✨ 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 ✨

¢αη’т ѕρєℓℓ тяєαѕση ωιтнσυт тєα 𝚋𝚢 𝚁𝚎𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚌𝚊 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚎
𝘊𝘰𝘻𝘺 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 • 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 •. 𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤 • 𝘓𝘰𝘸 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴
🎧 𝘈𝘓𝘊 • 𝘗𝘶𝘣 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦: 7 𝘔𝘢𝘺 2024

Marketed as a “cozy fantasy steeped with love,” this book clearly takes its inspiration from Travis Baldree’s Legends and Lattes and Bookshops and Bonedust series, so if you loved those, you’ll want to read this one. There will be baking of yummy pastries and steeping of aromatic teas, followed up with a little sword play and griffin riding, and maybe a dragon egg hunt. There will be hidden passage ways in the castle and an evil queen and a powerful mage and queens guard who just want to be free of their old lives. And there will be a bookshop.

This is a cozy book about books first, and a low stakes fantasy and love story second and third. Themes of friendship, belonging and found family leap from the pages. You’ll love this one if you value the cozy journey over the destination & suspense. If you’re here for faster-paced action and epic battle scenes, look elsewhere.

🎧 Jessica Threat narrated this one on audio, which I enjoyed as I love a British accent.
Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for granting me early access to this audiobook, which releases May 7!

The cozy fantasy novel “Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea” by Rebecca Thorne follows the two former royal servants Reyna and Kianthe who run away from their old life to open a bookshop that serves tea.

I wish I enjoyed this book as much as I had anticipated. I’m a fan of cozy fantasy and the combination with a mystery really intrigued me. I wanted to love the journey of them building their new shop but I sadly couldn't connect to the protagonists.

Also the book took a long time to establish the new location and couldn't hold my attention which was enhanced by the rather monotone audiobook narration. So I had to DNF it with a heavy heart.
I would however be delighted to give the author a second chance on their next novel.

A big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Macmillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me an audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was something alright. There's so much I wanted from this book, and I didn't get it. So let me start off by saying that the idea of the story was cozy -- a couple running away from their lives to live together in peace and run a bookshop/sell tea. Okay yay! One problem for me is that the book had cozy moments, a cozy setting, but it was not a cozy fantasy. There were just too many times that their lives were in danger/they almost died for it to be considered cozy. The stakes should be low! But, despite that, I found myself enjoying the book.

My biggest issue wasn't the coziness -- or lack of -- but the characters themselves. I never connected to any of the characters, and what made it worse was the fact that Reyna and Kianthe felt like they were interchangeable. There were so many times I kept confusing their names or forgetting whose head we were currently in because they were just that similar. And yet, despite that, I now need book 2. Why? Because like I said, I found the book to be super entertaining despite its flaws.

The audiobook itself was great, the narrator did a good job with bringing a lot of it to life.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

If you loved Legends and Lattes, you are going to love this! A perfect blend of cozy fantasy, political intrigue, and sapphic romance. I loved the relationship between the two main characters, and the backstory we got on how they met. I also love the teashop and book store aspect, as a tea lover and bookstore fanatic. I cannot wait for the second book!

Thank you so much Netgalley, Rebecca Thorne, and Macmillian Audio for giving me the advance audio version of this book.

Cozy fantasy, a bit of royal intrigue and positive lgbtq+ representation.

The narration by Jessica Threet was kind of a kit or miss for me, her regular speaking voice sounded young to me (too young) some of her old men sounded like they had a cigar hanging from their mouth but other characters were very well done her accents were good.

If you like Legends and Lattes you’ll like this one!
3 ½ stars

I received this audiobook from the publisher Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

Very delightful! It’s cozy but there are stakes. Also love the sapphic relationship and queer positive world. Excited to dig into the second book soon. I hope the author writes more in this world.

If you like cozy fantasy books then this will be your jam. Who doesn't want to open a book and tea shop, and it's even more fun to read about when former assassins / magicians / dangerous people with lots of power just want to chill and dive into a good book in a sleepy town. There is lots of drama in this book, but it is done in such a cozy and less threatening way - your heartrate won't spike, but you will be completely invested in all the storylines. I especially love reading about how the two MCs meet and also their open communication with each other that prevents any misunderstandings due to miscommunication.

Note: I listened to the audiobook and while I enjoyed it, it would have been easier to follow if the characters had more of a distinct voice during their different POVs, instead of the same voice for all the narration.

If you loved Legends & Lattes but wish it had a bit more action to it, then I think you'd love this book. It very much fits into the "Cozy Fantasy" genre, but I wouldn't say it brings anything new to the concept. There wasn't anything actively bad about this book, but I just don't think it was for me.

I was so excited about this but unfortunately the cosy fantasy sell is so off base. Why are the stakes so high?! I also didn’t feel connected to the main romance, i rooted for them but wasn’t invested

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook.

Audiobook & narration: 5/5
Book content: 3/5

I really loved this audiobook's narration style. Jessica Threet did an exceptional job with creating unique character voices, adding helpful sound effects, and providing the perfect amount of emotion throughout the book.

As for the actual book, I was really let down by this one. I am a fan of cozy fantasies, but this was not cozy to me. When I think of cozy fantasy, I expect the story to feel warm, inviting, and have low stakes. Don't get me wrong, there were definitely cozy moments. However, to market this book as a cozy fantasy feels misleading. Because of the lack of "cozy" in the book and the odd pacing issues, I really struggled to get into it. I was hoping that the story would pick up and grip me at some point, but I was really left disappointed. Ultimately, this was just not for me. But it does have some really delightful moments, sapphic romance, and magical creatures, so definitely give it a try if that sounds like it's up your alley!

2.5

This fell into a weird spot for me where the stakes were too high to be cozy fantasy and yet too slow paced and resolved in a way that didn’t quite reach general fantasy. It had interesting moments, especially towards the beginning/middle, but I did end up getting bored about 40% through and it never went up from there.

I started this book with admittedly low expectations. Howl's Moving Castle is one of my favorite books ever, and I wasn't expecting this one to meet my standards. That said, I did enjoy this book.

I hadn't read the other reviews for this book until I was almost done with it, and I'm glad I didn't. Other readers objected that this wasn't really a cozy fantasy because the stakes were too high and there were near-death experiences. I respectfully disagree.

I will say that I have never read Legends and Lattes, and many reviewers compared this as a "lesser quality" version of that. I wouldn't know. I normally read dense, lore-heavy fantasy, and this was not that. This book is adorable and sweet, but the writing quality is good and the plot is paced fairly well.

Without getting into spoilers, the story follows Reyna and Kianthe as they settle into a new town and make a life together. There's a mystery of repeated dragon attacks and the threat of their adorable life together being taken away.

The romance is sweet and emotional (no spice) and the characters are interesting though there aren't heavy backgrounds on either (which I don't think detracts from the story).

Other reviews complained that the relationship felt strange since the two main characters had a pre-existing relationship but they seemed awkward and newly together--their relationship until the start of the story was infrequent and brief. In the early part of the story as they run off to be together, this is the true beginning of their relationship as an all-the-time couple. Of course it's going to feel awkward and tentative at first. Maybe anyone who has never had a long-distance relationship would never understand it, but I do.

Other reviewers also complained about poorly-timed flirtations and affection, but I never particularly noticed anything weird.

I thought the pacing was good, with just enough happening internally and externally to keep me engaged. If you're looking for a cozy fantasy where nothing exciting happens, look elsewhere (or like, go watch grass grow). Just because there is action and drama, it doesn't disqualify this as a cozy fantasy. If there's no intensity to the story or the stakes, there won't be any payout. We wouldn't CARE in the outcome.

I enjoyed the magic system and the world lore, though it didn't take up too much of the story and was very approachable for fantasy newcomers.

I thought the ending was brief and neat (perhaps too convenient), but I still feel that it made sense and fit into the "cozy" genre.

The audio narration is excellent - the narrator separates the two main characters by a difference in accent and it's done very well. The subtleties in tone were expertly done and it felt more like listening to a play than a single narrator. I struggle with audiobooks where the narrator uses mostly the exact same pace/tone/accent throughout and you lose track of who is who, but that never happened. I would absolutely listen to another audiobook narrated by Jessica Threet.

TLDR - If you want a sweet, sapphic, cozy fantasy, give this one a try.

Thank you to Rebecca Thorne, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for my early preview of the audio edition in exchange for my honest review.

Reyna and Kianthe escape the confines of their careers to start a tea shop and book shop in a new town in this previously independently published series. This book series is marketed as being a "cozy fantasy" a la Travis Baldree but this series has much higher stakes than Legends and Lattes does, so it doesn't feel as cozy and comes off more as High Fantasy. There are dragons and griffins, magic, knights, vengeful queens, bandits, and political relations that all make an appearance, making this much more high stakes than what most cozy fantasies are marketed to be. Because of this, it was harder for me to give it a higher rating. I really wanted to immerse myself in the tea brewing, customer interactions, bookshop designing, etc, but much of the narrative is bogged down by dodging the attentions of the queen, fighting dragons, and political espionage.

Unfortunately, this book had the sin of causing me to be bored while reading, a real shame. The narration, however, was extremely good. Never was I confused at who was talking, accents were done really well between characters, and the narrator even did sound effects, such as when she said a character sighed, the narrator actually sighed. This sounds like it might make for a redundant or annoying reading experience, but it really added to the scene for me! 5/5 on the narration quality!

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Tomes and Tea series. I got a copy of this in audiobook format from NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: I liked this book. It was a fun, cozy fantasy with traditional swords and sorcery types of themes. This definitely has similarities "Legends and Lattes" but I think it has unique aspects of its own as well.

The story alternates between Reyna and Kianthe. Reyna is the personal guard to a cruel tyrant queen, while Kianthe is the most powerful mage alive. They both have a lot of responsibilities and they both dream of running away together to find happiness and peace. Then Reyna decides she has had it and they do exactly that. Unfortunately, you can't just leave everything behind. Reyna ends up dodging spies, while Kianthe has a responsibility to help those with her enormous power...and the remote town they choose to live in has a bit of a dragon problem om top of all of their other problems.

I enjoyed all the characters in this book. This is one of those happy, cozy books where even the "bad" guys end up having redeeming qualities (well most of them do). There is a wonderful community here. I also loved watching Reyna and Kianthe get to grow and understand each other (and themselves) better. There is a lot of humor in here too, which I really enjoyed.

This is decently written and I thought it was a fun, light fantasy read. There's nothing surprising or ground-breaking here but it is a very nice and pleasant read that will leave you entertained and happy.

I will mention that I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was okay but not great. The narrator had trouble keeping character voices straight and would accidentally forget to switch voices or use the wrong voice at times. This wasn't too disruptive to the story but did add confusion at times. When I read the second book in this series I plan on reading it in written format and not listening to it.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this and plan on continuing the series. I would recommend to those who enjoy humorous, swords and sorcery types of fantasy reads with some romance. This has a happy, cozy feel to it but also has enough action, humor, and intrigue to keep the plot moving forward at a good pace.

Deliciously cozy and full of heart - Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea is a perfect blend of fantastical magic, far off lands, swoony romance and whimsical creatures. 100% a booklovers dream read!

🎧 Spellbinding
📚 Bookshop
🍵 Tea
🥐 Baked Goods
🐉 Dragons
⚔️ Battle
🫖 Cozy
♥️ Romance
🫶🏼 Found Family
✨ Magic

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea is perfectly bookish and full of so much heartfelt emotion! I loved every single page of this adventure and can’t wait to see what Rebecca Thorne comes up with next!

Method Read: 🎧
Jessica Threet’s narration was fantastically spellbinding and truly brought the story to life! 10/10 recommend!

Thank you so much Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

This is an indie published cozy fantasy series that Tor actually picked up and is publishing themselves. It perfectly fits in the same realm as Legends and Lattes. We follow Reyna who works as one of the queen’s guards and we also follow one of the most powerful mages in the realm and they decide to start a courtship, move in together and open up a bookshop but Reyna gets a bounty on her head so they are forced to stay undercover. It’s cute and sweet, simple and sometimes that’s just all you need.

If you liked legends and latte but needed a bit more action and adventure this is the cozy fantasy for you.

I loved it! The main characters both had their own strengths and it never felt like one was relying on the other but it was a true partnership. This seems so rare in romantasy today.

The audiobook narrator perfectly captured our heroines and now I can’t wait for the next book!

Rating: Loved It, 4.5 stars

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea is a delightful, cozy sapphic fantasy adventure story. We follow two women, one a powerful elemental mage, and the other a queen's guard, who run away together to open a bookshop/tea room combo in a small border town. This is being compared to Legends and Lattes, which I feel is a fairly apt comparison. In my opinion, this one has a bit more of a plot that moves the story along, so i think that people who liked the idea of Legends and Lattes but found it a bit slow, will enjoy this one.

I had a really good time with this, and I really liked the characters. At times, the POVs were a bit hard to tell apart, but that didn't bother me too much. I appreciated that the couple was already established, and the relationship drama that we dealt with wasn't the will-they-won't-they of new relationships, it was more them trying to figure out the dynamics of a more serious relationship, which was a fun change from what you typically see. But they had good banter and interactions, and I enjoyed the meshing together of their different personalities.

The plot was fun, if a bit meandering at times. There was a bit of the startup of the business, and then a bit of mystery elements with the dragon attacks that plague their new town, and a bit of political maneuvering with the avoidance of the queen's wrath.

All in all, it was a great, cozy time and I am looking forward to seeing how the rest goes down. The audiobook was well done, and I highly recommend this if you are looking for a cozy fantasy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an early copy of Can't Spell Treason Without Tea. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This title is releasing on May 7, 2024.

Brilliant, beautiful, and funny! A cozy sapphic fantasy perfect for listening to while brewing up your favorite cup of tea (and I really do recommend having some tea at hand with this book or else you will be getting up to go grab some).
I loved the characters best. Not just Reyna and Kianthe but the side characters too. I was invested in their stories and fates, worried for them just like the main characters were, and never really sure how things were going to turn out (thankfully there is a happy ending just as all cozy books should have).
HIGHLY recommended for fans of Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree and the fantasy works of T. Kingfisher. A must have for the cozy and fantasy library.

Thank you to Netgalley and Rebeca Thorne for sending me this audiobook!

I have to say, while I'm newer to the cozy fantasy genre I found this one to be hard to get through. I think I had the most trouble with the convenience of it all. Do you mean to tell me that the plan with the bandits and then with Tulane just worked like that? It seems way too easy for it to just work like that, they got off from most of their problems with posturing, laughs, and smirking.

Furthermore, this is not what I would consider a cozy fantasy, the stakes were TOO high for this. Not only is execution constantly looming over Reyna's shoulder, but their entire town is at risk of attack from dragons because someone stole eggs. Which, don't even get me started on that, what was the point of completely dropping that plot point? Talk about another instance of convenience, just because dragons live a long life, that means we don't have to explore solving that issue in this book! To me, that was one of the major plot points of this book, and to just never resolve it is definitely an insane take.

Consuming this audiobook style, I would sometimes confuse Reyna for Kianthe, because I felt like these characters were not fleshed out, and very two-dimensional. I just wasn't very impressed with either of them and had no real interest in following their story.