Thanks to NetGalley for the Audio ARC!

Jessica Threet is a wonder, an absolutely amazing narrator! The way she brings the characters to life and captures the intensity and coziness this book embodies is nothing short of perfection.

If you’re looking for a warm, cozy, heartwarming, magical adventure - you’ve found it! Rebecca Thorne does an incredible job of creating a beautiful world with dynamic characters that will leave you laughing and crying like real friends. The love story is precious, the conflict is interesting, and the writing is high quality.

It’s obvious Thorne was inspired by Legends and Lattes, it even says so in her Acknowledgements. But honestly, I love it - Legends and Lattes set a precedent for cozy fantasy, a high bar, that Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea definitely meets. This is the perfect read for any fantasy lover - especially if they love cozy!

Tawney is a town you will quickly fall in love with and want to return to over and over again - I first read this as an Indie ARC ages ago, but getting to return to this world and these characters is nothing short of pure joy. It's like a warm hug and a cup of hot tea at the end of a long day - a balm for the soul weary that will leave you smiling to the very last word. Thorne is an amazing author that has a clear vision and truly cares about her characters and readers, and it shines through on every page.

You won't want to miss this one, I promise!

What a fun story this was! The stakes were a little too high for it to be a cozy fantasy but the story was definitely cozy-ish! I really like the setting and the characters were just so lovable. I got to listen to the narration and it was just so good! It was helpful with the accents because sometimes it felt like the main characters were a little too similar to one another. It was okay though, still tons of fun!

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Rebecca Thorne for giving me access to the advanced narration copy. All opinions are my own.

I got an ALC of the audiobook for this one, which, thanks ever so much to NetGalley, Macmillan, and Rebecca Thorne. Honestly? I had a great time. It was a cozy little sapphic fantasy that I had a lovely time reading. Was there a little more action and politics than I was expecting? Sure, but I like that in a novel. It isn’t a carbon copy of Legends & Lattes, and I think it’s doing this book a disservice to go in expecting that.

I did have some minor issues- the main characters themselves were a little on the blander side and I have a horrible pet peeve when it comes to using “the mage said this” or “the woman said this” instead of just saying the character’s name. HUGE pet peeve, and this book did have a lot of that. It would have probably knocked a star off if I’d been reading a physical copy of this, but friends, the audiobook was superb.

Jessica Threet was a fantastic narrator and even listening at 1.75 speed (my default, yes, I’m broken, I know) you can tell that she’s a good one. The amount of emotion she packs into some of the more fraught scenes was a huge treat and I highly recommend opting for the audiobook version of this just to experience it.

All in all, great little read. I had a ton of fun. Also, I highly advise listening to the bonus chapter with their first meeting because I think it adds a lot to the characters.

For fans of cozy fantasies, a newer subgenre of fantasy, especially for fans of Travis Baldree and TJ Klune. I loved the relationship portrayed in this story and how much communication was a part of it. It's not a full blown graphic romance at all which I like. A bit of found family, finding yourself, and your place in the crazy world.

Cozy read with just the right amount of high stakes to keep you reading. Characters are enjoyable and fully developed!

Audiobook version is wonderfully narrated. The narrator's voice is soothing while still giving a full set of unique voices. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book!

Ugh this is a painful review to write because I was so excited for this book. First off, this book was NOT cozy fantasy. Yes, there is a bookshop but they just sort of appear there periodically; yes, there are townsfolk but we don't really get to know them and they just suddenly accept everything and help out...like that is prime space to develop relationships and characters! Instead we get a lot of cut-to events or get told that something took place. Which is probably my biggest complaint of the book - show don't tell! I'm begging you. The asides ruined so much of the book. Also, since the info was force fed to you during the most inopportune moments, it trashed the pacing of most of the scenes. Like, each thing that we came upon needed a bunch of paragraphs to explain why we should care about it. Which makes the worldbuilding shallow as well. Every other character is pretty bland (probably because every character has to have at least one info dump) and most of the banter was kinda childish. Unfortunately this was not for me. Jessica Threet is a good narrator and did try to distinguish the characters with voices and accents. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nothing like a cozy story along the lines of romance. There was good character building for a lot of the side characters, which is always nice and a cozy fantasy. I wasn’t sure the two main characters gave me a vibe that they really clicked. They were very different and their jobs that they walked away from were very high profile, so it seemed that the reaction to their son the disappearance didn’t quite match the level of the job they had.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan for an ALC of this book.

Cozy fantasy has been a genre that has become a favorite and a comfort to me.

I throughly enjoyed this book. Two lesbians up and leaving the Queendom to open a Book/Tea shop is just a dream come true.

I loved the story between Reyna and Kianthe. How Reyna still battles being a warrior for the Queen and how Kianthe is this sorceress who is very powerful. Through their battles and troubles, they continue to find comfort in one another.

I am so thankful to have had this opportunity to read this book. I will continue to constantly recommend

I had heard so much about this that I had to do some mental readjustments when NetGalley allowed me access to the audiobook. This wasn't what I expected at all, with all its comparisons to that other famous book.
However. If you go in with an open mind, this is a fun fantasy world with interesting characters and a ton of action. I'm not a romance person but this was great because the romance was the motivation for people I liked doing great things to be together. When the story feels done, there's more interesting story in the epilogue.
The narrator does a good job convincing me of the story and now I need to go see if there is more by this author!

I really wanted to love this, but it just wasn’t for me. I have enjoyed other books in this vein, but this one just bored me. I felt like the action didn’t happen fast enough, and when it did happen, it wasn’t enough to keep me invested. I just didn’t love it. The narrator was great, though.

⭐⭐⭐.5/5

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea is a sweet, sapphic fantasy with loads of action, love, and tea.

I enjoyed many parts of CSTWT. The sapphic romance was darling, and the side romances were just as sweet to experience. The action scenes, characters, and bookshop scenes were beautiful elements of the story. I also enjoyed the strong and smart feminist incorporations to the story.

However, some parts of the execution fell flat for me. Some scenes and moments in the story felt repetitive and stiff. The writing style was lovely but sometimes choppy, and a few parts felt thrown together. The characters got on my nerves a bit, but I still loved them. Although I loved the cozy aspects of the story, I would say that this is more of a fantasy with cozy moments than a cozy fantasy. There were many action scenes and near-death experiences that may be a little much for some to experience in their cozy fantasy. That being said, I will definitely recommend CSTWT!

I want to touch on how AMAZING the narrator of this story was. Her accents and delivery of the prose and dialogue made this story even more immersive and enjoyable. The accent used for Reyna was PHENOMENAL.

Thank you to the publisher for the free ALC!

Another cup of "Can't Spell Treason Without Tea" for me as we dive into the audiobook narration. Thank you to the author for an ARC of this novel and Macmillan Audio for a copy of the audiobook.

This is my second re-read of CPTWT and I will summarize my initial review: Queen's guard Reyna is sick of being put in harms way and dreams of a tea and book-filled life with mage girlfriend Kianthe. There's only one problem: to leave the royal guard is treason, but have you ever met a lesbian who was not willing to go through travel and danger for their one true love? With battles, dragons, and navigating regular life in a new town, Kianthe and Reyna start their happily-ever-after filled with low-stakes adventure.

CPTWT is a quintessential cozy fantasy novel that has higher stakes that its Legends and Lattes counterparts but features some very lovable characters and warm atmospheric writing. I am a fan of Thorne as both a writer and social media personality, it's hard not to root for her.

The audiobook: I was not a fan of the narration at all. The narrator's accent seemed to wax and wane between characters and the shouting of the chapter titles was jarring. There were moments of hesitation during the narration that took me out of the story a few times. For me, this didn't feel up to standard for a traditionally published audiobook. I don't think I would recommend the audiobook route for those looking to enter the world of Tomes & Tea world.

Story: 4/5
Audiobook: 2/5

What a great book! It definitely had the low stakes I wanted. There was still some danger and murder which kind of take away from the “cozy” aspect but I was fine with that since I’m an avid fantasy reader. The FMCs are so sweet together. I absolutely love their relationship. It was great as a dual pov. The rep in this book was awesome as well! I love the Queendom too (even if the Queen is a piece of work). The situation is wonderful. I love the book shop and plant concept was so unique. I’m really excited I preordered this book even with getting the ARC! Excited for more books by this author! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

3.5 stars

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea was a cute and cozy read. I do feel like the stakes were rather high for a cozy fantasy, so that threw me off a bit. I do think this being labeled as “Legends & Lattes but with tea” does make sense, but I wish it was as tightened up as L&L. Things would happen and then just be resolved, but we it was all very surface level. I also thought some of the characters were a little one dimensional. This was really fun, but I think it being compared to Legends & Lattes made my expectations very high.

4.5
Reyna decides to run away from her job as a queen's guard and Kianthe from her position as a powerful mage to open up a tea and book shop in a little village. Of course this is a problem because Reyna is committing treason by leaving and the village they choose, while idyllic, is frequently attacked by dragons. It seems like someone stole some dragon eggs and the dragons want them back.

I really loved seeing a couple already in love and a few years into their relationship, not just falling in love. Reyna and Kianthe have the absolute sweetest relationship full of puns and banter but also a deep understanding of one another. Of course they draw a lovely found family to them while working at their tea and book store, including a grumpy teenager, the blacksmith, and his wife the midwife.

I was originally worried that this might be too similar to Legends and Lattes. However, while certainly inspired by it, this book certainly stands on its own. I appreciated the higher stakes (DRAGONS) and the more developed romance. There is a bit of a mystery as well, which is interesting and the epilogue will leave you excited for book two!

The audiobook is a great way to experience the book. as Jessica Threet really brings it all to life!

I did not love this audiobook. The story was not as cozy as I expected, having much more action than is usual with the cozy fantasies I've read. I did not connect to the main characters or their love story as much as I would have hoped. I did very much appreciate the LGBTQIA+ representation with nonbinary characters as well. I would recommend this with some reservations to readers of cozy fantasies.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this audio ARC!

This audiobook is perfect! I loved this novel back when it was self-published, but getting a chance to read the revised version via audio was a wonderful experience. This narrator was 100% the correct choice. This remains one of my favorite cozy adjacent queer fantasies, and I will highly recommend it to all my friends. Can't wait for the next book!

This was such a cute fantasy! I enjoyed it thoroughly! Kianthe and Reyna are amazing characters! The narrator for the audiobook was AMAZING! I loved that they distinguished the voices for each character! I would not say this is cozy for me because there was stressful situations throughout and high stakes but I still completely enjoyed it. Very minimal world building, but it was great!

I'm a tea drinker who loves cozy fantasy romance. I really enjoyed Legends and Lattes so this seemed like a great similarity. I unfortunately dnfed this at 20%. I wasn't connecting with any characters. Usually I become a main character and find myself drawn into the stories, but this I was just listening to a story. I was bored. It felt very forced in every scenario and everything resolved nice and quick to the point things might as well naught have happened at all. Even the setting didn't stir a longing to be there. I could tell if I had forced myself to finish, it would get a very low rating so to save myself and the average rating I opted to dnf instead.

Thank you SO MUCH to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Tor Publishing for the e-ARC/audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

Rebecca Thorne throws you right into this story! From page/chapter one, you are thrust into this magical adventure, and I found myself very invested right away. Cheers to Jessica Threet for being an amazing narrator, giving life, personality, and emotion to each word of each character. She gave each character their own voice and attitude and it flowed flawlessly.

This cozy fantasy is maybe not as low stakes as L&L but I enjoyed it! I thought it was fun to be on the run with Reyna and experiencing magic with Kianthe. AND THEY HAVE A GRIFFIN SO THAT"S COOL. There are moments of shock, moments of "uh oh" and moments that made me laugh and smile....what more could you want from a cozy fantasy? The sapphic romance was also very well done and felt very real: arguments settled like adults, being able to be empathetic while allowing the other to feel their emotions (no gas light etc etc). Thorne also did a good job having two individual characters who are very different, being able to grow together without losing their indepednence/ autonomy. It was very refreshing romance.

Dragons, a murderous queen, a bookstore, and warm tea? Can I buy a ticket to Tawney?
I loved it! Definitely will read #2! Perfect if you're looking for an easy read full of love, mystery, adventure, dragons, and tea!

*review posted on Goodreads and Bookstagram*