Reviews with content warning for Gore - Legends & Lattes

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

54 reviews

strabbyfieldz's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

cute and frothy in a pleasing sort of way. I don't know what sort of wiring I possess to so thoroughly enjoy reading Building Compilations as a narrative but it really works for me in this story; perhaps Baldree just has a knack for tapping into the satisfaction of creating something out of the ruins of what it was before - it's a trait that he imbues into the workers of Legends and Lattes too.

I have qualms though. viv's arc didn't really seem to move? it just got reiterated a lot. the rest of the cast slot into their respective allyship with her very easily. too easily... I wish more had been made of their dynamics with each other and as a group, because I loved them all a lot (Thimble the most, of course)

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orphan_maker's review

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emotional funny hopeful 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

3.5

Cozy, sweet and heartwarming. Not enough romance tho 😔

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augustrogue's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-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

4.0

The perfect cozy first read of the year. I'm willing to hand-wave a few logical inconsistencies regarding the Madrigal subplot - and the somewhat silly choice of using the terms 'latte' and 'barista', but tiptoeing around others like 'biscotti' and 'chocolate croissant' - to enjoy the lower stakes, found family fantasy vibes. Breezy to read and easy to love, with very charming and memorable characters. Reading this made me crave some fresh baked pastries.

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tyras_bookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

I flew through this and loved it! Viv is very cool—a world-wearied Orc that’s fallen in love with coffee and wants to open her own shop. It was a little like what I expect D&D to be like as a book with Viv’s little side quest. Like we watch her buy a shop and fix it up with another outcast type and you’d think it would be boring but it was so precious.

My favorite part was the budding romance between Viv and Tandry because it was so subtle and sweet. Just two ladies working alongside each other and developing into their love and partnership by accident.

But then Finus and the fire! Broke my heart. That’s a really important moment though. Viv has chosen her new dream in her new life – – the coffee shop and all that it can symbolize – – over her old life of marauding and adventures. By leaving Blackblood (super cool spooky sword) to burn in the fire, she’s finally chosen inner peace for herself, even in the midst of literal chaos.

But even then her friends and found family gather around her to rebuild and it’s just such a fun, lovely story.

The only ding would be having the Pages to Fill chapter at the end of the story because I could I missed it! It adds to the world building and helps us understand the characters more but I think it would have been more impact in the beginning.

Definitely recommend and would reread!

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gingerbirder's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.5

This is a cozy lil' read. A sweet story about found family and fate without being too saccharine. Set in a high fantasy world.

I expected more fantasy adventure (or any, really). Instead it's the "npc" side of the fantasy. The non-adventurers who keep the world moving and the coffee hot while the heroes are out slaying dragons. Not the best, but certainly not the worst.

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jesshudzik's review against another edition

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adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

I listened to the Audiobook book of this, read by the author, and it was excellent. The book was a cozy read, although it did get tense at times and there was a prolonged scene w a fire, so check the CW. There was plenty if mystery and just enough adventure to keep things interesting while still being a relaxing read.

The MC has had enough of adventuring and quite literally hangs up her sword in the interest of opening a coffee shop in a new town. She quickly needs to make friends with some locals to help make her dream a reality and somw friendships blossom into more.

There is a wide variety of characters of lots of different fantasy races and many offer nods to the existence of real world racism as the characters all kind of acknowledge having dealt with prejudice in their pasts.

The characters all form heartwarming bonds, sometimes where you least expect it, and the MC finds there is more to life than adventuring and coffee.

And there is a giant cat!

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taurus411's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing fast-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

3.0

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chronic_listener's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

This was such a comfy, cozy read with lots of wholesome moments that had me go "🥹". I really liked the details of Viv and Cal building the shop, that combined with all the baked goods slowly added to the shop felt like unlocking new levels in a cozy video game.

I totally see how this is beloved by so many but for me personally a 5 star read needs to really move me and leave a lasting impression, which as sweet and fun as this book was, in just not the case here for me.

Would totally recommend if you are looking for a short, quick and enjoyable book with a coffee shop DIY project and found family vibes.

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booksoversecondbreakfast's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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? No

5.0

I just loved this book so much!! It's definitely a cozy fantasy, so don't expect something fast-paced and thrilling, but it's just so sweet and full of so much well thought out lore and intrigue.

It's a story of a retired mercenary & adventure orc, Viv, and her journey building a business and a community. There's a secondary plot that features a romance between Viv and one of the other characters, but it's not as central as the community-building plot of the book. I had hoped that there would be more romance to this book, because I really enjoyed it, but I can't penalize the book for not having as much of as I'd have preferred, especially because it was so tastefully written and the rest of the plot was so interesting otherwise.

All in all, this was totally a 5-star book! Especially for fantasy! The characters were all so interesting and loveable, the setting left me wanting to explore the world and visit Viv's coffee shop, and the magic system seemed well thought out and interesting. It was such a wonderful found-family story, which I'm a total sucker for, and I loved how this author made that work in such an interesting and well-written fantasy world. We totally need more books like these! I borrowed this book via ebook from the library, but I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy of this book for my library, because I expect to comfort-reread this several times throughout my lifetime.

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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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