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.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for providing me with a complementary audiobook in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea was a cute and cozy read, perfect for fans of Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. I loved experiencing day-to-day life with Kianthe and Reyna as they settle down and opened their tea shop. I loved that Kianthe and Reyna were already in a relationship rather than this book being a cozy romantasy about Kianthe and Reyna falling love with each other. It made for a fresh dynamic and was pleasing to listen to. Jessica Threet was an amazing choice for a narrator and I would happily listen to more audiobooks performed by her!

I've been wanting to read this forever and it was just as good as I had hoped! It's cozy but it still has stakes to keep it interesting - I'll definitely be reading the sequel. I had so much fun with this book!

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea is a wonderfully cozy fantasy. I love the sweet, loving, understanding relationship between Reyna and Kianthe. Their dream is to own a bookstore that serves tea. They fill it with houseplants and cozy spaces. I want to live in this small town bookstore! This book has definitely inspired me to own even more houseplants. The audiobook was enjoyable, the narrator was not my favorite, but by no means was she unbearable. The resolution was satisfying and I am looking forward to reading the second in the series.

📚Review: Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea 🫖

Thank you for the #gifted copy, @brambleromance! 🥰

By: Rebecca Thorne
Publishing: May 7, 2024

Reyna works as one of the Queen’s private guards, Kianthe is the most powerful mage in existence, and all they want is to open a bookshop that serves tea and is filled with plants together. Leaving their lives isn’t so easy, but after a near death experience for Reyna & Kianthe wanting to flee from the weight of responsibility they decide to risk everything to run away. They land in Tawney, a town nestled in the icy tundra near dragon country, and open the shop of their dreams. Cue the mishaps, mysteries, a murderous queen throwing the realm’s biggest temper tantrum, and so much more.

Well, looks like I’ve found my latest cozy fantasy obsession! 🥰

Books, tea, magic, dragons, and it’s queer…come on! This book has all of my favorite things. The writing is good, the storytelling is well paced, and there’s so much great groundwork for the story to come in future books (I’m already making guesses on how certain things will unfold).

For me, I think the enduring relationship between Reyna and Kianthe was my favorite part of the story. You learn so much about these characters, their pasts and present, so you really get invested in how things turn out for them. Loving someone and yourself is complicated and this doesn’t shy away delving into that.

Much of the story is about setting up the shop and I was having the best time reading about it. I think I’m entering my cottagecore era! I also loved the easy to follow magic system and seeing Kianthe in action, especially with the dragons.

Can’t wait to get my hands on book 2 to see those plot lines laid in this book play out more! Pick this up if you’re looking for something cozy and magical with a dash of action. 😘

Verdict: Really Loved 😘

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this ALC!!!!!

All the cups of tea for this one!!! I’m ready for the next book!!!!

Loved: all the things!!!

Did not love: the queen

I adored Jessica Threet’s storytelling. I am so happy to have met Reyna and Kianthe. I want to adventure with them!!!

I am not generally one who listens to audio books. I seem to get distracted far too easily and end up having to back up and replay time and time again, but I found this one to be quite easy to listen to. There were not too many characters which perhaps helped and different characters were read with slightly different voices and accents. Reminiscent of the style of "Legends & Lattes" it was a most enjoyable listen.
Thanks to #NetGalley#CantSpellTreasonWithoutTea#MacMillanBooks for the EARC

*E-ARC-audiobook provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I loved this book! It was so sweet and cozy. Just enough plot and romance which great characters! I am really looking forward to the next one.

This book is the perfect cozy fantasy romance. The characters are all so lovable, even the minor ones. I'm use to reading more fast pace/high stakes fantasy novels so this book was a step out my norm. However, I'm so glad I took the risk. There are far too few sapphic romances that get a lot of traction these days so I'm thrilled to have received this one. The narrator was wonderful, and the voices/acting always fit the characters I was building in my head. I'll definitely be recommending this one.

2.75* Not going to lie, I thought this was a standalone so I was a little disappointed when things didn't wrap up in the end. I enjoyed parts of this book, the first half is very slow and nothing really happens. It does have a good amount of coziness. The tea, townsfolk, and relationship between the 2 MCs I really enjoyed. I felt like this book tried really hard to mesh cozy low stakes with high stakes fantasy and it felt a bit choppy to me. The conflict also wrapped up quite quickly and conveniently, and though I do feel like it could cause problems in later books, I unfortunately am not interested enough to continue.
I listened to the audiobook read by Jessica Threet. The narrator did a really good job with this one, I enjoyed her tone and voice as well as the pacing. I generally speed up my audiobooks and I listened to this one at 1.75x which I felt was a comfortable speed to enjoy the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I had already read this book back when it was indie published and I loved it even more now with the audiobook! I just love audiobooks and the narrator for this book did a fantastic job.