I just couldn't get into this one, there wasn't a ton of rhyme or reason honestly it just wasn't my thing. I had high hopes too, I know so many folks who loved it.

Let’s talk about the latest cozy fantasy I’ve read, which is Rebecca Thorne’s Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea!

In this tale the Queen is absolutely terrible and one of the queen’s guards decides she finally has had enough and decides to run off with her girlfriend; who by the way is might be the most sought after mage and desired by the Queen….

So they flee to the edge of the kingdom to open up a tea and bookshop.

You get the cozy story of them building this business and their relationship while a background tension of being caught by the queens court, along with a couple local issues along the way.

You can see why this gets compared to legends and lattes so much but it’s definitely its own story and I’d say has a little more action, plus you get griffins and dragons!

Some people might say the stakes are a little high for it to be cozy but I felt cozy while reading and I think I liked the added elements.

Definitely check it out if you have the chance

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book early. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Unfortunately I only got partway through this story before deciding it wasn't for me. Something about it felt very...surface level, like I just couldn't connect with the characters or feel invested in their goals. The premise sounded great, but between the writing and narration style the delivery felt more modern than what appeals to me for fantasy books.

This book hit at just the right time for me, and I was so grateful for it. The cozy world and story still have stakes, which made the perfect balance to keep me engaged. Humor felt natural and was peppered well throughout the book. A nice book that carries the Terry Pratchett torch, but adds the bonus of romance. The reader did well with voices without taking you out of the story too big a variation. Bramble has made some good choices and this book feels promising for future titles. Thanks so much for letting me preview the audiobook!

It took me various tries in order to get into this book, I’m not going to lie. I don’t know why, but the beginning did not grab me right away. However, I did buy the paperback with the sprayed edges so it was my duty to make it through. And I’m actually glad I did. You definitely need to be in a cozy fantasy mood in order to get into this story. But once you sink into the story? It is magical :)

You follow two heroines who are already deep in love with each other, so much so that they risk everything in order to be together. One is a queen’s personal guard, the other is their version of “The Avatar”. One day Reyna stops one assassination too many, and thinks enough is enough. It doesn’t help that the queen is a raging b*tch. Reyna takes a horse and gallops away, without a firm plan, just leaves. Thank goodness Kianthe had been thinking about their future. They leave for the far reaches of the kingdom, and open a bookstore/tea shop.

You have to suspend your disbelief in more than a couple of things. I could not believe how Reyna and Kianthe thought they wouldn’t be discovered. They barely try to hide their identities, and just manage to find people who already know them in the town they arrive in. That part of the story is a bit ridiculous, but the rest is well written and throughly charming. I am going to pick up the sequel, but more than likely I will pick up the audiobook, because the narrator was fantastic :)

While this book was very enjoyable, it was incredibly too long with no real plot except the life of a mage and a Queen’s guard.

This is given the blurb of “if you enjoyed Legends & Lattes” and that is pretty much the truth. This seems this follows the same script but has way more minute details and not enough plot to keep my attention.

There seemed to be so much potential with this story, but at times, it seemed like the author had way too many ideas for the mage, guard, magic system, two different rulers, etc. It almost seemed as if there were two or three different novellas the author wanted to write but their publisher said they needed to combine it.

This is a super sweet and cozy story with a little found family thrown in. Recommend for those who enjoy cozy slice of life novels.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to an advanced reader copy to share my humble thoughts and opinions.

I really don't think that cozy fantasy is for me.

I liked the how well fleshed-out the characters felt. One downside is that the dialogue felt stilted and forced at some crucial points.

There wasn't enough action, the characters kept making dumb decisions that resulted in predictable conflict, and those predictable conflicts ended in predictable ways. I really enjoyed the magic, the politics, and the world-building, I just wish that its was more... intense.

I think people who enjoy slower-paced stories with low stakes will have a good time reading this! I gotta admit that it was nice to not have to worry about who was going to die next...

This. Book! I really enjoyed this journey! If you love Legends & Lattes, this one will be even better! I got to meet the author at an event in Austin, TX and it was so cool to listen to her talk about her process and inspiration. This was the queer cozy fantasy I’ve been wanting!
My favorite part is that the two FMCs are in an established relationship at the beginning and that was honestly refreshing. I’m excited to see where their relationship and plot goes in the next couple books!
A lot of reviews complain about it not being cozy, and I really didn’t agree. Honestly Cozy Fantasy is what is cozy to you! Low stakes doesn’t mean no stakes. Like things still need to happen. I don’t know. I really enjoyed the premise of the book and how the plot went.
Definitely check this one out! It’s definitely worth the read. Don’t count it out based on the 1 star reviews. <3

I love listening to audiobooks because I get to hear how the names and places are pronounced!! The narrator of this one was great to listen to.

Cozy romantasy generally hits the spot, for me, but this felt just a bit too derivative. A bit of “Legends and Lattes” and quite a lot of “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” It’s the latter that I’m most meh about. Like, the teashop setting and romance elements, that is compelling. But the Mage of Ages element, where one of the romantic partners is sort of a nation-independent balancer of nature, feels almost tacked on. Kianthe could just as readily been a normal mage, instead of the Most Important Special Magical Girl.

I didn’t wind up interested in the protagonists at all, nor the people about them. It all felt a bit flat. And I REALLY wanted to like this book. I want more queer romance in fantasy or sci-fi setting! Normally, I never get enough! But normally, I LIKE the people in love! And this book didn’t make me like them.

This book seems to be trying to set up a whole series, but I don’t see myself continuing. I hope other enjoy it more.

Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea is the first book in a cozy fantasy series by Rebecca Thorne. Released 7th May 2024 by Macmillan on their Tor imprint it's 352 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a lovely, immersive, well written cozy fantasy with F/F romance. A royal mercenary and a high ranking magic user just want to be together, to have a cozy bookstore with a big fireplace, tea and baked goods and nothing is going to stand in their way if they have anything to say about it.

It's full of magic and world building and if the characters are maybe a tiny bit tropey, well, that's why readers *love* cozy fantasy. Inevitable comparisons will be drawn between this series and Travis Baldree's wonderful Legends & Lattes, and while it's true they share a niche genre, this series is not at all derivative and readers who enjoyed L&L will likely love this one as well.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 11 hours 36 minutes and is capably read by series narrator Jessica Threet. She has a well modulated voice and does a surprisingly good job of the disparate fantasy acents. Her voice is a tiny bit sharp to actually fade into neutrality during the read, but it's not at all intrusive and there aren't any accents that come across as patently fake or forced. Sound and production quality are very high throughout the read.

Four and a half stars for both the book and audiobook. Highly recommended for fans of cozy fantasy. There -are- violent scenes with battle descriptions. There is some light sexual content, but nothing NSFW. With two books out and a third due out in late first quarter 2025, it would be an excellent choice for a series binge or buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I could not get into this....I am so bored. Throwing in the towel. DNF @55%. Audio performance is great though. Thanks so much!

This is top tier cozy fantasy with stakes that captivated me and a romance that melted my heart. What steals the show is the depth each of the main characters has, and even though they are vastly different and have entirely different backgrounds, they work very well together.

The atmosphere and setting in a cozy mountain village was a delight. I love how magic was used to enhance the cozy atmosphere as well as solve intense battle sequences. The dragons add for an invigorating plot without loss of the general cozy nature of the story. Overall this book felt like playing Stardew Valley and was such a warm hug.

This is a slow and cozy adventure between a Queen’s Royal Guard and a Mage. They live out what any of our book and burnt out dreams would be - they run away together to a quiet town to open a bookshop. Once they find the town they want to settle down in they are met with challenges, bandits, keeping their identities a secret, and of course opening their dream tea shop. I really liked that the two main ladies already had a developed relationship/romance once the story started. There wasn’t any get to know yous and straight to the let’s build a life for ourselves. The world building was fun as well in terms of magic, towns, and political set up of the kingdoms.

As a cozy mystery/fantasy it is slow, but the pacing doesn’t make it boring thankfully. There are a few high stakes moments such as fighting off dragons and a main character was almost mortally wounded. Otherwise it’s just the day to day of trying to stay hidden and make a life for themselves outside the castle.

Audio/Narrator thoughts: I enjoyed the narrator and thought her tone and character voices added to the easy going nature of the book. I did sometimes get confused between the two main characters as there was not much distinction between them, but it didn’t take away from the enjoyment.

I just really don’t like this book. I came for the cozy fantasy and had to face really brutal, bloody murder. I know I should be like “yay they’re getting away from this” but the cozy vibes are just dead for me. No thanks.

So much fun! I lreally enjoyed the audiobook and look forward to the second book. A little slow to start, but once the story settles into its rhythm I couldn't stop listening.

Cozy fantasy fans lets go! Can't Spell Treason Without Tea is exactly what I was looking for. It's a story about realizing that our happiness, our decisions, our choices matter. That we can embrace our own future if we are brave enough. That we don't have to let our powers and abilities be used for purposes that we don't agree with. It's a story about finding and creating our own ending. I also loved how unexpectedly domestic this was?

I knew it was cozy, but I loved how Can't Spell Treason Without Tea feels like two characters who finally have the chance to be together. And have to figure out how to be together. How our relationship would work, how we could be, if we had the opportunity. I also loved the narration of Jessica Threet for bringing such an inflection to the book. There's a real sense of drama and emotion in the dialogues which I sincerely enjoyed.

This was a letdown. Everything about this spelled a cozy good time but alas it was far from it. This was by no means a bad book but it also was a very forgettable book. I would also call this just a fantasy not the cozy fantasy I was promised. As many others started, It had a lot of similarities to Legends and Lattes (which I adored) but was came off more as a fan-fic. The storytelling was lacking for me. There was a lot of telling and little showing. I also didn't really feel anything for these characters and found myself zoning out while listening to it.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I originally had trouble getting through this and DNF’d but I pushed through. It wasn’t what I was hoping it would be. I had a lot of trouble following along in the beginning. I felt like it just jumped into the story without build up. Some of the characters were voiced by the same person which I think caused me to DNF originally.

The good: as soon as I stopped comparing it to legends and lattes I started enjoying it more. That characters were hilarious with all of their banter. I also enjoyed the cozy setting/atmosphere.

This cozy read gave me everything I could have hoped for in a sapphic story about settling down for a life of tea and books. The stakes were set to a level that didn't have me too concerned, but certainly entertained. When the book felt slow, it was intentional, very enjoyable and relaxing. The tense moments were not drawn out unnecessarily, and gave the perfect spaces for tenderness to be drawn out from the FMCs. Notably, the side characters were well fleshed out and left me hoping for more of their stories and happy endings. I cannot wait to see what else this series brings!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the author and Macmillan Audio for the chance to review!

"Can't Spell Treason Without Tea" by Rebecca Thorne is a cozy fantasy filled with charm and intrigue. Reyna, a queen's bodyguard, and Kianthe, a mage, leave their high-stakes lives to open a tea and bookshop in a quaint village, only to find themselves amidst mysteries and magical mishaps.

Jessica Threet's narration adds warmth to the story, though it takes a moment to distinguish between the characters due to initial head-hopping. Once acclimated, her performance enhances the tale. Balancing cozy, low-stakes living with bursts of adventure, the book leans towards a cozy mystery rather than a pure fantasy romance. It's perfect for those who enjoy a bit more plot. The story starts slowly but soon becomes engaging. Reyna and Kianthe's relationship is heartwarming, marked by caretaking and overcoming obstacles. The ending is satisfying, leaving you eager for more.

Thorne's cozy, magical world is a delightful escape. Thank you to Macmillan and Rebecca Thorne for providing this audiobook for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.