A review by lumorise
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

A fun read! The descriptions in this book were my favourite part, I felt like I was IN the coffee shop. Definitely met the brief of being "cozy". I think the plot points were interesting (if a little cliche- but considering it was a low stakes book I think I can forgive that quite easily) and the characters were delightful. I would die for Thimble.
(fuck Fennus though, all my homies hate Fennus)

One thing I couldn't get past was that there was too much telling and not much showing when it came to the thoughts and feelings of the characters. I feel like Viv's anxieties are constantly spelled out, either in dialogue by other people or in her thoughts where it's far too clear. It's not terrible, but the dialogue really does feel very therapy-speaky at times and it takes away from how real people would react in those situations. 
I think
Viv's reaction to the fire
was handled super well though. Ironically, the dialogue style really fits quite well there. 
I really want to play a cozy cafe simulator game set in this world. 
I think my overall thoughts of this book are that the plot delivers while some of the character interactions come up weak. Having said that, the characters ARE lovable. I would say the stakes are slightly higher than I would have assumed going in? But it's handled quite well. Definitely recommend if you want a quick, lighthearted read between other books. 
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