Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree is a delightful debut cozy fantasy with queer romantic elements (4/5 stars)

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree is a delightful debut cozy fantasy with queer romantic elements.

After decades of adventuring an orc barbarian named Viv takes a gamble on a fabled artifact and decides to retire in the city of Thune, where she plans to open a coffee shop. But nobody in the town has ever heard of coffee before.

This was super charming! I read it all in one sitting. I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated wonderfully by the author. In addition to writing this novel, the author is an audiobook narrator and video game developer. As a video gamer and a tabletop RPG-player, this was right up my alley.

I wholeheartedly love all of the characters, though Thimble may be my favorite. This is the coziest of cozy fantasy that I’ve read this year. Most of the book is low-stakes, slice-of-life, but there is a bit of conflict. The story may feel a tad predictable, but I happily went along for the ride.

One warning though, reading this book will make you hungry for pastries!

Tropes in this book include: found family, slow burn

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