Thank you to Tor books for my complimentary arc and the MacMillan audio for my complimentary audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you loved Legends and Lattes, then you are going to want to read Bookshops and Bonedust. This is the prequel to L&L and we get to meet a younger Liv and a fun group of characters in the tiny seaside town of Murk. Satchel was my favorite.

This is a heartwarming story with a wonderful message. You are heading up the hill and someone else is headed down, you meet in the middle for one moment in time, and that’s it. You both move on and do not see each other again. It sounds sad, but it really isn’t because “Sometimes we aren’t the right people yet.”

Travis did an amazing job with the narration and I enjoyed listening to him read his book. Every character has his/her own distinctive voice. I could listen to Satchel for days. Please give him his own book !!

This is the perfect cozy fantasy for your Fall TBR.

From instant New York Times Bestseller Travis Baldree comes the newest novel Bookshops & Bonedust. This isn't a sequel to Legends & Lattes as I'd assumed. It's touted as being "set in the world of New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes." Since the main character remains the orc named Viv, and it mainly covers events before the first book, I'd consider it a prequel. Regardless of how it's tied to the first book and it's bestselling success, this book brings us back to the world of high fantasy, which will appeal to Dungeons and Dragons fans and fantasy readers alike. It’s already been named A Barnes & Noble Best Fantasy Book of 2023.

Like the first book, Bookshops & Bonedust is filled with memorable characters, which the author brings to life with his skillful narration.

As a young member of the notorious mercenary company named Rackam's Ravens, Viv is injured and left behind in a quiet little beach town to recover. There she finds a lovely bookshop with a feisty shop owner, falls in love, and uncovers a mystery when a suspicious stranger appears.

Bookshops & Bonedust shows us how people evolve, and my favorite line was "Sometimes we aren't the right people yet.” I can especially relate to this, and I think many readers will.

Book lovers will adore the discussions about books that Viv gets into while recovering from her injury, as well as the snippets readers get to see of the books Viv reads. Writing books within books isn’t easy, but Baldree does it deftly.

It’s not all idleness while recovering, however. Expect some sapphic romance, high fantasy magic, and a little adventuring, as well. Altogether it’s a brilliant second novel.

The epilogue ties both books together - it’s absolutely lovely. Twenty years later Viv tells Tandree, "Books are what brought me to you.” Swoon. Is there anything more romantic to a book lover?

I had the pleasure of receiving the audiobook as an ARC, which is a rare treat for this reader. As with the first book, the narration is spot on. I always love when the author narrates their own book, and in this case it's extra special because the author is a professional audiobook narrator. As such, I've wondered several times if being an audiobook narrator gave Baldree an edge when it comes to crafting a book that’s easy to narrate.

I look forward to more books about Viv and her adventures, but I’ll read anything Baldree writes.

I enjoyed this even more than Legends & Lattes.
Getting to know Viv when she was still a mercenary was much more interesting.
I loved seeing her vulnerable and learning how to cope with day to day life while NOT wielding a sword. It was cute how Fern and Viv develop a friendship and I really enjoyed the banter that had.
Much love to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for my ALC.

First of all I want to thank NetGalley and MacMillian for the audio advance copy, in exchange for this honest review.

THIS BOOK! Just... I have no words...
Except that, my expectations were high as I loved Legends & lattes so much last year, and sometimes I do get a little disappointed as the next books in a series are never as good...
Well, I can safely report that it was NOT the case for this one!!!
I think I loved it even more, which is saying a lot!

We follow Viv twenty years before Legends & lattes, as she is just a young orc trying to be a mercenary.
As she gets injured, she needs to spend her convalescence in a small town, where by chance she stumbles into a small bookshop, forms friendships, while she discovers the power of books.

If you liked Legends & lattes but wished for a little more action, this book is the perfect blend in my opinion of coziness and adventure!

Needless to say, 5/5 stars for this, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next chapter in Viv's story!!!

What a delight!

Honestly, I will always love little Ratkin shop owners. I am so happy that we got to meet some new adorable new characters (I'm looking at you Pot Roast), that felt fresh and still like home. It was also niced to experinve Viv while she was younger and in her fighting prime. It gave you the inklings of where her idea of the coffee shop came from, and just the delightfulness of her working with other creatures to get things done and to find out what they really want to do in life. It's was sweet, and everything I needed it to be and more.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for an early copy.

I loved learning more about who Viv was before Legends & Lattes! A soldier, injured in battle, is dumped off in the small town of Murk until she heals. She makes herself useful at a bookshop, makes friends with a bakery owner, and finds a friendly bag of bones. Another cozy hug in book form!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc! This book comes out on November 7, 2023.

I gave book one three stars and was not sure if I would read the second, but decided to give it a chance. Really happy I did because I enjoyed it a lot more! Book two gets three and a half stars. Book one was fine but I went in with high expectations and I didn’t feel like they were met. This book, I went in with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised.

Why did I enjoy this one more? I’m not quite sure because the level of coziness and plot is basically the same. I think the round family was just stronger in this one, and the way the end connected with book one made me happy.

Defs worth it if you liked book one!

**Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐(5)/5**
Like Legends & Lattes, Bookshops & Bonedust has my heart.

Bookshops & Bonedust is the prequel to Legends & Lattes, and provides some more of our main character Viv’s backstory. As a young warrior Orc recently injured in battle, Viv finds herself injured and is left behind by her mercenary company in the slow-paced beach town of Murk for some forced rehabilitation. Frustrated to be out of the action and bored, Viv finds herself spending time in the last place she might have expected—a bookshop. Viv finds unexpected friends and even a potential first love, along with a place in town helping to revitalize the bookshop. It’s not long before adventure comes knocking when a mysterious visitor appears and sets off a series of events that require Viv to protect herself and those she’s come to care about from a dangerous foe.

It was truly a joy to read Bookshops & Bonedust. I adore it all—the writing, characters, world-building, and storytelling in Baldree’s work are exactly what I want from the cozy fantasy genre. The audiobook (narrated by Baldree himself) is perfection, and I contend that it takes the story to a whole other level. While Legends & Lattes is famously a “high fantasy, low stakes” book, the stakes felt a little higher in Bookshops & Bonedust, which I enjoyed.

Fans of the first book will not be disappointed, and I enthusiastically (and frequently) recommend this book to everyone. Readers can also look forward to a small flash-forward update on Viv after Legends & Lattes! I anxiously (and hopefully) await the announcement of more books in this series!

**Acknowledgments & Disclaimers**
✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Travis Baldree, and Macmillan Audio, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book.
✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

I liked this book. I enjoyed it. But it suffers from two very important things - it is a prequel, and inevitable comparison to Legends and Lattes.

The prequel problem:
I like the idea of characters and people that come into our lives and mean something to us, perhaps even change us, but are only in our lives for a season. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I find it quite as interesting in fiction as I do in real life. This is a prequel, which means the stakes ultimately don’t matter and the relationships aren't lasting.

Part of what made Legends and Lattes so cozy was the found family trope. Viv is new in town, and she developes friendships along the way. People who come to see her vision and support her in her journey.

When we meet the characters in Bookshops and Bonedust we already know they are not going to remain in Viv’s life. It's a bold story choice. I respect it. But I didn’t love it.

The Comparison problem:
This book takes place in the same world, with the same main character as Legends and Lattes. It is impossible not to compare these books.

The version we see of Viv in Bookshops and Bonedust is a lot younger and more impulsive. And I’m going to say it - less likable. She is even occasionally downright rude. I absolutely hated how she was so nosey about the local romance author in town, and wanted to know if the author and her butler were in a relationship. Viv commented to several people that she wondered if the author took inspiration from her romantic relationship with the butler, and even asked the butler himself!!

Maybe this was inspired by how insensitive fandom communities can be at times about people’s personal lives. But it is not funny. It is just plain rude and none of your freakin’ business!! I hated that our main character, who we are supposed to love, took part in the ugly side of fandom.

However, this part of the story may actually be helped by the fact that this is a prequel. We know how Viv’s story progresses, and we know she is a much better person in 20 years time.

Other things of note:
This book at times felt like it was trying to cater to the romantasy crowd, especially with the books that Viv likes to read being romantasy books. Legends and Lattes did blow up on tictok, and while I’m not a part of that particular side of the book community, I get the impression romantasy is very popular there. I’m just not sure this book actually accomplishes much with the romance angle. Our main character has a romantic fling with someone we know isn’t end game. It’s a bold choice. I respect it. In fact, I kind of like it. Past lovers can make an impact on us, for good or ill. But I wasn’t invested in their romance. I’m not sure if this is because I already knew that the relationship ends, or if it is from the lack of romantic tension in those scenes. As I’m not a romance reader, I’m fine with that. I just found it odd given the overall romantacy vibes I was getting from the books Viv reads, and the commentary on how books mirror real life.

Everything in the book felt like the first book taken up a few notches, except the starting a business side of things. I actually wish the book had spent more time revitalizing the bookshop. The books about reading that I love most focus on the book collection side of reading, rather than preaching to the choir by telling the reader how great reading is. Spending more time working on the bookshop would have brought out more vibes similar to the first book.

This book had much more action than the first book. While remaining somewhat low stakes and lacking real tension (it is a prequel afterall) we have serious things going on in the story. Viv is being stalked, both by mysterious characters in the streets, and in Viv’s dreams. It is a situation she can’t escape from. A conspiracy related to the necromancer Viv was hunting when she was injured is brewing and threatening the livelihoods of those in this small town. The second half of the book is dedicated to rooting out that plot, while continuing the day to day happenings of this small town.

The best new character in this book was quite literally a bag of bones. I’m not sure I can say more without spoiling things xD

While this book lacks the same charm the first book had, and I doubt I’ll reread this one, I am still glad I read it. It is a great book to read inbetween heavier books. It was a fun, cozy fantasy romp.

In "Bookshops and Bonedust" we learn about Viv the orc"s past career and her convalesce in which she falls in love with reading. She convalesces in Murk and we see how she becomes the person she is later on in the original book "Legends and Lattes."
Viv has no choice but to rest and read after her leg is injured in battle. She grabs a crutch and hobbles in to a local book shop (which needs work) and makes several friends. The Thistleburr Bookshop is owned by a ratkin named Fern who has a pet griffon Pot Roast. Another friend Viv finds is the female dwarf bakeshop owner Maylee (she has a summer romance with).
This book is a cozy read and fun if you like to hear about books and food and friends.

I received an audio review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Fresh & captivating cozy fantasy tale about an orc forced to take it easy after a battle injury, and falls in love with reading.

Viv is a tough battle orc who finds ways to fill her time while recovering from a severe battle wound. She's drawn to a small ratkin's bookshop, which has fallen into disrepair. The ratkin has a hilarious sailor's mouth that had me giggling at the contrast with her small stature and sweet voice. And then they both find themselves wrapped up in an adventure no one could have seen coming.

It's everything you want from low stakes high fantasy when you want a digestible and relaxing read. It has colorful and fun descriptions that bring the world to life. I listened to the audiobook, and it's clear that it was written by an author who is a talented narrator. It was created to be listened to. I sometimes struggle with audiobooks, but this one held my attention the whole time. I loved it!!

I received an ARC, and am providing an honest review. Thank you to Travis Baldree and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I have received an advanced copy of this audiobook courtesy of Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for review purposes. Thank you! My opinions stated here is my own.

This book is narrated by its author, who has also narrated the first book in the series, "Legends and Lattes." He does fantastic job realizing his world, and it is a fun ride.

I am not a fantasy fan at all, but I really enjoyed Legends and Lattes, with its mix of cozy and humorous storytelling and found family setting. I was very excited to hear that another book in the same series was being published this year, and I could hardly wait to get the new book. If you are someone like me and have enjoyed Legends and Lattes, you would be likely to enjoy this book as well - it's a prequal to Legends and Lattes, where the main character, loveable orc Viv is the main character. In this prequal, she is wounded her leg during the hunt, and forced to take R & R 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. Bored and unable to move, she begrudgingly begins to read and befriends the owner of the bookshop.

This book was a bit slow to start, but it picks up its pace along the way. The story is somewhat predictable and I preferred the first book. I gave both books 4 starts, but the first one was like 4.3 stars and this one was like 3.75 stars for me. However it's still a fun and cozy book to read and will entertain Legends fans. I am already looking forward for the third book and sad to have to wait for another year for it.

I don't know if the story was good or not. Couldn't get past the sound of the narrator's voice, and the way he read it. Sorry

I love Viv the Cozy Orc Barbarian! She's a lovable lesbian who's prickly on the outside but loyal and loving when you get to know her. I loved her debut in 2021's Legends & Lattes and couldn't wait for Baldree's prequel. It delivers! Set long before Viv started her coffee shop. She's a daring adventurer fighting a necromancer. After an injury, she rests in a town with a cozy bookstore owned by a ratkin and her little griffin doggy (from the cover). Viv can't just sit around and do nothing! To keep occupied, she fixes up the bookshop, solves necromancer mysteries, and falls in love! Romance prequels are fun to see loves that could have been. I also love the titular bone dust character introduced halfway through. I'll write more about this one, but no spoilers just yet! If you think you'd like a cozy fantasy, try this!

Travis Baldree absolutely blows me away. I had the incredible opportunity to review the audiobook version of Bookshops & Bonedust courtesy of the incredible publishers at Macmillan audio.

I adore that this novel is narrated by Travis. It makes it 10x better for me. I LOVED Legends & Lattes and I wasn’t sure if this book would be just as cozy. It is. It’s the perfect prequel to Legends & Lattes. I can’t wait to snag the physical copy because I feel like this is going to be a book series I reread yearly. It’s warm. It’s captivating. It’s a beautifully magical story that you will absolutely devour and feel fully satisfied.

Bravo yet again! Brilliant 👏🏻👏🏻

3.5 stars

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced listening copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book expecting it to be Legends & Lattes 2.0. To feel like curling up with a good book, a warm cup of tea, and a cat sleeping next to you on a rainy day, that coziness was what I was expecting. This is not a cozy book, there are far too many stakes for it to be cozy.

While it was not inconsistent and the characters were wrapped up nicely and neatly, I could not connect to this book. This story felt very impersonal. With Legends & Lattes, it was that warm feeling, where you find solace and a break in a warm novel. In Bookshops & Bonedust, it was not that, it felt colder, and there was more action. I did not go into this thinking there was going to be violence, murder, and many references to death. And while I knew this would be Viv's prequel, her previous adventures before she retired from her mercenary life, I once again, expected that cozy atmosphere to the book that L&L had.

I loved the way the book ended, it was smart and heartfelt, and the beginning was nice, but the middle was insincere. Bookshops & Bonedust felt like a placeholder. It lacked the community that Legends & Lattes had. In L&L, Viv interacts with the whole town, the baker, the bard, the shipping company, locals, and other sellers, it's like reading Animal Crossing. Whereas with B&B, Viv only interacted with about 5 people from the town. I was also not expecting the characters to all read romance books and discuss them with each other. I'm not complaining it just was not on my radar at all.

Travis Baldree narrates the audiobook and his narration is wonderful. The voices he chooses and acts for specific characters were so much fun to listen to. I stopped listening to the story and just focussed on him narrating for almost 20 minutes, trying to figure out how it was his voice the entire time. I would definitely read more books that he has narrated because he is a fantastic narrator.

I loved this prequel to Legends and Lattes!! Learning to know more about Viv’s backstory was a lot of fun and I’m hoping there will be more books to fill in the gaps.

In this novel, Viv, an orc, becomes injured in a battle and has to spend time in a small town healing. During her time there, she makes friends and learns more about herself as a person. When her healing is over, she has to decide what is most important to her, and if she should stay or go on as originally planned.

There are some really fun characters introduced in this book. My favorite is Satchel. His physical description and personality added a level of humor into the story, while also warming the heartstrings.

The narrator for this audiobook was Travis Baldree, the author. I absolutely loved the voices he gave the characters! He did a phenomenal job and I would listen to any other adventure type novel he were to narrate.

The only thing I didn’t care for about this novel was the amount of “swearing.” Too many of the characters used the same phrases repeatedly and I found it somewhat distracting and unnecessary.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an audio ARC of #Bookshops&Bonedust by #TravisBaldree in exchange for honest feedback. All opinions are my own.

Just as wonderful as Legends & Lattes. You'll really enjoy getting to know a younger Viv through some of the experiences that made her the orc that you fell for in the first book. All while being introduced to even more places and characters in this cozy fantasy world.

Bookshops and Bonedust follows Viv as she tries to take it slow and heal from a wounded leg in a small beach side town. She begrudgingly befriends the owner of a rundown bookstore and some other residents and her recuperation evolves into helping bring the bookstore back to life (haha) while also keeping an eye out for the necromancer that injured her.

I was so excited to get back in to this book universe and learn more about Viv! I was also once again so incredibly hungry while reading all of the descriptions of the delicious food stuffs. The stakes aren't quite as low as in Legends in Lattes, but it's still a relaxed read, befitting of a small town. This book is bittersweet, but not in any way that you aren't aware of from the beginning and the epilogue had me tearing up.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

Seeing Viv during her prime monster fighting days was really interesting. Being in a different city from the first book was some nice world building. Overall a fun cozy fantasy series.