Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Legends & Lattes

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Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

165 reviews

boba_n_books's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

Spice Rating: 🫑 / 5 🌶️

Legends & Lattes was such a cute and fluffy cozy fantasy novel that helped me escape the world for a little bit.

Viv is a retired warrior looking to settle down and start a coffee shop. The only problem is that no one knows what coffee is and she's relying on a potentially fortuitous stone to help her through. Things seem to fall into place as Viv meets Cal, who helps her build up the shop; Tandri, who helps her advertise and serve the customers; and Thimble, who is constantly creating delicious new baked goods. Together, this band of four just might be able to create something so special it can succeed.

Going into this novel, I expected no plot and just vibes. There were definitely a lot of good vibes, found family, and friendship; but there was a bit of a plot with getting the coffee shop up and running as well as Viv's old gang coming back to town. The sapphic romance was a huge slow burn, but it was so sweet and worth the wait. I loved the vibes and the way the story showed how you can start over without forgetting your past.

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ashylibrarian's review

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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shottel's review

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A delightfully down-to-earth story set in a world most of us recognize as the backdrop for epic adventures of high magic and dangerous beasts, Legends & Lattes has us follow the main character as she opens a coffee shop in an unfamiliar city which has no knowledge of what coffee even is. She deals with some very mundane issues of corruption, business, and old friends, while a romance blooms in the background. My sole problem with this book is that it seems that romance stays a bit in the background; maybe the author is trying to riff on the whole "oblivious lesbians" stereotype, but I don't feel like there was a satisfying conclusion to that line, even as every other thread gets tied up in a neat knot by the end. Nevertheless, the book is generally quite lighthearted, very well-written, and a wonderful break from the "big" stories most fantasy novels trade in. I strongly recommend it, with the sole caveat to not expect much from the romance part of the story.

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iridiscent's review

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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infjkiki's review

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

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tinkeringcheck's review against another edition

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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? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

So I absolutely adored the characters, especially kind and determined and orcish fish out of water Viv. I also loved the community of odd ducks that gather around her, the little corner of the city we see, the retired DND character settling down and starting over vibes, and the low stakes fantasy atmosphere where pressing issues include generating word-of-mouth-advertising. I read it all in one sitting and can't remember the last time I had such a relaxed and easy time with a book.

... But (and I hate that there's a but). The plot. What took me out of the story was how most of the plot beats are just recreating the elements of a Hip Modern Coffee Shop. Which was cute at first in a wink-wink nudge-nudge way, but when it became the entire plot it just felt... boring. These characters are deeply amazed by modern things like *checks notes*

a range hood

, but when it happens for the nth time with no fantasy veneer it starts to feel a little hard to care. I really think the story could've hinged on one of the mysterious, easily hand-waved B plots and felt much more cohesive.

Honestly, I think the plotting might have fallen victim to the low stakes promise - or at least one interpretation of it. Here, that meant the characters were facing molehill instead of mountain challenges with the same weight and payoff. And I think that can work, if woven into a bigger story. But here it's like the bigger story wasn't allowed any airtime because that would be too many stakes. And yet a mountain of consequences fall on the characters from that bigger story anyway, but now it feels like the characters had no agency to deal with it beforehand.

So I'd argue the story doesn't even stick to its low stakes claim in the first place. It's more like 90% 'low stakes' and 10% 'consequences from the interesting, higher stakes plot happening invisibly in the background that we decided not to use but still have its consequences air-dropped out of nowhere.'

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abby_can_read'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? No

4.0

This was an adorable read. I can understand why it's popular and I can see the appeal of the cozy fantasy genre. I liked how simple the plot was -- there weren't any big plot twists like I'm used to. The characters were fun and I loved reading about their relationship develop. The pacing was good. While I liked the ending, I would love to read more about these characters and their futures together.

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