Reviews with content warning for Violence - Legends & Lattes

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

312 reviews

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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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

3.0

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.'

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abby_can_read'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? 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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msgslibrary's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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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lucystolethesky's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.25

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dragonaion's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense 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

5.0

I was unsure what to expect when I saw this book, but kind-hearted fantasy was just the thing I was looking for. Halfway through the book, I found that I couldn't put it down.
This reads exactly like a one-on-one D&D campaign, whose main adventurer reached the end of the main campaign, maxed leveling, and said to their DM, "I don't want to stop playing... But I don't wanna adventure anymore."
This book is the DM smiling, leaning forward against their screen and saying, "Do you remember the coffee you found in that last city?"

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