Considering the description and contents of this book, I really feel like I should like it. Sapphic sword lady and hot wizard woman run away together to open a bookstore? Sign me up! But no matter how far I got in this book, I couldn't bring myself to like it. The characters, particularly Kianthe, felt extremely selfish. I dislike her SO much. I can't quite put a finger on why, but I couldn't stand her as a character. I like Reyna, and the rest of the townsfolk, but had to drag myself through Kianthe's chapters. I also couldn't get over the handwaive-y-ness of their shop situation. Maybe it's because I'm a bookseller, but I couldn't help going "it's not that easy! you can't do that!" This book is meant for people that want to run away from their corporate jobs to open a bookstore, not booksellers (and baristas) that know how difficult it is in reality. While I do think this book would work for other people, it just wasn't the right fit for me. Cozy fantasy just isn't my genre.

This was my second time reading Can't Spell Treason Without Tea and I still love it! I'm so excited that Bramble picked this up and I can't wait to see how the series continues. A huge thank you to Rebecca for joining me on my channel to talk about the series and writing.

This is an indie published cozy fantasy series that Tor actually picked up and is publishing themselves. It perfectly fits in the same realm as Legends and Lattes. We follow Reyna who works as one of the queen’s guards and we also follow one of the most powerful mages in the realm and they decide to start a courtship, move in together and open up a bookshop but Reyna gets a bounty on her head so they are forced to stay undercover. It’s cute and sweet, simple and sometimes that’s just all you need.

A cozy fantasy with a sapphic romance between a palace guard and a mage who just want to open up a bookshop and be together... that is if they can just get the rest of the world to leave them alone/ Reyna and Kianthe are secret girlfriends, Reyna is the Queen's own private guard who is constantly forced to do as the Queen wishes...even if it costs her her own life. After years and after the latest attack really proves to Reyna just how little her queen actually cares for her, she finally takes the leap that Kianthe, her powerful mage girlfriend, has been begging her to, and they run away together. The only problem with running away is that the Queen will see it as treason and will come after her. Kianthe and Reyna just want to set up a small cozy bookshop and live their life in peace... but mishaps, mysteries, and a vengeful queen will all come after them. Can they have their happily ever after? This one was definitely along the veins of Legends and Lattes except Reyna and Kianthe's relationship is already established and the story drags on a bit more. This book honestly felt 100 pages too long, it's meant to be a cozy fantasy with some romance but it just felt like it was lacking the charm and sweetness that Legends and Lattes had. I really wanted to like it but found myself getting so bored while reading it. Getting to the end was hard, but I pushed through and honestly, I think it just didn't live up to my expectations. This book definitely is for people who want cozy fantasy but on a much slower and longer paced story.

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group | Bramble for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea did a wonderful job of setting up short and long-term storylines. Part of what kept me reading was not knowing which plots would be resolved by the end of the book and which ones might continue in future books. I look forward to seeing how the main characters will grow and change, as they are definitely endearing. This book is a wonderful addition to the cozy fantasy genre.

I loved this book. The intersection of sweet, sapphic love story, fantasy setting, and community building is one that has a lot of potential to be its own micro genre

This book was a wonderful cozy fantasy and exceeded my expectations.

I appreciated a book with a relationship already well established between the main characters, it allowed the plot points to carry the story while also showing the love and caring between Kianthe and Reyna.

The pacing felt consistent and the puns were a lot of fun. I didn't realize at first that there might be a sequel but would like to read more about Reyna and Kianthe's adventures!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor/Forge for the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of publication.

Like someone else mentioned, labeling this as a book like Legends and Lattes does it a real disservice. This book unfortunately gave not even one vibe similar to L&L besides there being a cafe involved. I was also excited for the sapphic romance but it was lackluster. There was zero depth to the characters. We were told they were so in love and communicated perfectly to one another and we're understanding of one another's emotions and quirks. But actual communication between the two characters barely showed this. Side characters were not fleshed out. The town they were in had no appeal. I was literally left with no desire to be in this world and my imagining of it was very basic. The world building was not done well. The story was also high stakes which isn't cozy. But even though it was high stakes, I could care less about the drama.

I really forced myself to finish this. It was a huge disappointment.

Ugh. I did it. I finished the most boring book ever. It took me weeks. I hoped I would eventually enjoy the story. But it's definitely fan fiction of Legends & Lattes. I was hoping for something a tad different but it's basically the same and not in a good way.

Nothing wrong with this book just got 20% through it and decided that I wasn’t enjoying it enough to keep reading. I did not leave a star rating on any book review sites

Thank you Tor and Netgalley for a copy of this book. I really enjoyed it more than I expected to, and read it nearly in one sitting.
I picked this title primarily on the inclusion of tea as a defining feature in the main character's life-goals plan and stayed for the world building and mystery. Even as a low stakes "cozy" title, I found the life Reyna and Kianthe were building for themselves to be more interesting and engaging for me than some other cozy fantasy titles I've read.
I liked the world building and cast of side characters that were introduced. I would be interested in reading a whole book about Feo and Wylan too as it seemed that may have been an option left open for the author to explore. The plot and mystery side components were predictable but still interesting, and Thorne has established several clues as to how the plot might progress in the next book.
Definitely something I recommend to anyone who likes a light book or wants something light after an intense read.

This was a cute book. A queen’s guard and a powerful mage run away together to open a bookshop/tea house. This had adventure, romance, a fantasy world and cozy setting. Overall I liked this one but didn’t love it. I think advertising it as a cozy fantasy similar to Legends & Lattes did it a disservice and set my expectations too high. It had cozy vibes sometimes but never really established a cozy community like I love in cozy fantasies.

Billed as a cozy fantasy in the vein of Legends and Lattes I was hopeful in finding a new story to sink into. Although I enjoyed the book it didn't quite hit all the points I wanted in this new genre.
We are introduced to Reyna, guard to a cutthroat Queen who sees her people as disposable and who is regularly injured in her role as protector. Reyna however is in a relationship with a powerful mage, Kianthe who is Arcandor - magical protector of the region. Kianthe is not happy about how her girlfriend is used by the Queen and has been trying to persuade Reyna to run away with her to set up a bookshop which serves tea. Disillusioned with her life Reyna decides to take the plunge and heads off into the wilds with Kianthe to start a new life.
All the key elements for romance and adventure are there , however although problems presented themselves they seemed to be overcome too easily - there was no striving / togetherness for Reyna and Kianthe to a shared goal. Possibly this is due to the established nature of their relationship, sadly this was just the book for me.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this ARC, all views are my own.

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**TL;DR:** I have to say I’m disappointed. This was a bit overly long, and I feel mislabeled as cozy. It was dull with moments of very high stakes and I was left with a feeling of whiplash.

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea is a book that’s been on my radar since it was independently released. It’s been recommended many places as a good title to read if you enjoyed Legends and Lattes, and it was so well recieved that Tor picked it up for a big release. It’s the story of two women who run away together to start a life in a book and tea shop.

The premise sounds amazing, and possibly why I was so excited. I love bookshops, tea, and cozy fantasy in general but this one had some issues I found frustrating. First off, this didn’t feel cozy, instead it felt just a dull. The story, instead of the constant warm feeling that a cozy builds gradually, went through lulls of slow and rather dull moments where problems and issues were hand-waved away and moments of high tension where characters and others lives were at stake. The ‘things’ of cozy fantasy were there. Plants, books, tea, pastries, etc. But they felt like set dressing and very flat.

The relationship between the characters could have also affected this because it just didn’t have it. The two women are in a relationship from the beginning and as such we never see the initial coming together. Instead we’re told a lot how they fell in love or how they feel, but shown mostly the slow less interesting side of a relationship. Their conversations, while never overly long always devolve into one of two things: Sex Jokes or Oh WOW Our Communication is SO good.

The world could be interesting and I might consider picking up the second book on a whim, but I really hope the whiplash feeling of slow and dull to abruptly high stakes is evened out. Cozy, to me, is a slow build to whatever is lingering behind the characters. This was an up and down rollercoaster billed as ‘cozy’ and left me feeling very off balance.

3 Undying Plants out of 5

I loved this book!

Although I've never guarded a Queen, I can understand the frustration of being stuck in a job you want out of - and wanting a peaceful life. So, in that way, I could relate to both of the main characters motivations.
I was charmed by many of the secondary characters too, especially the Griffon.

This was a peaceful foray into the pursuit of a life one wants, not a life one is fated for. I wouldn't say it was low-stakes though!

All in all, I am thrilled with this story. I've found myself thinking of the tale and the characters quite often.

A Must Read!

Sitting at about a 3.5-4 star rating, I definitely enjoyed this sweet cozy fantasy. A soft, slow story was definitely something I needed to read this month. Also a bookstore/tea shop is literally my dream. I really enjoyed the way the author wrote all of the characters-- the main characters Reyna and Kianthe, as well as the people in their community. Something that brought it down from a full 4 star rating for me was really a personal preference issue, in that I'm not the biggest fan of reading stories with an already established romantic relationship as the main relationship. I prefer watching characters get together and begin from the start. That being said, Reyna and Kianthe's relationship was still very sweet, this was just a me thing. The stakes were slightly higher than some other cozy fantasy books, which I actually enjoyed here. A true low stakes fantasy is great from time to time but I need a little something more to keep me interested, and this book delivered on that.

While this book was advertised as cozy fiction, the only thing really cozy about it was the setting of the bookshop, otherwise this felt like a typical fantasy. A fun and easy read, the story features concepts of adventure and of choosing a different life for yourself to avoid boredom and self-righteous rulers. I love that it featured a queer romance that was healthy and mutually beneficial. This story did feel similar to Legends & Lattes, though I cannot say I prefer this one more. Overall, it was a fun read.

3.5 : to be completely fair, cozy fantasy may not be my thing. I may need the high stakes. BUT, anyone looking for a cozy, heart-warming fantasy, this is for you. This story follows the Queen’s ex-private guard, and her partner, the most powerful mage there is, as they settle down in a town and open a tea/bookshop. They get to know the townsfolk and assist with their troubles. It was all around a cute story. I did enjoy the already established sapphic relationship between the two MCs, and will likely continue the story with the next installment.

I really was hoping I would like this but I did not sadly. It was really herd not to compare it to Legends and Lattes, but it was inevitable. In general it's missing some of the charm L&L has. Some of the plot points don't seem to be resolved, they will come up and won't be mentioned again. There is also a good bit of telling and not showing.

Honestly I don't think I can read another cozy fantasy about bookshops, coffee shops or tea shops. Maybe a cozy fantasy about a taco truck.

Can't Spell Treason without Tea is a delightful cozy fantasy about two women starting a new life together, with their past not far behind them. Reyna is a former guard on the run from her psycho queen. Kianthe is the most powerful mage and sick of life behind walls. Together they open a tea and book shop in a small town.
Reyna is a former guard and puts everyone else ahead of herself. She was incredibly relatable as a character. Kianthe is so powerful and deals with anxiety. She deals with panic attacks and learns to manage them.
The plot was a little more than cozy fantasy. Reyna has a high stakes plot as she's abandoned her post as a royal guard to a queen who's incredibly possessive. Kianthe has a couple high stakes plotlines involving her being potentially forced to stay with the other mages, away form Reyna. There's also another one with dragons. All of which was really exciting, but felt like a lot for a cozy fantasy. While I really enjoyed it, I would definitely caveat that when recommending it to other cozy fantasy fans.
Overall, it was really cute. I love the saphic rep and the adorable shop they put together. The little town is delightful and so are the side characters. Definitely recommend to any cozy fantasy fan.