yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved this! It was so sweet and cozy and light-hearted. I was in the feels the whole time.
I love Tandri. She’s fierce and adorable and loveable. I loved the journey through learning about coffee. As they added more items to the menu and enjoyed more items it was adorable to see. The romance was subtle but very adorable. Viv was someone who was so passionate and persistent you couldn’t help but root for her.
Definitely a low stakes book to read when you want to feel cozy and reminded of the power of friendship (corny I know but so true). Absolutely loved.
I love Tandri. She’s fierce and adorable and loveable. I loved the journey through learning about coffee. As they added more items to the menu and enjoyed more items it was adorable to see. The romance was subtle but very adorable. Viv was someone who was so passionate and persistent you couldn’t help but root for her.
Definitely a low stakes book to read when you want to feel cozy and reminded of the power of friendship (corny I know but so true). Absolutely loved.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol
wing_san's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-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
4.25
I cried with and for the characters. A lovely cozy story outside of my usual reads. The premise drew me in, but it was the characters that kept me. The ending tied loose ends a little too nicely for my taste, but I think that's more on the cozy low-stakes vibe the story has than any fault of the writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Minor: Misogyny and Murder
Spoiler
Arsonbisexualwentworth's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
I quite enjoyed most of this book. It was cute and sweet and cozy. The conflicts were dealt with well in ways that challenged Viv to grow and to stay on the path that she had chosen for herself. The barely-a-subplot romance was sweet, if underdeveloped. I would happily read sequels focusing on the coffee shop, the community as a whole, or basically any of the individual characters from this book.
The pacing was definitely strange. I read most of the book quickly, but some sections dragged a lot, particularly the ones with more action and more challenges.
I read another review that said that Legends and Lattes reads like fanfic of someone else's Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and I absolutely agree.
Now, this was originally a NaNoWriMo novel that was self-published and then picked up by Tor for traditional publication, and I totally understand why and how all of that happened. It's fun and charming and easy to read, and it got a LOT of hype, and there's nothing overtly wrong with it, so it went on to traditional publication virtually unchanged despite the occasionally weird pacing and what I am calling the coffee problem.
What is the coffee problem? It's that Viv, a person from outside the culture (gnomes, apparently, but only certain gnomes since the one in Viv's former adventuring party does not seem to have familiarity with it) that created coffee, brings it to a community far from its origins and marks it as an "exotic beverage." Now, I don't regard this as overt racism or anything like that. I just regard it as laziness. And laziness is fine in your NaNoWriMo novel, but I would love it if people publishing novels would think for about ten seconds about the potential real-world implications of what they're writing. I think if Legends and Lattes were less an overt coffee shop AU--if, say, it were focused on a fictional drink that Viv brings to this community, either from her travels or from her own place/culture of origin--this would be a total non-issue. But it still made me feel weird and made me wish that there had been more conscious thought put into the construction of this world beyond D&D coffee shop AU.
I really enjoyed this book overall, but it felt escapist to the point of laziness at times in its construction, and I'm not ultimately the target audience for that approach.
The pacing was definitely strange. I read most of the book quickly, but some sections dragged a lot, particularly the ones with more action and more challenges.
I read another review that said that Legends and Lattes reads like fanfic of someone else's Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and I absolutely agree.
Now, this was originally a NaNoWriMo novel that was self-published and then picked up by Tor for traditional publication, and I totally understand why and how all of that happened. It's fun and charming and easy to read, and it got a LOT of hype, and there's nothing overtly wrong with it, so it went on to traditional publication virtually unchanged despite the occasionally weird pacing and what I am calling the coffee problem.
What is the coffee problem? It's that Viv, a person from outside the culture (gnomes, apparently, but only certain gnomes since the one in Viv's former adventuring party does not seem to have familiarity with it) that created coffee, brings it to a community far from its origins and marks it as an "exotic beverage." Now, I don't regard this as overt racism or anything like that. I just regard it as laziness. And laziness is fine in your NaNoWriMo novel, but I would love it if people publishing novels would think for about ten seconds about the potential real-world implications of what they're writing. I think if Legends and Lattes were less an overt coffee shop AU--if, say, it were focused on a fictional drink that Viv brings to this community, either from her travels or from her own place/culture of origin--this would be a total non-issue. But it still made me feel weird and made me wish that there had been more conscious thought put into the construction of this world beyond D&D coffee shop AU.
I really enjoyed this book overall, but it felt escapist to the point of laziness at times in its construction, and I'm not ultimately the target audience for that approach.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Violence and Sexual harassment
mlovesbooks's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual harassment
jessereadsthings's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
3.0
Overall cute and very fun to read. The romance needed a bit more time to grow, but was still nice. Definitely interested in reading the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
sandwiiche's review
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
4.0
such a comfy and cozy read! it was v different to my usual style of books (fast paced, action packed) so it was a nice change. i especially enjoyed it because i would also like to open my own food related business one day ☕
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual harassment
amuletofkings's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Very cute! A nice break from the gigantic page counts and world-ending stakes common in fantasy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Blood and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cursing, Racism, and Sexual harassment
fmcphaden's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
4.5
This is the most relaxed I’ve ever felt while reading a book, and yet I was never bored. It’s delightful.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Stalking
Other than fire, the triggers are dealt in such a way that they are not distressing. The section dealing with fire is important but not long or very gory.goodnessgraceous's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Perfect for anyone who’s ever wanted to have the courage to openly love all of the people around them, Legends and Lattes is well known for launching the online frenzy for the “cozy fantasy” genre, and for good reason. This short, sweet novel evokes the feeling of time spent playing dungeons & dragons with your favorite people, if you’re into that (I know I am).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual harassment
caitlinemccann's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual harassment