3.5 stars. Alright so, first things first, I loved Legends & Lattes. I read it for the first time immediately preceding my read of Bookshops & Bonedust, which may have been a mistake? Hear me out...

The two books are remarkably similar, especially in the first half of B&B. As such, I found myself a little...bored? The plot just seemed to be repeating itself in a different timeline of Viv's life, with a slightly different type of business venture. However, things did turn around in the second half of the book, which had significantly more action that L&L. Adorable characters, cozy vibes, low-stakes conflict, no complaints with any of that at all. Definitely worth a read if you're a fan of L&L! Overall, I liked it, I just wish it hadn't been so repetitive of the first book.

Thank you to Travis Baldree, Tor Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for my advance audio and digital copies.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this book early! I really enjoyed it. I thought the writing was very well done, and the story kept me interested. I believe my students/patrons would also love this book and will be acquiring it for the library!

"When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek.

Set in the world of New York Times bestselling Legends and Lattes, Travis Baldree's Bookshops and Bonedust takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books.

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk - so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.

What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected."

See! Books heal!

I am BEGGING Netgalley to stop offering PDF books - they do NOT format well on the kindle, whether you're sending them from the website or transferring them via USB.

That aside, am I surprised I liked this book? No. I liked the first one a lot. It doesn't hold up to Legends & Lattes in my mind, but it's still a good read. Am I surprised it took me so long to read this? Yeah. My bad, Travis.

Please send Travis Baldree to our store. Please? We already submitted a grid with no luck.
This was a great "introduction" to a character we already love, and the addition of books was so fun and perfect for fans of the first book. That all being said, I don't know how many more books could really work in this world. I know he's signed on for at least one more, but I'm not sure how much more he, or we, would get out of it. I guess we'll see!

This was such a heartwarming prequel about summer love and lasting friendships. I love how Viv can't just sit still, even when gravely injured, so she ends up helping a rattkin remodel and revamp her bookshop. It made me think that she wouldn't have needed the stone she sought so desperately in "Legends and Lattes". Also, the origin of Galina and Viv's friendship was just as funny as I would have imagined on my own. For me, this book did not disappoint like so many second books in a series seem to and I am forever grateful for that.

The prequel sequel to Legends & Lattes, follow the story of the young orc Viv, desperate to prove herself, headstrong and reckless, and foolhardy to boot. An injury leaves her abandoned by her crew in the sleepy town of Murk, where she discovers the wonders of books, baked goods, and best friends.

This is a sad story wrapped up in a blanket and a smile. I cried at the ending SO hard. The writing style is the same wonderful one we saw in L&L, the characters are full of just as much charm and humour. I was absolutely thrilled to be able to read this one and even reread L&L to prepare. This story was the perfect prequel: we didn't need it, but we wanted it, and now that we've got it, we can cherish it.

There is something so absolutely heartwarming about the world Travis Baldree creates with his character Viv and her cozy adventures. When I first ran across Legends and Lattes, I picked it up but took a little bit of time to read it. Once I actually did, I fell in love with each and every character. The same happened with Bookshops and Bonedust, except I didn’t hesitate when I was approved for the Advanced Reader Copy through Netgalley. This is a prequel to the coffee shop and the Timbits, so this seems to be when Viv was in her prime with Rackam’s Ravens and things are going well, except she’s been stabbed and now needs to rest and recuperate until her team comes back for her. In the meantime, she has to figure out what to do with her days and not get into too much trouble, which is kind of hard since she’s a mercenary and seems to have trouble constantly following her. Nevertheless, the town of Murk seems to have exactly the people she needs in her life, whether she knows it or not.
I cannot recommend this book enough and do not want to give too many details away, but I promise, if you give this book a chance, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

A prequel to Legends and Lattes that shows the reader how Viv ended up in her cafe. The book shop setting and side characters created a wonderful cozy fantasy.

My current read just wasn’t appealing to me, and I wanted something cozy while I convalesced from the latest COVID booster this fall weekend. This exactly fit the bill.

There are many similarities here to Legends & Lattes. Viv the mercenary orc has hung up her sword — temporarily this time, while she’s recovering from a battle injury. There’s a light sapphic romance, though we know Viv and Maylee will eventually part because Viv ends up with someone else in Legends & Lattes. There’s the same elements of found family, a lurking threat that will be vanquished by that found family banding together at the end, and so many delicious descriptions of baked goods. Even better, this takes place in a bookshop.

And just like in Legends & Lattes, I don’t hate that the male author has written a primarily female main cast.

Eagerly awaiting whatever Travis Baldree comes up with next. That mystery novel he mentions in his acknowledgements sounds amazing — maybe try returning to that idea at some point?

Baldree’s cozy fantasy is a wonderful peek into Viv’s early merc days—when she managed to make friends and find trouble while convalescing at a tiny seaside port. It’s that same great mix of humor, community building and action that I loved in Legends & Lattes.

I’m really loving this cozy fantasy genre! Legends & Lattes was a relaxing break from the intensity of most adventure fantasy stories, and Bookshops & Bonedust carries on pleasantly in the same vein. This time Viv is recovering from a bad injury in a little seaside town, gets hooked on reading, and has a bit of a vacation romance. B&B is a prequel, but I think they can be read in either order, or stand on their own quite nicely. (But why would you only read one?)

PS. I can’t wait for you to meet Satchel :)

Oh my goodness, this was not what I expected! For some reason, I did not realize this was a prequel to Legends and Lattes, and WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE.

Though I liked some of the side characters in L&L a bit more, this book was still cozy and enjoyable. It gives more background to Viv which I always appreciate.

I have been not-so-patiently waiting to get a copy of this book (thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor for the e-ARC!) both in excitement and trepidation. I know it was probably going to be awesome, but trying to follow up one hit and especially with a prequel is a bit of a toss-up. Needless to say though, Travis did a FANTASTIC job with this book.

Zooming in on my favorite part, Viv's characterization was so incredibly perfect. This is a prequel. This book follows the very start of her career and shows us the rough-around-the-edges, ambitious, tough-as-hell character she is. But this is also years before Legends & Lattes, so yeah it's still Viv, but the impressive thing is that she's all those things, but she also young. She makes mistakes, and her pride gets to her, and she's the perfect example of someone who wants so bad to prove herself, but doesn't have an innate sense of self and self-confidence that only comes with time and living your life.

We as the readers are standing at the end of the Legends & Lattes point in time and looking back at who Viv was when she was younger and it makes total sense with who we know Viv will become in the future. And I think there's something really special, and very hard to do in a way that's both believable and fond.

This book was less just a fun little addition to the series, and is instead firmly part of the story. And don't get me wrong! It is super fun! But sometimes prequels come off as something you could read if you really want, but this book feels vital to the story.

I adored this book and I highly recommend it to literally anyone who loved Legends & Lattes, or just anyone who loves a good fantasy book.

If you enjoyed Legends & Lattes, you'll love Baldree's follow up. (Though if you haven’t read Legends & Lattes you can 100% jump in here.) A great comfort fantasy read.

For fans of TJ Klune's "The House in the Cerulean Sea" this cozy fantasy is a satisfying prequel to the popular "Legends and Lattes" novel.

My biggest takeaway from this book is that I would die for Satchel, which is ironic because he is dead.

This prequel to Legends and Lattes sees Viv when she’s still a merc having to take a bit of a sabbatical when she’s injured. Stranded against her will in the beach town of Murk, she gets to know the inhabitants and helps them prepare for an impending attack that is coming their way through no fault of their own. The biggest coziness here is that Viv makes friends with Fern, a rattika who owns the local bookshop and is trying to keep it afloat after inheriting it from her father. There’s also a cute love plotline between Viv and Maylee, who is the local baker, even though they both know there’s an expiration date on their relationship because as soon as Viv is recovered she’ll be back to mercing and leave town for good. This one definitely has more action and plot than Legends and Lattes, so if there are folks who found themselves wishing for just a tiny bit more activity, I would definitely recommend picking this up. I didn’t love it as much as I loved Legends and Lattes, but I did really really enjoy it and I’m sure so many of my readers will too.

My most anticipated read of 2023 that not only exceeded my high expectations since "Legends & Lattes", but has me wanting more!

Thank you so much to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for the approved ARC.

If you're afraid that this will not live up to "Legends & Lattes" well you're wrong. As a prequel to "Legends & Lattes" we still have a cozy setting, new characters to fall in love with, adventure, and finding the joy of reading that every book lover can relate to.

Travis Baldree really does it again with this prequel, that you'll keep wanting more from his vivid settings of this world he created, more characters to get to know, and even more adventures to journey through.

Travis Baldree does it again! Bookshops & Bonedust is the prequel to the highly acclaimed cozy fantasy debut Legends & Lattes, and it has all the same vibes. The reader gets a chance to learn more about Viv before she settles down with her coffee shop. The pacing is perfect, the romance is sweet, the action has just the right amount of suspense, and the baked goods are mentioned in mouth-watering detail. It is everything I wanted from a prequel and more.

Bookshops & Bonedust starts off slowly, but by the 25% mark had me hooked and was certainly worth the wait. This book is a prequel to Legends & Lattes, where we get to see a much younger Viv just starting out on her mercenary journey, very green and ready to take on the world.

But injury puts her out of action and in need of spending time recovering. What better way to recover than by becoming involved in a cosy bookshop and reading (as I’m sure all book lovers would agree!).

Travis Baldree writes great characters. We meet the bookstore owner, their pet, the bakery owner, another mercenary, the town guard Captain and a really cool character called Satchel. That’s six nicely fleshed out characters that we come to care about, without including our main character. Baldree does an exceptional job in such a short space of time/word count. Other fantasy authors could learn from this.

One of my favourite parts of the book is the epilogue. We get to see Viv and Tandri back at the coffee shop.

I’ve not said a lot about the storyline as this is something I’d like you to discover for yourself. Be assured it is another story that leaves you finishing it with a smile on your face.

I’d like to thank Netgally and Tor Publishing for an Advanced copy of this book. I would highly recommended it.