This was in many ways exactly what I was hoping for, but not entirely. A cozy fantasy with an established sapphic romance where a queen's bodyguard and a mage run away together to open a tea and bookshop. Really charming, but with more plot and higher stakes than something like Legends and Lattes (which I also loved, but I know it was TOO cozy for some readers). This reads more akin to a cozy mystery than a cozy fantasy romance so set expectations.

It was a little slow to start and it took me awhile to get the two characters straight. I can't tell how much of this was the audiobook narrator and how much was the headhopping, but I kind of thought the way she decided to do the voice of the bodyguard didn't entirely fit. That said, I got over it and loved the caretaking, the slight mystery plot, and how the couple overcame some real obstacles. And I LOVED the ending! It was perfection and I anticipate reading more in the series. I received an audio review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own

Reyna has always dreamed of running away with her girlfriend, Kianthe, but never thought she'd get the opportunity. After a near death experience, Reyna decides to take a chance and runs away from her job as a Royal Guard. Now on the run, Reyna and Kianthe decide to follow their dreams and open a book and tea shop in the secluded town of Tawney. But with the fear of dragon attacks and the Queen's spies closing in, their dream of a quiet life may not be quite what they expected.
I had not read a cozy fantasy before this book, but overall I enjoyed it. I really liked the adventures that Reyna and Kianthe experienced and I felt that the storyline flowed well. The townspeople of Tawney were well written and I liked the sense of camaraderie shown throughout the book. I really enjoyed this audiobook and I felt the narrator did a good job with this book! I am excited to see what happens in book two.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne is a sweet and romantic cozy fantasy. Reyna, one of the Queen's Private guard, and Kianthe, the most powerful mage, both are sick of their given responsibilities. They are tired of hiding in the shadows to be together and no longer want to be stuck in these lives that have been thrust upon them. All they want is to set up a bookstore and tea shop and live their lives together. They will do anything they have to do to make that dream happen.
I loved this book! Easy 5 stars! I always enjoy a good cozy fantasy and this is the best one I have read yet. I loved the main characters and their deep love for each other. Their relationship is so adorable and you just want to fight for them and their right to have a peaceful life together. They are not perfect but work together on the issues they have to be better. That is such a great thing to see in a romance.
The plot line is also incredible. There is enough suspense and action to keep things going throughout the novel. While also having the nice breaks for the characters to continue taking care of their shop. My only complaint is that I wanted to see more of their shop preparation in detail but what we got was great. I also really enjoyed their connection to the town and how everyone comes together to help and take care of each other. I did not expect that to be the case at the beginning and it was great to see the growth as the characters got closer and more trusting of each other.
I would definitely recommend this book to any cozy fantasy lovers! I am so excited to read the next book in the series and see what else is in store for these two!

4.5 ⭐️What a fun read! A beautiful sapphic relationship, a vengeful queen, a sassy griffin and a bookshop with tea.
Dragons are missing something important which threatens a small village important to Kianthe and Reyna. I loved this. Super fun, can’t wait for book 2. Also really enjoyed the addition of the one shot at the end of Reyna and Kianthe meeting.
Also has non binary rep.

This book was sweet and simple. I absolutely ADORED the narrator and all the charm they infused the reading with. However the story was not something that will stick with me long term. I liked it, but not enough to really recommend it to people as a must read. The characters were fine, but I feel the "cozy" was a little forced? It was like a checklist was run though: plants, tea, books, check check check! I also couldn't tell if the city was small or medium sized? If this was a wild frontier town, could the economy really support a tea shop? I don't know, I tried not to look to hard into it.

This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Rebecca Thorne, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley.

Cozies are my favorite comfort reads. This book has 2 main characters, Reyna who is a guard for a problematic queen and Kianthe who is an exceptionally powerful mage. The main characters are in love and quit their fast-paced life for a quiet book & tea shop. This is steadily paced. The main characters grow but I'm not really attached to them. The blend of history with fantasy works for the setting but feels somewhat flat for the characters. I never really became invested in this story or care much about the characters. For a cozy to be successful for me I have to be invested in the main characters and like the setting. I did like the setting but the characters feel more like they are being explained than showing in the narrative who they are and why. Much of the character development reads like character outlines more than story action. The romantic relationship between Reyna & Kianthe felt awkward and they've been together long enough it should've felt comfortable. The reader is told they are in love but I don't feel that love is reflected in the text. It's told but not shown in the various story elements.
This is fun, cozy and a quick read. While I will not read further in this series, I will read another book by this author.

This was my first exposure to Jessica Threet as a narrator. I felt her approach to narrating this novel was light and fun. It was a perfect tone and helped to bring Reyna and Kianthe to life.

Thank you to Rebecca Thorne, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.

I don't think this book was for me...

It felt more like a regular fantasy book than a cozy fantasy. I didn't connect to the characters, and it felt more modern than what the setting seem to be.

I liked the narrator, I think she's the reason that I finished the book in the first place, but the story overall didn't grab me like I thought it would. I also liked that it had dragons (they're a favorite of mine).

I don't think I'll be reading the next installment.

This book wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. I agree with other reviewers that the stakes were too high for what I would like to see in a “cozy fantasy” but if you want a standard fantasy that has a few cozy elements, it’ll work just fine. I liked that the protagonists were already in an established relationship when the book started as well. I received an advanced copy of the audiobook from NetGalley (thank you!)

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.

This charming story about Reyna, a brave bodyguard, and Kianthe, the most powerful mage in the world, will capture your heart. After Reyna decides to leave her life of risk-taking for a narcissistic queen, she and Kianthe open a cozy bookshop and tea room in the lovely town of Tawney. However, their peaceful existence is disrupted when the queen's guards arrive to take Reyna back for treason. This cozy fantasy has just the right amount of drama, and the characters' dynamics make it an enjoyable read.

The narrator, Jessica Threet, brings this story to life with her excellent range of accents and passionate portrayal of the characters. Listening to this audiobook feels like watching a captivating TV show or play.

I highly recommend this audiobook, and I am personally looking forward to seeking out other books read by Jessica Threet.

Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillianaudio and @rebeccathornewrites for the gifted audiobook.

I feel like this was mismarketed as cozy, low stakes fantasy. It definitely has some more serious content, but the slang and modern sensibilities pulled me out of the story quite a bit. The romance was sweet, but felt very generic to me. All the build up of the relationship happened prior to this book, which makes it very much a case of telling instead of showing. It was very disjointed in the plot, feeling like a set of tropes strung together. The resolution of the plot felt very anti-climactic, the whole book was just very 'meh' to me personally. Overall, it only rated 3/5 Stars because the audio production was amazing (I love the distinct voices for the two leads) and it did make me smile/chuckle a couple times. Not the best but definitely not the worst, it will have an audience for sure.

**Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC copy, all opinions are my own.

I was blessed with both the ebook arc and the audio book arc. 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.

I ADORED this book! I am usually not the biggest fan of the romantasy genre. I don't hate it but it's just not what I usually gravitate towards but one of my friends recommended this book to me and I loved it! It was so cozy and wholesome and made me want to grab a cup of tea and swoon. I loved the characters and their interactions. It was also so nice to have some more cozy sapphic lit! A major win was had for the lesbians on this day.

A wonderful narration of a cute and cozy fantasy. I loved the expression in the audio for this book, and the distinction between the voices of the two main characters was deeper than just accents. It really made the story come to life.

The story itself was just cute and fun. A love story about two women overcoming a variety of obstacles to their new life together. The main conflicts were the dragons and the queen, but really this didn’t feel like a main conflict kind of book. It was more a sweet and cozy outline of the beginning of a new bookshop. As someone who loves books and tea, the discussions of tea blends and the debates about rereading vs new books hit in a particularly satisfying way. I can’t wait for this story to continue!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance listen of this audiobook. All opinions here are my own.

If you are in the mood for a cozy fantasy this is perfect! Reyna and Kianthe flee the queendom to start their life independent from what they knew. They settle in a cozy town to open a bookshop and sell tea. There is romance, magic, griffons, books, plants and tea! Also, dragons! I don’t really know what more i could’ve asked for. its not crazy action packed so its the perfect relaxing cozy read. I really truly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next book. Also perfect for someone looking for an lgbtqia+ read FYi :) I really enjoyed the performance of the narrator as well! Highly recommend this book. Five stars from me!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio arc, this review is my own opinion.

I was very excited for this book. Magic, tea, bookshops, low stakes, cozy, it sounded perfect. Unfortunately this is not cozy or low stakes. This is almost written like an episode of a tv show, each set of chapters has their own mini dilemma, which is quickly resolved, and on to the next. Both MCs are perfection embodied, and so similar in mannerisms I just keep forgetting who is who. Some of the content just seemed so forced, I love having representation of different people in books, but some just fell flat. There's a scene with a major medical emergency and they go on a tangent about pronouns, an extended monologue on how to deal with anxiety.

The narrator wasn't my favorite, she did a good job differentiating between the secondary characters, but the two main female characters sounded pretty alike.

ARC Review
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne is a sweet and fun sapphic fantasy that's laid back. I received the audiobook and the narrator Jessica Threet was absolutely fabulous! I cannot say enough good things about the narration - her inflections, her emotions and changing voices to accommodate different characters made the whole story come alive for me.

I fell in love with Kianthe and Reyna and found both of them to be adorable and charming. Their relationship was established at the start of the book and their interactions were sweet. Despite there being a romantic relationship this was a clean romance with zero spice. 

There are several low to medium stake plots happening throughout the book that are interesting and will keep you entertained. The book is not in any kind of hurry and just tells its tales in a slow pace so you can relax and enjoy. The humor and wit really brings out the personalities and I found myself smiling and giggling a lot while listening.

The book is part of a series and the ending definitely leaves more to tell and leaves one loose end. I cannot wait to find out what happens in the next book.

Cozy-ish Fantasy
Found family Sapphic FMCs
Gryphons
Dragons
Humor and wit
Slow paced
Clean romance with zero spice
To be continued ending

I could not more highly recommend Can't Spell Treason Without Tea- especially as an audiobook. You should read this book if:

- You read the indie published version and want to reunite with this whimsical story and ready about the meet cute.
- You enjoyed Legends and Lattes, Cursed Cocktails, or The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
- You like books, plants, or gryphons
- You love reading about healthy, loving, sapphic relationships
- You enjoy a found family trope

Literally no notes- it's amazing. I love Rebecca Thorne's story telling, I love this world, and the narration of the audiobook just took everything to the next level. Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and Rebecca Thorne for this must read story!

I think it's unfortunate that "cozy fantasy" has become such a widely used term. Just because they start a tea/book shop doesn't automatically make it feel "cozy".
The 2 MC were a little one note for me. Not too much personality for either than them (I will add that the one bonus chapter where they met had more personality for both of them then the rest of the book).
I just overall found this a little boring.
I don't usually read more than one book at a time but this really didn't grab my attention enough to make me want to keep coming back to it.
Overall 3.5 but rounded down to a 3 because it doesn't feel like it deserves a 4 star.

This was the perfect cozy fantasy read. It had a great blend of action and vibes. It felt like a warm hug listening to this. I also enjoyed the subtle nods to modern technology which added some humor to the book.