The Book Report #72
Episode #71
Legends & Lattes By Travis Baldree
The Book
This book was first released and published by Amazon KDP in February 2022. And then later in the year, it was picked up and published by Tom Dohery Associates, which is owned by Tor, who also released the book in the UK at the same time.
Tor is an imprint of Pan Macmillan.
My copy is a 6th print hardback. It is 312 pages long and includes an interview with the author, an extra short story titled Pages to Fill. Plus, as an added bonus, a recipe for Thimbles Thimblets.
What Did I Think
Even though this is the second book in the series, it is the first book written with, at the time of this blog, a sequel due to be released at the end of the year.
Viv has had enough. She is tired, physically and mentally exhausted. After more than twenty years of fighting with her gang of mercenaries, she has decided it’s time to hang up the sword and try a new direction in her life. Using a magic stick to help her decide where to spend that life, she ends up in a city called Thune and guides her way to a place she will call home.
That home will be her future shop where she will sell coffee and make a new family of friends. That will include a builder, an assistant, a cook, a bard, and a giant Dire Cat, named Amity.
In an interview at the end of the book, the author aptly describes it as a Hallmark-style fantasy drama, and I can see what he means. Even with the danger involved in the story from the local “protection agency” or old friends. Viv, with the help of her recent friends, is able to fix certain problems, but not all and can come to some arrangement that benefits everyone in the long run.
Viv is relying on a stone that she doesn’t fully understand the powers that it wields over the owner. That in the end, she may never have needed it in the first place.
Although she is threatened by other people trying to take advantage of her good fortune or her good nature, the story never feels negative. Yes, they are there, but the story follows a positive attitude that believes good things will happen if you are a good person and look after your friends.
Viv has great entrepreneurial skills as she can take advantage of everything that walks into her shop, drawing in more and more customers.
Bonus Story
The bonus of this book is that it comes with an additional story. A short story set before Viv retired from being a mercenary. This was never released in the first print because it had not been written yet. The story is also available on Mr Baldree’s website.
The story, titled Pages to Fill, is set before the coffee shop, when Viv is still with her gang and out on a bounty. And describes how she began her dream of what would occur in Legends and Lattes. But here she doesn’t know what it is yet that she wants, and by the end, her questions are answered.
I really did enjoy this book. The world of Viv and her friends was a nice place to visit, and I look forward to more adventures when they arrive. It is not too taxing a read, and you don’t have to worry about the politics of foreign lands encroaching on the city, seeking to dominate and destroy. It’s just Viv, a large green Ork. Trying to live her best life whilst trying to enjoy the customers she serves and the people she grows with during her journey.
Would I Recommend
Yes, I would recommend. Fair enough, the prequel is better, but this book has a great light story. Nothing too hard to take in, and easy to read if you want to get away from the intense fantasy novels.
Please give this book a go.
Would you like to purchase your very own copy?
You could try these online stores: Amazon UK/USA. Waterstones. AbeBooks UK/USA, Barnes & Noble or eBay UK/USA.
Alternatively, you could try your local bookshop or even your local library.
