Bookshops & Bonedust is the perfect prequel to Legends & Lattes. Centered around a failing bookshop, Viv ends up in a quiet town where she thinks nothing will happen. Until she comes across a bookshop...

The characters are wonderful, the narrative immerses you in the setting, and the story moves along at a great pace, keeping you gripped all the way through. By the end, there's a tiny part of you that wishes it could remain in Murk with Fern, Gallina, and Maylee, and I hope we'll meet them again in some future story.

This is cozy fantasy at its best, with magic, necromancers, bonedust, and a heartwarming story of friendship and romance. Highly recommend.

Legends and Lattes was one of my favourite reads last year so I couldn’t wait to read this one but I was also a bit worried it wouldn’t live up to the first book.

I shouldn’t have worried, this book gave me all the same joy and warm fuzzy feelings as the first, this is a prequel so we already know where Viv ends up but this is such a good story in its own right.

The highlight as with the first book is really the relationships between the characters. Highly recommend this one!

It was a cozy warm book, the most powerful part of which was the setting. The action parts, though few, did not convince me. I really liked the way the end of the story is linked to the sequel.
Recommended for people who want a book with a setting and characters that warm your heart and like to be surrounded by books.

I adored Legends and Lattes when I read it last year, and while I was a bit worried about this prequel, it totally hits the same spot. In this one, Viv is just starting her adventuring career, and is merrily swinging her trusty sword when a wight stabs her in the leg, requiring several weeks of rest and recuperation. Her comrades deposit her in a sleepy seaside town while they continue their quest, and Viv ends up making the acquaintance of the local bookshop owner, Fern, in her personal quest to avoid boredom.

Given that we know Viv’s eventual destination, we know from the start that the friends that she makes in the little town of Murk will only be fleeting, but that doesn’t make it any the easier, for Viv or for the reader, to leave Fern, and Maylee, and Satchel and the others behind. But like Viv, we make the most of the time we spend with them.

As with its predecessor, this core of this book is in the relationships that the protagonist forms while she’s in town. With Fern, the bookshop owner, with whom she becomes firm friends; with Maylee, the baker, with whom she starts a shy romance; with Iridis, the watch leader, with whom she forms a mutual respect. And then there’s Satchel. I wasn’t expecting the bonedust of the title to be literal, but there’s a talking, book-loving skeleton right there.

There’s more magic in this book than the last one too. One criticism of Legends and Lattes was that it was a book about starting a small business wrapped in a thin veneer of fantasy. Well between Satchel, the book, and Varine (a necromancer and villain of the piece), I don’t think that can be said about this one, even if Viv does spend more time wielding a paintbrush than a sword.

The afterword talks about the book that Baldree had intended to write, a mystery story set in the same world, but with different characters. That didn’t work out this time, but it sounds like a story that I’d love to read.

In the meantime we have this. It’s cosy, a delight to read, and with a somewhat bittersweet ending, as Viv does, after all, leave Murk to continue the adventuring career that ends with her starting Legends & Lattes, twenty years down the line. We know where she ends up, but I loved this little window showing us one of the events that made her into the person she becomes.

The right things happen at the wrong time

Having not read legends and lattes I had no idea what to expect with this book , fantasy is not my normal genre .

What I found was a cozy feel book centred around viv , and the friendships she makes . Befriending the owner of a little book shop helping the owner with increase sales. , getting into trouble and romance with a dwarf .

I felt like I was reading a more grown up episode of shrek ( not a bad thing ) and will definitely give legends and lattes a go .

Thank you @net galley and @oan McMillan for the opportunity to ARC read this book

I was looking forward to Bookshops and Bonedust after loving Legends and Lattes and it certainly didn't disappoint. I enjoyed being back with VIv and a new cast of characters, this time with the addition of books! Bookshops and bonedust is a warm hug of a cosy fantasy and I would definitely reccommend. Thanks #netgalley

Loved this prequel to Legends and Lattes: similar cosy vibes and a great storyline, but a lot more about Viv finding herself. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoyed the first book, or anyone looking for a low stakes fantasy read

This was so lovely and charming. If you liked Legends and Lattes, then this is a must. I actually liked it a bit more I think, because it's got more action than L&L, so I guess it depends on what you're looking for, although it has made me want a L&L reread! It's still got a lot of peaceful downtime though and lovely descriptions of baked goods, reading interesting books (I actually want to read some of the books Viv did) and renovating a shop, a small community, found family, definitely very cosy and lovely. Hopefully there will be more, either prequels or sequels would be great!

This is a great prequel to Legends & Lattes. Another cozy fantasy with characters you don’t want to leave behind and a story you don’t want to put down!

This book had me very relaxed whilst also engaged in the story and intrigued by the mystery. I loved the sleepy seaside village and the friendships Viv develops with the locals while recovering and finding ways to pass time in Murk. It was very much a cozy fantasy and I couldn't wait to get home each day to read more! Would highly recommend this book, it has everything a good story should have; some action and adventure, strong and diverse characters, locations made interesting with rich detail, a mystery to be solved, and personal growth of the main character. I also really loved just reading about Viv in the bookshop and picturing it in it's original state then transformed with Viv's help. Great book, would read it again.

LOVED THE AUDIOBOOK! #
the narration makes this book so much better and cosier for reading!
I also prefer this book to the first one, can tell the writer has matured in his craft. The storyline and the characters feel a lot more complex in this prequel and the ending made me go aawwww

Yes 👏 Yes 👏 Yes 👏

If you loved Legends & Lattes you will double love Bookshops & Bonedust.

I mean. It has books, for a start.

And there’s more has mouth-watering baked goods - dwarven baked goods to be precise. There’s also a foul mouth rattkin, a feisty gnome, a nasty as heck necromancer and a walking, talking (sweeping and sorting) humunculous. And of course, everyone’s favourite Orc, Viv.

This is another super cozy, high-fantasy, low-stakes masterpiece from Travis Baldree. The bookish vibes are strong with this one.

I felt like the plot was an exciting insight into Viv’s earlier life before she opens her coffee shop in Thune.

After being injured on the hunt for a powerful necromancer, Viv is shipped-off and cooped up in a remote seaside town called Murk to recover. Viv was never going to be able to just sit quiet whilst she regains her strength and heals!

The epilogue was the piece de resistance for me! It tied things up and wrapped them in a neat little bow - and… perhaps… was it setting us up for book three? I for one hope so!

Huge thanks to Tor Books, Travis Baldree and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

For a first journey into the world of High Fantasy I really quite enjoyed this.

At first I struggled with trying to visualise chapters but later, once a picture of each character had formed, I found it much easier to get into the storyline. The descriptive writing really helped with this too.

I love that there are a lot of strong female roles in this story with each playing their own part. After a great deal of build up I was a little underwhelmed by Viv's encounter with Varine the Pale though. I think I was personally expecting a lot more exciting battle scenes.

That aside, I will likely read Legends and Lattes as well, it didn't take away from the enjoyment too much.

Bookshops and Bonedust is a wonderful prequel to Legends and Lattes, the brilliant, cosy fantasy novel written by Travis Baldree. The story takes place when Viv is much younger and slap bang in the middle of the, often violent, lifestyle she said goodbye to at the beginning of L & L.


During the book there are a couple of familiar faces and a plethora of new ones. Set in a sleepy, coastal town with a bookshop, a bakery and a cosy inn, Bookshops... is another dose of the warm hug that Legends prescribed and a very welcome hug it is too.


There are some elements of violence, just like the first, but most of the story dives back into friendships, tasty baked goods, and a lot of love.


Some of the new characters are fantastic and, without wanting to divulge too much, I would die on my sword for Satchel.


Bookshops and Bonedust will have many fans, of that I have no doubt, and I do hope we get to hear more tales. Thanks to Tor Books and Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So satisfying, simultaneously wanting to read it to completion whilst wanting it to last forever.
An absolutely perfect book for practicing escapism, I could happily visit this world on a regular basis. I’m hoping that the author find something another story to tell soon. He’s a master storyteller and weaves a wonderful narrative of high fantasy and low stakes.
Satchel was my absolute favourite character, with Potroast coming in a close second.

I've heard great things about Legends and Lattes, but haven't yet gotten to it on my TBR. When I saw this was a prequel to that book, I thought it would be a great opportunity to dive into the 'verse and introduce myself.

The attention Travis Balder has received over the last year is well deserved - this was a wonderful slice of cosy fantasy. In my reviews I often pick out and pay close attention to world building, and that's because it's often such an integral part of a book - particularly a fantasy book - to me. I need the world to feel real and whole, and Bookshops and Bonedust completely manages that - I could so clearly visualise Murk and I wanted to be wandering the shops myself.

The characters feel whole and fleshed out, with complex personalities and backstories - and I love the inclusion of races beyond the usual fantasy norm. My only downside is that certain parts left me feeling unfulfilled - and I suspect that is on purpose, but I did really want more from some of the relationships - the ending felt almost a little sudden.

Overall, a lovely comforting read, and I will definitely be turning to L&L soon.

Bookshops & Bonedust
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was lucky enough to get my hands on this as an arc, so thank you so much Pan Macmillan.

I don’t know how he does it, but Travis is truly able to transport you into a cosy, fantasy world like no other. I loved legends and lattes and this one was honestly, just as good.

It’s so innocent, so wholesome and made me feel like I was wrapped in a big, fluffy blanket. The characters are so endearing, the writing is easy, but still so well done and I couldn’t get enough of the ‘found family’ vibes within this little book.
It was so nice to get to know Viv and go along on her adventures before she set up her coffee shop and I felt it really added depth to her as a character.

This was so enjoyable and, as always I feel so happy and warm when I finish one of Travis’ books. Let’s hope for another!

I absolutely adored Legends and Lattes, so I was equal parts excited and anxious about Bookshops and Bonedust - a second book by a favourite author is always nerve wracking! But there was absolutely no need because B&B was everything I could have wanted!

There was an adorable (foul mouthed) sidekick! There was a tiny griffin! Slow burn romance! A tiny little bookshop! I mean, what more could you ask for?

If you’re looking for another low stakes cosy fantasy, definitely pick up Bookshops and Bonedust. It’s a hug in a book; a cosy blanket on a cold day. Simply perfect.

I enjoyed this a lot, it is cosy and relaxed, but it has a very interesting plot behind it with a very evil and powerful villain. 
In this one, Viv is younger and full of confidence and eager for adventures and fights, but she finds herself injured and stuck in a small town with nothing to do. 
We can see here how her good hand with business had nothing to do with magic in legends and lattes and all to do with her.  
We see how Galina and her meet and also meet some new old friends very varied, from a quite different kind of ratkin from what we are used to, a funny pet and a very formal skeleton, and of course a new love interested. 
Great read, with the same ingredients that make legends and lattes a favourite. And I can say that maybe I even liked this one a little bit more?? 
And the epilogue was perfection

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advance copy.

I've had this on preorder for so long as the book looks so stunning. I am so grateful to receive the early copy.

I really enjoyed Legends and Lattes so I knew this would be great too. It did not disappoint. It's like a warm cosy hug, perfect for this time of year.

The characters are great and the writing is brilliant.

4.5 stars.