have imagined.
Kevin Guertin reviewed Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (Legends & Lattes, #1)
Review of 'Legends & Lattes' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I really liked this book. It was short and fun to read. It was actually comforting. It made me feel like I was tucked in a corner of a quaint hole-in-the-wall café reading a book even though I was in my living room. And now I want to quit my job and own my own coffee shop!
fjordic reviewed Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (Legends & Lattes, #1)
Review of 'Legends & Lattes' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Lovely
Like a cup of hot tea (or coffee), with a warm fire on a cold day. Well plotted, nice character development, and so kind.
Books That Burn reviewed Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Review of 'Legends & Lattes' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
LEGENDS & LATTES pronounces itself high fantasy with low stakes, and it absolutely delivers. Viv has given up adventuring and now worries about things like building her coffee shop, attracting customers, explaining what coffee is, and other small intricacies of running a business in a new place, doing the everyday work that builds a cozy space for all who enter it peacefully. I love its take on a café cat.
As an orc, Viv deals with some conversational bumps as people tend to assume that the only thing she can be is the profession she’s left behind. Leaving adventuring as suddenly as she did left some hard feelings, and occasionally people from her former life show up whether she’s ready for them or not.
The worldbuilding assumes at least a passing familiarity with a D&D-style setting, and offers a lovely breath of fresh air which is something more exciting than …
LEGENDS & LATTES pronounces itself high fantasy with low stakes, and it absolutely delivers. Viv has given up adventuring and now worries about things like building her coffee shop, attracting customers, explaining what coffee is, and other small intricacies of running a business in a new place, doing the everyday work that builds a cozy space for all who enter it peacefully. I love its take on a café cat.
As an orc, Viv deals with some conversational bumps as people tend to assume that the only thing she can be is the profession she’s left behind. Leaving adventuring as suddenly as she did left some hard feelings, and occasionally people from her former life show up whether she’s ready for them or not.
The worldbuilding assumes at least a passing familiarity with a D&D-style setting, and offers a lovely breath of fresh air which is something more exciting than the life of an NPC and less tumultuous than that of an adventurer… in the form of a former adventurer whose goal now is to build and run a coffee shop. It’s not a trouble-free endeavor, but the logistics are quieter and the problems are solved with tasty treats instead of violence. Sometimes Viv struggles with the temptation her sword offers, for some problems which arise have a more violent solution available to her.
The only thing stopping this from being the metaphorical embodiment of a fuzzy blanket, a requested hug, and curling up with my favorite beverage is a couple instances of ableist language, the kind of thing I routinely note and dock half a star for, but which don’t mar my overall enjoyment of the book.
It begins and ends with the fiddly and interesting process of designing a space for a purpose, full of details about floor plans, furniture, carpentry, and soothing conversations. Viv proceeds from step to step in a soothingly methodical manner, quietly surprised when she succeeds in building a calm and welcoming space, and even more surprised when she gets friends along the way. This is a delight to read and a breath of fresh air.
As an orc, Viv deals with some conversational bumps as people tend to assume that the only thing she can be is the profession she’s left behind. Leaving adventuring as suddenly as she did left some hard feelings, and occasionally people from her former life show up whether she’s ready for them or not.
The worldbuilding assumes at least a passing familiarity with a D&D-style setting, and offers a lovely breath of fresh air which is something more exciting than the life of an NPC and less tumultuous than that of an adventurer… in the form of a former adventurer whose goal now is to build and run a coffee shop. It’s not a trouble-free endeavor, but the logistics are quieter and the problems are solved with tasty treats instead of violence. Sometimes Viv struggles with the temptation her sword offers, for some problems which arise have a more violent solution available to her.
The only thing stopping this from being the metaphorical embodiment of a fuzzy blanket, a requested hug, and curling up with my favorite beverage is a couple instances of ableist language, the kind of thing I routinely note and dock half a star for, but which don’t mar my overall enjoyment of the book.
It begins and ends with the fiddly and interesting process of designing a space for a purpose, full of details about floor plans, furniture, carpentry, and soothing conversations. Viv proceeds from step to step in a soothingly methodical manner, quietly surprised when she succeeds in building a calm and welcoming space, and even more surprised when she gets friends along the way. This is a delight to read and a breath of fresh air.
