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itsjayprobaby's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
3.5
I went into Legends and Lattes with high hopes for my first read in the cosy fantasy genre, and maybe it's my high expectations that let it down in the end but I was unfortunately left a little disappointed.
There are plenty of good things to be said for the book. I absolutely adored the characters, and really routed for Viv's success the entire time. I didn't go into this book knowing there was an LGBT+ romance, so that was also a pleasant surprise for me as a queer reader, and Viv and Tandri's romance was a perfect slow burn. The cast of characters was interesting, and I felt like each filled their role in the story well.
The book certainly was a high fantasy with low stakes exactly as it promises, and I think this was ultimately it's downfall for me. The prose isn't badly written by any stretch, but it is very simple which, for me, feels a little out of place in a vibrant high fantasy setting.
Baldree does an amazing job of bringing modernity into the high fantasy setting and nothing at all felt unreasonable about Viv opening a coffee shop with what amounts to all the mods and cons, including a bard with an electric guitar and amp. I think that in itself is a skill to be applauded, but unfortunately I felt the actually fantasy parts of the world where often under described, with some lore mentioned but never really explained or expanded upon.
My biggest issue was that I did feel that the overarching plot fell a little flat. It almost felt like the author was too afraid of losing the cosy vibe by adding in too much suspense or drama, and while that is a valid concern, the way that each problem Viv and Co have to overcome is resolved with a literary snap of the fingers felt both predictable and underwhelming. I definitely would have preferred just a little more tension, and I think the story could have handled that without losing the essence of a cosy, feel good story.
Overall a good, comfortable read with a happy ending that made me smile. I would definitely recommend this book to readers that want something light and feel good where any tension is resolved quickly and without lasting damage. If you, like me, need a more substantial plot to keep you interested in the beautiful cosy backdrop then you may also find yourself struggling to finish this book (though it is definitely worth it in the end).
There are plenty of good things to be said for the book. I absolutely adored the characters, and really routed for Viv's success the entire time. I didn't go into this book knowing there was an LGBT+ romance, so that was also a pleasant surprise for me as a queer reader, and Viv and Tandri's romance was a perfect slow burn. The cast of characters was interesting, and I felt like each filled their role in the story well.
The book certainly was a high fantasy with low stakes exactly as it promises, and I think this was ultimately it's downfall for me. The prose isn't badly written by any stretch, but it is very simple which, for me, feels a little out of place in a vibrant high fantasy setting.
Baldree does an amazing job of bringing modernity into the high fantasy setting and nothing at all felt unreasonable about Viv opening a coffee shop with what amounts to all the mods and cons, including a bard with an electric guitar and amp. I think that in itself is a skill to be applauded, but unfortunately I felt the actually fantasy parts of the world where often under described, with some lore mentioned but never really explained or expanded upon.
My biggest issue was that I did feel that the overarching plot fell a little flat. It almost felt like the author was too afraid of losing the cosy vibe by adding in too much suspense or drama, and while that is a valid concern, the way that each problem Viv and Co have to overcome is resolved with a literary snap of the fingers felt both predictable and underwhelming. I definitely would have preferred just a little more tension, and I think the story could have handled that without losing the essence of a cosy, feel good story.
Overall a good, comfortable read with a happy ending that made me smile. I would definitely recommend this book to readers that want something light and feel good where any tension is resolved quickly and without lasting damage. If you, like me, need a more substantial plot to keep you interested in the beautiful cosy backdrop then you may also find yourself struggling to finish this book (though it is definitely worth it in the end).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
lizzieiles's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol
rachelpacz's review against another edition
lighthearted
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Blood and Alcohol
monarchbooks's review
adventurous
relaxing
fast-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? Yes
5.0
If I wasn't so fucking tired from staying up late to reas this book, I'd probably be sobbing. Truly fantastic book for anyone who loves the found family trope. Very manageable high fantasy for anyone who might need an introduction (or a convincing) to that genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
barbarianmissy's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
4.0
Ouch, this was TOO CUTE! I loved it, it was like a warm, dungeons-and-dragons-coded hug.
Cozy fantasy is a genre I can really get into.
Cozy fantasy is a genre I can really get into.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
chronic_listener's review against another edition
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 "š„¹". 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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Gore, Racism, Xenophobia, Stalking, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
lightningmc_logyn's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
5.0
This is everything I want in a book. Iāve been curious of Baldreeās work for a while and am glad I finally borrowed this from the library.
Vivās journey satisfies the promise of a slow, cozy development-and it delivers extra, with compelling mysteries woven throughout and pulled together into a beautiful climax of plot.
The culmination of this story is the characters, and they are easy to adore. Each character is rich with history and dreams that are revealed sometimes subtly and other times clearly as you get to know them. I have come to love each of them, they feel like people I know. Baldree has a talent for sharp yet tender renderings of his characters. Thimble was my favorite, as I found his passion and countenance charming. Viv has great complexity, and goes about life with a fumbling earnestness that makes her a wonderful main character.
Baldreeās prose is impeccable. His vocabulary is vast, and the way he describes even the simplest things often took my breath away. His writing style is something I canāt say Iāve ever seen before, it is fascinating. The way Legends & Lattes is written combined with the plot encourages a reader to sink into the story. I donāt drink coffee, but the love and tenderness for a cozy cafe seeps through the pages into oneās soul; this has me yearning to be in a lively cafe in winter.
I canāt sing my praises high enough for this. It was a delightful, enlivening, and thoroughly refreshing read that I know I will return to again. (I knew this would become a favorite only a couple chapters in.) In the mean time, I look forward to reading the next book and seeing more of the lovely main character, Viv.
A few spoiler-filled thoughts:
I loved that the romance between Tandri and Viv was subtle and slow. I often find secondary romance plots take center stage and the main character abandons their original direction. In this book Viv instead learns to hold her love alongside her dreams, settling them beside each other, complementary.
One of the main themes is about believing in yourself and those around you, widening your grasp to take care of eachother. Itās a testament to found family and leaning on others, a very heartwarming and fulfilling story.
I adore amity. I love cats and I wish she was real. I love the soft ending of the story, and how in the epilogue Amity gets revenge on Fennus.
The short story at the end, Pages To Fill, was satisfying and it was endearing to experinve the journey Viv often references in the book.
Vivās journey satisfies the promise of a slow, cozy development-and it delivers extra, with compelling mysteries woven throughout and pulled together into a beautiful climax of plot.
The culmination of this story is the characters, and they are easy to adore. Each character is rich with history and dreams that are revealed sometimes subtly and other times clearly as you get to know them. I have come to love each of them, they feel like people I know. Baldree has a talent for sharp yet tender renderings of his characters. Thimble was my favorite, as I found his passion and countenance charming. Viv has great complexity, and goes about life with a fumbling earnestness that makes her a wonderful main character.
Baldreeās prose is impeccable. His vocabulary is vast, and the way he describes even the simplest things often took my breath away. His writing style is something I canāt say Iāve ever seen before, it is fascinating. The way Legends & Lattes is written combined with the plot encourages a reader to sink into the story. I donāt drink coffee, but the love and tenderness for a cozy cafe seeps through the pages into oneās soul; this has me yearning to be in a lively cafe in winter.
I canāt sing my praises high enough for this. It was a delightful, enlivening, and thoroughly refreshing read that I know I will return to again. (I knew this would become a favorite only a couple chapters in.) In the mean time, I look forward to reading the next book and seeing more of the lovely main character, Viv.
A few spoiler-filled thoughts:
One of the main themes is about believing in yourself and those around you, widening your grasp to take care of eachother. Itās a testament to found family and leaning on others, a very heartwarming and fulfilling story.
I adore amity. I love cats and I wish she was real. I love the soft ending of the story, and how in the epilogue Amity gets revenge on Fennus.
The short story at the end, Pages To Fill, was satisfying and it was endearing to experinve the journey Viv often references in the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Violence, and Alcohol
The book starts with Viv leaving hee old life. The remainder of book is quite mild and calm overall. The racism is in the context of fictional D&D inspired races facing prejudice. It is mild, yet present throughout. Viv often modifies her behavior to be āless threatening.ā Context on Fire/injury (big spoiler!):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, āHigh Fantasy, Low Stakes.ā 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. Iām 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. Iāll 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! š³ļøāš Just love the love story and how it unfolded. I honestly wasnāt expecting it at first and then really grew to love it as a smaller side plot. And the ending! š„¹š„¹š„¹ IYKYK
Things I Liked:
- The Fantasy. Iām not a high-fantasy reader, so this genre kind of caught me off guard in some ways since I didnāt really know what to expect going into it. I wasnāt 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 donāt know a lot about it and it seems complicated, but this was a great introduction.
Things I Didnāt 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 expectationsāI went into the book thinking it would be super cozy and start super cozy, after Viv had gotten the Scalvertās Stone, and it kind of caught me off guard. Iām 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 didnāt 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 thereās 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! š§”šāļø (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. Iām 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. Iāll 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! š³ļøāš Just love the love story and how it unfolded. I honestly wasnāt expecting it at first and then really grew to love it as a smaller side plot. And the ending! š„¹š„¹š„¹ IYKYK
Things I Liked:
- The Fantasy. Iām not a high-fantasy reader, so this genre kind of caught me off guard in some ways since I didnāt really know what to expect going into it. I wasnāt 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 donāt know a lot about it and it seems complicated, but this was a great introduction.
Things I Didnāt 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
kkulhannie's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
staceyinthesticks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol