Delightful and cozy low stakes fantasy! Perfectly narrated by author Travis Baldree. I enjoyed this look into Viv’s earlier life, and I may have liked this story more than the first!
Really excited to see where this series goes next.

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this so much. I actually think I may love this book a little bit more than Legends and Lattes because of the epilogue which was amazing. Viv ends up getting hurt during a job so she needs rest and relaxation so she ends up staying in a cozy, little seaside town. There she discovers a lovely book store owned by a sweet Ratkin with a filthy mouth named Fern, a lovely dwarf baker and a battle ready gnome. The town of Murk is super cute and Viv falling in love with books was everything. Read this as soon as it comes out.

Travis Baldree once again narrated and he is a great narrator.

This is absolutely delightful! I didn't think Legends and Latte's could be topped but Travis Baldree has done it. What could be more appealing and cozy to book lovers than a coffee shop? Why and old bookstore of course! Here we find a young Viv, forced to convalesce in a small town after taking a good bit of damage in one of her early adventures. With little to do she befriends Fern, the owner of an old and failing bookstore, and in the process not only finds for herself the joy of reading and adventuring in other worlds, but also helps her new friend make the bookshop more appealing to the public. Personally, I enjoyed this one even more than the first. It's everything you would expect from a cozy fantasy; humorous banter, a lovable cast of characters, problems to be solved, a bit of romance, some heartwarming scenes, a few high stakes battles, and of course, tea.

I was thrilled to see that Baldree is also the narrator on the audiobook. It definitely added to the experience to hear him read the story and bring all of the characters to life. I would highly recommend doing so if you are able.

Thanks to Netgalley, Pan MacMillian and Macmillan audio for access to an eACR and audiobook in exchange for a fair review.

I loved this book, though not as much as the first one.

Which is a bit confusing because this is the zero-th one, I understand how prequels work just not necessarily the surrounding grammar.

In any case, it was lovely to see where our heroines went in this installment and I am hopeful there will be more, this time sequels because I want to know where they are going and I missed the coffee shop in this book!

The characters are well written and their adventures are interesting and fun to follow, all around it was another good romp in this world, though darker than the last one.

I listened to this on audio and the narrator was (of course) exceptional, he is also the author which I LOVE. If you don't know, Travis was a narrator first and I low key LOVE that he transitioned from narrator to author so seamlessly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an audio copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed Legends & Lattes, so I was excited to read this prequel! It was also good, BUT I will say that I had a harder time staying focused on the story in this book. It moved a lot more slowly than Legends & Lattes, but still was cozy and adventurous and fun.

I absolutely adored Legends & Lattes, but I didn't like Bookshops & Bonedust as much.
I am not a fan of prequels, so seeing Viv young was not something that excited me. I enjoyed the book, but found it a little slow at times. I did not connect to the characters as strongly as I did in the first book.
Overall, a solid read, just not as good as the first, but those are big shoes to fill.

No surprise, I absolutely adored this book!! I was lucky enough to get the audiobook arc through Netgalley and I really loved it. This was another excellent cozy fantasy with a little more of the adventure aspects. I'm really hoping we get more of this series. The epilogue feels like it opened that door.

Fans of Legends and Lattes should read this as soon as they can!

This is a tricky one to review. On one hand, I did enjoy BOOKSHIOPS & BONEDUST and eagerly awaited any story featuring Viv. But is this a book I will reach for over and over again? I'm not quite sure.
I am a massive fan of Travis Baldree's Legends & Lattes, which falls later in the timeline to Bookshops & Bonedust, and was thrilled to get an advanced copy to review. It was a delight listening to Travis Baldree read his latest installment in Viv's story, but (for me) so much of the cozy simplicity that made Legends & Lattes sparkle was lost in this prequel. Rather than the cozy, low-stakes fantasy Legends & Lattes established, the plot in Bookshops & Bonedust has much higher stakes, with a couple of big bads casting long shadows over Viv's existence in this small, seaside town. And I think that is what made the narrative feel a bit unbalanced - the cozy bookshop setting, the friendly baker with her incredible-sounding delicacies, and the terrifying necromancer and the violence that surrounds them, ultimately making it hard to sink into the warmth of the lower-stakes storyline Baldree weaves. The writing has also shifted from the easy simplicity we saw in Legends & Lattes to something more overwrought, with longer passages of descriptive narrative which was lovely but tonally much different and bordering on distracting.
I'm still invested in Viv's (hopefully) ongoing epic and very much hope we see more of Viv and the characters we know and love from both Legends & Lattes and Bookshops & Bonedust again in future books. I know I won't be able to stop myself from sinking into the pages.

A delightful rollick through Viv's adventure days that gives insight into how Viv became the orc we all fell in love with in Legends and Lattes.
In Bookshops & Bonedust, we see Viv through her stay in Murk while she heals after getting injured in battle. While healing in Murk she makes some friends, has a (lite) romance, helps save a bookshop, and has a bit of an adventure (leading her to finding her legendary sword!)

While there was a bit more fighting and action in this book compared to Legends & Lattes, it somehow still felt like a gentle, slice of life fantasy. I'm sure knowing what comes next for Viv because I've read Legends and Lattes comes into that. Travis Baldree has created a wonderful fantasy world to be explored through stories, and his narrating is also fantastic. He is a lively and fun narrator. I enjoy his voices for the characters and his passion and energy come through in his narration. As a lover of both books and coffee, I enjoyed how Legends and Lattes felt like a love letter to coffee, and Bookshops and Bonedust felt like a love letter to stories and the power the right book can have on a person at the right time.

It was wonderful to be back with Viv again, and understand the factors that made her the orc that she is in Legends & Lattes, although I must admit that I missed the crew. This was narrated by the author, who did a fantastic job with all of the characters.

I didn't quite have the same attachment to the characters in this story, mainly because I knew that they'd be transitory in Viv's life. But I did like learning the story behind Black blood and getting to learn the back story of Viv herself.

When injured in a battle, Viv recuperates and spends some time in Murk. While she heals, she makes some friends, has a romantic entanglement, helps to save a struggling bookshop, and gets into some trouble. But the pace of this book is nice and easy, making this the perfect, fluffy, cozy fantasy to read in between heavier books.

A huge thanks to Macmillan Audio and Travis Baldree for gracing me with the audiobook ARC of Bookshops & Bonedust in exchange for an honest review.

Bookshops & Bonedust gives the exact same feel as Legends & Lattes, with less on the romance and more on the adventure. It just feels like a cozy fall afternoon read, with relatively low stakes and high fun. If you loved Legends & Lattes, you will love this too. It was so great to be back with Viv, this time before she settles down to create her wildly successful coffee shop.

If L&L is about the impact a cup of coffee has on being able to bring people together and forge community, Bookshops & Bonedust felt like a love letter to reading and the magic of getting lost in a story. I loved every part of the journey of fixing up the bookstore and Viv getting lost in the book recommendations.

Because I'm a romance reader, I thought the story between Viv and Maylee was a little light. I wanted MORE. It was sweet, but it almost felt like an afterthought, and I hated the goodbye. :( I also understand why Travis wanted to narrate his own book, and I think he is a great narrator; however, I would have preferred the story to be narrated by a woman, as this is a story about a female's perspective.

Overall, if you loved the first you'll love the prequel. Lovely afternoon read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with this ARC.

Bookshops & Bonedust is the first audiobook I’ve ever experienced. Since I’ve been curious for a long time about audiobooks and because I adored Legends & Lattes, I decided there was no better time to try an audiobook than Bookshops & Bonedust. Knowing that the person doing all of the different voices for the characters was also the author, Travis Baldree, and that he was portraying his characters exactly how he envisioned them sounding added an entire layer of fun to the already amazing experience of Bookshops & Bonedust.

"Every book is a little mirror, and sometimes you look into it, and see someone else looking back"

The incredibly different (and charming), voices made it even easier to picture the characters and to get invested in their character arcs, and to also become fully immersed in the world. Listening to Bookshops & Bonedust was truly a slice of heaven, providing a much needed reprieve from the stressors of everyday life. I found myself listening to it whenever I could, before bed, in the car, while doing household chores, and more. I absolutely loved seeing these glimpses of Viv’s origin story, before she hung up her sword and opened her coffee shop in Legends & Lattes. Though I knew her stay in the town of Murk was temporary, as it was a prequel, I was still invested in her journey from careless, headstrong warrior to the quieter, more thoughtful shop owner she was in Legends & Lattes.

For me, the standout of Bookshops & Bonedust was unmistakably anything centering on the Bookshops part of the title. This novel is, without a doubt, a love letter to the magic of books at large and is perfect for those who have ever desperately needed a friend and found one in a book. I also absolutely adored new characters Fern, the owner of the eponymous bookshop, and her trusty friend Pot Roast, the gryphet. As a reviewer (and reader), reading about Fern’s skill as a bookseller—knowing her books, learning about her customers, and then recommending her friends and customers the perfect read—was a pure delight. There’s nothing more satisfying than finding the right read for a friend or having a friend know you well enough to do the same for you. And then even better, sharing thoughts about the same book with each other.

"It felt like giving in to even consider reading it. Tacit admission that she was now a different sort of person. Weak. Soft. Sleepy. Someone who idled and studied rather than fought and won."

It was wonderful to watch Viv come to appreciate how much books could mean to not only other people, but also to her. Formerly all about the art of the warrior and prejudiced about reading, Viv comes to have quite a stake in Fern’s little bookshop in Murk herself. It’s easy to see that this is where the seeds of Viv’s future coffee shop ownership were originally planted.

Though I loved Bookshops & Bonedust, I have to admit I was less thrilled with the parts of the novel pertaining to the titular Bonedust. I loved everything revolving around the bookshop, but I really could have done without the necromancy angle, which made the book less of a comfort read than Legends & Lattes. I know there has to be some conflict and fantasy elements, but I felt Viv's conflict to find herself and what she truly wanted, along with the struggle to keep Fern’s bookshop in business, were all strong enough without the outside threats of an undead horde and an all powerful necromancer witch. I had more trouble focusing when these parts of the book came into play, and also found them a bit more stressful than what I would have ideally liked in this cozy novel.

"'If there's someone in this room who should be dealing with unholy necromancer nonsense, it's me. May I?'
Fern narrowed her eyes, 'didn't you get stabbed and dumped in this town because of unholy necromancer nonsense?'
'Yeah, but I survived, didn't I?'"

I also struggled with Viv's romance in this novel. As I knew from reading Legends & Lattes, Viv does not end up with her love interest from this novel, Maylee. So their entire situationship felt utterly doomed and like an exercise in futility from the beginning. Therefore, it filled me with dread rather than butterflies. Plus, the romance in Legends & Latte was so superb, that I also just found it hard to picture Viv with anyone other than Tandri. Personally, I could have done completely without the romance between Viv and Maylee because I think the platonic relationship between Fern and Viv was much deeper, showing off a found family type of friendship. And platonic love is just as important, if not more so than romantic love.

The only other thing that threw me off in Bookshops & Bonedust were the metaphors. Quite a ffew of them are fairly off-putting, with atypical words being used to describe things. For instance, a hunk of yellow cheese was described as smelling of “cream, salt, and summer grass.” I am confused as to how cheese ends up smelling of summer grass or why it has to be summer grass in particular and not just grass in general. Though these artistic choices are frequent and eccentric, they don't really detract anything from the novel, other than one’s momentary attention.

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

I was really sad when Bookshops & Bonedust came to an end; I couldn't have asked for a better experience for my first audiobook, and I will definitely be on the look out for other audiobooks in which Travis Baldree is the narrator. I grew emotional during the epilogue, which takes place in the future, after the events of Legends & Lattes. I am really excited by what this ending means for a future installment, which I certainly will be picking up as soon as humanely possible.

After all, what goes better with lattes than books?

Bookshops & Bonedust is a mesmerizing love letter to the enchantment of bookshops, the profound impact of stories, and the serendipitous friendships that shape our lives. Travis Baldree has woven a tapestry of characters so vivid and captivating that you can't help but fall in love with each and every one of them. What amazed me most was the care and attention given to even the side characters, their backstories crafted with depth and thoughtfulness. It's a testament to Baldree's skill in creating a world that feels lived-in and brimming with authentic personalities.

In the beginning, I admit to feeling a tinge of apprehension as Viv, the protagonist, seemed different from the Viv I knew in Legends and Lattes. But then it struck me: this is a different Viv, an old chapter of her life. The contrast in her demeanor, the quicker reactions, and the subtle emotional shifts added a layer of intrigue. As the story unfolded, I found myself completely immersed in Viv's journey of self-discovery, witnessing her transformation and eagerly anticipating the path that leads her back to the person we all adored in Legends and Lattes.

What truly touched my heart in Bookshops & Bonedust was the poignant awareness of Viv's impending departure from Murk. It was a delicate dance between joy and sadness, leaving us with a bittersweet ache. Yet, Baldree masterfully guides Viv to embrace the present moment, forging new connections, and finding solace and love within the ephemeral beauty of her current circumstances. It's a testament to the author's skill that we can feel the depths of Viv's emotions and embark on this heartfelt journey alongside her.

Bookshops & Bonedust is an immersive and beautifully crafted tale that reminds us of the profound magic found within the pages of books and the power of human connections. Travis Baldree's ability to make even the fleeting characters feel unforgettable is a testament to his storytelling prowess. This book will linger in your thoughts long after the final page is turned, leaving you with a renewed appreciation for the stories that shape our lives.

The audiobook increased my love and enjoyment of this book so much. You really feel wrappe dup in the characters and Murk it was so glorious and an amazing way to consume this book.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance listener copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Bookshops and Bonedust is a prequel to Legends and Lattes, and gives us a glimpse into Viv's life before she comes to settle in Thune and opening the infamous coffee shop we've all come to love. In Bookshops and Bonedust, Viv has been injured while on the job for Rackam's Ravens and is forced to recover in the quiet beachside town of Murk. To assuage the boredom of a life without battle, Viv wanders into an admittedly struggling bookshop where she befriends the owner, Fern. Just like in Legends and Lattes, this younger version of Viv immediately finds ways to help Fern improve sales, and hopefully, save the bookshop. There's still a necromancer on the loose, however, so there's no shortage of adventure, and even a little romance!

[STOP READING HERE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ LEGENDS AND LATTES. THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD!]

I really enjoyed this prequel! Just like Legends and Lattes, it's a pretty low-stakes, cozy fantasy that is a refreshing break for someone who loves epic fantasies and romantasy. So much of this series feels like you're in a back corner of the bookshop (or the coffeeshop) watching everything unfold in a town that you love, knowing that everyone will be safe and happy at the end of the day. It's pure contentment in a way that's hard to explain other than to just reiterate that this is a very, very cozy fantasy.

So much of Fern and the bookshop in general will be relatable to book lovers; she has relatable relationship with books--even with books she didn't/wouldn't read or enjoy herself. There's a reverence in her that book people will find kinship with, and it's beautiful. I found myself whispering, "oh, me too, girl" quite frequently at Fern.

We know that Viv and Tandri end up together in Legends and Lattes, so it tracks that we know that the romance between Viv and Maylee is a bit bittersweet; we know it's "doomed." That being said, it's still sweet, and just because flings don't work out, doesn't make them not worth the time you spend together when things are good. Viv and Maylee both know that Viv's time in Murk is temporary, and they're both okay with that, even if they know that there will be some pain at the end. 

There's also an adorable fuzzy companion in Pot Roast! He's my gryphet baby angel and I will die for him if needed.

The audiobook, narrated again by Travis Baldree himself, was wonderful. Honestly, I don't think there's anyone quite as suited for narrating a book as the author. They know, far more than anyone else, each character's voice and how to properly represent them. I know that narrating a book is nowhere near as easy as "just reading the words out loud," so I think it's really cool that Travis Baldree is able to both write and narrate his own books. Clearly, Travis' talents know no bounds!

I enjoyed this prequel even more than the first novel, “Legends & Lattes”, and that is saying a lot because that was one of my favorites so far! This book was like a warm hug x10. Travis Baldree created a wonderful fantasy world that you can get lost in. Following along with the characters makes you feel like you are learning to fall in love with books for the first time just like the main character Viv is! I can’t wait to see if he will continue with installments to this series because I will be one of the first in line for anything that is coming our way.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with the audiobook ARC for this novel!

Absolutely freaking LOVED this with all of my heart. I didn’t think it was possible to love any book more than I loved ‘Legends & Lattes’ but here we are with me, once again, completely besotted. I loved seeing Viv when she was just starting out in her warrior years, how much she was still Viv but how different too—how much growing she still had to do before ‘Legends & Lattes.’ The little glimpses of future Viv, of the events in her life that left such indelible marks on her that she eventually settled down and opened her own cozy cafe in a small town, it was the sweetest thing.

Travis Baldtree once again knocked it right out of the park and I have to thank him for giving us these wonderful stories. ‘Bookshops & Bonedust,’ like its predecessor, utterly swept me away to a world I wanted to be in with characters I wanted to know. The plot was WHAT-HAPPENS-NEXT-engaging (the enigmatic, ominous villain was especially intriguing), but, somehow, in the most relaxing way. I love Viv now even more, and I adored all the new characters we met and just every single thing about this book. I look so much forward to anything else Baldtree may give us in this world.

I was beyond lucky enough (you have no idea how happy and excited I still am over this) to be gifted an audioARC of ‘Bookshops & Bonedust’ and let me tell you how 1. I was so excited to see Baldtree himself was narrating again and 2. How much I could listen to him storytelling all day. You know how some people can just draw you in when they sit and tell a story? Baldtree’s narration style is like that—there’s a lulling magic to it, and it was absolutely the perfect choice to narrate his own work. He brought Viv, the world he created, and each individual character to life with not just his writing but his voice too, and there’s something so enchanting about that. It makes me love these books even more.

It case all the gushing didn’t already give it away, lol, I HIGHLY recommend ‘Bookshops & Bonedust.’ You will literally open this book and fall right into the amazing world Travis Baldtree has created. This book is the epitome of the quote “get lost in a book.” You’ll sink right into this one and not want to leave.

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 (𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬-𝘺𝘰𝘶!). 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

Having just finished Legends & Lattes I was dying to jump right back into the world with Viv and her friends. This book goes back a few years to a Viv very set on being a menace and eliminating her enemies. But a wound sends her into a hiatus with a few weeks off to mend.

Here she is determined not to remain idle. When she accidentally causes damage to a ramshackle bookshop she sets in motions the events we see later in Legends. She befriends to bookseller with a foul mouth (loved her!) and together they work towards trying to save a sinking ship. In the midst of this is Gallinda and Maylee and a man in a gray cloak. The stakes are higher here and Viv must figure out what’s going on or lose her new friends.

I really enjoyed this. I listened to it as an audiobook and having Travis read his own story way was downright breathtaking. It was perfectly done. 10/10.

If you were a child raised on Labyrinth, The NeverEnding Story, and The Princess Bride, this is the audiobook for you. The narration made me think of those movies in a cozy, nostalgic way.

Instead of binging the audiobook, I treated it as a bedtime story to be savored and snuggled up with a bit of it each night—like my own personal, grownup version of Fred Savage listening to his grandfather read, except instead of Buttercup and Westley I was listening to the story of an orc and a dwarf and a bakery and a bookshop and a small town and something that gets sprinkled with bonedust to which/whom I found myself endeared much more than I was expecting.

Anyway, I recommend curling up with a warm beverage and your favorite blanket while you allow Travis Baldree to whisk you away to Murk.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio. All review opinions are my own.

The first book in this series was amazing and I’m not sure anything else could live up to the hype.

This book came really close. Viv and a fun cast of characters fighting the bad guys is just as enjoyable the second time around.

If you haven't read Legends and Lattes yet, YOU NEED TO! Then you need to read this one. Actually, you could read this one first since it's the prequel. I absolutely LOVED both these books. They are like a quirky mix of the real world and dungeons and dragons. Like what if an Orc and a tiefling open a coffee shop? What would like look like? What if ratfolk owned a used bookstore or baked the most delicious and cutting edge pastries? I absolutely love the creativity of these novels.

Main premise: Viv, an orc, made her living with her muscles.... until an injury left her recovering in the small town of Murk where she falls in love with a bookshop and its proprietor and the baker down the street and reconsiders all her life choices. There's some sketchy necromancy going on and a forlorn bone golem named Satchel, but overall, the story focuses on Viv helping the bookstore be more successful and lucrative.

I do like this as a backstory and I love the epilogue which ties into Legends and Lattes perfectly.