This was super cute and fun and I still really enjoyed it but slightly less than book one.

For a start I missed their friends back at the tea shop. For another although I was glad the thing with the dragons was solved, at the same time it kind of wasn't. I also thought that the "dethroning" of a certain ruler was a little abrupt in the end. And I wasn't entirely sold on the "meet your heroes" part of the storyline. I don't know if they added enough value as a character.

All that being said, I loved Bobbie and Serina's relationship and their growth as characters. I eagerly await the next book. Also 5/5 for the anniversary short! IYKYK 👀🫦🥵

The book comes out next month! October 3rd to be specific. Go buy it!

If you, like me, are sick and tired of sea-faring sequels; then this book IS for you! No salt, no beaches, just a lot of ships - in every sense of the word.

In "A Pirate's Life for Tea" by cozy-fantasy queen Rebecca Thorne, we are reunited with the powerful mage Kianthe and the former Queensguard (still very badass) Reyna on their quest for stolen dragon eggs. Adventure ensues, but the couple (and their pet griffons) will need help to find what they're looking for. Enter Bobbie, a constable on a stubborn chase for Serina - one of the local river's most notorious pirates - with whom Bobbie has... let's just call it "history". A history that Reyna is more than happy to meddle in.

I am so happy to say that this Tomes and Tea sequel did not disappoint! Rain and Key's relationship is as adorable and - most of all - healthy, as it was in the first book ("Can't Spell Treason Without Tea"), but now it is all doubled, thanks to Bobbie and Serina! I'm personally on the aro/ace spectrum, and I still cannot get enough of these characters. The second book isn't even published yet, but I already need book nr 3 (yes, there will be a 3rd AND a 4th)!

"A Pirate's Life for Tea" proves yet again that cozy fantasy is a genre that is here to stay. The stakes are just high enough, the romance takes just enough space, and what little "spice" there is, is behind closed doors. I could not put this book down, and I personally cannot wait to re-read this series over and over again. No matter what genre you usually go for, I'd recommend giving the "Tomes and Tea" series a try. You won't regret it.

* * *
Huge thank you to Pan Macmillan for making this story available through NetGalley. An even bigger thank you to Rebecca for writing it.
All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
4 stars book from me. Loved the plot and the storytelling in A Pirate's Life for Tea and relatable, likable characters,. Loved every single second reading it.

5⭐️ I would follow Reyna and Kianthe anywhere!

Can’t spell treason without tea was the sweetest, cosy fantasy. It had everything, found family, an accepting community, the most gorgeous relationship, some action to keep things interesting and of course the bookshop with tea…

so I put off reading A pirates life for tea, because…

how could it be as good when my favourite couple were leaving this perfect setting?

Well, I didn’t need to worry as these two gorgeous women took us on a journey to find the dragon eggs which resulted in… yep, you guessed it, lots of pirates!

But also, a friends to enemies to lovers story, quite a bit of touch her and die moments, lots of elemental magic, a cheeky little griffon, and so many laugh out loud moments where puns and playful banter took centre stage.

Add to this the quirky collection of new friends and a new love story to invest in and this book was perfection.

I do hope this series following Reyna and Kianthe never ends as I am here for their whole lifetime of quiet nights in the bookshop together as well as the action packed danger filled adventures.

A Pirate’s Life for Tea is the sequel to the cosy sapphic fantasy Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea. Reyna and Kianthe are tracking down the old shipment that smuggled the stolen dragon eggs in order to fulfill Kianthe’s promise to the dragons. During their search, they encounter two women with a complicated history—the overzealous constable Bobbie and the river pirate Serina she is trying to apprehend. Reyna and Kianthe decide to meddle in those two’s relationship as they need their help to finally solve the mystery of the missing eggs.

I thought A Pirate’s Life for Tea was just okay. It lost a lot of the charm of the first book after straying too far from being a cosy fantasy. I would even hesitate to consider this a cosy fantasy, but rather a lower stakes fantasy. In taking away the Tawney setting (they are only ever there in the final chapter), it no longer has the slice-of-life feel, the book and tea shop charm, the found family, and the small town vibes. All that’s carried over from the previous book is Reyna and Kianthe’s established sapphic romance.

I missed the other characters, most especially Feo and Wylan’s contentious but flirty relationship. What we get instead is two new and very prominent secondary characters in Bobbie and Serina. They have their own river-crossed friends-to-enemies-to-lovers sapphic romance going on that was very wishy washy and never all that romantic. There’s a bit of a parallel between the two couple’s relationships, but it didn’t feel like it added anything new in doubling up.

The piracy plotline really doesn’t make much sense, and its inclusion really felt more like an excuse to go on a swashbuckling adventure. It didn’t feel particularly swashbucking either because I do question the mechanics of all the river-faring and how any of this actually came about. It’s trying for a Robin Hood-type piracy but doesn’t really work in the context. Then the dragon eggs plotline was too easily resolved. I had ought it would be dragged out more, but apparently it was gonna be a one and done aspect of the story.

In straying from the cosiness, A Pirate’s Life for Tea lost its charm.

While I do prefer the prequel, this was still as comforting and enchanting as the first book. I really admire Thorne for always writing such compelling yet realistic characters that won't normally be the center of a story (be that queer people or people older than 25). Cannot recommend enough.

I absolutely adored the first book in this series, and was delighted to receive an ARC of the sequel. I particularly enjoyed the dedication to people who gave the first book one star for containing lesbians, and that this one has double just for them! 😂

A Pirate’s Life for Tea is a cosy fantasy following an ex-queen’s guard and the mage of ages, who have (mostly) left their lives behind to open a bookshop in a small border town which is semi-regularly burnt down by dragons. After discovering in the previous book that the reason the dragons are targeting the town is because their eggs were stolen years ago, our two fearless heroines set out to track them down, and in the process stumble across a noble who is not taking care of his people, and the pirate who has made it her mission to right his wrongs. Accompanied by one of his guards, who crochets incessantly to help with her anxiety, they set out to solve the mystery of the dragons eggs and help out a few pirates along the way.

I loved the plot of A Pirate’s Life for Tea, and enjoyed getting to see a new side to Reyna and Kianthe away from their bookshop. The new characters introduced were equally wonderful, and the dynamics between them were very wholesome. It was nice to get to see our two MCs out on an adventure, and their relationship continue to develop as they adjust to their new lives.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and I already can’t wait for the next one - especially with the hints and questions the epilogue provided 👀

3 stars - cosy fantasy sequel

Following on from I can’t spell treason without tea a pirates life for tea picks straight back up with Reyna and Kianthe on the hunt for the missing dragon eggs. The search brings them to another Diarns territory, in which they get involved with police officer Bobbie trying to find and stop her ex best friend turned pirate Serena.

I was happily surprised that Reyna and Kianthe were still featured as the main characters in the story as I assumed this one was going to be different characters in the same world type of series. However as the story went on I found myself bored as the same types of twist and turns kept happening. I also felt like the bulk of the book was describing things in detail that didn’t need to be and found myself skimming through after about 50%.

The storyline with Bobbie and Serena was interesting but I felt like it was overshadowed by Reyna and Kianthes and I felt like they didn’t get enough on page time for me to fully appreciate their relationship.

Overall for me personally I found the pacing of the book too slow and this took my enjoyment away from the cosy fantasy plot.

An utter delight, almost better than the first one and if you haven’t read the first one yet, why not?
The perfect blend of romance, magic, evil politicians and pirates, there’s also dragons, books and an adorable baby griffin. So much fun, lots of puns and a rollicking adventure.
I love the relationship between Kianthe and Reyna, it exudes positivity and that bonus chapter - that’s one spicy cup of tea!
The Dreadful Pirate Driggs was all kinds of fabulous, also Bobby and Serina were so cute.

I really enjoyed this sequel! 4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

This is the second book in Rebecca Thornes Tomes and Tea series. This starts just after we finish 'Can's spell treason without tea' and continues Kyanthe's and Reina's hunt for the dragon eggs.

This was a truly enjoyable read. I really enjoyed the first book but I think I prefer this one just a little more. I loved the new characters Bobbie and Serena. We follow their developing relationship through Kyanthe and Reina's POV and it works surprisingly well. They feel well fleshed out and real.
The pacing is good and the plot continues to be engaging.

If you are a mood reader, this has some wonderful Autumn vibes and is perfect to read just after it releases in October. Do note however, that you really do need to read the first one in order to follow what is happening here.

Overall, This is a near perfect sequel to the first book and I cannot wait for then next one!

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the ARC . All opinions are my own and I am posting them voluntarily.

A sequel that has even more lesbians AND one of them is a pirate? Sign me tf up!

This was at least as fun as the previous book, and it proved to be such a quick, entertaining read for me. I love how this is very much cosy fantasy but there are still things going on, it's never boring or too slow. Serina and Bobbie are ADORABLE together from the start, even their "we hate each other" phase was adorable.

If I had to give one criticism, it's that I would have liked to see more domestic scenes between our main characters, Kianthe and Reyna.

A Pirates Life for Tea is a fun adventure story which definitely keeps the cosy fantasy feel going at the same time as having a considerable amount of action.
Kianthe and Reyna are hunting the dragon eggs that were stolen which takes them downriver and brings them into contact with the local constable and a pirate as well as the villain of the piece. We got some character development for each of them. Reyna was struggling as she realised that maybe a peaceful life wasn’t for her as she was enjoying her adventures far too much. I really enjoyed the development of Kianthe’s elemental magic and especially the introduction of the almost sentient river. However, I was disappointed that she and Reyna spent so much of this story apart. The times that they were together sparkled with fun and it was a shame that there was less of that.
The primary romance in this book is between Bobbie and Serina. They were both fun characters and I especially loved Bobbie’s habit of crocheting as a stress reliever. I would have loved to have a couple of chapters from their own POV especially Bobbie as her inability to see what was happening was irritating at times but we only see them through the eyes of Kianthe and Reyna . Not seeing events through their eyes made their relationship less engaging than it could have been which was a pity.
I also missed the village setting of the previous book. The cosy fantasy books that I have previously enjoyed have always had a strong home feel and I missed that in this book. There were some lovely scenes especially when wine was involved but there was also an awful lot of characters just moving around which at times got a bit repetitive.
For me, this wasn’t quite good as the first book. I didn’t feel that the new characters were as well developed this time and there was almost too much plot meaning that sometimes things just felt a bit rushed.
A Pirate’s Life for Tea picks up almost immediately where the previous book finished and although the author states that it can be read as a standalone, I think that it might be quite hard to understand everything that is going on. There are a lot of references to past events so I would recommend reading You Can’t Spell Treason without Tea before trying this latest book.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers Pan Macmillan for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this one, though not as much as the first book! This one is less cosy fantasy and more adventure fantasy. I loved the addition of Serena and Bobbie, though I do wish we got more build up of their relationship.

I am looking forward to the next instalment in this series though!!

Okay I absolutely loved this sequel. I’ve really grown to love a cozy cute fantasy and this one really fit the bill! If you loved the first you will this one, it’s just as good if not better. A fab read!

A Pirate’s Life for Tea follows the delightful, cosy, tea-filled heartwarmer that is Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea. This round we’re following Reyna and Kianthe upriver, downriver, and all-around-river, hunting pirates and having a delightfully silly time.

Admittedly the stakes were a little higher in the sequel than the first, but Rebecca Thorne promises a happy ending, and a happy ending I did find. With sass, and wine, and fights, and gryphons, and mysteries, and many boats, along the way.

I don’t have a whole lot to say about this one, except that I had such a nice time, and if you, like me, delighted in book one of the Tea and Tomes series, then you will have such a nice time in the second book. My favourite thing about the book was what is mentioned in the dedication, which I won’t quote because I shan’t spoil the giggle you’ll have.

Cosy fantasy is one of those styles you have to be in the mood for, and I was, and I loved it. Thank you and goodnight.

A light-hearted sapphic fantasy with dragons, griffon's and pirates. Love the banter between the characters, and that they are always on a mission. I'm also a big lover of books and tea!

3.5 stars

I was given an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This series continues to impress me - cozy fantasy is a difficult genre to make work, especially when there's still reasonably high stakes! But Thorne does a really nice job of balancing a tense political landscape with humour and thoughtfulness. Kianthe and Reyna's relationship continues to grow throughout this novel, but I also love how their story is mirrored in some of the new characters.

While the worldbuilding and the bulk of the story itself were solid, there were a couple of areas where pacing and dialogue took me out of the moment. Once I could get into the rhythms of the book, I really enjoyed it, but I would make a few tweaks here and there.

If you're looking for a light-hearted, but still engaging fantasy, this is a good place to start - and perfect for a cozy autumn read!

Books with similar vibes - The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst, Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne, Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett, and The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S A Chakraborty.

First of all, I am quite surprised with myself for picking up this book as I really wasn’t sure if I was going to after I finished the first novel as I did not enjoy it all that much, but I’m glad I did. I enjoyed this a lot more than its predecessor, the issues I had with the pacing were gone, and Thorne successfully managed to move the story along without as much fainting or throwing up (it’s still there quite a lot…this character passes out and it goes to the next scene…this character passes out so it’s on to the next character point of view…very predictable).

I felt the plots were a lot more cohesive and, like I said, better paced than in the first novel. However, I was surprised how much of Kianthe and Reyna we got in this. I expected the, to make their appearances but I didn’t expect them to be in this book as POV characters — my expectations got me again! I didn’t mind this though, but I do think Bobbie and Serina took a backseat to them. It’s clear that Kianthe and Reyna are the main characters of this series.

I liked getting to know the new characters in this one, although I wish we got to spend more time with the pirates!

Also Thorne says at the beginning of this book that reading book one isn’t fully necessary and I feel like that sums up book one…it just felt like it didn’t really do much or add much.

I didn’t expect to feel excited about the third novel but I am! I am intrigued to see where it goes with the Queen Tilaine and taking her down. I liked that tease at the end.

3.75⭐️ rounded up

Sassy and in love, the best combination in my eyes.
First, this book was a lot more enjoyable than the first one. Overall the characters and the development of the plot felt a lot more fluid and fleshed out than in the first book. I loved the new characters, Bobbie and Serina but that might partly be because I’m a sucker for the friends to enemies to lovers timeline. I just wish we could have gotten more of the story from their viewpoint.
There was a lot of action which veered slightly out of the realm of low stakes but I found it enjoyable nonetheless. I also loved the further expansion of the world and the pirate storyline.
Also, side note, I absolutely loved the dedication

This sequel picks up right where *Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea* left off, but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. While I appreciated getting to know Serina and Bobbie and seeing their dynamic with Kianthe and Reyna, it felt like the story would have been stronger if Serina and Bobbie had more space to shine without the constant presence of the main duo. On a positive note, Ponder and Visk were as delightful as ever, and I’ll defend those griffons to the end. Overall, though, this installment didn’t capture the same magic as the first book, leaving me a bit underwhelmed.