Legends & Lattes Review
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree is one of the quintessential cozy fantasy books of the last 5 years. Baldree is a videogame designer and audiobook narrator who was inspired by COVID to write something escapist with themes of fantasy romance.
While this book was originally self-published, I read the Tor Books paperback edition. If you love this book/series, there are plenty of special editions out there now and the latest book in the series (Brigands & Breadknives) had its initial release in hardcover.
Adventurer Viv retires from her bloody profession to open a coffeeshop in a new city. If only her new neighbors knew what coffee was.
The book explores themes of friendship as Viv slowly gets to know her new community, moving on from a past self that no longer reflect who you are, and following your dreams while overcoming adversity. Plus a little romance is thrown in for good measure.
Everyone is introduced in a way that eases you into the community the same way Viv is getting to know the whole town. Despite her meeting so many people for the first time, the list of core characters remains fairly small. Her (former) adventuring party, her neighbors (including a nosy but well-meaning woman across the street), a small group of regulars, and her coworkers/friends who help her toward achieving her dream coffee shop.
This book is part of a series but they can be read in any order. Legends & Lattes follows Viv, Bookshops & Bonedust (book 2) is a prequel and covers a younger Viv and her friend Fern, while book 3 (Brigands & Breadknives) focuses on Fern in the same or similar time period of Legends & Lattes.
While I don’t read a ton of fantasy, I would say this book sticks to the familiar high fantasy of Dungeons & Dragons lore, so if you are at all familiar with some of that worldbuilding, this setting and these characters might feel comfortingly familiar.
It takes the expectation of grandeur, violence, and adventure and turns it into something quieter and intimate, allowing for the focus to be on the small moments. I do love the chance to see these characters in low stakes moments and under (some) stress and how they deal with that. I especially liked the complexity of Viv making conscious choices against her more actionable instincts and think her way into alternative solutions.
This book is a great comfort to get you out of your own head and into a fantasy world when the current one is falling apart. This book had higher stakes than I expected while also being a slow-paced story of building community. I thought it was cute and perfect for high fantasy fans who are craving that day in the life feeling from their high fantasy settings. I enjoyed Viv, recently retired from adventuring, and her determination to reinvent herself, Tandri’s steady presence alongside her, Cal’s unwavering support, and Thimble’s understated excitement. The side characters throughout this book were so fun and seeing them become lovable regulars and even friends after seeing them through Viv’s initially wary gaze was both excellent development of Viv learning to trust and great storytelling revealing more to the reader little by little.
While I don’t think I am the audience of this book, it’s well written, heartfelt, and fun to read. It’s perfect for fantasy lovers, DnD fans, and those who need a little more whimsy in their lives.
