📖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 📖 ★★★☆☆
𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Can’t Spell Treason without Tea, Rebecca Thorne
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Fantasy
𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁: ARC - Audiobook
𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲: 09/05/2024

𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲:
☕️ Legends & Lattes / Bookshops & Bonedust
☕️ Sapphic Romance
☕️ Dragons / Griffins

𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘙𝘦𝘺𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 – 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘺𝘯𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 . . . 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘠𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘢𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴, 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘮’𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 – 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥

So this does have some cosy vibes with a lovely F/F romance. It’s an interesting one though as the couple are already together…and it’s more a story of them choosing each other and trying to set up their happily ever after. Then when they do set up their shop the problems they encounter. So while you can tell the author has been inspired by LL/BB (they have said this too). I think perhaps they tried too hard to be cosy? Like the constant risk of a murderous queen doesn’t really fit with the cosy low stakes theme.

The banter and joking between the FMCs - think ultimate dad jokes and puns - did have me chuckling. It’s an enjoyable read and I’ll be intrigued to see their adventure continue!


Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio UK for the advanced readers copy. All views are my own and I requested and then accepted the audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.

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Thank you to Macmillan UK Audio | Tor and NetGalley for the free Audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately for this cosy fantasy, it's already been done. This could have been such a fun listen yet it was impossible not to compare it to Legends and Lattes. Each twist brought on a new comparison, unfortunately and, other than the dragons, this fell flat.

It is very obvious that the author plans a sprawling series with many plot points to be tied up across them and, personally, that's never something I'm a fan of. I don't want to have to read two, three or even four mediocre books just to get the answer to something that happened in the first.

The main characters were likeable and their romance enjoyable however at certain points, it felt like the author forgot who was the strong, sword wielding girlfriend and who was the magical one.

Treason Without Tea pairs together cosy vibes and high stakes fantasy in a really clever way, creating a book that is at some points nail-biting and at all points adorable. This book is never going to escape the comparison with Legends and Lattes, what with both of them being cosy fantasy based in shops selling hot beverages! Whilst they are very different books, I think Treason Without Tea has a much more ambitious plot than the deliberately low-stakes L&L, and ultimately felt like a more well-rounded fantasy novel.

The key component making this book great is the bond between Reyna and Kianthe. Their relationship is honestly a breath of fresh air in the genre, as it’s already developed into something very stable and mature. They don’t have to ‘grow’ in the traditional sense, as they’re already well attuned and empathetic to their partner’s feelings and worries. Most of all, they COMMUNICATE when something is wrong! Many novels in the genre use misunderstandings as plot points, but Treason had core characters that rendered this unnecessary. Reyna and Kianthe are excellent lead characters, and both are well developed throughout. The book does a good job of proving characters are more than their job titles. Kianthe and Reyna are the obvious examples here, but I’d include the local lord Wylan in that group too, who starts the book as a ‘job title’ and ends as an actual character!

Specifically regarding the audiobook version I listened to, Jessica Threet does a very good job at picking up on the character's tone and empathy, so none of the emotion was lost from the text. I occasionally struggled to tell apart Reyna and Kianthe's voices, but language used and context cues relegated this to a minor issue.

In a subgenre that has suddenly found itself awash with cosy titles of ranging quality, Treason Without Tea really stood out as one of the best written examples for me. I came for the funny title and cute cover, and I stayed for the wonderful found family and the lore the book starts building with an eye to a sequel. Reading this book with a cup of tea and biscuits is not mandatory, but heavily encouraged!

3.5 🌟🌟🌟 If you love cozy,cute fantasy then this is definitely a book for you but not for me unfortunately. The narrator was absolutely brilliant, she was really good at giving all the different characters their separate voices (if that makes sense). I will be reading or listening to book 2 as I would like to know what happens next.

As if the dogs of war were let slip, this story starts out rather bloody (for a cosy mystery). I'm not a huge fan of fantasy, but this was an engaging tale and an excellent narrator who was capable of doing some interesting voices. Thanks to NetGalley for the free copy!

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC. I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book for what it was, as a huge fan of Legends and Lattes, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between both stories. Although, there was a lot more adventure and challenge in this and higher stakes. I enjoyed the love story between Reyna and Kianthe and want nothing more than to open my own bookshop that serves tea.

The narrator did an excellent job, all the different voice for the characters were well done and I could tell the difference between them all.

I have given this 4 stars as while I enjoyed the story, I found it very similar to Legends and Lattes.

3.5 stars

CAN'T SPELL TREASON WITHOUT TEA is a cosy fantasy about a mage and a guard trying to escape the pressures of their lives by opening a shop in a small town and gaining the trust and friendship of their community.

I enjoyed the story's focus on unconditional love and how you don't have to earn it if it's meaningful, wholehearted love. Reyna's life serving a tyrannical, unpredictable queen has left its marks on her, as well as the early death of a parent in the same position. The book uses her to deconstruct the idea of needing to earn love, a common tactic of control in abusive relationships.

Jessica Threet narrates, bringing both characters to life and really selling the emotional heart-to-hearts the pair have. The cracked voices, choked sobs, and strain of baring hearts comes across so well, elevating the emotions in these pivotal moments.

The audiobook also contains a (long) short story about the pair's first meeting, which was a nice surprise. The book talks often about how they met and their life before the shop, but we don't get to see much of it, so this little glimpse was a nice way of understanding better what built their relationship.

The premise is so close to LEGENDS AND LATTES that it's impossible not to compare the two. Personally, I did enjoy LEGENDS AND LATTES more and I think it's because that book was not written as a series starter (though a prequel was later added.) CAN'T SPELL TREASON WITHOUT TEA is setting up later books and that means elements are introduced that don't feel resolved, or even like much progress is made towards getting a resolution - in particularly the dragons and the bandits.

I was expecting that the queen, the dragons, and the bandits to all collide in a big disaster that threatens the shop and their lives at the end, to gain some sort of resolution of all the things they were juggling. However, this does not happen and it felt very anti climatic that the ending only concerns the queen.

The dragons get a big moment at the midpoint and then have only one further related scene. The bandits feel very forgotten for much of the book. It felt like there was a lot of promise and then these exciting elements got forgotten about. Yes this is the start of a series so these elements are going to come up later, but I would have liked to feel like they were more integral to this book and not simply teasing later instalments.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

A cozy sapphic read to everyone that wanted to run away and open a tea/bookshop. There was a good balance of character development and plot, but I personally would have prefered a bit more worldbuilding. And while the main pair had a very cute relationship, I couldn't get invested into it. But overall, a definite recommendation for a rainy day with a cup of good tea

*3.5 Thank you so much to the author and netgalley for the ARC :)
An established relationship!!! We love to see it!!! There were so many great parts of this, but I think there was too many elements. It would have been more successful if their new life was further established and then there was less but more focused threats to the life they have built. this would have given more focus on the building of the shop and would have been more invested in that before it was threatened.
I also got the sense that sometimes it is clear they are an established couple but other times it seemed like it was incredibly early in the relationship with how insecure they both were about it. I love established relationships in books though so I did really enjoy the sections where it was obvious they were committed and comfortable with each other.

This also isn’t legends and lattes. I understand why the advertising and other people are comparing it but it is only like it on surface level. This is much more high stakes and less focused on the shop itself but the protection of the life these two are trying to make for themselves.

Cant Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne.

This was a cozy sapphic fantasy.

Reyna is one of the Queen’s bodyguards and after nearly being killed by an assassin she decides she wants to leave the queen’s realm and run away with her girlfriend, Kianthe, who is a powerful mage.

She has always dreamt of opening up a cosy tea and book shop. The two of them with their griffin and horse end up in the little town of Tawney which doesn’t have any real ownership and they think they can make a new start there.

Filled with magic, griffins, dragons and found family/community themes but I think there could have been a bit more to the story. Perhaps book 2 will pick up.

Thank you NetGalley for my audio book.

Sadly, in the growing world of cozy fantasy stories, this book was not to my taste. I had very high expectations, since I'd love to see more queer representation and especially, sapphic relationships that already are established in the plot, which this book had! This was the one thing I liked the most - it's not about how the two protagonists get together, but how they're building a life together, which I did enjoy. Also, the cozy vibes were definitely there. While I enjoyed some parts, the one thing I really did not like was how empty the world felt. I do not need extensive world building in every story, but to compensate the lack of it I love a dense atmosphere or some folkloric or mythological elements, which this book did not provide. The writing felt rather flat and uninspired to me, which also is a big point in making something cozy to me. And while I loved that there was a preexisting relationship, I did not root for the two, since we're almost never shown why they love each other, but told.
So yeah, a mixed bag, BUT if readers really enjoyed Legends and Lattes, they should have an eye on Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, too!

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne is a quaint but high-stakes novel very much
in line with the new brand of cosy fantasy that is sweeping through the fantasy space. It delivers
sapphic romance, griffins, dragons, treason, and of course, tea.
This story blurs the line between being cosy and high stakes when Reyna and Kianthe run away
from a tyrannical queen and open a tea and book shop in a little town pestered by dragons. They
put down roots, find unexpected allies, and do what they need to do to protect their shared
dream of a quiet life.
It goes without saying that fans of Legends & Lattes or Cursed Cocktails will love this book as it
delivers the same premise of a queer couple opening a quiet shop in a quiet town until
something dangerous darkens their doorway. Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea cranks up the
danger element in this cosy formula however, and presents us with a carelessly cruel queen,
and vicious dragons to ramp up the suspense. These elements felt a little jarring at times when
juxtaposed with the quiet story of barn renovations and new neighbour friends, and led to
several questions that were only half-answered, laying the groundwork for the next book in the
series.
There are lots of elements to love in this book and if you’re looking for an easy read with pops of
excitement, drama and your new favourite lesbian couple then this is the book for you.

3.5 ⭐️
You can never go wrong with cozy fantasy (and dragons... kind of?)

This book was advertised to me as cozy fantasy and for fans of ‘Legends and Lattes’. A lighter book, still packed with a bit of action and a lot of fantasy, is just my way of relaxing. And I tried this one out in audiobook format and I have to admit: I liked it even more for it.

The premise of this book is awesome in itself: Reyna, a royal bodyguard for a tyrant narcissistic queen, decides enough is enough, packs up her stuff and leaves with her partner, Kianthe (who by the way is just the most powerful mage in the world, also known as the mage of ages), to set up a cozy tea shop in a small town in the middle of nowhere. They finally end up in Tawney, a small town with a very interesting set of residents, where they eventually create a tea and book shop and build a life for themselves. Of course, there is only so much time you can have a calm peaceful life when one of you is a traitor guard and the other is literally the most powerful mage alive.

This book has all the cozy vibes and packs a bit more action (and griffins) than others in the genre, which made it a really easy and enjoyable read.

Thank you very much Macmillan UK Audio and NetGallery for providing me this ARC.

This story follows Reyna and Kianthe's relationship and their dream of opening a tea shop combined book shop in Tawney. The community of Tawney are all very sweet and helpful, even when meeting the couples very specific demands on how they envisage their shop will look.

I really liked the relationship between Reyna and Kianthe, they have a lot of love for each other and the banter between them both was really sweet too. The building of their shop was beautifully written and I felt it would be a place I would love to visit and spend some time.

I listened to this as an Audio and unfortunately I did find myself zoning out a few times. But I found it really easy to pick back up and enjoyed this cosy read with the addition of gryphons, dragons and magic. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to dip their toes into a magical/fantasy world without feeling overwhelmed with too much world building as is the case with most fantasy books.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan UK Audio and Rebecca Thorne for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

NETGALLEY audiobook ARC

As others have side it's not quite cosy fantasy as there's quite a bit of adventure. For some of it felt very much like another cosey fantasy I've read but the this is different, in a good way. It's like a half way between cosey and normal fantasy.

The two women have a fun banter together. Reyna is a Queens bodyguard, for a cruel uncaring queen that doesn't deserve her loyalty. Her girlfriend, Kianthe, is a mage of the highest order, and in demand but resents being pulled from pillar to post for her magic uses.

It's a nice change for a book to be LGBTQ+ friendly

Looking forward to book two!

4*

After an assassin takes Reyna, the Queen’s guard, hostage, she decides she's thoroughly done risking her life for a self-centered queen.
Along with her girlfriend Kianthe, the most powerful mage in existence, they go to a backwater village to open a bookshop that serves tea together.

With the title and tagline ‘cosy fantasy’, I think you will get out of this book what you read it for. Sapphic, sweet, slow.

The community in the town was really endearing and honestly learning about their fellow neighbours was my favourite part of the book!
There’s also a gryphon and dragons and a sweet mercenary boy turned assistant!

To be honest, when the stakes got higher is when I started losing interest. Give me all the small town feels. I want to see them stocking books, trying different brews and teas, gossiping….

I think this is because their relationship is established already at the start and then just doesn’t develop.
They are never shown to react jointly to whatever problems arise. Instead, it seems they take turns on who gets to have a piece of the action.
This makes it so there doesn’t feel to be a driving force to make the story feel joined up.

It was a dangerous thing, mistaking relaxation for boredom.

Overall, I think this will sweep fans away if they’re looking for a similar kick as Legends and Lattes, but want something slightly more action-packed due to ties to the past.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for providing the arc in exchange for a review!!

Thanks, netgalley, for the arc !

I've received an arc for the audio book, all thoughts are mine.

This is peak cozy fantasy, with still a bit of tension to keep us hooked throughout the story without ever getting boring. It's honestly impressive how I would keep walking just to listening to this because I wanted to see how things would go.

The cast of characters is vast and you can't help but care for each of them, and would like to go live in Tawney pls and thanks.

The narrator did an amazing job at bringing these characters to life and If you enjoy audio book: I highly recommend this one!

All I really want to do is open a bookshop that sells tea, so I knew I HAD to read this! Plus there’s dragons!! It’s definitely cozy but with an edge as there’s plenty of peril. Everything is solved nicely with minimal bloodshed, possibly too conveniently, but I’m not mad about that as this book was fun and a warm hug for sure.
Having listened to the audio, which I enjoyed, I would have preferred different narrators for the different points of view as at times I couldn’t remember who’s chapter I was within as the FMCs didn’t have massively distinct voices. If you love a cozy fantasy then I do think this is worth a read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

I just loved the title of this one, so was pulled right in - who doesn’t love a cosy fantasy?

If you enjoyed Legends and Lattes then I imagine that you may well enjoy this one - personally I preferred this in a number of ways, because whilst I know it’s meant to be cosy I controversially enjoyed the higher stakes in the cosy setting.

That said I still just think this was an alright read - while I liked the characters individually I don’t really feel like I wholly bought into their romance. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but their dynamic just wasn’t one I got?

On the whole a quick and easy read - I enjoyed the narration of the audio and I did fly through it, just didn’t wow.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC audiobook!

LOVED THIS! It was my first dip into 'cosy fantasy' so I can't say how well it represents the genre, but I loved it no matter what you would call it. The main characters were a joy follow from their escape to their adventures in the town. I loved seeing them build their own life and making a name for themselves.

The relationship between the two main characters was such a joy to listen to. I would gladly read any follow up stories about those two! The story was so much fun and I had a great time with every chapter. It was narrated wonderfully, Jessica Threet did a spectacular joy bringing the whole tale together.