A sweet sapphic adventure I couldn't stop listening too!

I loved every moment of this story. It was fast paced and sucked me in immediately. Jessica Threet's narration really brought the characters to life and I finished this book in just 2 days because I never wanted to stop listening.

Magic, dragons, found family, and fighting for a life of happiness. Perfect lighthearted fantasy read that still has adventure and drama.
There are so many wonderful side characters in this story and the epilogue has me DYING to read the next book.

If you liked Legends and Lattes, but wanted a bit more action and more established romance then you will LOVE this book!!!!

Thank you NetGalley for an ALC of Can’t Spell treason without Tea in exchange of my honest feedback.

First and foremost I loved the audio narrator! The text interpretation was beautifully done and it made the story much more enjoyable!

Can’t spell Treason without a tea is a cozy fantasy in the same vein of Legend and Lattes. Both characters are sort of leaving their past behind and want to start fresh in a different town where they will build a tea house + book shop/library. However, the past will catch up with them and they will have to sort their lives before being able to move on.
Overall the story is very cozy and has low stakes, but I felt that there were some muddle parts such as the build up of their store that got into second place to the romantic plot and the plot about their past.
For those who loved Legend and lattes and wants more I would totally recommend this book, but for me that had recently read it, it felt a bit repetitive.
Overall is enjoyable and I really recommend the ALC for the narration that I thought it was beautifully done.

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea is such a comfy, cozy read! This book follows one of the Queen's personal guards, Reyna, and her mage girlfriend, Kianthe, as they decide to open up a book and tea shop. It really gives off Legends and Lattes vibes but with a little more adventure, which I loved. I got the chance to listen to this as an audiobook and I think that it was possibly the best way to enjoy this book to its fullest. One of my favorite parts in audiobooks is when each character has there own voice, it really helps you get lost into the story.

Oh man this audiobook was fantastic. The vibes were immaculate. I love cozy fantasy so much and this did not disappoint AT ALL.

This is my favorite story of 2024.

The romance is adorable. I wish it had spice but it’s a minor thing because the relationship is so well done. It’s so deep and loving.

The voice actor is top notch. Wow! Her voices are great.

The suspense is excellent! I loved the ending. Adorable and masterful.

And I cannot wait to listen to the second book!

I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone but you will fall in love with Tawny, with Reyna and Keyanth (spellings may be off because I listened to the story).

Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. I when to go seek refuge in their bookshop.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ALC.

The audiobook narrator was amazing and I love that she gave the FMC’s different accents.

If you’re looking for a cozy sapphic fantasy this is definitely a great pick.

It has:

☕️ A bookshop tea house setting
🐉 Magic, dragons and griffins
⚔️ Action and battles
👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 Adorable sapphic romance

I really enjoyed this book! It was cozy and fun. The story between the main characters is really sweet and cute.

3.75 stars...first off thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this audioARC. I enjoyed the narrator and the storyline gave me Legends and Lattes vibes and she definitely set it up to be a series so can't wait to see what the characters get into next. It was cute and cozy, had a whisp of mystery, lots of LGBTQA+, Dragons, Griffins and magic. I definitely recommend this if you want something fluffy.

I really enjoyed this! It was super cute and cozy but still had conflict and plot. I think this was well balanced - it kept my attention the entire time, even during the sections where not much was happening. I LOVE that the relationship was preestablished and not a source of conflict. I liked the different fantasy elements and how they were incorporated. Kianthe and Reyne were interesting characters, and while I didn't fully attach to either of them I liked them both!

Cozy sapphic fantasy is so wonderful and I'm always looking for more - so I'll definitely pick up the sequel.

The narrator did a great job with this book!

Thank you to Macmillan for the audio ARC!

This one missed the mark for me. It had cozy aspects but wasn’t quite there. And I found it hard to care for the MC’s. Why should I? Help me understand?

I believe that there is a group out there for this one, it just wasn’t me.

This fun, cozy fantasy title was so lovely and sweet!

A powerful mage and a Queen's guard fall in love. The two women fall in love at first sight but circumstances keep them apart at first. The romance is closed-door, so isn't at all spicy, but the relationship building is good.

This comfy story has great, interesting side characters and a plot full of excitement and adventure (and griffins and dragons!).

The adventure is not finished at the end of this first book, so I look forward to more installments of this series!

Edited to add review of audio version:

This story was so lovely that I wanted to experience it again. To my great pleasure and surprise, Macmillan Audio produced a version in audio and graciously granted me access to a copy through NetGalley.

I loved it. This series is shaping up to be one of my favorite go-to comfort rereads, and now a re-listen, too! The narration was excellent and the voice was perfect for a cozy gentle romantasy like this one. I desperately hope the next book, A Pirate’s Life for Tea, gets an audio treatment as well!

Can't spell Treason Without Tear by Rebecca Thorne was one of my favorite indie-published reads when it first came out and I was thrilled to hear it had been picked up for traditional publishing. In this audiobook adaptation, everything I originally loved is still present and greatly enhanced by being able to close my eyes and let the narrator transport me to this beloved setting.

What I love

Lesbians, dragons, books, and tea; need I say more? This book is delightfully cozy and I wish to re-experience it as many times as humanly possible.

What didn't work for me?

pacing in the first fourth feels off as though the inciting incident is taking a bit long to actually hit but honestly that might be becoming more standard based on my recent reads.

Who would I recomend this title for?
If you love cozy fantasy with good representation such as legends and lattes you will be in for a good time with this title.

This book made me look up the word “cozy” in the dictionary to see if I have been misinterpreting it thus far. The only thing cozy about this book is the cover. And listens that isn’t actually a bad thing, but can lead to disappointed expectations. The story is certainly not low-stakes, and while that doesn’t necessarily bother me, it wasn’t what I was promised and really confused me. I kept waiting for less action and more dragon-mystery, banter with nosy townsfolk, dusty books and flakey tea cakes. And while we got a little bookish tea shop sprinkled in, it wasn’t enough to make me fall in love with the story or our MCs. Also, as others have pointed out- the PDA is a tad embarrassing at times. Good enthusiasm, wrong moment. I wanted to badly to love this but it felt clunky at times and I lost interest.

The audiobook is easy to listen to, but I found myself zoning out and having to rewind to catch what I missed. A full cast would be cool, but I think this book may lend itself better to print more than audio. And really that may be a me problem. I just got bored.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook arc in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Thank you so much for the audiobook, McMillian.

The narrator was amazing. Her voices and expressions were perfect. She annunciated words well and was easy to understand. Even when you adjusted to faster speeds.

But sadly, I DNF the audiobook and stopped around 10%. I just don't think I was vibing and maybe, Cozy fantasy might not be for me.

I really love the premise of this book. Two characters from different backgrounds, runs away with each other to open a tea and bookstore. Sounds like the start to most of my fairy tales.

Please don't let my review suede you to not read the book (unless you also don't like cozy fantasy), you must try for yourself!

DNF @ 22% -

not bad, but i don't think cozy fantasy is for me. I really felt bored to tears but its a me problem, not the book's problem

Can’t spell treason without tea 🫖 includes relatable characters who want to escape the stresses of their lives by running away to be together and open a cozy book and tea shop (same girls, same!)

This book is self defined as a cozy fantasy, while I can see some aspects of it in the book I wouldn’t personally label it as cozy fantasy. The book goes between low and high stakes throughout the “plot”; however, I had trouble finding the plot?

The title itself leads readers to believe the plot should be centered around well… tea and treason … tea?✅ treason? Ehhhh not so much. There’s also a plot around dragons (which I found to be the most exciting part of the book) however there’s only one scene and a promise? That’s not fulfilled in this book. Plus the bandits were mentioned HEAVILY but that was also forgotten and never resolved? Therefore I found the plot of this book to be minimal at best.

As far as the romance between our two main female characters I did enjoy it however, readers are introduced to them already being in a relationship for years so the “growth” of their relationship wasn’t really captured within the book.

I did enjoy the WLW romance and small town bookshop vibe and would love to find one like that near me 😩 however due to the lack of plot resolve I wasn’t able to enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. Great concept but it fell flat for me.

As far as the audiobook itself goes, I really enjoyed the narrator. The audiobook took me by surprise at the ending though. I thought the plot was finally getting resolved and then the epilogue hit (92%) and ended with the tome of the beginning of their relationship. The flow of this really confused me as a reader until I realized the book was OVER? Interesting.

Huge thank you to MacMillan Audio and Rebecca Thorne for providing the audiobook arc in exchange for my honest review 💕

What a cozy fanasy read Can’t Spell Treason without Tea is! Reyna and Kianthe want a life of their own to open a bookshop of their own that sells tea but Reyna is one of the Queen’s private guards and Kianthe is one of the most powerful mages. But after an assassin takes Reyna, she’s had enough and decides it’s time to take her life into her own hands. This story is cozy and romantic and feels like a DnD adventure. There’s mystery and mishaps and intrigue. I do feel like it went on a little bit as an audiobook and I think it could have been trimmed down some, but I did love the narrator’s voice. The writing was great and the story had adventure and I loved the love between Reyna and Kianthe. They’re such wonderful partners and it was just really sweet overall.

What a wonderful, warm, cozy, fun story. Great over audiobook and now I'm going to have to purchase the hard copy with sprayed edges for my shelf and for re-reads! This is for fantasy booklovers, especially those who enjoyed Legends & Lattes and anything TJ Klune.

Note: thank you NetGalley for a digital ARC of this audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

Thoroughly enjoyed this cozy fantasy. Perfect for fans of Travis Baldree. This is a slice of life fantasy with dragons and a sapphic romance between a mage and Queen’s guard. I assume it is the first installment (with a second coming) as there are a few threads left unfinished.

The narrator did a good job with the audiobook.

Note to the publishing team: the epilogue seemed a bit disconnected. The first part about the pirate ship was a great intro to the second book. Exactly what I expect of an epilogue. The story after (the Meet and Greet) that with the flashback to the main character’s meeting was a bit disjointed from the rest of the book. I could see it being part of a short story collection prequel as a more natural fit. It was a good short story. Just weird as a second epilogue chapter that flashed back in time right after being given a glimpse of the future in book 2.

okay legends and lattes lovers, got a new one for yall that i liked even more.

can't spell treason without tea is a cozy-ish fantasy with an already established sapphic couple that's taking their relationship to the next level - a former queen's guard and the most powerful mage in the land run away together to open up a tea shop/bookstore. I said cozy-ish because the stakes feel a little higher than most cozies, but I also think that's why I loved it more. I loved reading about them navigating their relationship, and while we didn't get to see them fall in love, I really enjoyed a book about what happily ever after really looks like.

I listened to this on audio which I highly recommend! I was worried about being able to differentiate the povs since it's one narrator, but she did an incredible job! each of them has their own accent and were really easy to tell apart!