This was a great addition to the universe created in Legends and Lattes. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize this was a prequel but that had little to no effect on my enjoyment up to that point.
Across the board this evoked the same warm feelings its predecessor did. It’s a mood, a feeling, rather than just a story. It captures that satisfying joy of finding a good book and sharing it with others.
I’ll admit that I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending, but it did make sense in the relative scope of the plot and characters. That being said, I cried in the epilogue so.

At the end of the day this is a very good book to read in a soft quiet place with a steaming beverage and a delectable treat. I encourage you to do so.

An Orc, a Ratkin, a Dwarf, a Gnome, and a necromancer's Homonculous walk into a bookshop... and use their talents and burgeoning friendship to foil an evil necromancer's plan (and save a small town bookshop in the process)

This was delightful. I have not yet read Legends and Lattes, but I'll definitely check it out sooner rather than later now that I've read this prequel. In addition to the above premise details, we also have a sweet first-love plot line, reluctant and charming friendships, a love of bookshops and book recommendations, and just enough action to make sure our protagonist can demonstrate she is a badass.

The coziest of cozy fantasy books. I loved this book so much!

If you have read the first book in this series, you will already be familiar with the main character Viv. This book is a prequel to Legends and Lattes and tells the backstory of Viv as she spends time resting from an injury in a small village helping out at bookshop. Travis Baldree does an excellent job of telling a story and building this fantasy world. The audiobook was great and Baldree narrates each character with feeling and depth.

I highly recommend this book. In the top 10 reads of the year!

Travis Baldree does it again! I loved Bookshops & Bonedust. The characters were fun, the banter, and the setting were all a win for me. I liked that this was a nice balance of cozy, low-stakes, but there was also an interesting plot line. I felt more invested in the story than with Legends & Lattes because there was a plot outside of “learn how to establish a coffee shop”. The pacing was spot on. Fern’s story was so sweet and perfectly encapsulates what it feels like to love stories and fall in love with reading and I love that Viv gets to experience that firsthand.

I was sad to say goodbye to these characters — even though I knew it was a prequel and we’d eventually move on it still made me tear up. The epilogue has me SO EXCITED for a potential future story in this world and perhaps the reappearance of Fern!? Please!

Overall, a 5/5 read for sure and the audiobook was excellent.

Thank you so very much to Travis Baldree and Macmillan Audio for the ARC on NetGalley! I’m extreme grateful!

This book had a similar vibe to Legends and Lattes. I loved the new characters. They always have such great little quirks and lots of spunk. I listened to the audiobook and again Travis Baldree does a wonderful job voicing his characters. Listening to him read is calming to me. It was still cozy but with a little more action. In this story we see Viv get a glimpse of what another life, besides battling and traveling, could be like. It also encounters the difficulties with change and letting go. “Sometimes we aren’t the right people yet.” “You’re going up and I’m going down.” I think it was a nice representation of the bittersweet moments of life.

I was a huge fan of Legends & Lattes and did not thing I could love it any more - enter Bookshops & Bonedust. Being able to hang out with Viv and a brand new cast of characters was such a fun time. Baldree really knows how to write a group of people that you just want to meet in real life and hang out with. I adored Fern and the juxtaposition of a cute mouse who swears so much. If we don't get another book - or even a novella - about Viv and Fern working next door to a each other in a coffee shop/bookstore combo, I may riot. Thank you for the opportunity to read this ahead of time. I will definitely be recommending it to everyone.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this since I was such a huge fan of Legands and Lattes but i was super pleasantly surprised by how much i loved it.

A cozy read for all the romantic bibliophiles.

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Viv, a member of the fearless mercenary group Rackam's Ravens, finds herself injured and dumped off in the town of Murk to recover. Slowly, with angsty curiosity, Viv befriends the local bookshop owner and her own adventure starts. Who is the man in gray? What's in the satchel? Who is the powerful necromancer?

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"Bookshops & Bonedust" is a button-nose of a novel with adventure and romance. I enjoyed the pacing of Baldree's book as well as the portions of all the good stuff: mystery, romance, adventure, anticipation, and foul-mouthness! I would recommend this book to all the readers who need a little break from life. The audio book of this title was narrated by the author, and it was fantastic-- I would recommend the audio book.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan for providing users with a great title.

Listened to this one and read the first, and my opinion is that if you enjoyed the first cozy fantasy, you will enjoy this one!

Cozy Fantasy • Found Family •. Sapphic • Low Stakes

Travis Baldree is back with a new lovable cast of characters including my favorites: a gentlemanly skeleton with the heart of a poet and an excitable pet griffin, a cuddly ball of fur and feathers. Fans of Legends and Lattes will be tickled to learn Viv's origin story, how she meets Gallina and acquires Blackblood.

This is a cozy book about books first, and a verrry low stakes fantasy and love story second and third. Themes of friendship, belonging and found family leap from the pages. You'll love this one if you value the cozy journey over the destination & suspense. If you're here for faster-paced action and epic battle scenes, look elsewhere.

When Viv is laid up with an injury that keeps her from hunting a powerful necromancer with her normal crew, she finds herself recovering in the seaport town of Murk. There she discovers The Perch Tavern, Thistleburr’s Bookshop, and of course there's a bakery - Sea Song, serving up scones and lassi buns 🤤. Viv finds herself renovating the bookshop and helping Fern revitalize sales using methods that booksta readers will find very familiar. The blind-date-with-a-book descriptions had me chuckling and trying to guess which title went along with which description:
"Travel, Romance & Heartbreak"
"Adventure, Bounty & Bloodshed"
"Treason, Clockwork & Horticulture"
"Knitting, Murder & Wine"
"Treachery, Alchemy & Brotherhood"
Spicy romances are given the “Moist" descriptor 😂🌶️

The epilogue is exactly what it needed to be👩🏻‍🍳💋🥹

🎧 Baldree's voice narration cannot be beat, so for full experience, I highly recommend this one on audio.

Releases on Nov 7!!
Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for granting me early access to this audiobook.

So readable and well written. Easy four stars, five for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC.

4.25 stars!!

Bookshops & Bonedust was my very first experience with cozy fantasy and I didn't know what to expect if I'm being completely honest. When I tell you that not only was I thrilled and completely in love it's an UNDERSTATEMENT.

This story immediately caught my attention when I saw that it was set in a bookstore - my little book-devouring soul was beyond excited to jump right in! Viv may be an injured orc that really just wants to get back into the swing of things, but she's also so much more. I loved following her as she made friends, found love, and overall just found out more about what life holds beyond fighting. This book truly quenched my need for fantasy and left me in a warm, comfy/cozy ball of happy. Look, if this is what cozy fantasy is all about then please just expect me wrapped in my blanket in my book nook with one of these beauties in my hand for the foreseeable future. I'M NOT AVAILABLE FOR ADULTING UNTIL I'VE READ MY FILL. THANKS!

Bookshops and Bonedust was everything I expected, loveable characters, found family dynamics, character growth that made me emotional and of course a cozy fantasy vibe. This is a perfect fall read!

The audiobook is narrated by the author and professional audiobook narrator Travis Baldree. It is a special treat, getting to hear the book exactly as he intended it.

Thanks to Macmillan for an audiobook ARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

WHAT AN ABSOLUTE GEM. I love pot roast, I love Fern, I love books. This was a hug I needed, that made me start the reading the first book in the series! I love the pacing, the soft romance, the light fantasy and the embrace of the world created. What a treat.

3.5 stars would be a more accurate rating for this one, but I'm rounding up because I really enjoyed it! It was also a real fun treat to be able to listen to the audiobook for this -- it definitely made the story come alive in a different way for me as a reader, which I really appreciated.

It was really fun to revisit the world of Legends & Lattes via a prequel story that introduces us to a younger Viv; she embodies the combination of feeling like you know someone even though you're also aware you're meeting them for the first time. Like the previous book, this story embodies all things cozy and comforting - there's a small town! a bookshop! a bakery! But there's also mystery and magic afoot, as well as a sense of community with all the folk Viv meets in this story. Definitely a solid addition to this world Travis Baldree has created, and I think others will enjoy it as much as I did.

Says it right on the cover “A warm hug” and that’s exactly what it was! Cozy fantasy book that focuses on the family you build along your path that makes you who you are. I personally haven’t read Legends and Lattes but it has been on my tbr list and I’ll be picking that one asap. Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of Bookshops and Bone Dust in exchange of my honest opinion

Last year I was delighted to read Legends and Lattes, and it ended up introducing me to cozy fantasies, a genre that I came to love! When I saw another book by the same author I had to requested and for sure I will buy a physical copy when it’s out! Another amazing book by Travis Baldree.

We are again with Viv in this book, before all the events of Legends and Lattes. This book is very cozy still but also has some romance, mystery and action, which adds layers to the story.

Additionally Travis managed to make ALL characters come alive in the narrative. They are so full of personality and each one of them has their own quirks and fears and hopes. It felt bittersweet to know that Viv’s future, as we see in Legends and Lattes, will not have them on it.

I also enjoyed to see how he tied some objects, narratives and facts that Viv tells us in Legends and Lattes here in Bookshop and bone Dust.

Overall, if you are a cozy fantasy reader this will become a must and I dare say I thought it was better than the first!

The difficult thing with prequels is how to make a story compelling when you already know the fate of the characters within. Baldree ollies right over that obstacle, delivering yet another cozy fantasy with our favorite orc barbarian Viv. And since Viv already got us to cozy up with coffee, this time she goes on to another comfort: books!

I was most interested in seeing how Baldree would handle the romance aspect of this book. As I said, we know Viv’s endgame. Getting her involved with someone else in this book would make the reader suspicious. Did the relationship sour? That wouldn’t feel great in a cozy read. Does the love interest die? Also not great! But Viv approaches the romance in this with a remarkable maturity. It’s important without being assumed to be for keeps. I loved that!

As in Legends and Lattes, there is a darker plot going on underneath the story of running a charming little business. Little bits of plot advancement are sprinkled all over, like tiny pit stops, and some of these bits are brought in to advance the more important plot of how to keep the bookshop afloat. The resolution of the darker plot is abrupt, but it was never the main focus, here.

And Baldree ends with a tease of more books about Viv! Which shouldn’t be a surprise or spoiler, because of course people want more! And I cannot wait to find out what bit of comfort Viv and her friends indulge in next. Massage? Music? Dance? That title drop is going to be LIT!

Cute! A welcome prequel to Legends & Lattes that gives a lot more insight into Viv's character arc.

I demand more Satchel.

Another beautiful tale of identity, friendships, and unexpected types of bravery from Travis Baldree. I loved Legends and Lattes, and I was so nervous this would disappoint. It didn't. The characters leapt off the pages (or out of the audiobook) and somehow left me feeling loved, supported, and wrapped in a warm hug. A decent amount of through line and plot made me want to keep reading. This is one I'll return to again and again.