A Pirate’s Life for Tea is the second instalment in Rebecca Thorne’s Tomes and Tea series. I loved Reyna and Kianthe in You Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea, so I was happy to see their quest continue in this second book. In addition, we also get the pairing of Bobby, an overworked and stressed-out constable who decompresses by crocheting, and Serina, her childhood friend turned pirate, who steals from Diarn Arlon and re-distributes food to the people in a Robin Hood-esque fashion.
I enjoyed the return of all of Key’s bad puns and liked how the author managed to interweave the two storylines. We get a continuation of the plot from book 1, even though the main focus is on Bobby and Serina’s storyline. I was at times butting heads at how oblivious those two were of their feelings for each other, but overall I really enjoyed the vibes of the book. It felt cozy in many parts, despite there being some elements of higher stakes and life-threatening situations the characters were thrown into. Really looking forward to reading the third book when it comes out!

𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝑬𝒎𝒐𝒋𝒊𝒔: 🏴‍☠️🧶💧☕️⚔️✨

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕: The second cosy fantasy in the Tomes and Tea series, following Kianthe and Reyna as they seek to fulfill the bargain they made in Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea...Mischief, Mayhem and Meddling ensues when they meet Pirate Serina and Constable Bobbie along the way.

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕:
🏴‍☠️ Childhood Friends to A Robin Hood-esque river pirate and the constable tasked with capturing her to Lovers arc.
☕️Sapphic Romances, Healthy relationships and LGBTQ+ Representation
🏴‍☠️Magic, Mystery and Secrets
☕️Loveable characters (including Bobbie who stress crochets all kinds of apparel and stuffed toys only to become inundated with them- she’s just really stressed guys)
🏴‍☠️The cutest baby Griffon
☕️Books & Tea Loving Heroines

𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘: What a lovely sequel that, like Book 1, managed to be a wonderfully warm and cosy adventure filled with humour and hijinks (I found it hard not to smile through pretty much the entire thing) but with occasionally high stakes and numerous threats. It’s very easy to become lost in Reyna and Kianthe’s world and even easier to tell yourself “Just one more chapter” over and over again. This book brought me joy and made me want to squee- as a D&D player it felt so homely and familiar and gave me the same vibes as when I’m embroiled in a RPG session with my friends! I liked the characters, found the pacing to be good and, as with Book 1, I finished the book with a sense of satisfaction and closure while also being intrigued by what will come next- although Reyna and Kianthe’s thread runs through both books, there story is almost secondary to Serina and Bobbie’s in A Pirate’s Life for Tea and I’m really excited for Tea You at the Altar which I think will follow the same pattern of continuing threads but introducing new central characters to help unravel the wider narrative.

This might be a random and niche reference but if there are any other Critters out there Kianthe and Reyna give me big Allura and Kima vibes🥰

𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.✨(4.5 ⭐)

This time around, there’s no mistaking Thorne’s tale with anything by Travis Baldree. This is a much longer read for starters, coming in at nearly 450 pages, with plenty of twists and reverses along the way. While this still definitely ticks the ‘cosy fantasy’ box, that doesn’t prevent the author from putting her plucky heroines through the mill and in significant danger.

However, the puns and banter prevail throughout, providing a lighter tone even in the most difficult and dangerous circumstances. I grew fond of Kianthe and Reyna during the first book, so was already invested in their story and thoroughly enjoyed their adventures afloat. It was a pleasant change to see just how powerful Kianthe’s magic can be when she has access to a strong ley line provided by the river.

The pages flew by as I followed their fortunes which twisted almost as much as the large river they were travelling along. I wanted to be more invested in Bobbie and Serina – but frankly, their stubborn refusal to acknowledge their affection for each other had me wanting to bang their heads together. I’m aware this is a classic trope in romantic fiction – however, this is primarily a fantasy story where the romance generally takes a back seat and I lost patience long before the two of them saw sense. The other niggle is the Dread Pirate Dreggs, who was so very generic and not remotely dreadful that I was completely unconvinced. It’s a trickly path negotiating between the tension that defines Fantasy and making it suitably cosy so it isn’t too dark or grim – but I felt in this case, Thorne had slightly gone too far the other way.

As well as enjoying the company of our two main protagonists again – I also loved the griffins, especially little Ponder. I also very much appreciated Thorne’s thoughtfulness in putting her much spicier love scene at the back of the book with a clear warning that it wasn’t for underage readers. Given I’m not a fan of such scenes – I was glad this addition was clearly flagged so I could give it a miss. Despite my minor niggles, I thoroughly enjoyed this latest adventure and look forward to reading more in this entertaining series. While I obtained an arc of A Pirate’s Life for Tea from the publisher via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10

A Pirate's Life For Tea was an absolute joy to read. I liked it even better than the first, probably partly because I knew the vibe and waited till I was in the right mood! It was engaging, delightful and made me laugh several times. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoyed meeting Reyna and Kianthe again and the new characters are great too. Serina the Robin Hood-eske pirate and Bobbie the constable sent to hunt her down. While on the quest for finding stolen dragon eggs Reyna and Kianthe get side tracked by pirate shenanigans and also decide to play matchmaker.

The book really leans into the cheesy and fun - but I found myself very invested in the story too, it's not just a romp. The regional politics and maneuvering give it a depth beyond some of the silliness and this book has a bit more peril and drama than I'd usually expect from a cosy fantasy.

It's not perfect, a few elements felt shoehorned in and didn't quite fit with the rest of the story but nothing that really bothered me much. Overall, I had a great time and highly recommend to anyone who enjoyed the first book. (I would read Can't Spell Treason Without Tea first though!)

A Pirate's Life For Tea came out October 3rd. Thanks to @panmacmillan for the Netgalley eARC!

When I shared the dedication to this second book in the Tomes & Tea series with Litsy, one of my followers wrote that my mission was clear.: I had to give this book a one star review so Rebecca Thorne would double the lesbians in the next book. I cannot give the book one star. Sorry. I hope someone else wrote a condemning review so that Ms Thorne will double the pairings in the next instalment.

Reyna and Kianthe are still looking for the dragon eggs. Their search gets backburnered though, when they arrive at Diarn Arlon's estate just as the pirate who's been stealing food by the boatloads strikes again. They agree to help Arlon's constable to catch the pirate and soon find out that constable Bobbie and pirate Serina used to be childhood friends now turned enemies. Can Reyna and Kianthe turn the story of the pirate and the constable into an enemies-to-lovers romance?

Puns abound in this novel and I loved each and every one of them. I'm here for the next adventure!

PS: I also enjoyed the one-shot story at the end of the book.

A Pirate's Life for Tea is the highly anticipated cosy fantasy sequel to Can't Spell Treason without Tea, with another book planned to complete the trilogy.
There was certainly more action in A Pirate's Life for Tea than the first book, as it is more plot-focused than character-focused. I definitely missed Tawney and Tomes & Tea! So it did take me a while to get into this book, but the characters are what make this series for me. I just adore Kianthe and Reyna, and their relationship, as well as our new characters we met and our new romance between Serina and Bobbie.
It is the perfect escapism and definitely ideal for this autumnal time of year. I listened to this also via audiobook which is so well produced and narrated, I would highly recommend it.
I just think this is very strong for the first two books in the trilogy, and I cannot wait for book 3, Tea You at the Altar, to be released next year.
4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan and Rebecca Thorne for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy.

Review posted to Goodreads, The StoryGraph, Waterstones and Amazon. Rating to be posted on Instagram in monthly review.

This is a common review for both Can't Spell Treason Without Tea and Pirate Life for Tea as I read one after the other.
COVID was a good way to go back to my TBR and pick up at random. These novels was always in high priority and somehow always postponed reading it.
That said I had fun as it's a cute couple of cosy fantasy novels: there's romance, there's the story of two persons who want to change their way of life and what happens when they try living their life as they like.
There's tea, the dreamy atmosphere of the bookstore. There's intrigue, political intrigue, some action and funny banters.
Kianthe is my fav character: a powerful mage who can use the power and the title to get what they want and is in a happy relationship with Reyna, a former palace guard.
I can't wait to read the next story as I inhaled these two and had fun.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A big fan of the first book, I found A Pirates Life for Tea a little bit of a let down I'm sorry to report.
Though I loved the parts with the main characters in, the pirate part seemed a bit of a distraction from the overall storyline (as good as it was). I found myself wanting to get back to Ranyna and Kianthe.
I'm hoping the third book will get back on track and conclude their story fully

I was overjoyed to read this second novel in this series! Reyna and Kianthes journey to track down the dragons was so well written and engaging.

I really enjoyed the first book but actually I think I enjoyed this one more. We pick back up where the first book ended.
Cozy fantasy really has become one of my favourite genres and this series is a perfect example.

3.75/5

Another fun instalment of this cosy fantasy series! I adore the cosy fantasy subgenre, it's always so comforting to read. What I love about the Tomes & Tea books is that they always strike up the right balance of cosiness and action. And a good ol' fashioned pirate adventure never does anyone any harm!

I probably did enjoy Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, the first book, more as we really got to hone in on the two main characters and their pasts and their hopes for the future. My main gripe with this book was that because there were more focal characters added, we were spread a little thin ('like butter that has been scraped over too much bread' as Tolkien would say) and therefore didn't get as much character development from them as I'd hoped. I never got to know the new characters as well as I'd wished.

But I very much enjoy these stories for what they are, especially when I need a break from my beloved dark fantasies. I do love a cosy read and these books definitely deliver!

Thank you Netgalley and Tor for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This picks up where can't spell treason left us, and I loved that. I was so ready to dive back in! Where as book one was mostly establishing themselves and their location, we have much more of a quest vibe here. Kianthe and Reyna have to retrieve these dragon eggs and end up involved with a pirate along the way and it's very adventure like. But somehow keeping those cute and cosy vibes alongside with relatively low stakes to keep that cosiness up.
I felt we got to know the characters much better and got more involved in then and their relationships which was a nice touch. As well as some new characters introduced along the way, and I think there will be some new fan favourites there!
I think it is also a very good pirate story and will appeal to those who like the swashbuckling adventure category, even if you haven't read the first!
I'm interested to see where this goes from here!

Ah this was so much fun! It was so nice to be back with Kianthe and Reyna, who are still adorable, sassy and hilarious and I still love them.

I did miss the cosiness of their shop from the first book, the pirate adventure they ended up on was a lot of fun. A great introduction to some new characters as well which I really enjoyed. I'm really looking forward to seeing where the final book in this series will go and whether we will get the characters from this book in there or if it'll be some new characters.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan for sending me a proof of this book.

🐱 Favourite Quote:

"This novel is best enjoyed on a quiet night with a fireplace, a beloved pet, and a cup of tea."

🐈 My thoughts:

I am not sure if the author is a Disney fan or not, but I cannot read this title without starting to sing Yo Ho! A Pirate's Life for Me. Being Pirates one of my favorite Disney rides, I had to read this book.

I haven't read the first book of the series, but I still really enjoyed this one. Super cozy, super easy to read. I enjoyed many cups of tea while traveling across the river with the most awesome crew.

If you are looking for a cozy read or if you want to be a pirate, give this one a go. I just need to go book my next Disney vacation and ride Pirates several times a day so I can continue to sing Yo Ho! It's a Pirate's Life for Tea! Oops, me! 🤭

Following on from book one, Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, Kianthe and Reyna are loving their new life in their tea/book shop. However, are very well aware that if they want long term peace, they need to find those dragon eggs

A local lord may be able to help but he wants a pirate caught, Serina, and the two have to pair up with a local constable Bobby to help them track the Pirate down

However, Serina and Bobby being childhood friends complicates matters and Kianthe and Reyna may need to pause on the dragon egg hunt to sort the former twos relationship out...

Great wee tale, still with a drop of books and tea, but more high sea adventures.

Loving this series and can't wait to continue when book three comes out. This one is out now. Thank you to NetGalley and PanMacmillian/Tor for the review copy, all opinions my own

I adored “Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea” so was so excited to read the sequel “A Pirate’s Life For Tea” and it didn’t disappoint.

Lets start at the beginning… this book may have the best dedication ever to appear in a book and you’ll need to find a copy to see what it says :)

We are back with one of my favourite couples Reyna and Kianthe as they head off on a quest to find dragon eggs to save their hometown- to get the treasure they need to strike a deal with a local lord and find themselves wrapped up with you guessed it pirates!

I love how we see Reyna & Kianthe’s relationship grow and mature and I enjoyed the new characters Bobbie the local lord’s constable and fierce river pirate Serina who may have history??!!

This has all the same cozy vibes as book one although the stakes are definitely higher - it’s such a glorious mix of found family, enemies to friends to lovers, established relationship growing stronger, dragons, pirates and of course tea!

If you want a higher stakes cozy adventure bursting with charm, romance, and piratic escapades, this is the book for you!

I really enjoyed Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, but this sequel is even more enchanting. With the relationship between Key and Reyna solidified, you can sit back and enjoy all the puns, scheming, and absolute chaos that ensues every chapter. What starts as a journey to track down stolen dragon eggs quickly transforms into a matchmaking, swashbuckling quest to protect the realm from its dodgy ruler. And boy does it deliver!

We get a new couple to root for, a baby griffin in training, Robin Hood esque heists, magic and mayhem, stress knitting, kidnappings, found families, and of course, lots of pirates!

The plot is quick and keeps you on your toes, and while many of the new characters aren't given a lot of page time, I still found them memorable. I'd love to have a spin off story just about Serina and Bobby as well as one that follows the crew of The Painted Death. I feel like there is so much more to tell about these colourful characters, so I hope it's not the last we see of them.

I also hope we get to learn more about the danger hinted at towards the end of the book, as this loose end holds a lot of promise in terms of future adventures for Kianthe and Reyna...

A Pirate's Life for Tea is humorous, action packed, and utterly delightful. I loved how unpredictable yet tightly organized the story was, and I cannot wait for book three (especially with that epilogue teaser!!!).

Full of books, and tea and baby griffins, these are just the best cosy stories. This one even has double the lesbians of the last one! This was a fact that I really appreciated because Sapphic fantasy is just my favourite.

I like that these ones stories have slightly higher stakes than some of the other cosy fantasy books. I do enjoy the others too, I feel like this series has the perfect balance of exciting story versus cosy vibes. Though I would have liked a bit more set in the bookshop, it was nice to go on a pirate adventure.

Ponder the baby griffin is adorable. If you like a certain amount of cuteness in your books like me, then Ponder definitely delivers. I love her so much and hope she doesn’t grow up too fast before the next book.

Really looking forward to the third book in this series, Tea You At the Altar.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, I know that there will be people out there that love it but I'm not one of them.

The long chapters make it difficult to stay engaged as very little happens in these chapters, except for lots of unnecessary dialogue, especially about their wedding and marriage in the first 10 chapters. I also struggled to connect with the new characters that are introduced.

This book was exactly as I hoped and it was amazing. After reading the first one I was super excited to see book 2 on here. Kianthe and Reyna are still being awesome and they head on a new adventure. They are seeking dragon eggs to save their town and most importantly their bookshop!!
This cosy fantasy vibe is exactly what I need in my life right now and this book was amazing!!!!