I went into this book expecting to love it, based on how much I had enjoyed reading Legends and Lattes. I was right to be excited! Baldree nails the cosy fantasy genre, bringing more depth of character to Viv and fleshing out her backstory whilst also maintaining enough adventure to keep the reader interested.

As a lover of any books featuring a bookshop, this was always going to be a win for me, and this was a pretty good example of the genre. I'm not generally a lover of anything featuring romance, but what romance there was was never a main feature, so it was enjoyable for me to read.

If you like fantasy, adventure and cosiness, I would recommend this book to you!

A really sweet prequel to Legends & Latte!
It has everything you want : a bookshop by the sea, moving relationships and a hint of tension and mystery.

this was a nice prequel. i enjoyed getting to see viv’s origin story. how she got the sword and her love for books. i liked the characters she met and i loved how it was tied together in the epilogue, set after the end of the first book.
simple, easy-read.

3.5

This prequel kept the same level of cosy as Legends and Lattes which I fell straight back into and I loved the concept of this one and particularly enjoyed seeing Viv’s initial development and the romance she experienced at this part in her life.

I just unfortunately didn’t love this one as much as Legends and Lattes. I struggled with the plot, I just didn’t feel like the darker elements aligned with the cosy atmosphere - maybe I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind at the time but it seems slightly disjointed. I liked both sides of the plots separately but not necessarily together - it was just trying to be ultra cosy while also quite dark at the same time which threw me off.

Saying that I loved all of the characters we were introduced to, they were all so unique and fun, and I especially loved the setting. I still enjoyed my time with this one but as previously mentioned, I think Legends and Lattes is the better novel.

TW: violence, murder, kidnapping, enslavement, blood/gore

The prequel to Legends and Lattes we are following Viv's career with the renowned mercenaries. Rackham's Ravens. After being wounded on a job, Viv is left in a sleepy beach town to recuperate. Fighting boredom Viv finds herself at a failing bookshop will she be able to save the shop and will trouble follow her there?

After loving legends and Lattes I couldn't miss out on this instalment of Viv's adventures. An injured Viv, a bookshop and a cast of weird and wonderful characters gave me cosy, comforting fantasy vibes and I loved it. I both read and listened to the audiobook and loved both media. Having Travis Baldree read the novel was great and his narration is wonderful.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fantastic follow up to Legends and Lattes. It's a prequel so you don't need to have read the first one (but you really should as it's brilliant) but there are references to it that you'd miss.

The plot is lovely and it's like reading a nice warm hug. I just love the authors stories so much.

Fresh off writing the fantasy of being gay and running a coffeeshop, Travis Baldree has decided to write the only thing better than that- being gay and running a bookstore. That’s right, Viv is living is YOUR dream of living in a sleepy seaside town, running a bookstore, and being gay.

Bookshops & Bonedust serves as a prequel to Legends & Lattes, following a younger Viv during her first forays into adventuring. After sustaining an injury, Viv is forced to recuperate in the small seaside town of Murk, where she befriends local bookstore owner Fern. Viv discovers the joy of reading (and the joy of smut) and helps Fern restore her rundown shop back into a thriving community business.

This is every bit as cosy as I though it was going to be, with just enough sprinkles of mystery and drama to keep me engaged. I preferred it to Legends & Lattes, as I think the plot was a little tighter, and I also just love bookstores with my whole soul.

The book is funny and warm, like a slice-of-life anime, with gently profound ruminations on love and life - on knowing what your purpose is, and the bittersweet experience of meeting someone when you know you will leave. It captures the transient nature of some relationships and how they are impactful even when we know they will end.

The cast is full of strong, colourful characters, that rightfully exude the playful energy of a DnD game. Galina the gnome is a personal favourite, with her little knives and spiky hair. Viv herself is familiar in her heart, strength and industriousness, but there is a recklessness of youth about her that sets her apart from her older, more wisened self in Legends and Lattes.

The bookstore plot has the vibe of a cosy time management game. Viv and Fern must sell books to locals, matching each customer with their perfect novel, allowing them to unlock new books, new shelves and new decor for their store.

Cosy, gay and magical, this is if your Baldur’s Gate 3 characters were in Starwdew valley instead of the Underdark.

I was so disappointed with this, I couldn't finish it.

Don't get me wrong, I loved Legends and Lattes, but this prequel was basically the same except with a bookshop. Now I love me a bookshop, but here this followed the same plot as L & L, and to some extent contradicted L & L by having similar things happen that seemed new in the book set later. Surely if this had happened before Viv would have remembered some of it in L & L? So disappointed.

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

A big thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan, Tor for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a prequel to Legends & Lattes so we get to know Viv a little better.

Viv is out on a hunt and gets injured. So bad that she has to take a break from the Rackams Ravens. She is dropped off at a small town called Murk to rest and heal.

While she is resting she is making new friends in the town. She hangs out in the local bookstore, helps the owner and gets introduced to the magic of books.

What is supposed to be a quiet time, taking it easy and mending her injuries is soon forgotten. She soon finds herself in the middle of an adventure with her new friends.


Just like Legends & Lattes, this is a cozy fantasy. I liked it a lot although I loved Legends & Lattes more. I am glad I got to know Viv a little better and I hope there are more books coming out.

This is cute and cosy - I didn't enjoy it quite a much as Legends and Lattes, but it's still a good, comforting read to snuggle up with, alongside a hot drink and sugary snack, of course!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I haven't actually managed to read Legends & Lattes yet so may well be reading these out of order, but I heard such good things about it that I couldn't resist requesting an ARC of this! And I didn't regret it. A good cosy fantasy is hard to find among the darkness and multiple book series, so it's always rewarding to discover one. I really enjoyed the narrative and character development - it probably helps that bookshops and libraries are my weakness, but it's also Baldree's good writing. L&L is definitely moving up my TBR now!

This was better than Legends and lattes in my eyes! A bookshop in a little village, on the brink of closing? Sounds like a hallmark Christmas movies but add magical creatures and a sapphic romance. Loved

This was wonderful. It's hard to top Legends and Lattes, but I don't think it needs to be topped. This was a lovely prequel, showing Viv and a few new characters on a whole new cosy fantasy adventure! I loved the new setting of a bookshop, because in case you hadn't noticed, I love books. The new characters were just as good as the original characters (I would die for Potroast) and it was a story that was just as good as the first.

I feel like this book had more action in it than the last. Though there was some action in Legends and Lattes, this one had a bigger overall story with mystery and adventure and murder. For people looking for something cosy and low stakes like Legends, this book still has those cosy moments, but it does have high stakes. Conversely, for people who liked Legends but thought it could use a bit more action, this one could be perfect for you! I feel like Bookshops added action adventure without losing that lovely cosy vibe that the first book had going for it. It got a good balance between the two.

For anyone asking if the books connect up, they do! Though I don't think you necessarily have to read Legends and Lattes to understand Bookshops and Bonedust, those who've read Legends are rewarded for their efforts! I really think this was the perfect prequel.

Read for bookshops and well bonedust as well as great characters, sapphic love, found family and a sprinkling of action!

Unfortunately this series just isn’t for me. I preferred this to Legends & Lattes but just didn’t captivate me and I had to push my way through to finish it. This is probably just me though as a lot of people have enjoyed it I just needed something a bit more exciting.

A magical cozy fantasy with a perfect vibe as previously known and expected of Travis Baldree. I don’t have too much to say about the book other than the vibes were immaculate and perfect for a rainy day and the characters won over my heart almost instantly! Certainly look forward to more from him in the future!

Bookshops and Bonedust is set in the same universe as Legends and Lattes, but takes place earlier, documenting a period in Viv's life at the start of her adventuring career. While it will I think me a must-read for lovers of the previous book, it can also therefore be read on its own - as I did, having inexcusably not read L&L last year when it made a huge stir.

The story takes place after Viv is injured in one her first battles as one of Rackam's Ravens. Impetuous and hot-heated, she heads for the thick of the fight, is injured, and and invalided out to recuperate in the little seaside town of Murk and, bored silly by the quiet, wanders in to a cluttered little bookshop for some distraction...

Thus we are introduced to the world of fantasy bookselling. I mean, of bookselling in a fantasy world - where a ratkin, Fern and her pet bird-animal, Potroast, are struggling to stay in business at Thistleburr Booksellers - which, by and large, doesn't traffic in ancient evil tomes (though one will turn up eventually). Rather its mainstay is nautical charts and popular fiction (Baldree gives us little glimpses of this). As Viv becomes friends with Fern and Potroast, we see just what a bookseller with a mission can do for an innocent customer - Viv is introduced not only to the delights of sword-swinging pirates, but also to the charms of smut.

It's really fun to see a friendship springing up and as the book proceeds, Viv makes others too. There may be danger, magic and adventure going on in the background - a sinister stranger turns up, there are rumours of a necromantic army and city gate warden Iridia is on high alert and Has Her Eye On Viv - but there are also baked goods to be eaten, books to be read and discussed and flirting to be done. Viv is clearly chaffing to get back to the fight, but also honest enough to admit that she may have found something - or rather someone - pretty good in Murk.

Adventure and danger do, it's true, come to the town in the end and Viv plays her part in defeating it, but I was pleased to see that Viv's success was due as much or more to the friendships she's made as to her fighting prowess (in contrast to the episode at the start where she fails just because she tries to do it all herself).

All in all, a cracking story and I can now understand the excitement around Legends and Lattes. I clearly have some catching up to do...

I kind of wish I'd either read this before Legends & Lattes OR it followed a different main character. Because I already knew what happened to Viv in the end, I didn't feel as invested, HOWEVER, the epilogue was unbelievably cute and made me cry.

Would recommend it to fans of cosy fantasy. Best enjoyed with baked goods.

Cosy fantasy. Wow what a genre. Travis Baldree has excelled within the genre (AGAIN). I could read 50 million worlds written by Baldree and never get tired. As a lover of all things as dark as my soul, cosy fantasy doesn’t often feel too comfortable… Baldree has formulated the true icon of the genre. A brilliant prequel that just keeps on giving. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for honest review.

Not as ‘cosy’ as legends and lattes but still really enjoyed getting to know new characters and have some more background on Viv. It wasn’t as focused as legends and lattes however the prequel was still very enjoyable.

Not my favourite genre, I'm not sure why I requested this when I felt the same about Legends and Lattes in the end. I still didn't particularly warm to Viv and perhaps because I'm not an avid modern fantasy reader, the story goes straight into the world rather than explaining who anyone is or why she was in a battle that causes an injury in the first place. I guess I need more of a plot, more of a reason to read it and higher stakes. I don't think the cosy fantasy genre is for me, sorry.