Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Can't Spell Treason Without Tea

If you liked Legends & Lattes, you will probably like this. The story is basically the same, but with a few tweaks. There are two main characters who are already a couple at the start of the book. There are books and tea instead of coffee. There aren't as many magical races of people; it doesn't feel tied to the D&D universe and feels more like a generic fantasy. I loved Legends & Lattes and I'm happy to have more of a good thing, but I did feel like this wasn't quite the same level of quality. I found the prose to be awkward in parts, especially the dialogue, and even the audiobook narrator seemed to struggle with the phrasing despite trying her best. I also got a bit frustrated with how much the narrative had to repeat and over-emphasize things without trusting the reader to interpret for themselves; a case of telling vs showing. In theory this book is full of stuff I really like, I adore cozy settings and good people, and yet I was cynically annoyed sometimes with the book's tone and wasn't properly suspending my disbelief. Maybe I was just cranky?

Content Warnings

maryellen's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Content Warnings

chanlo1994's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Very cute and cozy. Looking forward to the sequels

Content Warnings

grets_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

feliscatusnum_1's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Content Warnings

ktjames1908's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I can only compare this book to Legends & Lattes for the theme of adventurers settling down to open a cozy shop. But where Legends & Lattes focused primarily on the development of the shop itself, this book tried to straddle that same relaxed energy and multiple life-threatening dangers, and - for me, personally - it didn't quite strike the right balance. There were several interesting plot points involving mystery and danger, and so when time was spent on the cozy shop and loving relationship I found myself getting bored and impatient, wanting more of a focus on the other plot lines.

(Mild)

The shop and its success was also established very quickly, so I wasn't at all invested in that aspect of the book for most of it.

Content Warnings

kickitupanotch7's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Content Warnings

astropova's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Honestly, I'm a little disappointed that I didn't like the book more. On the surface, it sounded like it had all the things I could possibly want in a nice little cozy fantasy. However, I feel like it just fell a little flat.

I loved Visk, Matild, Tarly, and Gossley. Reyna was great. Kianthe - I just did not like. I feel like either her character was not very well developed, or maybe that was what she was supposed to be like but I just found her really annoying. I feel like the narrative treats Reyna's and Kianthe's individual issues as comparable in personal pain, but it kind of forgets that Kianthe has had the agency to control her own life all along, at least to a greater degree than Reyna.

I think that Kianthe comes across as a bit whiny and immature to me, especially compared to Reyna. Her biggest issues in her life are that she feels the yoke of her responsibility, duty, and title. She feels that she doesn't have the option to have a relationship because all anyone ever sees her as is the Arcandor. She feels that she can't go out and do anything she wants or live like she wants because the Mages won't let her. But has she... tried? Has she tried to date before Reyna and been burned? The one-shot at the end suggests that she hasn't. At one point, she meets Reyna, and just decides to try it. She just decides to change her circumstances, so she does, and it all works out perfectly for her. And I get that it's supposed to show how important Reyna is to her, but... she could have just decided that the whole time? And then she just decides to run away and open a bookshop. And when asked if the Mages will let that happen, she actually scoffs at the idea that they can control her! Because she's the one in charge! What??? Wasn't this your whole struggle?? It feels like Kianthe has had the agency the whole time to change the aspects of her life that she doesn't like, but just hasn't in favor of doing nothing and just complaining about it. On the other hand, Reyna hasn't had the agency to change anything, since she has been stuck under the thumb of a bloodthirsty tyrant, until she decides that she's willing to literally risk her life in order to run away. It is far more costly to her to do this than for Kianthe to do anything.

For all that the "power imbalance" affecting their relationship is portrayed to be that Kianthe is a major figure of authority and Reyna struggles with that, I don't think that's the biggest imbalance in the relationship. Rather, I think it's that Reyna is constantly paying pretty drastic costs to take a chance on this relationship and this life, both in terms of risk and money, while Kianthe just kind of... coasts, I guess? Like yeah, she fixed the floor, and put plants in, and found some books. But it feels like her contributions to the shop and the relationship are in no way comparable to Reyna's. It feels like Reyna is an adult, but I Kianthe is just a 15-year-old YA protagonist.

This wasn't my only issue. I also thought that the flow of the book was very stilted, kind of as if the author had a checklist of scenes to show, but didn't really care about what happened between them.

And it was very clear that the author wanted to depict a clear, textbook "healthy" relationship. All the conflicts Reyna and Kianthe have are resolved immediately. They always do the correct thing in disagreements. Neither is ever left with hurt feelings. Everyone forgives and forgets and immediately makes jokes again in the next paragraph. I think this is probably a nod to the cozy genre, which everyone seems to think is completely conflict-averse. However, it just makes their relationship feel artificial. No one is that perfect, especially when emotions are involved. I feel like the relationship was a bit idealized.

Overall, it was a decent book, and I can see why many people like it. It just felt a bit flat to me.

Content Warnings

More...