Bookshops and Bonedust is a cozy book that blends fantasy elements with the love of reading. It brings typical fantasy characters like orcs and dwarfs and expands what they are capable of. Just because you look tough doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the simpler things in life.
With B&B being a prequel to Legend and Lattes I was expecting a look into Viv as a mercenary and while there was some of that, this took a more relaxed turn. If you are expecting more action, there is some but B&B is first and foremost, a cozy fantasy. I absolutely love Travis Baldree’s cozy writing and I was thrilled by it. Travis Baldree is an amazing narrator and it was a joy to hear him narrate his own book.
As far as content goes, I adored all of the characters and the plot. The banter between characters had me laughing out loud. Viv trying to stealthily read “spice” was such a fun moment. Satchel was my favorite side character, he can read a whole page at once!
Overall I gave Bookshops and Bonedust a 5 stars. I loved it just as much as Legend and Lattes and I’m eager to read more in this universe.

I was eager to dive back into another tale with Viv at the forefront. Bookshops & Bonedust did not disappoint. The town of Murk, where Viv finds herself recovering from an injury, offers up a fun cast of characters that Viv befriends without really meaning to. Another fun, cozy listen!

This is a cute story and if you read legends in lattes and liked it then I think you will love this book. To me it had the same kind of feel about it , like what would life look like in the DND like world if they had to deal with life outside of the battles.

🥹 this emoji us the sum of my feelings on this book.

Did I read the blurb before requesting it after how much I loved Legends & Lattes? Nope. So I'll be honest I did think this might have been about her first coffee experience.

However, it is not. Ans that was perfectly fine. This was such a perfect and cozy read. We get a peak into Viv before she had lived a bunch if years being a badass. Not saying she wasn't still a badass...sje was just a little too...stubborn and naive I guess.

This follows Viv after she ran head first into some trouble and got an injury so she is stuck in a town to recover...in hopes of getting back on her feet and fears being left behind over it.

As with Legends & Lattes, this is cute and cozy. We explore friendships and working together to create and make something beautiful. There's a baddie in this.


And then there's that absolutely perfect epilogue that made my heart burst...and I'm hoping a glimpse at a third book.

It’s fun getting falling back into step with Viv in her travels. Much like its predecessor, Bookshops and Bonedust is an easily accessible, cozy fantasy with a strong focus on its eccentric characters. I love Baldree's narration as much as I enjoy the tale he weaves. This was such a fun prequel, and the epilogue was a perfect ending.

I think perhaps I’m the odd one out. I didn’t really enjoy this book and especially didn’t enjoy the audiobook narrator and excessive swearing (and I grew up with Marines).
A child’s version of Dungeons and Dragons- but without the dungeons… and the dragons… and only a tiny bit of fighting…. But lots of arguing like in a real campaign. The plot felt muddy. It was understandable from the beginning what was going to happen, how things would grow and shift and make space for newness. The characters are semi loveable and react to things how I would at times.

I think that I don’t love this because I didn’t read the first book that grabbed everyone’s attention. I read this first as it’s the avant book, and Legends and Lattes is après. Maybe I’m missing that bond that others had developed with Viv in that book. Despite not enjoying it fully, I do thank Netgalley and MacMillan audio for this ARC in exchange for this review.

I am so incredibly sorry I requested this advanced reader copy. I had to stop reading at 36% because I don't believe in punishing myself.

Sure, part of this may be because I didn't read the blurb and thought that a #2 would be a continuation of the story or about other characters. But, no... this is a prequel. Okay, I could have been warned, but still I wasn't ready for a book that had absolutely NO BEARING on the story from the first other than that it's about Viv. A very different, young, naive, and dumb Viv... but ya, it's about Viv.

If you're going to do a prequel, it needs to be something I wanted to know and that actually pertains to the first story. Maybe an adventure where she learns about coffee for the first time and starts to dream about her future. Or maybe when she got tired from being a mercenary.

This book really doesn't relate at all to the first. It has completely different characters in a completely different setting with a different type of adventure.

This was a slog... and I give up. I really enjoyed the first book, but this made me lose my faith in Travis Baldree as an author... for me. I'm sure others will enjoy this (I mean, the whole reason I requested this arc is because a friend was gooing over it), but I did not enjoy it and I refuse to punish myself anymore.

Also, as a romance reader, it offends me to have to read about a prior flame/fling in a prequel. It irritates me greatly for there to be anyone else for Viv than the person she was with in the first book. Bah.

Oh... and this book has so many excerpts of other fictional books... I find that kind of thing obnoxious.

This was a lovely read and had all the elements that made me love Legends and Lattes. The relationships are where the story truly shines and I just adored this book.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. My favorite character was literally a bag of bones called Satchel and I felt like not much happened in the story until he was introduced and not much happened until 90% through the book.

I tend to think prequels are unnecessary. I don’t know that Bookshops & Bonedust is necessary from a story telling perspective. From a soul perspective, yes, it is necessary. Legends & Lattes was about coffee, baked goods and friendships. Bookshops & Bonedust is about books, baked goods, and friendships. The book was read by the author, Travis Baldree, who is also a voice actor. I enjoyed his narration so much I may get his narration of the Legends & Lattes audiobook. (Who am I kidding, I’m definitely getting the audiobook).

I’m adding in an edit because I just read a tweet from Travis Baldree in which he says that he has just realized (August 10, 2023) that he wrote Bookshops & Bonedust to assert that prequels aren’t irrelevant. “Past relationships & unexpected detours are essential to us, even when abandoned. They help us understand what the destination is.” If that was his purpose, I think he fulfilled it.

We meet Viv as a young mercenary, newly joined up with Rackam’s Ravens. She’s a good fighter, but so eager to finish the fight that she runs ahead and gets herself almost dead. She is forced to recuperate in the sleepy seaside town of Murk. Rackam’s Ravens are in pursuit of a necromancer and they promise Viv they’ll be back to get her when they finish up. Viv has already gotten herself on the bad side of the local physician by trying to strangle him when she was wracked with fever. She realizes that to truly heal, she’s going to need to be slower and gentler with her body than she’s ever been. Instead of pushing herself (which is how she ended up stabbed in the leg), she needs to move carefully and let her body rest. Viv is not built for slow. She slowly explores the town and finds herself in a dark and dusty, over crowded bookshop. Overcrowded with books, not customers. She makes friends with Fern, the ratkin who owns the shop. Fern introduces Viv to books. She challenges Viv, who discovers books can open new worlds.

I won’t go further into the plot other than to say that this is where Viv meets Gallina, acquires her sword, Blackblood, and where she becomes a more thoughtful, well rounded person who has respect for people who are not fighters. She gets more adventure than she expected and forms bonds, even knowing that she will leave. Two of the dominant themes are a love of books and valuing relationships that won’t last forever. While I was listening to this, I learned that a friend I hadn’t talked with in several years had died. Our lives took us in different directions a very long time ago, but I value the place she had in my life then. It was lovely to hear characters validating the joy of friendships however long they last, the sweet and sour pain of loss, and the possibility of stories after the story.

If you loved or liked Legends & Lattes, you will love or like Bookshops & Bonedust. If you didn’t, you probably won’t like this one any better. My greatest sadness is that it is too hot to turn the oven on and make lassy buns and pastries. I hope that when the book comes out in November, I will be back to baking.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Macmillan Audio and Netgalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

I will read anything now from this series because this is just ANOTHER adorable story. High fantasy and low stakes :)

Also having a narrator read their own book!! Yes please! I loved it!

Bookshops and Bonedust is a cozy fantasy novel with D&D vibes. This book is set in the same universe as Legends and Lattes and focuses on the same character, Viv, but takes place before the events of Legends and Lattes. You can easily read it before the other book in the universe, but it will make you want to know more about what Viv will get up to.
In this book, Viv is injured and left in a sleepy town to recover. She befriends the local bookkeeper and learns the joys of reading. Feeling restless, she helps fix up the bookshop, but things fail to remain sleepy in the small town. Viv quickly becomes busy with the failing bookshop, a mysterious, dangerous stranger, and a cute baker.
I received an ARC of the audiobook version of Bookshops and Bonedust, which the author narrates. It was a great listen and a delightful story.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC! Bookshops & Bonedust is the prequel to Legends & Lattes and follows the orc, Viv in her younger days as she is injured in a quest to hunt down a necromancer and must recuperate in the town of Murk. Viv begrudgingly befriends the ratkin bookshop owner and learns the joy of reading. There are also baked goods and scenes of Viv dabbling in emotion and romance. As with Legends and Lattes, most of the book is very low stakes, and we know where Viv is headed in the future, so there's no major stress, just a cozy glimpse into how Viv becomes the Viv we see in Legends & Lattes. Bookshops & Bonedust is sure to warm the hearts of fantasy fans seeking a warm and cozy read this winter. As with the first book, Travis Baldree narrates and knows just how to bring life to the characters.

Okay…while I ADORED Legends & Lattes, Bookshops & Bonedust didn’t hit the same. Don’t get me wrong, this was so cute and cozy and I loved it. However, with this being a prequel (and note a sequel) the stakes felt nonexistent and I found myself not caring as much, since I knew Viv was going to move on away from Murk. I will say, Baldree does a really good job creating a cozy and comforting atmosphere. This was still a fantastic read and I am so thankful these books exist. Thank you to NetGalley for an Audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This series is just the best. I love Viv, her found family, and her adventures. I always enjoy an audiobook more when the author reads it and this one is no exception. I look forward to more adventures with Viv.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I'm not usually a Fantasy reader so this book took some time for me to get into. The world building usually has me lost, however Travis Baldree did an amazing job! I loved all the characters and immediately fell in love with them! This was such a feel good story! I have not yet read Legends & lattes, but now I'm excited to!

Really interesting. I think it's an interesting way to begin a world after the first book. I love the idea of authors at least somewhat narrating their own books. Travis however knew what he wanted with this and I love it.

I liked Legends & Lattes well enough to pick up the prequel (in audiobook form, of course—Travis Baldree's narration is still wonderful, and I can't imagine these books in any other form). I didn't expect to like this book even more than the first, though, but here we are.

I love Viv, of course, but the side characters are really where the heart of this book is (as expected). Maylee and Gallina are wonderful, Fern is an absolute delight whom I hope we see more of in a potential sequel, and I would kill and die for Satchel (I miss him already), not to mention all of the minor characters that make Murk feel alive. This book definitely has higher stakes than Legends & Lattes, but not to its detriment. The stakes feel suited to this version of Viv and the place she's at in her life and career. I really enjoyed seeing what got her to where she ends up in the next book; the theme of moving on from what you know to finding genuine happiness may have hit a little close to home, but it nonetheless works perfectly within this cozy little world. And of course, I highly recommend the audiobook. Travis Baldree's narration is absolutely fantastic, and he adds so much to the experience.

If you've read Legends & Lattes, I have no doubt you'll love this one. If you haven't—well, read that one first, since the epilogue in Bookshops & Bonedust spoils it, but I do think this book can stand on its own, too.

Another cozy book from Travis Baldree, a prequel to Legends and Lattes. Young Viv has to rest after a leg injury in battle, and we get to spend time with her as she does in a quaint small town full of wonderful characters! Viv befriends the local bookshop owner, Fern, who recommends just the right books for Viv.

I listened to the audio book, thank you NetGalley and MacMillan audio, the narrator is also the author of the book. While I think he does an excellent job with masculine voices, feminine voices were a little rough, sometimes jolting me out of the flow of the story. I'm not sure if they were meant to be that way or not? Other than that he does a great job!

If you loved Legends and Lattes you'll love this one too, not only does it have a cozy bakery, we now get a cozy bookshop!

This is a prequel to Legends & Lattes so it is not necessary to have read that first, although I definitely recommend reading the book at some point simply because I love that book.

This book follows a younger Viv as she heals from an injury in Murk & after stumbling upon a bookshop she discovers her love of reading.

The epilogue was such a pleasant surprise & makes me want a dozen sequels to Legends and Lattes!

The only problem I have with the audiobook is that it’s too cozy. Everytime I put it on it felt like I was being covered with a blanket & soothed into a nap.