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bubblybelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, and Cursing
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Mental illness
uranaishi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood
Minor: Toxic friendship, Outing, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Vomit, War, Violence, Confinement, Abandonment, Bullying, Alcohol, Classism, and Death
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
- Like half the bookish internet, I am absolutely here for the blooming cozy fantasy genre. CAN’T SPELL TREASON WITHOUT TEA is for those of us who wish we had a hundred more books like LEGENDS AND LATTES.
- I loved Reyna and Kianthe’s dynamic. The ongoing thread of learning to let go of the idea that you need to prove your worth to be allowed the things you love is just beautiful.
- The town Thorne created is straight out of a cozy video game. We’re building things, we’re buying things, we’re finding lost items. On top of that, though, it what’s actually a really interesting political setup, and I hope future books from Thorne will explore what happens in that aspect of the world.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Alcohol and Sexual content
kayceeisbookish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
arlaubscher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, and Violence
Minor: Miscarriage and Alcohol
roseleebooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I appreciated that it is a book with a relationship already well established between the main characters, it allowed the plot points to carry the story while also showing the love and caring between Kianthe and Reyna.
The pacing felt consistent and the puns were a lot of fun. I didn't realize at first that there might be a sequel but would like to read more about Reyna and Kianthe's adventures!
Thank you to Netgalley and Tor/Forge for the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of publication.
Graphic: Murder and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol
drtx_bwt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood and Medical content
Minor: War and Alcohol
strange_little_ranger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.75
If it were a romance it skipped all the fun parts of the forbidden nature into the growing pains of the relationship where they move in together but don't really know each other that well because they've been sneaking away previously. So, no pining, they're in love but not quite the fluffy happily ever after love. One is the super powerful mage with a penchant for puns and is perpetually horny and loves reading (the brains) and the other is a palace guard who bakes and loves tea along with battle sense and quick analyzing skills (the brawn). They are very much in a ride or die mindset and it's a bit repetitive until the cast of character is expanded to include neighbors/townsfolk and start to develop more of a found family.
The world building was... Both sparse and complex somehow. Imagine some nuggets of lore just dropped and seeming like it means something but is never fully explained. That is the majority of the book and while some of it can be figured out with context clues, there's still a lot of questions and I suppose I am used to a first book in a series spending adequate time establishing everything to reduce confusion through the remaining volumes.
As for plot, there were so many threads everywhere and only one was really tied up. I presume more will be addressed in the future but it seemed like a lot of plot for a book that was vibe heavy.
Finishing this and all I can think is that it was fine. The things I have issues with weren't particularly bad but I might hesitate to read more in the series.
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Death, Abandonment, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Outing, Vomit, Violence, Confinement, Deadnaming, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Panic attacks/disorders
shelvesofivy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Vomit
Minor: Alcohol and Blood