Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

36 reviews

aurora4847's review

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


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iane_reads's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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monicalaurette's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was fun and gave me exactly what I expected from it. I wanted a fantasy book that didn’t have a lot of high stakes, and that’s what I got. I also got a little bit of a found family (after the family of Viv’s prior crew) and enjoyed how everything came together.

I’ve seen some people complain about how often Viv had to explain coffee to someone, but I honestly didn’t think it happened much and each time Thimble came up with a new food item I was so happy for him. I think he might be my favorite character out of all of them.

“Things don’t have to stay as what they started out as.”

Not much else I can really say about it without spoiling anything but I’m glad I finally picked this up and interested to see if the prequel story is equally as fun to read.

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scifi_rat's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.75


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kelly_e's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted relaxing
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Title: Legends & Lattes
Author: Travis Baldree
Series: Legends & Lattes #1
Genre: Cozy Fantasy
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: February 22, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Comforting • Delightful • Simple

📖 S Y N O P S I S

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

💭 T H O U G H T S

When it came time to choose my 12 recs from 12 friends selection for the month of February, I was looking for something shorter and fluffier given so many other books I planned to read this month were on the longer side and/or tackled heavy topics. Enter Legends & Lattes, which ticked the right boxes.

Legends & Lattes is a high fantasy, low stakes, slice-of-life story. For me, it was really the cast of wholesome characters and their relationships that made this story shine. I came to care about each one of them and really didn't want anything bad to happen to them. In particular, Viv was such a strong and capable lead, with the ability to stand on her own two feet. I admired her bravery in forging her own path. While the dynamic between Viv and Tandri was genuine, I was anticipating a little more romance than what I got.

The concept of opening a coffee shop in a world where no one knows what coffee is was intriguing and comical at the same time. Seeing the struggles and triumphs of opening a new business mirrored reality. I particularly loved seeing how the menu changed from start to finish. And I must say this book definitely left me with so many cravings.

I read a physical copy while listening to the audio, which enhanced my enjoyment. I didn't realize the author, Travis Baldree, is full-time audio narrator and his narration is perfection. His characterization is one of the best I've heard and I'd definitely be interested in checking out more of his narrations. Additionally, the edition I read had a bonus story 'Pages to Fill', a nice little addition.

Legends & Lattes certainly made me step outside of my reading comfort zone, and that is exactly why I love doing the 12 recs challenge each year. Would I have picked this up outside of the challenge? Probably not. Did I enjoy my time with these characters? Absolutely! It is the ideal blend of fantasy and cozy mysteries, with a touch of romance dusted in. When readers talk about hugs in book form, this is what they mean. I am not sure when, but I will be definitely picking up the prequel Bookshops & Bonedust at some point in the future.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• lovers of high fantasy and cozy mysteries
• readers looking for a coffee shop read

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Things don’t have to stay as what they started out as."

"She thought about what Tandri had said just a day ago about reciprocity. Pain that was ignored, magnified on its return."

 

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ababytapir's review

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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wildflower_magic's review

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Grab a latte and a cinnamon roll and curl up with this cozy story of an ogre making a new life for herself by opening a cafe and introducing people to coffee. The descriptions of coffee and food items are so scrumptious, you'll definitely want something sweet on hand! The character development is so fun to watch; the respect and care the main characters have for each other throughout the book is inspiring. I love the message in this story- having a good community is good fortune and more valuable than gold. This is definitely a cozy read with a touch of slow burn romance (no spice). 

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memoirsofabooklover's review against another edition

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inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

i enjoyed this. it was an easy read. as the tag-line described it was low-stakes but i still devoured it in 24 hours. fun fantasy world with all sorts of characters, my favourite of which was durias; he was mysterious in a subtlety comical way. i loved the side characters, and i would have read it even sooner if i’d known the story was lgbtq+!!

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jenny_librarian's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

Oh this was good! A fantasy read cozy enough for winter, but still captivating enough to keep the readers entertained.

My only complaint is that we didn’t get more of Viv and Tandri’s relationship. I wanna know what happens between them after the end!!

It’s just really, really nice, and I can’t wait to pick up another book by this author.

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bluedilly's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


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