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Book #2 of 2024: Legends & Lattes
Jan. 5th, 2024 05:02 pmOne of the things I want to do this year is get better at writing reviews. I used to write good ones, but I feel like I've devolved into "I LOVED THIS" or "Man this sucked" -- just my opinion without really talking much about the plot. I'm going to try out using a template format to see if that helps.
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Legends & Lattes: A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes by Travis Baldree.
Quick synopsis: Set in a Dungeons & Dragons-ish world, an adventurer retires and opens a coffee shop; she ends up with a new circle of friends and a girlfriend.
Plot: Set in a fantasy world that felt like a mix of D&D and WoW, an orc woman (Viv) was a very successful adventurer, but the life of an adventurer is hard and tends to end in a violent death, so she wanted something different.
From her last big kill (of a "boss"-type monster), Viv took a magic gem that legend said would bring good luck and success. She did a lot of research and found the best town to open her new shop in.
Most of the plot lived up to the "Low Stakes" part of the title. Probably 75% of the book was about opening a business in a fantasy world: Hiring staff, how to install an overhead fan system when the kitchen got too hot, buying plates and dishes, how to get more customers...
The last quarter of the story dealt with the return of a bad guy from her previous life. Viv had not just her shop to protect, but her new friends and slowly-becoming girlfriend.
Writing/editing: Both were great! Even though the book was really mellow, the writing was good. Characters were great and I loved the world. I didn't spot even one editing issue in the whole book.
What I Liked/What I Didn’t Like: Another reviewer described this book as "A fantasy story meets Animal Crossing" and that's so true. After reading my last book (so dark, so very heavy) I wanted something as light and fluffy as possible. This book fit that perfectly. Unfortunately before I even reached the halfway point, I wanted more.
I loved the characters. Viv being a fish out of water (she only knew battle, now she was trying something completely new). Cal, a "hob" (hobgoblin, I guess?), and my favorite was Thimble (a little ratkin man, the shop's baker). The only character I didn't connect with was Tandri (a non-stereotypical succubus) who became the girlfriend.
The romance didn't work for me at all, but it really only got going in the last 10% or so of the book so that wasn't a big issue.
I didn't totally believe the bad guy(s) or their motives, but that was a minor part of the story.
All in all, this was not a book I would usually read, but it was nice. "Nice" is the perfect word to describe it. Mellow, light, fluffy, nice. I did like it enough to get the second in the series though.
Edit: This description from another review amused me:
Also the first half of the novel is like reading a description of someone playing Diner Dash. They leveled up their coffee shop and now it serves pastries! Leveled up again and now they have the ceiling fan upgrade! Now they have a musician. Now they're upgrading the oven.
Rating: 1-Hated / 2-Disliked / 3-Okay / 4-Liked / 5-Loved: 3.75-ish. There was nothing at all wrong with the book, it's just lighter and fluffier than I usually read. It was what I was looking for at the time I picked it though.
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Legends & Lattes: A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes by Travis Baldree.
Quick synopsis: Set in a Dungeons & Dragons-ish world, an adventurer retires and opens a coffee shop; she ends up with a new circle of friends and a girlfriend.
Plot: Set in a fantasy world that felt like a mix of D&D and WoW, an orc woman (Viv) was a very successful adventurer, but the life of an adventurer is hard and tends to end in a violent death, so she wanted something different.
From her last big kill (of a "boss"-type monster), Viv took a magic gem that legend said would bring good luck and success. She did a lot of research and found the best town to open her new shop in.
Most of the plot lived up to the "Low Stakes" part of the title. Probably 75% of the book was about opening a business in a fantasy world: Hiring staff, how to install an overhead fan system when the kitchen got too hot, buying plates and dishes, how to get more customers...
The last quarter of the story dealt with the return of a bad guy from her previous life. Viv had not just her shop to protect, but her new friends and slowly-becoming girlfriend.
Writing/editing: Both were great! Even though the book was really mellow, the writing was good. Characters were great and I loved the world. I didn't spot even one editing issue in the whole book.
What I Liked/What I Didn’t Like: Another reviewer described this book as "A fantasy story meets Animal Crossing" and that's so true. After reading my last book (so dark, so very heavy) I wanted something as light and fluffy as possible. This book fit that perfectly. Unfortunately before I even reached the halfway point, I wanted more.
I loved the characters. Viv being a fish out of water (she only knew battle, now she was trying something completely new). Cal, a "hob" (hobgoblin, I guess?), and my favorite was Thimble (a little ratkin man, the shop's baker). The only character I didn't connect with was Tandri (a non-stereotypical succubus) who became the girlfriend.
The romance didn't work for me at all, but it really only got going in the last 10% or so of the book so that wasn't a big issue.
I didn't totally believe the bad guy(s) or their motives, but that was a minor part of the story.
All in all, this was not a book I would usually read, but it was nice. "Nice" is the perfect word to describe it. Mellow, light, fluffy, nice. I did like it enough to get the second in the series though.
Edit: This description from another review amused me:
Also the first half of the novel is like reading a description of someone playing Diner Dash. They leveled up their coffee shop and now it serves pastries! Leveled up again and now they have the ceiling fan upgrade! Now they have a musician. Now they're upgrading the oven.
Rating: 1-Hated / 2-Disliked / 3-Okay / 4-Liked / 5-Loved: 3.75-ish. There was nothing at all wrong with the book, it's just lighter and fluffier than I usually read. It was what I was looking for at the time I picked it though.
