I wanted to love this. I truly did, but I had to dnf. All contrivance and no cozy. Life’s too short and there are too many books.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

This was an anticipated release this year for me and I was really excited to be approved for this ARC with the release month so close. I had heard so many good things from people about this book and I was ready for something cozy after the intense reads I've had so far.

This was a bit of a let down if I'm being honest. Which is a shame because I was so excited for it.

First off, my ARC was the audio book version, which the narrator did a GREAT job. 10/10 with the voice acting. She did fantastic.

Now with the story, this one felt a bit young and silly. A lot of things were built up but then nothing happened with it. The biggest thing was the queen being a tyrant, not much was done with that plot. It felt like it was built up for nothing. A lot of the fights between the girlfriends were all solved without anything lingering, which just didn't feel realistic. The characters also felt a bit flat and one sided to me. If you're a very casual reader then this book would be perfect for you. Just a cute cozy romantasy.

I saw a review that compared this to fanfiction of Legends and Lattes (which I adore) and I can see it.

Again, I liked this book, but it did feel very young for my preferences.

Genre: cozy fantasy

Reyna grew up knowing she’d be on the Queen’s Guard. Everything she ever did was earned towards becoming the best. When she catches the eye of Kianthe, a powerful mage, it takes time for them to 1) admit feelings and then 2) have the courage to run away together. A close glimpse with death send Reyna fleeing and Kianthe chasing after her, but also provides the perfect opportunity for the women to chase their other dream: setting up a tea and book shop, complete with perfect puns. But there are dragons circling and magic is afoot, and Reyna and Kianthe have to fight for the perfect life they want while hiding in case the Queen gets word her favorite guard has deserted.

Curl up with a cup of tea and this delightful cozy novel. I’ve said before that cozy fantasy doesn’t quite *hit* for me. I need a little more angst from somewhere in my fantasy novels, whether it’s plot, romance or character growth, or you know, external pressure from the world being about to end. One thing I liked about this more than Legends & Lattes is that not only is the story sapphic (that was too), it features human women (ok one is a mage). I like very much that Reyna and Kianthe are women and not orcs or other magical creatures, because the representation feels more genuine.

And let’s be honest, aren’t we all looking to get away from the stress of reality and start a new life in the mountains with our partners while curating tea and reading books? Like, that’s what bookstagram is all about, yes? This is also the first cozy fantasy I’ve read where I’ve felt there’s enough plot thread for me to confidently say I’ll pick up the sequel, because the mood for a gentle magical book does sometimes arise.

Review of “Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea” written by Rebecca Thorne and narrated by Jessica Threet.

Audio Arriving May 7/2024

Disclaimer: Please note that I received an Audio ARC of this book from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

“Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea” kicks off with a bang, pulling me in right from the start with its exciting story. While I was hooked by the adventure, I was hoping for a bit more cozy fantasy vibes and less focus on action. Despite this, it’s still a fun read that keeps you entertained.

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Did not finish at 19%.

I received this audiobook as an advanced reader copy and I was disappointed to not like it.

I've been following the author on TikTok and it's been interesting to her about her journey. I didn't like the cover she chose, so I kept putting off reading the book. But, then I saw that there was an audiobook ARC and I thought, "yay... I can listen".

Sadly, I am SO BORED. And my eyes are tired from rolling them.

This starts off with pretty high stakes with one of the main characters getting stabbed and kinda held as a hostage. The queen, her employer, doesn't stand up for our brave (but stupid) heroine and the heroine is so butt hurt she decides to run away with her mage lover to start a bookstore and a teashop. Here are some of my endless issues with this book just from this first scene.

1. The heroine is supposedly a badass guard to the queen and somehow she not only doesn't avoid being stabbed by an amateur, she also gets held hostage by another amateur!? Not a great start for a badass.

2. The heroine gets butt hurt over her queen not giving a crap about her being held hostage. Uh. I wouldn't expect ANY one to express concern like it seems like she's looking for from an "evil" queen. Who is going to say, "oh, you're holding my guard hostage. What can I do to save her?" No. You're going to pretend you don't give a crap and then make sure that someone is creeping up to take that person out. Also, you trust your guard to deal with an assailant cause THAT'S HER JOB!

Then, our brave heroine runs away and gets attacked by bandits (which we don't get shown, just told) and she gets hurt some more.

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There were so many other eyerolling things,

3. they get a deed to a property with absolutely no issues . It takes a 5-min convo and "there you go. you're the new owners".
4. they claim a space that supposedly was the bandits' and no one bats an eye nor do they have any issues renovating in 30 min time with magic.
5. the author is setting this in a semi-medieval setting but is inconsistent in using modern or older terms. for instance, they are "girlfriends" and have been "dating".. Or they are hiring "contractors".

There are more things that annoyed me but other reviewers captured that stuff better than me.

5 ⭐️

One of my favourite books! I loved that the narrator did different voices for the characters, and how she added emotion into the words.

Legends & Lattes but with tea was a very positive way to market this book. Perhaps, without the comparison I would have enjoyed it more? There are aspects that I would recommend this to others on the basis of, such as the light romance piece, or having a smaller amount of world-building compared to some fantasies, but I don't see this one as something I will be raving about or suggesting unconditionally.