While my beloved Thimble was not present in this story - or Cal and Tandri - Baldree introduced me to a whole new set of characters to cherish and love. I don't know how this author writes such endearing characters - but I wanted to move to this little sleepy beach town of Murk - and never leave. Well, I lie, I would want to go visit Thune. Often. TL;DR: Legends & Lattes and its standalone prequel, Bookshops & Bonedust, live up to their promise of being novels of “high fantasy and low stakes.” These books are the literary equivalent of a warm hug: simple (but never trite) stories of individuals triumphing over the mundane and heroic that inspire the reader towards kindness at every turn. Beth: Please don’t hate me Nils… but I’m not a fan of Potroast. He’s supposed to be a… a gryphlet? Part dog part… owl? But he seems mostly dog and I’m definitely more a cat person. Despite how many dogs we welcome into my own bookshop, I think cats are far more suited to bookshops than dogs. I really fancied a chilled, comfortable read. This series has been described as being high fantasy, good company, low stakes. This is exactly what I needed. I was so happy to see it pop up in my Kindle yesterday, like a surprise birthday present, but your birthday isn't for six months.

Legends and Lattes and Bookshops and Bonedust, Travis Baldree truly knows the secret recipes for crafting wholesome cozy fantasy novels. This was such a wholesome and sweet book. I was hooked all throughout, I never wanted to put it down. It's the type of story you simultaneously want to devour and want to make last forever. If I could be enveloped in this story for all my days, I would be! It's as simple as that.

Her leg was cleanly wrapped at least, splinted so the knee wouldn’t bend. Her trouser leg had been cut away. The bandages showed some discoloration where she’d oozed through, but it was a big step up from moss and a dirty wool shirt. Bookshop was an exceptional read. We got to see another part of Viv's life, how she got started on her road to the character we know and love. How the friends she made made her. I will admit, seeing "prequel" gave me trepidation because I wanted to move forward from the events that transpired in Baldree's first book. What if I didn't like Viv before she was ready to retire and open a coffee shop? Then there's the elephant in the room - my favorite character is Thimble - so I knew straight away that I wouldn't be seeing him.

Beth:I’d argue she’s not comfortable, by a long way, and the reason she’s getting involved with various things is because she can’t lead a slower paced life like the doctor insists she should! With its mysterious encounters, summer flings and a growing number of skeletons, Baldree’s fantastical novel is the perfect cozy romp."—HuffPost Books Sometimes, right things happen at the wrong time. Sometimes, what we need isn’t what we seek. And sometimes, we find ourselves in the stories we experience together . . . I adored how storytelling was used in this book, I loved how many bibliophiles there were in it. It's very simply a story for those who love books. It's a story about connections and growth and the hopeful yet sorrowful echoes of what is yet to come. It's about finding a home and knowing that you'll have to leave it. It's about having the knowledge that leaving, that closing the book, doesn't mean that the story is over. Endings are not always the end. Your story goes on.But while in Murk, Viv builds a community through her small acts of kindness. She befriends Fern, a rattakin who inherited her father’s slowly dying bookshop, her gryphet Potroas (for whom I would die)t, and a taciturn orc carpenter named Pitts. She also finds something more than friendship with Maylee, the local baker and a former adventurer herself. Readers of Legends & Lattes may also remember the name of Gallina, who appears in Bookshops & Bonedust as a young and somewhat annoying gnome desperate to be taken seriously enough to join a mercenary group. Beth: I was the same, in regards to the hype. I’m always very suspicious of hyped-up books, I’ve been stung too many times in the past. But actually, what made me want to read it despite the hype, was the slice-of-high-fantasy-life cosiness. I’ve been really drawn to that kind of read lately. This book included a whole gaggle of new characters. The only familiar character was Viv, the main character in the series. I absolutely loved all of the side characters. I say side characters but it did feel like there were secondary characters as well as side characters because I really got to know and love them. This prequel is the perfect place for readers to start Baldree’s cozy fantasy series where folks band together for good, and evil is conquered through cleverness and friendship.”—Library Journal, STARRED review