Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

El café de las leyendas by Travis Baldree

6 reviews

abbey_marie's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I really liked this book once I got into it. As the book jacket says, “High Fantasy, Low Stakes.” It fits that description perfectly and is an incredibly cozy, relaxing read and perfect for fall!

Things I Loved:
- The Food! Cinnamon rolls, coffee, chocolate - this book has all the cozy deliciousness with detailed descriptions that will make your mouth water. I’m not lying when I say that I am now craving a cinnamon roll as big as my head! (And I would LOVE to have a real Legends and Lattes somewhere to go get one!) I also loved that no one had ever heard of them before, because that was just charming and added a bit more magic to the story and the detailed food descriptions.
- The Characters! I loved how Viv was a strong female lead, Tandri too, and the diverse cast of characters that created a community around Viv as her cafe grew and thrived. Val and Thimble were perfect! Thimble especially with his soft-spoken demeanor and baking genius! Not joking - Baldree should totally make a stuffy of him because all the members of my book club would probably buy it lol.
- Slice of Life! This book is perfect for those readers who love slice of life novels. This goes relatively day-by-day and is slow-medium paced, picking up more in the middle. I’ll admit that at first it took me a while to get into it, but once I did it was a cozy book I really wanted to return to at the end of the day under a cozy blanket with a warm bevvie in hand!
- The Setting! Thune was so cozy! It feels almost like a rural, medieval-like Scottish or Irish village, but in a fantasy setting. I really enjoyed the descriptive writing style used by Baldree and the way it drew you into the story. I think it added an extra layer of warmth and coziness to the story.
- Queer Rep! 🏳️‍🌈 Just love the love story and how it unfolded. I honestly wasn’t expecting it at first and then really grew to love it as a smaller side plot. And the ending! 🥹🥹🥹 IYKYK

Things I Liked:
- The Fantasy. I’m not a high-fantasy reader, so this genre kind of caught me off guard in some ways since I didn’t really know what to expect going into it. I wasn’t familiar with many of the different types of characters (and am still not super well schooled on them now lol), but this book made me like high fantasy and want to learn more about it. I usually shy away from the genre because I don’t know a lot about it and it seems complicated, but this was a great introduction.

Things I Didn’t Like:
-
This book is made to be low stakes, so I understand that, but I do feel like the main conflict with the Madrigal was resolved too quickly. I almost wish there had been more tension there and the conflict with Fennus had been cut, even though it did add to the story. I actually loved how the community rallied around Viv after that, but I still feel like the main conflict arc could have been developed more and the tension could have been held onto more before coming to a resolution.

-
The beast killing scene at the beginning was a little too gory for me. Maybe it was expectations—I went into the book thinking it would be super cozy and start super cozy, after Viv had gotten the Scalvert’s Stone, and it kind of caught me off guard. I’m not big on gory fight scenes, so it just felt misplaced for me and I honestly skimmed it. (Had to come back to it later obviously lol, since I didn’t know some names.)

-
I wish we saw more of the seemingly magical, time-traveling dwarf! My book club said this too and I totally agree, I would have loved to see more of the little guy because I feel like there’s a story there!


Overall, this was an awesome book! I would totally recommend it to anyone looking for a cozy read
maybe minus the slightly gory prologue lol
or a relaxing book perfect for fall! Definitely for a lover of cinnamon rolls! 🧡🍁☕️ (Also, why is there no cinnamon roll emoji?! Someone needs to get on that!)

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greebkit's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? No

4.5

A very cozy read.

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revengful_mariner's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Warm and fuzzy at almost every turn, with just enough action to keep things interesting if that isn’t your thing. Absolutely adorable character designs, with genuine and natural stranger-to-friend-to-family growth. A romance that doesn’t feel rushed or like it comes out of nowhere, built on understanding and sometimes knowing your partner better than they know themselves. Addresses racism and sexism subtly but tactfully, with an emphasis on the value of community. A quick read but worth every second. 

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augustar14's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Come right in to Legends and Lattes! Learn what coffee is, have a tasty treat baked by the best baker in town, and settle in for a while. Who knows what friends you might make or interesting things you might see? 

Delightfully peaceful without ever being boring. Wonderfully full characters that will have you wishing for more time with them by the time the book is through.

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t_higgsreviews's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5 Stars
CAWPILE = 9.64

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Cozy domestic fantasy that's charming and inclusive

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