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jojothefool's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Very cute slice of life. I’m not a big DND player so I feel like some of the lore and world building were confusing for me or just didn’t hit the way it might for others. But overall, an adorable concept that was well put and very very cute and heartwarming.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Violence
theeoldbear's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
After finishing up a really tough read previously, I chose to listen to this story as an audiobook while also reading another fantasy graphic novel (though not at the same time), and this was a perfect pallet cleanser. Low-stakes storytelling with likable and relatable characters the story is a really great way to brighten your mood!
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence and Fire/Fire injury
ashylibrarian's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence and Sexual harassment
clovetra's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-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
3.0
this book was very out of my comfort zone! a book whose sole goal is to be warm & cozy? a foreign concept to me, seeing as my favourite book is battle royale by koushun takami, but this was quite nice to dip my toes into the relaxing genre.
i will say, my major "issue" with this book is the amount of exposition needed that doesn't exist. im sorry because i had no idea what was going on lore-wise, i had no idea how to envision certain characters such as amity, cal, or thimble. granted, this could be a skill issue on my end! but it did still affect my reading experience negatively :(
i will also say viv felt incredibly one-dimensional, as did most other characters. i understand a book can have many minor characters and not suffer, but i felt like in this book it did. every time i was introduced to a recurring character i hadn't read about in a while i either had to flip back throughout the book or use good ol trusty google. my brain is too small to comprehend the vast amount of characters.
i will say tho this book was quite nice! i did enjoy not shitting my pants because the stakes werent so ridiculously high! i also loved that thecomplete minuscule of conflict present was so anticlimactic!!!! lowkey i got a bit mad when some drama was starting because i was like 'wtf this is a cozy book'.... but then! the conflict! went nowhere! /pos
i will also say the pleasant edition of tandri & viv's relationship was enjoyed on my end!!!also the random yet understandable sapphic relationship???? SIGN MY ASS UP!
honestly tho i think the main reasons i couldn't get into this book were because i had no idea wtf was going on! i had no idea about the universe! like i was wondering quite often if this was like. a sequel. like you cant tell me this book is a stand alone (if this book did have required supplemental reading that i didn't do i will kick myself so bad im so serious)
also i know i praised the book above for its relaxing atmosphere but. i got bored. like sure i would want to read it when i picked it up but.... because there were no stakes i wasn't prompted to pick up the book that often. like ok when the only stakes are if they get customers....... i got bored. this sounds so incredibly dismissive of baldree's writing and i don't mean it to be! i think this is just me learning that i need my books to have tension or else my little rat brain starts begging to read an incredibly fast-paced adventure story.
um i think i will defo read the little short story "pages to fill" as my edition has that at the end but.... i don't know if ill be reading the prequel sadly :/ only time will tell though!
i will say, my major "issue" with this book is the amount of exposition needed that doesn't exist. im sorry because i had no idea what was going on lore-wise, i had no idea how to envision certain characters such as amity, cal, or thimble. granted, this could be a skill issue on my end! but it did still affect my reading experience negatively :(
i will also say viv felt incredibly one-dimensional, as did most other characters. i understand a book can have many minor characters and not suffer, but i felt like in this book it did. every time i was introduced to a recurring character i hadn't read about in a while i either had to flip back throughout the book or use good ol trusty google. my brain is too small to comprehend the vast amount of characters.
i will say tho this book was quite nice! i did enjoy not shitting my pants because the stakes werent so ridiculously high! i also loved that the
i will also say the pleasant edition of tandri & viv's relationship was enjoyed on my end!!!
honestly tho i think the main reasons i couldn't get into this book were because i had no idea wtf was going on! i had no idea about the universe! like i was wondering quite often if this was like. a sequel. like you cant tell me this book is a stand alone (if this book did have required supplemental reading that i didn't do i will kick myself so bad im so serious)
also i know i praised the book above for its relaxing atmosphere but. i got bored. like sure i would want to read it when i picked it up but.... because there were no stakes i wasn't prompted to pick up the book that often. like ok when the only stakes are if they get customers....... i got bored. this sounds so incredibly dismissive of baldree's writing and i don't mean it to be! i think this is just me learning that i need my books to have tension or else my little rat brain starts begging to read an incredibly fast-paced adventure story.
um i think i will defo read the little short story "pages to fill" as my edition has that at the end but.... i don't know if ill be reading the prequel sadly :/ only time will tell though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Violence
aurora4847's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Xenophobia and Murder
Minor: Racism, Violence, and Stalking
iane_reads's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
shottel's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcoholism, Violence, and Alcohol
monicalaurette's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Stalking
scifi_rat's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
tinkeringcheck's review against another edition
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
3.0
So I really liked the characters, especially Viv - our kind and determined fish-out-of-water protag. I also liked 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 chill 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 flip side of that was... the plot. Or lack thereof. For a story set in a fantasy captial-A adventure world, the plot is pretty non-existent. Literally the only plot beats are inventing the elements of a Hip Modern Coffee Shop. It 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 , and when it happens for the nth time with very little fantasy veneer it becomes hard to care all that much. I really think the story could've hinged on one of the mysterious and too easily hand-waved B plots and felt much more cohesive.
Honestly, I think the plotting might have fallen victim to the low stakes promise, which I think that can work if woven into a bigger story. But here it's like the bigger story was relegated to the background to keep the stakes low, but the mountain of consequences from it suddenly fall on the characters anyway. Agency? No ser. Only chalk boards and long discussions about menu options over here.
So I'd argue the story doesn't even stick to its low stakes claim in the first place. It's more like 90% 'boring shopping trip' and 10% 'air-dropped consequences from the more interesting, higher stakes plot happening in the wings.'
... But (and I hate that there's a but) the flip side of that was... the plot. Or lack thereof. For a story set in a fantasy captial-A adventure world, the plot is pretty non-existent. Literally the only plot beats are inventing the elements of a Hip Modern Coffee Shop. It 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*
Honestly, I think the plotting might have fallen victim to the low stakes promise, which I think that can work if woven into a bigger story. But here it's like the bigger story was relegated to the background to keep the stakes low, but the mountain of consequences from it suddenly fall on the characters anyway. Agency? No ser. Only chalk boards and long discussions about menu options over here.
So I'd argue the story doesn't even stick to its low stakes claim in the first place. It's more like 90% 'boring shopping trip' and 10% 'air-dropped consequences from the more interesting, higher stakes plot happening in the wings.'
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Violence and Alcohol