3.5 stars

My thanks to NetGalley for an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed Legends & Lattes, so I was delighted to receive a copy of the prequel Bookshops & Bonedust (& I also appreciate a good ampersand). We meet a younger version of Viv the orc, who is at the start of her mercenary career with Rackham’s Ravens. She is incapacitated during a minor battle on the way to fight a Big Bad necromancer and left to recover in Murk. Thus commences our tale of books, baked goods, and accidental resurrections in a sleepy seaside town (my favorite kind). With nothing else to occupy her time, Viv wanders into the local bookshop and becomes hooked on the proprietor’s recommendations. She then starts to help her new friend revitalize her store, which is in danger of going out of business. Baldree does some excellent seed planting here, showing us the roots of Viv’s entrepreneurial acumen and appreciation for the quiet life that feature so heavily in Legends & Lattes.

I enjoyed this installment a little less, mainly because Baldree tried to smush together the cozy low-stakes feel of his first book with a little more swashbuckling and suspense, which led to some really weird pacing issues. Due to the framing of the story, I also didn’t particularly enjoy the romance in this one; I felt that it could have been entirely left out without any effects on the plot or character development. I did enjoy old bookstore vibes, delicious pastries, hilarious skeletons, Viv’s ability to find new friends and allies in unlikely places, and above all, the epilogue.

I loved this! It is bittersweet getting a prequel, knowing that these friends and this life gets left behind but I was yet again enamored with everyone Vivian encountered and the epilogue made me squeal so loud my husband ran to see what what wrong

I was so excited to see this book after all the buzz about Legends and Lattes.

When they describe this series as "cozy fantasy" it's apt. There is some action and adventure, but for the most part it's just the lives of magical people (beings?).

The main plot centers around a necromancer, but there are a couple of low consequence subplots. Honestly my favorite pieces of the entire book was Viv helping Fern fix up her bookshop.

Bookshops & Bonedust is a prequel to Legends & Lattes and it introduces Viv as a much younger Orc at the beginning of her career. I really loved this book! The audiobook is read by the author and it is excellent. There is a poignancy to this story that is very touching and the characters are wonderful. I hope Travis Baldree will write more in this world! I recommend this to readers who like fantasy adventure with a sweet side of romance.

If you enjoyed Legends and Lattes then I have no doubt you will love Bookshops and Bonedust as well! Watching a young Viv in her prime, finding out the unknown about herself, making new friends along the way of healing and hunting necromancers. It is an all already great time.

I takes quite a lot for a book to make me cry and I was doing perfectly ok until I read the epilogue - which takes place about a year after the events of Legends and Lattes. Oh boy was I getting some funny looks at the coffee chop!

I could not recommend this book anymore if I tried. Grab a pastry, some coffee, and cozy up with my all time favorite cozy fantasy series.

(Thank you, MacMillan, x1000 for this eARC, all opinions are my own)

Why was this book so good? I think I am in the minority here when I say that I decided to read Bookshops & Bonedust before Legends & Lattes. So, I can’t compare the two. However, if Legends & Lattes is anything close to BookShops & Bonedust, Legends & Lattes will be my next read.

Viv has been hurt in a battle which forces her to sit and heal in the town of Murk. Viv is not happy about that at all. This book was such a surprise for me. I was laughing as the character laughed, and the banter in this book was the best. You want to talk about finding the right book at the right time. I want to say so much, but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. I will say that Pot Roast is a little bean.
The narrator was great. I had a fun time listening to all the different voices.

5 stars! This was a fun read. It took me less than a day to listen to the audiobook. A book about books always makes me smile. I will recommend it to all fantasy lovers, Someone who needs a laid-back fantasy with low stakes. I can’t wait to get a physical copy of this book.


Thanks, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I will post my review on Youtube and Tik Tok on (10/31/2023) @allthisnerdyness

The hype is real and my heart is full - Travis Baldree has done it again with his Legends & Lattes prequel, Bookshops & Bonedust!

It’s no secret that I am absolutely obsessed with Legends and Lattes and when Bookshops & Bonedust was announced I could not contain my excitement! In this installment we go back in time following Viv as she recovers from an injury received while hunting a necromancer with her mercenary company, the Rackam's Ravens. She is forced to put her feet up and recover in the small seaside town of Murk and she is not happy about it. With little to do and needing to rest her injury she takes up reading and visiting the local bookshop - befriending the owner Fern & her adorable companion Potroast. Of course things won’t stay quiet for long and Viv is thrust back into adventure with her new friends, a sassy Gnome and a mysterious skeleton!

I cannot say enough about how amazing this installment is! Cozy fantasy at its best - full of friendship, books, adorable creature companions, amazing characters, snacks, adventure, everyday slice of life, mystery and all the cozy vibes! I absolutely devoured this book from the opening line to the epilogue and cannot wait to see where the series will go from here!

Method read: 🎧

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy!

I have really enjoyed this series so far and I am for sure going to just Auto Buy whatever the Author writes.
I liked the backstory with Viv, but I can say I didn't really enjoy her as much as I did in Legends and Lattes. I thought this story was interesting and flowed well. I really loved all the new characters and the little struggles they all went through,. It is nice to have a story that is not super Epic and confusing once in awhile.

Thank you NetGalley for this audio ARC. This was a quick and cozy read; however, it didn’t live up to the author’s first book.

If you were a fan of Legends and Lattes, you are going to love this book. It was wonderful getting to know Viv prior to coffee and pastries. I adored all of the characters. Bookshops and Bonedust made my cozy fantasy loving heart just burst with happiness. After reading the epilogue I can’t wait to read what’s in store next.

Charming cozy fantasy. I love that we got to spend more time with a character we love from the first book but also get introduced to new ones that you love from the start. I cried and laughed and it is another amazing addition to this series. I hope there are going to be more.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and Tor Publishing for both the digital and audio ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you liked Legends & Lattes, then you are going to love this one. This one gives all of the same cozy feelings from the first one with baked goods, friendship, and found family. This also gives an appeal to your inner book nerd with the bookshop and reader's advisory angle. My inner librarian was swooning.

I think I may have liked this one even more than L&L, which I didn't think was possible. I loved seeing Viv a little bit more in her battle hardened era. She's younger, a bit naïve, and impulsive. I love it. Fern is 100% a believable bookseller. From her customer service voice to her copious swearing and both sadness and hesitance when it comes time to weed out old books. She reminds me a bit of myself. I now also want to name my next pet Potroast. Travis has done it again with his immersive world building and charming, yet slightly dysfunctional, characters.

Travis did an amazing job with the narration. I loved all of the different characters he has created and the voices that go along with them, which comes as no surprise, I'm sure.

I loved the additional chapter at the end that brings it all back to L&L. I'm glad I got to see a glimpse of Viv's life prior to L&L. I hope to see more of these characters in additional books. At this point, I will read anything Travis writes in this wonderful world he has created.

Note on the narration: Travis Baldree has such a great voice; if they don't already, they should also be a narrator for more books, as I loved their tone & flow. Audiobook adds to the cosiness!

This book fully achieves sweetness and softness and continues to compliment this cosy fantasy world!
I honestly didn't know if this would achieve the same level that Legends & Lattes had, but I was very pleased it did. It did a great job of setting up for the future and strengthened what we knew about the character as she came into her own and choices after her injury.

I would die for Potroast. Also... can I get a Potroast of my very own?

This prequel builds upon the world Baldree started in LEGENDS & LATTES and provides more backstory to Viv... it's not the coffee discovery story I was expecting to get, but I think this was even better. It was a pleasure to experience Viv find enjoyment in books and reading while also starting friendships with residents in Murk. In many ways I enjoyed BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST more even if it was overall a quieter storyline.

And the epilogue? Perfect. I sincerely hope we get a Legends & Lattes #2 so readers can find out if Viv's ideas from the epilogue turn into reality or not (I hope they do).

Travis Baldree does a great job narrating his own books.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

This was another sweet story by Travis Baldree. I didn't love it as much as Legends and Lattes, but I did still enjoy it quite a bit. Baldree has a way of writing moments that feel so warm and snuggly that I just really enjoy. I also love his narration. Maybe it's because he wrote them, but he really has a way of bringing the characters to life.

Speaking of characters, these characters are just as delightful as those in Legends, and I enjoyed getting to see some backstories for a couple of characters from book one. The atmosphere is just as cozy and charming as Legends, so if you enjoyed that one, this is a solid follow up.

The story itself just didn't hit the way the first one did for me. There was nothing wrong with it, but I found myself getting a little bogged down in the middle. Once things started happening, I was 100% here for it, and I LOVED the epilogue. The epilogue may have been my favorite part - it made me really excited to see where Baldree goes with the story. Definitely a solid read. Can't wait to get my hands on more!