i adore the vibes of these books. this topped legends & lattes by far for me - the first is great, but this one is so much more developed and with higher stakes within the cosy-as-hell parameters. definitely think this will be a hit

This prequel was just as enjoyable as the previous book. I love these, really likeable protagonists, well written, moves quickly - more please!

📚 r e v i e w 📚
bookshops and bonedust - travis baldree

having loved legends and lattes when i read it last year i was super excited when @netgalley notified me that I was approved for the prequel!
much like last time, we are following viv as she navigates the world of retail, only this time she’s stuck in a dead end town while convalescing after getting friendly with the wrong side of a weapon while doing mercenary business. along the way she makes a host of friends, uncovers some nefarious deeds and helps a failing bookshop get back on its feet.
like legends and lattes, this is super cosy and comforting. it was the perfect read for curling up with a blanket during this ridiculously wet summer. i loved the undercurrent of sharing stories and the joy it gives you when you recommend a book to someone and they love it
so in the spirit of fern and viv i’m recommending this and i hope you love it too.
thank you to @netgalley for the early copy and thank you to travis baldree for creating this world. i want more orcs being domestic and working in retail. make it happen.
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The kind of low ish stakes cosy fantasy that’s just good,easy,enjoyable reading.
Really enjoyed this and the original legends and lattes.
Super cute and well written.
Will 100% be reading anything else this author comes out with.

Sweet, soft, and oh so cozy. I simply cannot get enough of these books! My thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for letting me savor this little treasure in advance!

Bookshops & Bonedust is an absolutely charming fantasy book. When I heard that there was going to be a prequel to Legends & Lattes, I was quite excited. This book definitely lived up to its predecessor.

You follow Viv as she’s healing from an injury, stuck in a seaside town. You’re able to see Viv as she learns to relax and make friends with some of the local townspeople. You also get some background for things that occur in Legends & Lattes. I found this book to be quite enjoyable and anyone looking for a cozy fantasy would surely enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'll admit, my experience of this book was hindered by the fact I am currently in a rather terrible reading slump. It took me much longer to read than it should've, which probably ruined the effectiveness of Baldree's novel.

That being said, I unfortunately enjoyed B&B less than L&L overall, even though I think this book does improve upon the first in some aspects. First of all, I think the character writing in B&B is an improvement; it juggles more side characters than L&L did, but each of them felt alive and well-developed - I have a particular fondness for the character of Satchel. The general writing quality is also much better, and I can't help it, I'm a sucker for sleepy seaside towns, so the setting of Murk was also appealing to me and I found it was built up vividly.

I additionally appreciated that this story had more stakes - I know a lot of cozy fantasy readers prefer as little stakes as possible in the genre, but I personally appreciated that there was some real threat this time. However, the stakes are also one of my main problems with this novel; the fact this is a prequel means that even though I liked them, they also fell flat because I knew that, because L&L exists, everything was going to be okay. I also thought it took too long for the plot to progress - I truly think B&B would've been much better if it lost about 100 pages. Too much time was spent going over the same daily events, and for me, it got too repetitive and even boring. I know I stated I was in a reading slump while I dived into this, but I don't think the fact that I found I was getting bored after a few pages because I knew it was going to be the same events happening every day helped, either. The middle of the novel just needed editing down a lot more, to me.

While I'm personally disappointed that I personally didn't enjoy this as much as L&L, I think a lot of people will find just as much solace and comfort within B&B's pages - and I'll still pick up anything Baldree writes going forward, I think.

Another wonderful, cosy fantasy from Baldree, giving us an insight into Viv's life, set twenty years before the events of Legends and Lattes.

As a bookseller myself, this one really hit home in so many ways, and as we see in the story, finding that special book to make a customer happy really is something that makes the low points of the job worthwhile.

The story isn't too fast paced but has plenty of action to balance the cosy feelings Baldree is known for. There are plenty of moments that make you stop and think - explorations of why we follow our passions, what we do for the people we love, and how to balance following our calling vs building heartfelt bonds with people, knowing we'll have to leave them behind to do the former.

Baldree is a master of creating diverse, rounded characters of all shapes and sizes, with believeable, unique personalities regardless of the fantasy setting. I love the balance between those fantasy and cosy, slice-of-life elements, and how he can create such relatable emotions in fantastical characters like orcs and dwarves.

As we saw in Legends and Lattes, there were incredible descriptions of food and drink that made my mouth water for most of the book. The world building is excellent, and it was just such an easy, enjoyable book to read - I think anything Baldree writes will be an instant read for me, and I'd highly recommend this one if you enjoyed Legends and Lattes (or even if you haven't, as it works as a standalone as well).

Travis Baldree is the master of cosy fantasy. Initially when L+L came out, I struggled with what folk meant when they described it as such - for me, it's a feeling. Imagine - it's raining outside; you're in the comfiest chair under a luxurious throw, next to a lit fire, drinking an indulgent hot chocolate and reading the perfect book. That book is L+L or Bookshops and Bonedust.

Bookshops and Bonedust is a prequel of sorts to Legends and Lattes, with us learning how Viv came to have her trusted sword. Once again, we're introduced to a small band of core characters who you become fully invested in - they're interesting, unique, and warm your heart. I fell completely in love with pretty much every one, especially Satchel ❤️

And the setting! The town is vivid and a book set predominantly around a bookshop - perfection.

There's peril, intrigue and a sprinkling of romance. I think I'd recommend this book to just about anyone.

Adored this. Perfect companion to Legends and Lattes and that epilogue was *chefs kiss *

Loved the blend of adventure with cosiness, it's just a fantastic recipe that Travis Baldree has perfected yet again.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC of Bookshops & Bonedust for an honest review.

This is the prequel to Legend & Lattes and follows a younger Viv currently a mercenary with Rackham's Ravens. However things aren't going quite to plan when she is injured in battle and has to rest up to the sleepy beach town of Murk to recover.

With so much time now on her hands Viv finds herself spending time at the local bookshop with its foul mouthed owner.

However adventure isn't far away for Viv when a suspicious traveler in a gray cloak appears. Juggling that a summer fling, a gnome insistent on getting Vivs help to join Rackham's Ravens and a vast number of skeletons, things aren't quite as quiet as they seem.

This book was just as cosy as the first with a tad more action involved.

I felt this story was abit more fleshed out than Legends & Lattes and we got an insight into Viv' s backstory and her time as a mercenary but with the perfect addition of a cosy bookshop.

Travis Baldree has a way with writing a great dynamic between his characters and the world building is also really well done. You could feel like you were there inside the bookshop laughing and joking and helping tidy up.

This book was very enjoyable with good twists and it gave me that perfect cosy evening read after work.

If you enjoyed Legends & Lattes you are going to love this prequel.

This is exactly what it says in the box a cosy fantasy. When you put Travis Baldree's books down, you immediately want to pick them back up so you can spend a little more time with the characters.I would die for Daella because she is so cuddly but also so grumpy. Nothing would make me happier than being sent to a sleepy seaside town to repair a sweet used bookshop! Even if she is unaware of it, she is genuinely living my dream!
When Viv was wounded in combat, she was taken to a little town to recover and rest. She discovered that the bookshop was a good location to be in that town, and my lord, did she make the most of that. I suppose the bakery was also a good location.

I was first hesitant about this book, but once I got over it, I fell in love with the plot, the route it placed Viv on, and the new cast of characters we encounter along the journey.

I really enjoyed this. I enjoyed the characters, especially Satchel and I liked the setting. I have not actually read Legends and Lattes yet but I'm just about to start as I definitely want to find out what happens to Viv.

If you loved Legends and Lattes then you will 100% want to read this, I promise you!

We are back with Viv but this time it's before Thune and coffee in the sea city of Murk where Viv is convalescing. In her recovery she stumbles across a bookshop and a bakery and some new faces....

What ensues is:

~ Found family,
~ A cozy read,
~ A charming but slightly dangerous town,
~ A foul mouthed shop owner,
~ A cute, odd animal,
~ Viv in all her glory,
~ A fabulous use of the word moist,
~ A skeleton who you'll love,
~ A small summer fling,
~ A book lover/advocate.

All of this will make you want to jump into this book headfirst so you can live in this world!

In the acknowledgements the author says he had a cozy, fun, mystery in his head set in Thune (and I'm hoping featuring Viv and Tandri) but this book came to pass instead. With the events at the end of B&B, I'm hoping we will now get the original too, preferably with Satchel (IYKYK), because I want to get this warm, fuzzy feeling again from this authors work!

'Sometimes, it'll never be the right time.
And sometimes, we aren't the right people yet.'

This is such a brilliant prequel, I really enjoy Travis Baldrees writing, so whimsical and magical, very easy fun reads.

Now at the start of this book, I was a little disappointed, I didn’t want to leave the timeline of Legends and Lattes, I didn’t want a prequel. It didn’t take long to change my mind. Travis Baldree has a way of writing characters, that as soon as you put the book down, you want to pick it up again to stay with them a little longer. Even after my initial trepidation, I loved this story and the path set before Viv in this book and the new cast of characters we meet along the way are an utter delight.
I would say read legends and lattes first, then this one (the epilogue won’t have the same impact if you read them out of publishing order)
Please, please, please write more in this series Travis Baldree!

This was so cozy omg I adored it! Daella is so grumpy but so soft and I’d die for her!! I would love nothing more than to be exiled to a slept town by the sea to renovate an adorable second hand bookstore! She’s truly living my dream even if she doesn’t know it!!

"It made me think of the story past the story. I think you found yours."

Travis Baldree hits the nail on the head with cosy fantasy again.

Viv was stabbed in battle and put in a small town to heal and rest. In that town she found that the bookshop was a good place to be and my lord did she take advantage of that. I guess the bakery was a good place to be as well.

Having read Legends & Lattes at the beginning of the year after a friend recommended it as one of her favourite books, when I saw Bookshops & Bonedust was available I just had to snap it up. I wasn't surprised to find yet another beautifully written story with it being such an easy and comforting read.

The only thing I ask, Travis Baldree, please write a chapter, just one silly little chapter, to satisfy my need for a reunion as a result of that letter. I'm begging you.

Thank you to Tor, Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for an eARC of this book in return for an honest review.

So, this book was a disappointment to me. I don't think it's a bad book, in fact I think Baldree wrote a better plot to this book, and some of the descriptions and dialogue is better than L&L.

There are two main reasons this one didn't work for me as well. The first is the decision to make it a prequel. I'm not opposed to prequels, and perhaps the lower stakes of L&L made it seem like another low stakes story but earlier could be thought as a good idea. But low stakes books still HAVE stakes - L&L had plenty of stakes. It was just, "are these two characters going to get along", "is Viv's coffeeshop going to work", etc.

This one- we know Viv moves on from these characters and there is not really a fundamental shift in her character throughout this that makes her journey satisfying. She...learns to like reading, I guess? Beyond that, the stakes of this book are actually higher - there is danger and conspiracy in this book to a higher degree than in the original- but simultaneously lower, because we know everything is fine at the start of L&L. So I was mostly just letting events happen with no fanfare.

The second reason, I think, is more on me than the book, but I don't think a bookstore is as good of a setting, or maybe Baldree didn't write the book sections as interestingly. It felt like preaching to the choir, people reading this book obviously like books. So having a bookstore owner wax pontific about how reading is so fun just makes me go, "yeah, duh" more than Viv trying to convince people that coffee tastes good. None of the book talk is particularly inspiring, it's mostly like "wait, people read mystery novels? Whatever for?!?!?" "Well, because the ACT of READING a STORY is MAGIC, Viv!"

Finally, the epilogue is vexing to me. I don't understand why it's in this book. The epilogue is a flashforward to after the ending of Legends and Lattes. And it is exclusively designed for people who have read both books. It's utterly meaningless to this book and basically spoils the end of L&L, which being a prequel is fine, but some people will read chronologically. It's mostly to set up a third book, which could have been done a different way, I think.

6/10

It takes a special kind of author to make you want to read books described in a book. And travis is one of those authors. Somehow I loved this even more than legends and lattes and I didn’t think that was possible!!

Definitely auto buy author from now on!