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abbey_marie's review against another edition
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 readmaybe 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!)
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:
-
-
-
Overall, this was an awesome book! I would totally recommend it to anyone looking for a cozy read
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
technobabbletime's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved this book. The characters are really well written and I love all of the allusions to D&D. It makes me think a lot more about my D&D characters and what they want. -0.5 because I would have loved a little more about Viv's relationship with some of the characters, especially her old adventuring party.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual harassment
cieratara's review against another edition
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
perfectcupoftea's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual harassment
cymbal_curtain's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
Pretty chill story. Very straightforward plot. A book that is difficult to read when you aren't drinking a cup of coffee because you'll wish you were. I did expect more legends, that the main character would talk to her customers about her adventures, but what it actually was was still a good read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Stalking and Sexual harassment
Minor: Violence
on_ree_'s review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is a very relaxing and easy to enjoy book. It’s a great mix of cafe culture, ye olde tavern vibes and mythology lore. There are definitely conflicts with an antagonist but mostly it’s just really nice.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual harassment
* Please note the s harrassment is mild and more so a display of how that character that says it is bad and that the main character would never allow it to continue or escalate. * There is arson, if that triggers you then be mindful of that but it isn’t overly graphic or particularly threatening.fionamclary's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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? No
3.5
This was a good one to read while going through a complicated move. Not the most thrilling, but reassuring and warm. Plus, there's a giant cat!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence and Stalking
Minor: Racism and Sexual harassment
httponyo's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
I'd give this more than 5 stars if I could !! I'd been on & off about putting this on my tbr and made a last minute decision when I saw the book at the library and boy am I glad I read it. Perfect 10 outta 10 .
Where to even start? The plot line is great, you don't need to know anything about fantasy-type characters to enjoy this. Baldree does an excellent job of naturally slipping you into the story, especially with how it starts. I'm usually not for stories starting at the end of a journey but the anime Frieren and this book has changed my mind! Oohh and the characters, I love everyone,save for Fennus but even he was pretty well written. and the relationships that are built along the way. The romance also didn't feel forced and I was routing for them by the end of it . Shout out to the MVP Amity <3 If you're on the fence like I was then, I highly recommend reading this and finding out for yourself!
Where to even start? The plot line is great, you don't need to know anything about fantasy-type characters to enjoy this. Baldree does an excellent job of naturally slipping you into the story, especially with how it starts. I'm usually not for stories starting at the end of a journey but the anime Frieren and this book has changed my mind! Oohh and the characters, I love everyone,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Stalking and Sexual harassment
Minor: Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
modzu's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence, Stalking, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism
dragon_s_hoard's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
Very cozy, very low stakes. It’s a slice of life, healing anime in the form of a high fantasy book and it’s sweet.
The only thing that kind of annoyed me was the characters kept being referred to by their races. I understand the logic behind this from a writing perspective given the high fantasy setting, but it made Viv seem a little racist in a way that was clearly unintentional.
The only thing that kind of annoyed me was the characters kept being referred to by their races. I understand the logic behind this from a writing perspective given the high fantasy setting, but it made Viv seem a little racist in a way that was clearly unintentional.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Stalking and Sexual harassment