Travis Baldree

Once again, I went in a little doubtful – this time, because I was so happy with Legends & Lattes that the idea of a prequel sat a little off with me. I wanted to see more of the same, the characters I already knew, what their futures held. And yes, there’s a bit of that in the epilogue – and what I devoutly hope is a good hint towards what the sequel will cover – but this was mostly about Viv’s origins.

And, in true cozy fantasy style, it was mostly mostly about people being kind and helping each other out and making a nice place together. And where Legends & Lattes made me want to find a regular coffee shop to hang out in, Bookshops & Bonedust brought my childhood dream of opening a book store roaring back to life. There’s a retail space on the ground floor of my apartment building that hasn’t been occupied in the entire time I’ve lived here, and that feels a little too tempting right now…

These two books feel like Baldree has really nailed a target demographic. People like to curl up with a good book, feel warm and safe, and that’s what he gives us. Warmth, safety, and the feeling that we’re part of a little something, a community, and the space that a community builds together. Absolutely wonderful to read, I heartily recommend this one as well. Check it out.¹

This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩

Travis Baldree

I’d been putting off reading this one because I wasn’t sold on the entire “cozy fantasy” genre. I did actually try reading another one at some point, and it just didn’t click for me — I think it leaned too far into the ‘cozy’, and the result was me spending the entire book on tenterhooks, waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it never did. Legends & Lattes didn’t have that issue — there was enough of a story arc, enough narrative tensions, some clear “there’s a Bad Person who Is A Problem” moments that I could settle into the story instead of trying to figure out what I was missing.

I really wasn’t prepared for how well this would grab me; I went down to Powell’s intending to pick up a specific book, saw this on one of the “on sale!” displays, and grabbed it to read the first chapter in the cafe to decide if it was for me. And then suddenly I had finished chapter 18 and I needed to pay for my books and head home.¹

“Cozy fantasy” is a very specific genre, and now I’m wondering if there’s a term for the other thing this book did incredibly well and that I absolutely love: that feeling of building something. It’s in the Moist von Lipwig books, it’s in Kitty Cat Kill Sat, heck, it’s what makes Cities Skylines so fun. That feeling that something is being created. It doesn’t have to be something grand; honestly, it’s often better when it isn’t. A coffee shop is the right scale here; it’s something that feels real, that feels concrete. That feels achievable. That is the thing I truly loved about this book.

So, hey, I am thoroughly late to the party, but this was a really wonderful read. Pick up a copy, sit in a coffee shop, and do some reading.²

By the time I got home, I was on chapter 21. Public transit: it’s great! You can read and someone else pays attention to the road so you don’t have to! ↩
This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩