Bookshops and Bonedust is the unlikely prequel to the massive hit, Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree. I say unlikely because the author himself said that this wasn’t the book that he intended to write. And I believe that shows.

This book definitely has the same cozy vibe that Legends and Lattes did but in a bookstore. I still adore Viv and find her to be an excellent protagonist to follow. The new characters shine in their own way. In particular Potroast, Fern, and Satchel. There is still a baking element in this book so those vibes are the same.

My main complaint is going into this knowing that it is a prequel. The first book was in my top five books of last year so it’s a story that really meant a lot to me. Going into this prequel, you know how it has to end because you know how the next one begins and there are characters that don’t appear in both books. It made it hard for me to feel attached to the world of this book.

That being said, I still really enjoyed it. I love the cozy D&D vibes and I hope Travis Baldree continues to write stories like this that just feel very warm and inviting with a smidge of mystery and action. If I were to recommend this series to someone, I would recommend reading this one first (maybe skipping the epilogue for the time being as it takes place after Legends and Lattes).

Travis Baldtree once again knocked it out of the park. Legends & Lattes was a book that I read that just hit a feel that I didn't know I wanted. I'm a massive D&D fan and L&L was a great story that reminded me of many different aspects of it.

When I heard Bookshops & Bonedust was coming out, I was...hesitant. It was a prequel. Something I wasn't sure I would want since I thought Viv got her happy ever after. She had her coffee shop and so many things going for her in retirement. However, Baldtree caught my attention with his voice and writing from the get go. He brought forth a story that I will be willing to listen to over and over again (and possibly include in my next d&d campaign!).

Viv meets so many characters that help to bring her full circle to L&L. Getting injured is something no adventurer wants, especially to be dropped off by her friends and party in a small town. Being told, we'll come back for you, especially with that party going after a strong necromancer who could potentially kill them. Not knowing what happens to your group that you've spent time with is hard.

As the owner of the bookshop that Viv has decided to help out with, Fern makes this story come alive even more. Potroast is the cutest thing ever and I really want a plushie made of him. Satchel is by far the best character in this whole story and I want a blue eyed skeletal homunculus as well.

One of my favorite bits about this story is Baldtree's imagination. As a person with 'no minds-eye' he creates a descriptive narrative that allows me to feel the scene instead of seeing it. He doesn't go on and on in a descriptive faction like most fantasy books do on what the coast looks like, etc. He brings a feeling to it that I appreciate and can't wait to see what happens.

“Watching you read what I give you, putting a book in your hands and seeing what happens to you once you put it back down . . . I can’t make you understand how that gives me something I didn’t know I had to have.”

If you’ve read Legends & Lattes, you’re going to want to pick this book up and read about a brief time in Viv’s life before coming to Thune. If you haven’t read Legends & Lattes and you enjoy cozy SFF, Dungeons and Dragons, small town romance, the found family trope, and/or low stakes character-driven stories… then what are you waiting for?

This prequel has all of the cozy, small town vibes of L&L, along with fabulous side characters, delectable baked goods, and a nefarious villain to overcome. We also have the added benefit of getting to know Viv before her battle-weariness. An appreciation for the written word absolutely permeates the entire story, as well as found family, first love, forging paths to follow one’s dreams.

The epilogue included a scene from the L&L time period, and it may have made me a little misty! Overall, I quite enjoyed lovely this addition to Viv’s story.

I wasn't a huge fan of this book. I didn't realize it was a prologue to legends and lattes till afterwards. And honestly I wish it would have been a book with new main character. One thing I noticed while reading these books is there's not much plot to these. It gives off dnd vibes but doesn't have the violence and fighting like a typical fantasy and it doesn't have a real romance to it either. It just drags.

What happened here... I really liked book one, but this one was just not it for me!

In this prequel we follow Viv while she injures her leg during a battle & is taken to a small town to heal up while the rest of the Ravens continue on their quest to capture the necromancer.

Listen, book one was a cute cosy mystery that made me fall in love with the characters & enjoy the low stakes mystery aspect. I went into this book pretty blind as I thought I would enjoy it just as much as the first book, but I was unfortunately wrong. I'm not sure if it was the change in scenery, or the change in the author's writing style but I found this book very boring & honestly a bit pointless.

I can't tell you how many times I fell asleep while trying to read this book. I think it even happened twice in one day. I think this is because I just couldn't care for most of the characters, sure it was nice to see Viv beforehand but I didn't care for any of the other characters especially since we don't see them again. There is also a small side romance that really just gave me the ick.

Lastly I do want to say that there is an epilogue after the book ends, however it occurs after the events of book one, so I don't recommend reading the prequel before book one (which seems also kind of pointless to me).

It may have just been me, or this book was an unfortunate lost. Either way this is definitely one you can skip in my opinion, and I'm not sure if I will be continuing with the series.

Bookshops + Bonedust is a prequel to Legends + Lattes and we follow Viv as she realizes her career with the mercenary company-Rackam's Ravens is not going according to plan. It may have something to do with her being injured during a hunt for a powerful necromancer. She ends up being sent off to the sleepy beach town of Murk so she can recuperate. She may have never predicted seeing herself in a bookshop with the company of the bookshops foul-mouthed proprietor. As she worries her life would have less action in it she quickly find that a new adventure awaits her when a mysterious and suspicious traveler in gray appears.

First off, I want to start this review off by saying: yes, I read legends + Lattes back in December of 2022 (rated 4/5 stars) but I am going to reframe from comparing Bookshops + Bonedust to Legends +
Lattes.

Bookshops + Bonedust definitely has that cozy fantasy vibe to it and makes you want to read it on a rainy day curled up on your couch with a fluffy blanket.

When being transported into this books world, you really get that feeling of Murk being a sleepy town with not much going on. I love the feeling Travis emanates with his writing when it comes to the characters emotions or the setting. But with the world building, I think Travis does well on painting the picture of the world but when it comes down to it there is not much meat to it and is just really the bone structure of the world. I would have liked there to be more in depth world building as well as more in depth character development. I did enjoy most of the characters but they could have been more well rounded.

For the most part I enjoyed the romance and I did find it to take away from the plot at times, but it was mostly enjoyable.

Bookshops + Bonedust does suffer from an uneven paring but in the end the plot is nicely tied up.

This was an okay read for me but a lot of people will enjoy Bookshops + Bonedust. This book makes a great fall/winter read and is great for a cozy day in. Also, if cozy fantasy, romance, and a relaxing read are things you are seeking, then look no further and pick up this book.

Travis Baldree doesn’t miss! Bookshops & Bonedust was just as amazing as Legends & Lattes

I love these books so much, I love the characters and the stories. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this author.

3.5 stars. Alright so, first things first, I loved Legends & Lattes. I read it for the first time immediately preceding my read of Bookshops & Bonedust, which may have been a mistake? Hear me out...

The two books are remarkably similar, especially in the first half of B&B. As such, I found myself a little...bored? The plot just seemed to be repeating itself in a different timeline of Viv's life, with a slightly different type of business venture. However, things did turn around in the second half of the book, which had significantly more action that L&L. Adorable characters, cozy vibes, low-stakes conflict, no complaints with any of that at all. Definitely worth a read if you're a fan of L&L! Overall, I liked it, I just wish it hadn't been so repetitive of the first book.

Thank you to Travis Baldree, Tor Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for my advance audio and digital copies.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this book early! I really enjoyed it. I thought the writing was very well done, and the story kept me interested. I believe my students/patrons would also love this book and will be acquiring it for the library!

I am BEGGING Netgalley to stop offering PDF books - they do NOT format well on the kindle, whether you're sending them from the website or transferring them via USB.

That aside, am I surprised I liked this book? No. I liked the first one a lot. It doesn't hold up to Legends & Lattes in my mind, but it's still a good read. Am I surprised it took me so long to read this? Yeah. My bad, Travis.

Please send Travis Baldree to our store. Please? We already submitted a grid with no luck.
This was a great "introduction" to a character we already love, and the addition of books was so fun and perfect for fans of the first book. That all being said, I don't know how many more books could really work in this world. I know he's signed on for at least one more, but I'm not sure how much more he, or we, would get out of it. I guess we'll see!

This was such a heartwarming prequel about summer love and lasting friendships. I love how Viv can't just sit still, even when gravely injured, so she ends up helping a rattkin remodel and revamp her bookshop. It made me think that she wouldn't have needed the stone she sought so desperately in "Legends and Lattes". Also, the origin of Galina and Viv's friendship was just as funny as I would have imagined on my own. For me, this book did not disappoint like so many second books in a series seem to and I am forever grateful for that.

The prequel sequel to Legends & Lattes, follow the story of the young orc Viv, desperate to prove herself, headstrong and reckless, and foolhardy to boot. An injury leaves her abandoned by her crew in the sleepy town of Murk, where she discovers the wonders of books, baked goods, and best friends.

This is a sad story wrapped up in a blanket and a smile. I cried at the ending SO hard. The writing style is the same wonderful one we saw in L&L, the characters are full of just as much charm and humour. I was absolutely thrilled to be able to read this one and even reread L&L to prepare. This story was the perfect prequel: we didn't need it, but we wanted it, and now that we've got it, we can cherish it.

There is something so absolutely heartwarming about the world Travis Baldree creates with his character Viv and her cozy adventures. When I first ran across Legends and Lattes, I picked it up but took a little bit of time to read it. Once I actually did, I fell in love with each and every character. The same happened with Bookshops and Bonedust, except I didn’t hesitate when I was approved for the Advanced Reader Copy through Netgalley. This is a prequel to the coffee shop and the Timbits, so this seems to be when Viv was in her prime with Rackam’s Ravens and things are going well, except she’s been stabbed and now needs to rest and recuperate until her team comes back for her. In the meantime, she has to figure out what to do with her days and not get into too much trouble, which is kind of hard since she’s a mercenary and seems to have trouble constantly following her. Nevertheless, the town of Murk seems to have exactly the people she needs in her life, whether she knows it or not.
I cannot recommend this book enough and do not want to give too many details away, but I promise, if you give this book a chance, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

A prequel to Legends and Lattes that shows the reader how Viv ended up in her cafe. The book shop setting and side characters created a wonderful cozy fantasy.

My current read just wasn’t appealing to me, and I wanted something cozy while I convalesced from the latest COVID booster this fall weekend. This exactly fit the bill.

There are many similarities here to Legends & Lattes. Viv the mercenary orc has hung up her sword — temporarily this time, while she’s recovering from a battle injury. There’s a light sapphic romance, though we know Viv and Maylee will eventually part because Viv ends up with someone else in Legends & Lattes. There’s the same elements of found family, a lurking threat that will be vanquished by that found family banding together at the end, and so many delicious descriptions of baked goods. Even better, this takes place in a bookshop.

And just like in Legends & Lattes, I don’t hate that the male author has written a primarily female main cast.

Eagerly awaiting whatever Travis Baldree comes up with next. That mystery novel he mentions in his acknowledgements sounds amazing — maybe try returning to that idea at some point?

Baldree’s cozy fantasy is a wonderful peek into Viv’s early merc days—when she managed to make friends and find trouble while convalescing at a tiny seaside port. It’s that same great mix of humor, community building and action that I loved in Legends & Lattes.

I’m really loving this cozy fantasy genre! Legends & Lattes was a relaxing break from the intensity of most adventure fantasy stories, and Bookshops & Bonedust carries on pleasantly in the same vein. This time Viv is recovering from a bad injury in a little seaside town, gets hooked on reading, and has a bit of a vacation romance. B&B is a prequel, but I think they can be read in either order, or stand on their own quite nicely. (But why would you only read one?)

PS. I can’t wait for you to meet Satchel :)

Oh my goodness, this was not what I expected! For some reason, I did not realize this was a prequel to Legends and Lattes, and WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE.

Though I liked some of the side characters in L&L a bit more, this book was still cozy and enjoyable. It gives more background to Viv which I always appreciate.

I have been not-so-patiently waiting to get a copy of this book (thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor for the e-ARC!) both in excitement and trepidation. I know it was probably going to be awesome, but trying to follow up one hit and especially with a prequel is a bit of a toss-up. Needless to say though, Travis did a FANTASTIC job with this book.

Zooming in on my favorite part, Viv's characterization was so incredibly perfect. This is a prequel. This book follows the very start of her career and shows us the rough-around-the-edges, ambitious, tough-as-hell character she is. But this is also years before Legends & Lattes, so yeah it's still Viv, but the impressive thing is that she's all those things, but she also young. She makes mistakes, and her pride gets to her, and she's the perfect example of someone who wants so bad to prove herself, but doesn't have an innate sense of self and self-confidence that only comes with time and living your life.

We as the readers are standing at the end of the Legends & Lattes point in time and looking back at who Viv was when she was younger and it makes total sense with who we know Viv will become in the future. And I think there's something really special, and very hard to do in a way that's both believable and fond.

This book was less just a fun little addition to the series, and is instead firmly part of the story. And don't get me wrong! It is super fun! But sometimes prequels come off as something you could read if you really want, but this book feels vital to the story.

I adored this book and I highly recommend it to literally anyone who loved Legends & Lattes, or just anyone who loves a good fantasy book.