This was so wonderful - maybe the best prequel I've ever read, it adds so much to the text while standing alone perfectly well. It's almost too cosy and adorable; I think it shares the edge of overdoing it, but I don't mean that negatively. Books that you can climb into like a warm blanket are too rare and so necessary, I won't lament that this is a fuzzy duvet of a novel. Would like to add an extra 5 stars just for Potroast, honestly.

Once again Travis has smashed it out of the park with this. We get to see a younger viv. A more restless viv but we still see the side of her that we met in Legends and Lattes!! The side characters in bookshops and bonedust are all just adorable!! More fleshed out than in his previous book and it was great spending time with them. The teaser at the end was so mean but I just cannot rave about this enough !!! It's wholesome and cosy and everything i needed

I think I prefer Legends and Latte's, but still really enjoyed this installment. I adore the little world and the characters Baldree has created in these books.

One of the things I'd wanted at the end of book one was a little more backstory, and this delivered it in the best possible way.

If you enjoyed the first book, you'll love Bookshops and Bonedust.

As predicted, this was an absolutely smashing prequel to Legends & Lattes! A bit different, not as cozy as Legends, more cozy adjacent with a meatier plot but in a very good way. Loved all the new characters especially Potroast! I really look forward to seeing what Baldree comes out with next, fingers crossed for something more in this world 🤞🏼

Seriously just read this, I absolutely loved this, like just honestly read it, like there’s not much more I can say except that I am going to be recommending this book to any of my friends who are looking for a new read once it’s published.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this ebook.
I read this in a very short space of time. I loved the pace, the syntax, the cool created other world. I .love everything about it. It’s a beautiful, fun, fantasy romp. The characters are deep and delicious. I can find no faults. It’s gorgeous. After finishing it, I went straight to Amazon and bought Legends and Lattes, I finished it this evening and am bereft.
Please Travis, can we have another one soon?
A million stars. ( or 5 seeing as now it’s NetGalley)

Brilliant, enjoyable fantasy. Lapped it up within a day. The characters come to life with all the troubles and joys of real life in a believable fantasy setting.. Each one slots together and perfectly fits into the story. The story is easy read, but was intricate enough to keep me entertained.. Witty banter to keep plucking my ‘funny bone’. And an ending that maybe needs some hankies close by. (On that note I didn’t realise this was a prequel to another Travis Baldree book which I had previously read; so when you have accepted my recommendation, finished this book and enjoyed it so so much, go and find ‘Legends and Lattes’ too. As it is equally entertaining.) Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Bookshops & Bonedust' by Travis Baldree.

'Bookshops & Bonedust' is the prequel to Travis Baldree's previous and well known novel: 'Legends & Lattes'
I'll be honest, I loved it to start and I fell in love but as the story progressed it just didn't work for me. No idea why but it was gutting when I realised I wasn't into the story as much as I was to begin with.

I am so glad I read this as the prequel first and can read Lattes & Legends straight away! Really looking forward to it!

A great story with lots of feelings and complications :-)

It’s no secret I adored Legends & Lattes, and my expectations for this book were definitely set high! Luckily, they were met! This book has slightly more action while still managing to maintain the cosy feel that I was hoping for. It also has books within books, great friendships and learning to support others, which I love.

The friendship between Viv and Fern is so lovely, but also all the other characters too - from Brand to Satchel, there’s lots of different aspects to friendship which is wonderful to see. And the relationship with Viv and Maylee is adorable, if bittersweet from the start. But that’s what I love about it. I think it’s unusual to see a relationship you know won’t last or for one to be dealt with realistically on mismatched feelings. It felt incredibly realistic and very well handled.

The mystery/magic aspects worked pretty well for me too, they’re not necessarily as strong, but they’re also really a side plot while we get to see Viv learn what it means to have a team around you and how to relax and listen to what you may want in life. So I. That sense they’re perfect.

I also laughed so hard at the books Fern gave Viv and how she got on with them! I want to read some of them, they sounded hilarious. And the spicy ones made me giggle at how it was all handled. So brilliant! So many lovely shoutouts to bookworms and bookshops here, from signings to book blind dates, it was lovely to see.

Honestly such a fun and cosy fantasy, exactly what I wanted. 5 stars.

This is really a book about books. About discovering the joy of reading, but also about suggesting just the right book to a friend at just the right moment. Which is pretty apt, as it was a recommendation for Legends & Lattes which pretty much single-handedly got me back into reading regularly again.

I adored the first book, and the growing relationship between Viv and Tandri, so I went into this prequel with some trepidation. Given the timeline, this couldn’t really be the same kind of story, and I wasn’t sure that young Viv on her own would be quite as endearing as the collection of coffeeshop regulars.

I needn’t have worried. Viv as we first meet her, is a headstrong and arrogant sellsword, just starting out in the business of crushing skulls. Soon after, she needs to take an extended break at a quiet seaside town, very much against her will. Boredom eventually drives her out of her comfort zone, and into a run-down bookshop, owned by a notably foul-mouthed rattkin called Fern.

There is much more to the story than just hitting the same beats, of course, but eventually there is a cast of delightful characters in orbit around the shop, and it plays artfully with similar tropes about working in retail.

There are slightly bigger stakes this time round, and as a result things feel slightly less cozy overall. It is also more of a summer fling, than an epic romance. Despite those differences, if you enjoyed Legends & Lattes, I am certain you will enjoy this too. And I promise you will die for Potroast.

Thanks to Pan Macmillan for providing me with an early copy for review.

I have not read 'Legends and Lattes' yet, so I had no preconceptions about characters, world building, or the author's style of writing.

Our main character, Viv, is a young orc with Rackam's Ravens, a company of infamous mercenaries currently hunting Varine the Pale, an evil necromancer. Viv is happy with what she does for a living. Life seems good, but then she's injured in battle and has to stay behind in a sleepy town called Murk while her wound heals. Needless to say, she's a very impatient patient!

Viv makes friends with some local characters, in particular the sweary bookseller, and spends a lot of time in her bookshop suggesting improvements. I loved Fern: she knows the people and what suitable reading material she has, and encourages them to meet.

Viv's romantic relationship in Murk is sweet and innocent and, to begin with, there are times when you really want to give Viv a shove and tell her to get on with it... For me, two characters steal the show - Potroast and Satchel. I'm not going to spoil anything for any reader, but these guys are fantastic. I want stories about them, pretty please, Mr Baldree.

This is an excellent cosy tale, full of love and feeling, but you know the adventure will go sour at some point. It wouldn't be an adventure otherwise, would it? I really enjoyed this easy-to-read prequel, and it's the first book since my favourite author, Harmon Cooper's 'Sacred Cat Island' that has filled my heart with friendship, warmth, magic, and general 'fuzziness'. Funnily enough, Travis Baldree narrated that particular story. It was clearly fated for me to read this!

I chose an ARC of this work, which I voluntarily and honestly read and reviewed. All opinions are my own. My thanks to the publishers, NetGalley, and the author.

thank you to netgalley for providing me with a copy of this in return for an honest review!

I read legends and lattes and I did enjoy it, but I only gave it 3.75 as it didn’t really feel memorable. It was cute and cosy but I felt as though not much happened in the plot that made me LOVE it, if you get what I mean? however, I didn’t have that problem with this.

It was so cool to read about vivs life before she decided to settle down and open legends and lattes, because you hear brief mentions of her time on the road as a mercenary but you never really get much detail- so it was super fun to hear the before. learning about all the chaos and journeys and injuries she had to go through really felt like getting to know the character better and it provided the depth that I felt was missing from the first book. I think the author did really well in balancing a cosy fantasy with enough drama and plot to keep you interested. It’s hard with cosy fantasies to have an engaging, dramatic plot that doesn’t ruin the cool cosy vibe, but it was done so well here!

as someone who reads high fantasy / heartbreaking romance, it was so nice to take a step away and just read about this cool little creatures falling in love with books and coming together as a community to help each other out. I think I have a new thing for reading books about other people who like to read books, it’s like you connect with the characters even more than you usually do- which I loved. I thought the world building was so great, I really did feel like I was in the little run down bookshop helping fix it up together with the rest of the bunch- so if you’re looking for a book that helps you escape life for a little while, then definitely check this out.

ALSO THE ENDING? was so perfect. flashing back forward to legends and letters, seeing the characters all come together and perhaps a hint at another book where the two are combined? I was so excited and super happy. It was really cool to see the old viv almost interact with the new viv in a way when their lives crossed paths again. I’m super excited to see where this is heading and if a third book gets released, I will definitely be reading it.

Baldree is a clever author, leaning in to gentle fiction with a core of kindness in fantasy is inspired.

A prequel to the original cozy-core novel, this little nugget is just as accomplished. Would I rather have had a continuation of book 1, sure, but this is just as delightful and fulfilling.

Oh, what an absolute delight!

I'm a huge fan of Legends & Lattes, so of course I was thrilled to hear that we were getting a prequel documenting some of Viv's adventures before she gets set up in Thune. Baldree manages to recapture everything that made L&L such a delight - the cozy settings, the wonderful characters, soft romance, and humour with a dash of peril.

If you loved the first book, you'll adore Bookshops & Bonedust!

When I started the prequel to legends and lattes I had no idea what to expect. Since I knew it was based on Viv’s days as a mercenary I think I was expecting a more “traditional” fantasy book, with the usual battles and whatnot. But I was so happy to be wrong! Bookshops and bonedust is just as beautifully emotional as legends and lattes, with a different but no less diverse and loveable cast of characters. As the title suggests, books are at the heart of this novel, which I adored. Travis captured the magical atmosphere of legends and lattes and replicated it, and I’m amazed that he managed to pull it off again. All the characters are fabulous, especially Potroast of course! Travis joins Klune as a master of cosy fantasy; bookshops and bonedust feels like home. What a wonderful book. I can’t wait for more!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to netgalley for the eARC in return for an honest review.

Viv is recuperating in the quiet beach town of Murk after an injury whilst fighting to find a necromancer with Rackham’s Ravens. She is bored and nothing much happens in this small town or so she thinks.

To pass the time she helps out at a struggling secondhand bookshop owned by Fern, a rattkin and her pet gryphet, Potroast. But Murk has secrets and a dubious grey cloaked visitor lurking who along with an officious gnome and the whiff of romance perhaps she won’t be as bored as she expected.

Another beautifully evocative cosy fantasy set 20yrs before Legends & Lattes, this is Viv at the start of her barbarian journey worrying she’s blown it before she got started. It is found family, dusty books, friendship, surprising connections, the love of stories and mouth watering baked goods.

Sometimes life makes us stop and find what we were running around looking for and this is what happens to Viv. Her realisation of who she is through her newfound love of stories is wonderful. It reminded me of when I first picked up a book to read myself, that immersive feeling of plunging into the action, the thrill, the adventure.

The friendships are just as delightful, the pace like a hot bath on a cold day. This is a luxurious stroll through a world warm and familiar.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC to read and review. I will review on social media and Amazon/Waterstones nearer the publishing date.

Oh, the absolute delight of a scrungly sea-side town and a dusty old bookshop!

If I haven't already recommended Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree to you yet, I must have lost my voice that day or something, possibly because I was screaming about this prequel.

Bookshops and Bonedust is, to me, perfect. It has all the cozy charm of Legends and Lattes with a whole new cast of characters. There's the cutest little foul-mouthed bookshop owner and their discerning pet (who is my favourite pet in the whole world), the rascally wanna-be adventurer ready to bonk you on the head (after she's climbed up a ladder to reach it), and the buff-armed baker who will absolutely seduce you with muffins (and other baked goods).
And of course, there's Liv. Adventure-driven warrior orc who does Not want to be stuck waiting in a sea-side town. Especially when her instructions are to "rest". What even is that? How is a fighter supposed to do that?

I cannot express how much I enjoyed this book. I was giggling, I made muffins, I keep telling people about it even though it's not going to be in my local bookshop for ages. I don't care. I loved it. You will too. Learn some of Liv's origins, and have a really happy gay time while you're doing so!! I cannot wait for it to be released so everyone can get wrapped up in its comforting goodness.
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I actually screamed a little bit when I got my hands on this book. After loving Legends and Lattes I was desperate to get more of the gentle fantasy, with wonderful characters and all the found family vibes. And this did not disappoint.

Prequels are always something I approach with caution, is the author going to rewrite history, is it going to be believable for the character? This was prequels done perfectly.

The epilogue. I have no words. Can that be the next book please?

If you loved books, baking, bones or big swords this is the book for you.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC of the book

I was so excited to read this and once again Travis didn't disappoint! I enjoyed the plot if viv having to take her break from adventuring, I LOVE potroast and would die for him.
It once again reminds me of a dungeons and dragons adventure, with less shenanigans.