Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Reviewed by GGGinny

What I drank: champagne. I just moved into a new place and needed a bit of a reward. The champagne was actually from last Christmas and I had been saving it for a special occasion.

Goodreads Overview:

The much-beloved BookTok sensation, Travis Baldree’s novel of high fantasy and low stakes.

Come take a load off at Viv’s cafe, the first & only coffee shop in Thune. Grand opening!

Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv, the orc barbarian, cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen.

However, her dreams of a fresh start filling mugs instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune’s shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners, and a different kind of resolve.

A hot cup of fantasy, slice-of-life with a dollop of romantic froth.

At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. 

Drunk Overview: Viv is an Orc adventurer who decides to retire and open up a new thing for non-gnomes, a coffee shop.

Drunk Thoughts: god this book is cozy.

• Okay, so, the book goes through Viv’s journey of starting and building the coffee shop.
• The world is delightful. And part of that is how swlf-contained this book is.
• It focuses in Viv’s store, and while its clear theres a wider world, this book doesn’t need to go into all the details.
• But Viv is so focused on her goal, evem though compared to a lot of high fantasy, her goal seems small, it feels so important.
• And I LOVE the fact that this story is small. Theres no world saving, or prophecied hero, its just focused on one person and their goal to create a cozy corner.
• And there are still real stakes. There are threats to the coffee shop. And how Viv handles each one is different.
• And its so fun watching Viv try to keep away from doing violence. Its part of her life that shes put behind her. Like. Its the easy option to default to, but its not what she wants from her life!
• And the cast of characters is also wonderful!
• Im a particular fan of the baker she ended up finding. Not gonna give more details because its fun watching it all play out.
• But that character fit in so well with the growth of the store.
• Theres also a plot point about a potentoally magic thing that helps Viv, and agina, without spoilers, I loved its mechanics.
• This book just seemed to focus on the importance of putting your best foot forward and the value of small steps.
• Legit this book seems perfect to read before a holiday on a beach. It was such a feel-good read.
• Which isnt to say there isnt tension. Even though the scale was small, there were still moments where I was racing through to see if everyone would be okay.
• I will say, there’s a VERY slow burn romance here. One that I kind of wish had been either a little quicker or a little more obvious (though I think the lack of earlier acknowledgment was due to Viv as a character not picking up on things)
• And that relationship is wildly important to the book, even during its more platonic stages.
• But I love where this book ended.
• As I said, the wider world is very present in this book even if its not a focus, which means there is so much that could be done.
• I will absolutely be reading whatever comes out in this series.
• Because, I too love the idea of creating a tiny cozy pocket in this world that invites people to come in and take a break.

What it Pairs With: spiked hot cocoa

Rating:4.8/5