Believe the hype! Soft, cozy, and genuinely very sweet. This is the perfect book to cuddle up with on a cold day, in my opinion.

What can I say about Legends & Lattes that hasn’t been said already? I devoured this endearing, cosy fantasy novel in a day — and thank you Tor for including a recipe for Thimblets in this new edition because by the end I was craving baked goods.

Plot:

Viv has left her old life of adventuring and bounty hunting behind to chase her new dream of opening a coffee shop. (Do you remember that musical number from Disney’s Tangled with all the ruffians in the tavern? It’s very much that vibe).

Enter:

Cal — the blunt & generous hob labourer & craftsman
Tandri — the compassionate & driven succubus barista
Thimble — the adorable & talented ratkin baker

… and look at that. That’s a found family if I’ve ever seen one.

(Special mention also goes to Hemington, a student from the local university that spends way too long at the cafe for the amount he spends… as a PhD student with a similar penchant for iced lattes, I feel called out).

If I had to be critical, I’d say that I wish the writing was slightly stronger. There were several points where I felt the writer could have lingered more on the descriptions and/or dialogue. However, this is a retrospective observation, and did not distract from my enjoyment while reading!

This was such a lovely read, and I can’t wait to read whatever Baldree writes next.

A genuinely delightful book about fresh-starts, community, and coffee. I love d&d so that really helped too.

This book is the epitome of cosy fantasy and so so comforting.

The story follows an orc as she hangs up her sword and opens a coffee shop. It’s very much a slice-of-life with low stakes but I was utterly invested in the characters and felt every high and low they experienced. The fantasy elements really elevate the story, making it all the more charming.

Be warned, this book will leave you craving coffee and pastries so make sure you have some in easy reach when reading! 🥐☕️

a big thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An orc has a simple dream- to sell the drink she's tried a few times in a far-off land to creatures in a different place that do not know the aforementioned drink even exists. However, her understanding of how to run this venture as a business is impressively ill-conceived. Armed with only a strange stone she pulled from a creature's head, she chooses an 'ideal' place to enact her idea and everything conveniently falls into place from there. Viv the orc may have renounced her barbarian ways, but she keeps her weaponry within easy reach, now with a garland on it so it can be classed as 'decorative' to anyone who questions it.

It's hard to remain unbiased about this.

To begin kindly, each character gets a nice introduction. Tandri in particular is witty and offers a tonal balance to Viv. It's a shame this waters down as the story progresses but at least it was there to begin with. Right?

Look, I'm probably not the audience for this book. However, I've read it and know there will be many that agree with me, alongside the many that don't. So, I'll continue.

For a book entitled 'Legends & Lattes', it contains few legends or legendary behaviour and quickly ceases to be about coffee. After the set-up, the focus shifts to baked goods. Yes, they pair well with a hot drink but it moves the attention from Viv (owner and coffee enthusiast) onto Thimble (baking genius). As such, Viv is left scurrying around dealing with 'threats' and her whining quickly becomes monotonous.

Thimble's baking is a good example of the oversimplification of the processes undertaken in the book. For example, on only day three of running a business selling a product no one in the area has even heard of, Viv decides that they need to expand to also sell baked goods. It's based solely on passing comments, not any hardship endured or learning process taken.

The book may be described as 'low stakes' but that shouldn't mean middle-grade-level easy. With the occasional swear word removed, this book would comfortably sit alongside any middle-grade or very young YA novel.

While an effort is made to differentiate the characters, the differences are given solely to their physical appearance: one's big, one's small, and one has a tail. In any section of quickly changing dialogue, it was difficult to know who was saying what; every line could logically be said by any of them. Also, their exchanges were perpetually self-centred, always 'here's what I'm feeling and doing' with only fleeting moments of actual interaction.

Still on dialogue, much of it is in the form of indirect speech. This is useful for skipping sections that a reader doesn't need to know or has already learnt but predominantly helps to maintain the pace. Spectacularly, this has indirect speech and is slow-paced. It feels strangely sluggish in a way that's difficult to recognise the source of until considering what most of the writing is:

It's description of building work.

That's it. A lot of building. Thankfully, the book uses an appropriate amount of adjectives so it isn't that that affects the writing. Instead, it's impacted by the extensive explanations of every item that could be conceivably found in the vicinity. For example, chapter fourteen is almost exclusively dedicated to fitting a ceiling fan...

It feels rather like Baldree spent a great deal of his time writing this book sitting in cafes. Perhaps in between chapters, he would look up and the first thing he saw would be the next thing Viv, Tandri and Thimble would do. They add milk to coffee, make dunkable biscuits and create iced versions of the drinks.

As a story, it could (by anyone that isn't me) be argued that it is full of niceties. I'll concede that maybe something is comforting about every conflict being resolved with baking. However, the prosaic writing style is an unavoidable element for me.

Baldree is an audiobook narrator so maybe this is a story that needs to be performed rather than read (trying to end on a positive note).

This was a fun read - reminded me of Terry Pratchetts Discworld humour mixed with an almost World of Warcraft setting. It’s an easy recommend for the weekend!

That warm, cozy feeling you get when you finish a book and realise it to be your new favourite!

Legends & Lattes written by Travis Baldree is an incredibly well written cozy fairytale with charming characters, adorable giant pets and nutty, toasty aroma of coffee. It's a story about a retired orc Viv who decides to open up a coffee shop. She starts from a scratch and has little to no idea how to run a business, but she's ok with it and willing to put her all effort and strength into her brand new endeavour. You see, she has secret, a talisman that should bring her luck.

Along her journey, Viv meets incredible people that help her to open and run her coffee shop. They become her companions, her friends and family. This story is about love and friendship. It teaches that no matter your hardships and past you can change and accomplish good deeds, succeed. That no matter what, sun WILL shine again!

It's been a while since I've read a simple story with such creative writing. Author writes a vivid picture. Every character is unique in its own way. I had no problem whatsoever in imagining every single detail, every single character and creature. To me it's an accomplishment in its own, not even including the plot. I love how easy it is to imagine and immerse myself during my time of reading.

"They called it a cafe. People just sat around drinking it from these little ceramic cups, and I had to try it, and... it was like drinking the feeling of being peaceful."

Viv is a tall, intimidating orc who used to live a life of a warrior. Finally, she decides that it's enough of this harsh life and wants to introduce something completely unfamiliar to people of a town that she decided to live in. Viv feels scared by this new idea of having a business, but she is also determined. She meets incredible people. A builder Cal, succubus Tandri, rattkin Thimble, Viv's cheeky neighbour Laney and a dire-cat Amity. With this whole team of friendships Viv brews her coffee and learns her valuable lessons.

I just loved how easy going and yet so diverse in character building this book was. I loved every single character of Legends & Lattes. This beautiful story definitely deserves a spot on favourites list. I'm so grateful to had a chance to read an arc, thank you!
And for every person that reads this review, I hope you give a chance to Legends & Lattes and love it as much as I did. Definitely recommend!

"What flames could not consume, never shall be extinguished"

When I heard about this book I was super excited as the main themes are about 2 things that I love - Fantasy and Coffee.

This is a Cosy Fantasy, wholesome Slice of life kind of book. Do not expect heavy world-building or an intricate heavily complex plot, this is a book about self-reinvention, found - family, and enjoying the mundane things in life and a good cup of coffee. 

This is set in a Fantasy world (a genre enjoyed by the author), but it could easily be transferred to any contemporary small town.

This is a well-written, light, heartwarming easy read, and I think I finally found someone who loves coffee as much as I do! (my day starts and ends with one 😉)

If you enjoy Fantasy and you are looking for a light, easygoing read during these colder days - you should give this book a try!

Themes approached in this book:

❤️ Slice of life
🧡 Cosy Fantasy
💖 LGBTQ+ representation
💜 2nd chances in life
💙 Found family
☕️ Coffee, Coffee and more coffee!

I just really appreciated everything about this book!

I think it's perfect for this time of the year and I had a copy electronically to read this, but this is the kind of book you need a good chair, a blanket and a mug of something hot to really pull it altogether to perfection to me - I'm buying a physical of this as soon I possibly can.

Cosy, smart and brilliant this book is truly a gem. Brilliant characters with a chill plot that keeps you wanting to know more until the very last page, I really hope we get to revisit these characters in the future as this world is such a wonderful place to visit via the pages of this book. Everything is just so tender? In this book it's just such a joy to read. The romance, the communal spirit that runs through this book, it's just such a pleasure to delve into.

Highly recommend if you like the Wayfarers series for example, this book feels like a little slice of life with wonderful characters that really make this such an amazing book, I totally understand why people love this so much now!

‘You’ve found a very peaceful place here. A special place. You’ve planted something, and now it’s blossoming…A good spot to rest. My thanks to you for letting an old-timer shade under the branches that you’ve grown.’

This has been a super busy month for me so far, so a good cosy fantasy was the perfect thing to get me through it!

Cue Legends & Lattes. It tells the story of Viv, an orc who has grown tired of her life of violence and wants to lay down some roots - to start over again somewhere new with a clean slate. What better way to get out of the game for good, she thinks, than by opening up a coffee shop in a part of the world where no one has heard of coffee before?

So begins a tale of low stakes peril, found family, experimental bards, dire-cats and cinnamon rolls both literal and metaphorical. Viv’s guard slowly comes down as her dream finally begins to take form, but it isn’t ever really about a place - it’s about the people. Legends & Lattes is no different, and I loved the dynamics between her, Tandri, Thimble and Cal and seeing them come together to build something lasting. Reading this book was honestly like a hug and a hot drink in book form and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Legends & Lattes is out now - thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the e-arc!

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 I had to describe this book in one word it would be cosy, it's so herat-warming and loving... The atmosphere warms your heart and wraps you in a blanket of coffee and pastries. It has made me want to go to a coffee shop and sit until closing time reading.
The characters are wonderful, and their evolution smooth and slow. They make you feel at home.
100% recommended for long winter nights or a cold rainy afternoon when you feel like disconnecting from the high fantasy of wars and dragons.

Reconozco que empecé a leer este libro porque llevaba varios meses oyendo hablar de él. La portada americana con una ilustración de las dos protagonistas dejaba claro que estábamos frente a una novela de fantasía, pero no tenía mucha idea de lo que me iba a encontrar.

Es la primera vez que leo una novela que puede ser catalogada como “cosy”. Este término inglés se utiliza normalmente para aquello que da confort y calorcito al corazón. Anecdóticamente este es un término del que debes huir cuando busques una vivienda en el mercado anglosajón ya que se utiliza para describir zulos de manera engañosa. Pero no nos desviemos.

Legends & Lattes sigue la aventura laboral de Viv, una guerrera orca que decide colgar la espada y abrir una cafetería en una ciudad donde nadie sabe qué es el café. En sus primeros pasos, además de encontrar un local que se ajuste a sus necesidades, conoce a la que será su primera empleada: una súcubo. Escoger el diseño del cartel que decora la fachada del local, qué tipos de café ofrecer, qué dulces vender para acompañar la bebida, cómo lidiar con la típica banda que pide un impuesto para “garantizar la seguridad del local”, atender a todos los personajes que entran al local, sea cual sea su raza, o conseguir los ingredientes de ciertas recetas son el día a día de Viv y, por tanto, de esta novela.

Ya veis que aquí no hay batallas ni momentos de tensión. En Legends & Lattes la gente se organiza para ayudarse las unas a las otras, echando una mano ante las complicaciones y haciéndonos partícipes de un lugar fantástico muy alejado de los habituales en el género. Además de una lectura fluida, sin tensión, pero sin momentos aburridos, la novela gana con un número de páginas ajustado (menos de trescientas) e incluye un relato al final donde conocemos mejor el origen que llevó a Viv a conocer el café.

No es el tipo de lectura que suelo priorizar en mi lista de pendientes, pero lo cierto es que he pasado un buen rato. Una lectura calmada para degustar con un café sea el tipo que sea y una manta que te proteja del frío invernal y las amenazas de la vida diaria.

This book is like a hot mug of coffee and a warm cinnamon roll on a blustery autumn day. Simply delicious, heart-warming soul-food.

5 stars and a new favourite!

Wow. As someone who is dreaming/planning to open a bookshop, this cosy fantasy tale of an orc turning her back on force & violence, finding a quiet new life and starting up her own coffee shop... well, it got me right in the feels.

Bits I liked:
- the warmth and diversity of the characters is beautiful, each one clear and so lovable
- the strange juxtaposition of high fantasy characters and themes in this soft, slow world was wonderful
- evocative food and drink descriptions, with cute ways in which the characters invent items that most readers will be familiar with
- the sapphic romance matches the pace of the story, and is gentle & believable
- the writing style is great, and this author is definitely an auto-buy for me now!
- interesting post-story elements (no spoilers here!)
- the highs and lows of dedicating your time to a passion, all the thought Viv puts in and the processes they go through, it all just made me want to open my bookshop even more!

Bits I liked less:
- it's quite short so even though the pace is gentle, quite a lot happens in a short space of time, so sometimes it feels like things happen or are resolved very quickly (or maybe I just really wanted more time in that world!)

I'm really excited to hear that a second book is on the way, set in the same world but with new main characters (and some familiar faces apparently), and this time centered on a bookshop, I believe!

Legends & Lattes is an excellent comfortable read. Whilst set in the forgotten realms, it is not a story of epic heroism or violence or mythology but a simple tale of friendships. It is a tale of misfits finding other misfits and building a unique enterprise they can call theirs.

Viv, the protagonist, wants to leave behind her life as an adventurer to start a coffee cafe, and this desire and change in direction for life leads to her finding friends to help her accomplish this dream.

The book is well-written and well-paced, with good character development.

I would recommend highly recommend this.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan, Tor & Travis Baldree for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book #290 of 2022.

A fantasy classic with a sweet caffeinated twist!

Legends & Lattes is a beautifully unique story based on classic fantasy tomes of adventuring, mercenary work and ultimate powers. The fact that this is based on an Orc Barbarian’s retirement immediately grabbed my attention and then her plan to open a coffee shop (a great love of mine) in a city where no one knows what this bean water is, cemented my desire to read this book.

Travis Baldree has a certain artistry with his wordsmithery that envelops you in a fantasy realm and props you up in a cosy corner with cushions and blankets and presents to you, his story. The whole book read in this way with me feeling as though I was a patron of Viv’s coffee shop, watching the whole book play out in live action!

Travis creates such a wealth of depth to his character set, each with very distinct traits and behaviours. Each of them is explored in a way that makes the reader feel as if they know them and this roots a feeling of love and loss at intervals throughout the story.

The story holds true to its fantasy roots while bringing it into the modern age with an exquisite use of relationships, sustenance peril. The story, to me, ultimately is about finding home, whether that be someone, somewhere and something.

Travis is a master of his craft and I’m desperate for more. It was an absolute pleasure to meet the man himself at MCM Comic Con’s Blogger Brunch. He was an absolute delight to talk to. This was an absolute highlight of my blogging career! Thank you for inviting me along Black Crow team! It was a pleasure to meet you also.

Let Legends & Lattes warm you this autumn season. It’s out now!

“After twenty-two years of adventuring, Viv had reached her limit of blood and mud and bullshit. An orc’s life was strength and violence and a sudden, sharp end - but she’d be damned if she’d let hers finish that way.
It was time for something new.”

If you’d told me a couple of days ago that I’d be recommending a cozy fantasy book to everyone who crosses my path, I doubt I would have believed you. But here we are.

An orc walks away from her old life to open a coffee shop.

“Oh, and hey! What in the eight hells is coffee?”

In a city where almost no one has even heard of “exotic bean water”.

And that’s pretty much the crux of the story, give or take. At face value it sounds kinda cute but nothing I’d expect to be enthusiastically shoving in people’s faces, telling them how much they’ll love it.

Viv’s story felt like a comfort read from very early on and I can easily see this being a go to read when I need some time out.

I adored Viv, Tandri, Hem, Thimble, Pendry and Cal individually but together this diverse group of kindred spirits felt like home (the good kind).

I love that Viv was able to let go of the life that was expected of her and find a bunch of supportive friends who could see beyond her past to who she truly was, friends that encouraged her in her new venture and who had her back.

“If mortal danger threatens us, I promise to hide behind you. Deal?”

While Tandri was my favourite character, I also had a soft spot for Pendry. I enjoyed cheering them on as they gained the confidence to step outside their comfort zone.

I absolutely need a dire-cat in my life.

Favourite no context quote: “Things don’t have to stay as what they started out as”

I’m giving this book however many hm’s it takes to fill five stars and can’t wait to meet more of Thune’s inhabitants in the author’s next book.

In the meantime, I’d like to order a bean water with milk and a heavenly frosted cinnamon pastry please.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, for the opportunity to read this book.

After decades spent adventuring, former orc warrior Viv enters he city of Thune with a witching rod in hand and a wish for a new beginning, for 'something she built up rather than cut down'. The rod leads her to a run-down livery, which she turns into the city's first café with a bit of luck on her side, hard work and new friends.

Baldree's debut was a pure delight to read. It has all the trappings of the fantasy novels I usually devour, but instead of a huge quest, it centers on the same ideals on a smaller scale. It's about building a future, taking a chance on others, standing up for what is right, and finding your place in life.

I'd love to stroll into Legends & Lattes for 'some exotic bean water' and a cinnamon roll, and to hang out with the wonderful cast of characters that make this such a heartwarming book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an an eARC.

Disclaimer: DNF'd. For the most part, the much-lauded Legends & Lattes appears to be precisely what the hype surrounding it advertised - a low-key, LGBT+ friendly, laid-back slice-of-life anti-adventure story - but I was a bit struck by and didn't at all anticipate the simplistic, atonal and bare-bones style and (so far) plot from an adult fantasy title, and I struggled to make it past an unpromisingly structure-less and sparsely detailed beginning to this book. Might suit a specific target audience in search of a straightforward, light-hearted sort of story, and probably perfect as a comfort read for many, but it turned out to be one with no pull for me personally,

That said, thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan, Tor for kindly passing on this ARC!

2022 is the year for cosy fantasy books and I am loving it!

If you're a fan of coffee shop AUs and DnD then this is the book for you. This fun, gentle tale is perfect for cold winter nights. I loved every second of it, and the characters just stood out, challenging the various stereotypes, especially for Viv and Tandri.

Highly recommend if you want something warm to curl up with!