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!!!!

Bobbie is a Constable, tasked with finding and capturing Serina, a solo pirate causing havoc for Diarn Arlon. Once close friends, they are now adversaries... can Reyna and Kianthe work their magic and turn these enemies to lovers?

A Pirates Life for Tea is the lovely sequel to There's No Treason Without Tea. Picking up where the latter finished, Reyna and Kianthe start their quest to find the dragons missing eggs... and on the way, they encounter Bobbie and Serina. More mischief is afoot than first meets the eye, and Reyna gets the adventure she's been longing for since leaving the Queen's Court.

Let's talk spice. There is zero spice until a "bonus" chapter at the end and then we are given ALL THE SPICE. And I loved it !!! I also think it's clever giving the reader the option of whether to read it, dependant on whether it's your kind of thing or not.

Whilst I personally preferred the first book (because I soooo loved the story of Reyna and Kianthe) this is still a super cute, at times gloriously camp, LGBTQ+ addition to the cosy fantasy genre and I'm looking forward to the third and final installment.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review! It was a delightful and humorous read that I thoroughly enjoyed,

A Pirate's Life For Tea picks up shortly after the end of Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, telling of Kianthe and Reyna's adventures while searching for the missing dragons eggs. The two find themselves entwined in a pirate chase on a magical river, alongside a constable that might or might not actually want the pirate caught... a pirate who is her childhood best friend and for whom she might or might not have feelings! Reyna's matchmaking and Kianthe's magic lead the group through a fun adventure, and unexpected dangers.

Once again, I struggle with the marketing of this book (or this whole series) as cozy. While yes, there are plenty of cozy elements and the stakes aren't world-altering, there is plenty of life-threatening danger going around, which does not feel cozy to me.

This said... I was prepared this time around and went into the story knowing it would be the case, which had me enjoying the whole novel much more! I found the characters so endearing and easy to root for, both relationships nicely explored throughout the book and all four characters well defined in their own right. Kianthe had me laughing with a lot of her puns (although some felt quite forced at time), Reyna had all my support in her pirate adventure and Serina... the actual pirate was my favourite, because she was so determined, so righteous and so stubborn to defend her actions! One of my highlights was definitely little Ponder, though - so CUTE!

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a lighthearted, but still with quite high stakes, fantasy story, fun queer characters, sapphic romances and magical adventures.

I fell in love with Kianthe and Reyna in the first book, and I didn't think it was possible to love them even more. Their relationship is more developed in this sequel, and it's utterly adorable - while remaining hilarious. Their banter and how they bounce off each other is more apparent as they meddle in the lives of two young women who are clearly in love with each other, but won't admit it!

Pirates are always a bonus, but Thorne has created a wonderful river setting and community that will have you wishing for a trip on the waves - even if you're not a fan of open water!

From the first scene, I've adored the way Thorne writes griffons, and knowing there was a baby griffon in this one had me already sold on it. She is adorable, sweet and sassy, and I can't wait to see her grow up!

For those who disliked the way Kianthe and Reyna interacted (there were "complaints" about them kissing at work, etc.) then I have some bad news for you; they're even more in love in this book. Personally, I loved every moment of it and the spicy story included at the end (which you can avoid if you wish as it has no important information; it's just for fun) is brilliant and worth reading if it's something you like reading.

In “a pirate’s life for tea” Kianthe and Reyna are in a new adventure seeking dragon eggs to save their town. During the trip the encounter Serina, a rogue pirate and Bobbie a strict constable. After several crimes against the Diarn, Bobbie alongside Kianthe and Reyna have the task to capture Serina and bring her to justice. However feelings seem to run between these two due to their shared history and Kianthe and Reyna will find themselves in the midst of their love story.

I really enjoyed this story as much as I did in the first book. Personally I loved the banter between all the characters, Kianthe and Reyna were as chaotic as in book one. The storyline was cute, I didn’t expect too much plot in this, but I enjoyed the side quests we went on. Serina and Bobbie were almost as chaotic as our original duo, and I really enjoyed both their story and them as MCs.

I didn’t expect this to be so focused on Kianthe and Reyna as much as it was in the book, I thought they were going to be side characters, but to my surprise that was not the case. I also loved seeing Bobbie and Serina’s love story through Kianthe and Reyna’s eyes. I highly recommend this if you’re looking for a cozy fantasy! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Pirate’s Life for Tea is the highly anticipated sequel to Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea and I loved it.

I love this sapphic romance series because first and foremost the main characters Reyna and Kianthe are not your stereotypical lesbian couple from literature - and whilst I have zero issues with the stereotype? These two amazing women are both so fierce and determined to survive and when you see their softer, romantic and sometimes spicier moments together it feels so real and one might blush a little,

Of course, there’s also the amazing world-building that I loved in Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea, and I wish their bookshop slash tea shop existed as Rebecca Thorne brought the wonder of New Leaf Tomes and Tea to life in such a way that I think anyone who reads this series will join me in wanting to curl up with a good book and a cup of perfect tea. In A Pirate’s Life for Tea, we get to see so much more of this magical world and the various Diarn’s who rule over their own individual area with either kindness or an iron fist. Our heroines are joined by Serina who’s an interesting pirate and Bobbie who is a loyal guard and really shouldn’t do anything but chase Serina down. These two are beyond adorable and I wanted to give Bobbie the wake-up call she desperately needs because once again, Thorne has written these characters in such a detailed way that it does feel as though they could come to life from the page.

The only time I put A Pirate’s Life for Tea down was when I had to. It was filled with adventure and I liked that we see the way Reyna and Kianthe work together and how they balance one another out as they work together. Kianthe’s almost childlike enthusiasm for everything continues to make me smile and she’s a firm favourite - I do hope there’s going to be more in the series because she’s one of my all-time favourite characters in all the books I’ve read. After all, she's the exact opposite of how she’s no doubt expected to be among many other things. The magical creatures are of course, ever present and I love how we see the young griffon grow and evolve as the story unfolds. If anyone can find me one, or a stray dragon egg could you let me know?

But… the best thing in this book is we get to meet the ultimate object of many a person’s desires and dreams, the Dastardly Pirate Dreggs and he’s everything you could ask for in a charming, charismatic pirate. Prepare for giggles and to see our lovely ladies fall to pieces over him.

This book was everything I could hope for in a sequel, it’s wonderful, it’s romantic and there’s drama all around our heroines and their friends both new and old. I really hope there’s book three coming because I want more from this world.

A Pirate's Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorne is another fun and cozy adventure, much like her previous book. It delivers on the lighthearted, whimsical tone that fans of the series will appreciate, with plenty of charm to go around. What it’s trying to do, it does well—pirates, tea, and magical shenanigans all wrapped up in a delightful package.

That said, I feel like it could have benefitted from fewer POVs. It got a bit scattered at times, and I found myself wishing one of the relationships had just stayed more in the background. While the multiple perspectives offer variety, they also made the story feel a bit cluttered for me.

What it's trying to do it does well. I just think what it's trying to do isn't exactly my cup of tea (pardon the pun!). Fans of cozy fantasy will love it, and it's definitely worth checking out if you're in the mood for a magical, pirate-filled adventure with low stakes.

3.5* rounded up.

Picking up where You Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea left us, Reyna and Kianthe are still on the hunt for stolen dragon eggs and this takes them out of Tawney where they’d set up their tea and bookshop and onto the Nacean river where a pirate is causing problems for the ruling Diarn down there. There’s quite a lot of meandering back and forth and I struggled to really get invested in the story until about 3/4 of the way through. That said I did enjoy the ending and will be picking up the next book!

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

Oh how I love this world and there characters! Reading this series feels like the author has created a safe place by the fireplace where we can all just enjoy some peace, tea, and books. I just feel seen and well taken care of, which may sound weird, but it's the most accurate description.

Kianthe has a somewhat tough time in this book as she grapples with some guilt. And because the book is lighthearted by nature, we get to see her emotions and coping in real time. I like her humor, her cuteness, and her emotional arc in this book, but I feel that I was drawn to Reyna even more.

Reyna, I love that woman so much. She is levelheaded and always the person to count on for everything. I loved her small mischievous and cupid ways haha And I loved how we got to see more of her turmoil caused by how people see her and how she is in real life. Everyone sees the queen's guard, a merciless person who can kill anyone and enjoys killing, but Reyna isn't like that. And we get to see how people treat her and how that makes her feel.

I liked how we got one more sapphic couple!! A couple that has barely come to understand that they are in love with each other. I loved how Kianthe and Reyna gave them advice because they had been where they were now.

But for the love of all, if book 3 doesn't have more Feo and Wylan, I will riot!!! Every time they were mentioned and every time Feo was in a scene, I felt a MIGHTY NEED to see their romance. So please for the love of everything, let us have more Feo and Wylan!

To be honest, I don't want to say more about the plot etc, because this book felt like a warm hug in a rainy day, and giving away anything might spoil the reprieve this book offers.

I loved book 1, and I loved book 2, and I cannot wait for book 3 and even more. It's my comfort book series, and we all need some comfort in our lives.

I just absolutely love this series! Cosy fantasy might be my new favourite genre 🧡

This picks up where we left off in the first book and we are properly introduced to two new characters, Bobbie and Serina. The change from dual POV to multi POV works so well to ensure we get to know everything about Bobbie and Pirate Serina and their story whilst still keeping some focus on Reyna and Kianthe’s journey to retrieve the lost dragon eggs.

This is romantic fantasy at its best. And made even better with the addition of pirates!

Special mention to the book dedication. It made me love it even more ✨

I was so happy to see there’s going to be a third book 🧡

Thank you @netgalley and @panmacmillan for the ARC

I am so disappointed for so many reasons. This book does not live up to the 1st one for me for a number of reasons.

You knew that there was going to be an issue when the author dedicates the book to all the people who left one star reviews because there were lesbians in the book, ive doubled them just for you.

Sadly this sets a precedent because the author seems to go on a rant to put in every gay trope going, it is tedious and tiresome.

I am bisexual, i do not want to read FANTASY that is littered with modern tropes and themes. For example, the world this is set in has no running water, has no electricity, or gas, no tv, no internet, but we are expected to believe that they have transgender people, and that every character gives their pronouns when they introduce themselves to people, for example " Im Kianthe she/her, im Tay, they/them. GIve me a break.

The 1st 10 chapters the author was obsessed with putting over that Kianthe and Reyna are getting married, obsessively so, its in every sentence, wedding this, marriage that, future wife blah blah blah, its so boring. Once you get past it, if you can that is, the story does open up a bit.

We have 2 new characters in the story, Bobbie and Serina. I didnt really care about either of them to be honest and for me they just got in the way. This is very piratey based, so lots of swashbuckling and treachery, stealing ships and going on an adventure.

Rebecca, i understand you are offended by the reviews, but please put your feelings aside and concentrate on the story and not on the sexuality or genders of people, and stop pushing modern narratives into stories. As a gay woman, i do not care about it, nor do i care to read it. I just want to read good old fashioned stories that take me away from the mundanity and boredom of modern life. I will continue reading the series but i am hoping the final book in the trilogy gets back to the story.