Early Review – Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends and Lattes, Book 0.5) by Travis Baldree (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: November 7, 2023
ASIN: B0BQGGVB4K
Stand Alone or Series: Prequel in the Legends and Lattes series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars
“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.”
Series Info/Source: This is a prequel in the Legends and Lattes series. I got an ebook of this through NetGalley to review.
Thoughts: I really enjoyed this a ton. This is a prequel to Legends & Lattes and has the same cozy fantasy feel to it that book has.
This book takes place right after Viv starts working for the mercenary company Rackam’s Ravens and gets badly injured. She ends up having to take time to heal in the quiet beach town of Murk. She finds a strange comfort in the town bookshop, which can barely make ends meet. Surprisingly she realizes that she has some ideas about how to help the proprietor drum up business. However, when a suspicious traveler and a strange bag of bones come into play things get a lot more dangerous than expected.
This book was full of amazing characters and had a well done plot. I enjoyed the day to day of Viv trying to figure out what to do with herself during her convalescence. However, the danger brought into Murk because of the necromancer’s presence made me love the story even more.
The story has a cozy feel to it, with hints of danger as well. It makes you think about your day-to-day life and emphasizes the things that are really important. This was an excellent read and I think I might have enjoyed it even more than “Legends and Lattes”.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this book. It has a cozy fantasy feel to it but also has a good mystery with some danger, action, and magic. I loved getting this peek into Viv’s earlier life and really enjoyed the characters and plot here. I am eager to see what Baldree writes next. I just love this swords and sorcery cozy fantasies that he is writing so much!
