Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea is a captivating tale full of magic, books and tea. It’s well-written and has likeable characters and a storyline that keeps the reader interested. This book is advertised as a cosy fantasy and often compared to Legends and Lattes, but I found this hard to agree with. Rebecca Thorne’s novel is instead an original blend of cosy and high stakes. While the characters crave peace and quiet, they are often forced to abandon their bookshop and face their past and other duties. This creates a contrast between cosy scenes and those full of action, which some readers might find annoying. For me, this only stressed the comfort of returning home. Also, I enjoyed reading a different kind of romance subplot from the usual new lovers slow burn, as Reyna and Kianthe have been a couple for a while but never had enough time for each other. Living and working together is a big step for them, and it was refreshing to see their relationship.

To sum up, I recommend this book to all fantasy fans but keep in mind that it’s not exactly what you would expect from cosy fantasy.

I’ve only just started to discover cosy fantasies, but there is something about them that I just love! This book was like a warm hug that I just settled into and enjoyed from start to finish.

I really think a lot of the negative reviews stem from people not knowing what they were going into with a cosy fantasy - it’s not a fast paced adventure from start to finish. A lot of page time is dedicated to building, renovating, innovating baked goods, describing teas and just the day-to-day simple mundane little beauties of life.

I also absolutely get why there were so many comparisons to Legends and Lattes. They are absolutely similar reads but for me they also felt different enough that I didn’t find myself compelled to compare. This definitely has higher stakes than Legends and Lattes - which I thought was a really interesting twist personally! (I wonder if this has also contributed to some of the negative reviews though as high stakes and cosy fantasy don’t usually go hand in hand…)

I do absolutely agree with a lot of the negative commentary around the main relationship though. They completely read as a couple still in the beginning/honeymoon phase of their relationship. To me, that made sense though as while they have been in a relationship for a long time, the majority of that has been apart from each other with only stolen moments together. So in many ways they are still in the beginning stages of their relationship - plus it’s their first time living together! I liked them as a couple but to each their own!

Overall, I really enjoyed this. Is it a literary masterpieces? No. Is it a fun, cosy read that I enjoyed without having to utilise my brain? Yes. Will I be reading the next installment? Probably.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC

I've had a pleasure of reading yet another cozy fantasy lately. Can't spell treason without tea by Rebecca Thorne was on my TBR for a long time, in the version with the old cover. As I love cozy stories, I was happy to see it on Netgalley and decided to try it.

In the story we follow a sapphic relationship of two pretty distinct characters. It's really similar to Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree, with a plot where characters that had lead pretty dangerous lives decide to settle down.

In the beginning, I've found something in the writing style jarring, though I can't really put my finger on what it was. I've just had a hard time with getting fully invested in the story. After getting used to it, I've enjoyed it quite a lot!

There was some action, more than I've anticipated by the premise, and the growth of characters, which I always enjoy. The relationship between the main characters seems pretty realistic, with each of them having some insecurities. I've really liked the approach to communication between them!

Overall, I'm really glad I've read it, it was fun. I won't remember a lot of the plot some months in the future, but I'll remember it as a good time.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for granting me access to an e-arc.

Sweet and sincere, with a lot more mortal peril than appearances suggest. Very easy quick read, very open prose. It's always nice to have more sapphic fantasy and I expect a lot of our customers will come back to this as a comfort read in the future

“Run away with me. You like tea. I like books. Care to open a shop and forget the world?”

This has a similar vibe to Legends & Lattes but with more focus on the fantasy, which I actually really enjoyed. More dragons, more danger, more fun!

Reyna and Kianthe’s relationship is so sweet and I liked the character development for those who seemed to be quite shady at first (mainly Diane Feo and Lord Wylan).

A story centred around two of my favourite things: books and tea will always be a cosy enjoyable read for me. This is a perfect read for any cosy fantasy fans, or those wanting to but not sure where to get started.

I was slightly concerned towards the end when it seemed like the story wasn’t wrapping up, but it looks like we’re in for a sequel and I will be adding that straight to my tbr!

I really enjoyed this it’s my first cosy murder and definitely want be my last.
Loved the character the plot and the cover was beautiful. Full review on good reads & Amazon

"You like tea. I like books. Let's open a shop somewhere remote and forget the world exists."

Reyna is a member of the royal guard, protecting the cruel Queen Tilaine from the plethora of assassins who want her dead. But after being wounded once again without so much as a thank you from the Queen, she decides to commit treason and abandon her post. Waiting for her is the Acandor, the most powerful mage in the land, Kianthe, who also happens to be her secret girlfriend.

Together the two set up in a small town, where they open a bookstore that also specialises in serving teas from near and far. There are a few hurdles to clear but nothing the two can't handle. But, will the Queen's spies find Reyna before she gets to live the life she's dreamed of?

This book was a little disappointing. After 'Legends and Lattes' and 'Bookshops and Bonedust' I really thought I'd like to read more cosy fantasy. The problem is this book is almost a carbon copy of Travis Baldree's books, taking both his plots and making them into one book. Just, instead of coffee it's tea. Even the author, in her acknowledgements, says she took direct inspiration from Baldree's stories. There's nothing inherently wrong with that but the plots are so similar and I read 'L&L' and 'B&B' too recently to appreciate this.

I feel like the author needed to spend more time making this story her own. I also found the writing style odd. We have access to some really random thoughts from each of the two main characters, which I think could have been finessed better. I think this is supposed to make it quirky but I found it jarring and distracting. There is also not much plot or at least, the conflict could have been much more high-stakes. I was never worried for the main characters. It felt like the story was a 'this happened, then this happened, and then this happened' kind.

This book had so much potential and maybe I expected too much based on the hype it got on social media. 'L&L' and 'B&B' gave me warm and fuzzy feelings because the characters have real depth and the stakes are higher, which builds the tension. I just didn't get that from this book.

I do hope the author keeps writing because it seems like the sequel may be more of an original story than this one.

This book was literally perfect to read while curling up with a cuppa. I really enjoyed this cozy fantasy. The main characters, Reyna and Kianthe were adorable and great to follow along with. I loved how they played off of each other, their entire dynamic just demonstrated a deep connection and a loving relationship.

Their journey from lifelong career to owning a tea-serving bookshop was admirable. The subplots surrounding their journey kept me hooked. All of the banter and puns were great. The side characters, friends they met along their journey were all delightful in their own ways - making want to read more with them involved.

Overall, I just loved the vibes of this book, it made me feel warm. It was cute. It had dragons. It had drama and self-worth struggles.

This was a perfectly lovely fantasy novel, where the Mage of the Ages and a ex-palace guard set up a tea and book shop! If you're looking for a gentle examination of small-town friendships but with a little more drama and action than you would perhaps expect from a cosy fantasy, I would highly recommend this to you.
For me, it was a little lackluster in the end, but I can't really complain because I was well aware going into it that there wouldn't be so many highstakes moments.

Nope, this just wasn't for me, sadly.

I DNF'd this after a few more chapters having got as far as I could with the audiobook and trying to read instead, in case it was the narration that was preventing me from engaging with the characters as much as I'd like, but the dialogue just didn't sit right with me even in my own head.

So here's the review I wrote for the audiobook version, it still stands unfortunately.
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Unfortunately DNF'd this audiobook after struggling through a third of it (speeding it up after a bit to try and get through).

I loved Travis Baldree's Legends and Lattes books, and I experienced them through Travis' own narration which was fantastic, so thought I'd love this book, which I think was inspired by those books, but it just didn't hit. The characters felt very young, highly strung and overly dramatic, especially the way they were read, there was such an intensity to all of their feelings and how amazed they were to have each other, how desperately supportive they were to each other, hopelessly attracted to the other, and how we were told that all the time. It didn't help that the narrator was American, but used strange semi-British accents for most of the characters up until the point I stopped listening. Thinking about them, I'm not sure how I listened so long, they really stopped me hearing the story.

It's hard to say how much I was put off by the narration, and how much I just didn't connect with the characters because of how they were written and their dialogue, that seemed to be at the forefront for me so that I kept missing any plot that might have been happening.

I'm going to give the book itself another go in written form, just to see if it was the narration that prevented me from connecting with it, but I'm not sure about this one. I know there's an inbuilt customer base in saying this book is perfect for fans of Legends and Lattes, and it's great that Travis Baldree's work inspires other authors to write similar for us newly-awakened cosy fantasy fans, but I haven't felt all that cosy reading this, I haven't been warmed by the characters or their surroundings, so the direct comparison to Legends started to harm rather than help the book for me, especially because I started to feel like the tea shop was chosen because the coffee shop idea had been taken, and done so well.

Anyway, we'll see if the ebook version helps me out.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love these 2 women who love each other and communicate so well with each other, and the environment is so refreshing!! I need book 2!

I didn't really know what cozy fantasy was, but I'm all up for sapphic fantasy all day every day, so I requested it on NetGalley. And now that I've read it, I keep thinking: "Where have you been in my life????" This book can be summarized as: "We just want to drink tea and read, and love each other, far away from backstabbing people, and we'll skewer you if you jeopardize our dreams and our lives" and I LOVED IT!!!!

Kianthe isn't familiar with socializing. She had spent her life training to harness her magic until she unexpectedly became the most powerful mage in their world which comes with some consequences. Everyone wants something from her, and everyone wants what she has. And of course, she's connected to the Stone that is only harnessed by the most powerful mage, which summons her when something devastating happens, summons she can't and doesn't want to ignore.

Reyna has worked as the Queen's guard for a long time. With the Queen being as horrible as she is, Reyna felt suffocated. When she meets Kianthe, she finds not only love but hope, hope that she can be happy, too. She's strategic and smart but also a social butterfly who makes people open up to her. I find that quality quite refreshing because many fictional bodyguards are the broody type.

I loved both characters very much as individuals and as a pair. I loved how well they communicated because let's be honest, there are so many plots and stories where everything would be solved if they just talked to each other and I'm so tired of those. This book was refreshing in this aspect,too, because our main couple talked to each other. They have this thing when they ask each other "What are you thinking?" and the other person needs to answer honestly uninterrupted. They have so much respect and love for each other!!! I also loved how they're embraced their differences. Reyna is the organizing type, while Kianthe is a chaos. This is #RelationshipGoals.

Like I said before, I don't know much about cozy fantasy, but for me, the combination of a cozy setting, in this case a bookstore with tea in a small village, and fantasy elements was perfect. Perfectly cozy and magical, at least for my taste. The plot was well-paced, too, with cozy times and magical times and some revelations, as well. It ended with a clear resolution and some peeks into book 2. In my opinion, it ended well as a standalone that sets up the ground for book 2. We do have something unresolved, but that's why we have book 2 lmao.

I didn't know what to expect from this book. I wasn't even sure if I'd like it because it's far away from what I usually read. I went in for the sapphic romance, and I earned so much more, including a m/m side romance with some angry flirting!! I really liked this book and these characters. Can't wait for book 2! I'm so endeared by these characters 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

4.5 stars

A cosy, sapphic escape into a fantasy world with mages, dragons and griffons - oh my!

When I told friends that I was reading a 'cosy fantasy' they all gave me glazed, confused looks. I couldn't blame them, as up until I joined BookTok, I'd never heard of cosy literature of any kind. This was my first foray into a cosy fantasy, and I'm so grateful to have received this as an ARC from Pan MacMillan through NetGalley.

The story follows Queensguard Reyna and her all-powerful Mage girlfriend, Kianthe as they flee their respective responsibilities to open up a bookshop that also serves tea and baked goods. It all sounds perfect until they realise the town they've set up in is plagued by political division and dragon attacks and that neither of them can outrun their responsibilities forever. The two women don't allow this to dampen their spirits though, as they go about making friends with all of the locals and creating a beautiful shop that becomes the social hub of the small town.

I particularly enjoyed the characterisation in this novel, with each person in the wide cast feeling whole and complete. I've seen other reviews that mention that it shouldn't be labelled as a cosy fantasy but for me, all of the high-stakes plotlines were mitigated knowing that this was the genre. I was always confident that things would work out okay for Reyna and Kianthe, even when the situation seemed dire, which is not the expectation I would have with a typical fantasy.

One thing that did annoy me was in the 'one shot' at the end of the novel, we're told how to pronounce Kianthe's name as 'Key-an-th' when I'd spent the entire book reading it as 'Key-an-thuh', so I wish this pronunciation had been earlier on in the novel!

Overall, a lovely read, and I can't wait for the next one.

This book has been marketed so well. I felt like inhad no choice but to get it. I absolutely love cosy fantasy simply because it's so nice to just settle and read about someone fulfilling a dream in a relaxed manner.

I felt this book was not cosy. I really enjoyed the writing, the plot, the characters and the twists as it was a great fantasy but no. It's not cosy?

I really tried with this book, it just wasn’t for me . Some of the phrasing was a bit cringy but that’s fine sometimes it’s ok in some story’s .

It just didn’t grip me and annoyed me . I did not finish this book as it was just not engaging with me.

I do however think lots of people will like it.

Wish I had liked the writing style it seemed like a good cost adventure

This book was just so cute. The author themselves admits it was inspired by Legends and Lattes, which I also enjoyed and it does have the same vibes, with slightly more action. It’s a nice gentle fantasy romance where the main characters start out together running away to run a tea and book shop in a political no-man’s land.

It was quite enjoyable and gently meandered along. I won’t say it was gripping, but it was certainly cosy and made me smile,

3.5 stars⭐️

I did enjoy this book, it was quite an easy read and the world building was simple to understand. I am realling interested in the world with dragons and griffins. I also loved the elemental magic but also how rare a mage was it made it feel all the more magical. The bookshop sounded so cosy and i wanted to so badly curl up and read there. The story was gripping enough to keep me interested but it was a clunky at times. The relationship between the two FMC’s was great. I loved the cheesy jokes between them.

However i did struggle a bit with the fact that everything just seemed to go their way quite easily i would have liked there to be more hurdles. I also struggled with it alread being an established relationship given that there was nothing to really challenge that relationship or make me feel the chemistry or how deep their love was. The ending did make me happy though. I also do not feel it fits a cosy fantasy because very little was cosy and a lot was high stakes. I would have also like even a sprinkle of spice given the little flirtatious insinuations especially the one where they refer to a book.

It was overall an enjoyable read.

I had such high hopes for Can't spell treason without tea but it left me feeling underwhelmed. It's an okay read but didn't wow me I'm afraid.

I really enjoyed this book and have included it on the podcast, it is like Legends & Lattes but with tea, which means it is a winner for me. Lovely.

Fans of Leggends and Lattes this is for you! i cannot help but notice the similarities between the title just mentioned and Can't Spell Treason Without Tea but, honestly, perhaps I think I enjoyed the latter slightly more.

🧙🏼Reina is part of Queen Tilaine's royal guard who ,after yet another act of cruelty by the latter , decides he has had enough and abandons his post to run away with Kianthe. Kianthe is the most powerful mage of his generation and despite the many responsibilities on her shoulders, she decides to run away with Reina to open a book cafe in a small town and fulfill their dream. I simply loved them: where Reina is rational and controlled,Kianthe is a free spirit with her head in the clouds who lets her emotions rule her. Together they complement each other and where misunderstandings arise they stop to listen to each other and communicate thus taking their relationship to another level. Moreover, their backstories make them two interesting and well-developed characters even when separated thus managing not to disappoint me.

🐉 Added to the main plot is a mystery storyline featuring stolen dragon eggs led by Kianthe and another storyline featuring a vengeful queen on the trail of Reina..all surrounded by books, cakes ,tea and dragons and Griffins!

🍵I found the writing very quaint and gentle I loved the fact that the whole story takes place in a small town where two methods of government from two different countries come together

✨ I can say that I found it a read,atmospheric , relaxing and well balanced perfect to read on a rainy day! Ah last thing: there are little Griffins!

Thank you, Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the eARC of this book

Can't spell treason without tea was an okay read; it didn't really blow me away or give me the cosy reading experience that I was expecting. It wasn't bad; it just wasn't great either. The world-building was fun to read, but I could not connect with any of the characters, and it really did feel like there were too many clashing elements and a lot of over-experimenting going on throughout the book, but also, at the same time, like something was missing.

Overall, this was an okay read. I just don't think this type of writing style is for me or what I was expecting.