Viv's dreams are finally coming true. She might be a young and inexperienced mercenary, but what she lacks in knowledge she makes up for in enthusiasm. But she is green, in more ways than one, and after spending the best two months of her life with Rackham's Ravens on the trail of the necromancer Varine the Pale and her army, the worst thing happens. She's injured. Sidelined in the seaside town of Murk. Room and board. And boy is she quickly bored. She has to be in fighting fit when Rackham comes back through town in a few months. Whatever it takes she will be ready. To that end she starts roaming the streets to build her strength up. Though it's not so much her strength as shoddy workmanship that results in her crutch going straight through the boardwalk in front of a bookstore. And Viv is an orc of honor. She goes inside to confess her crime and hopes to offset the damage by buying a book. Something she's never done. The store's own, a rattkin named Fern, is intrigued by Viv and gives her a book with the caveat that when she finishes it she comes back and tells her what she thought. She's not to worry about payment, she can pay if she decides to keep it. Viv decides to keep it. She never knew that books could be exciting and sexy and a whole new type of adventure. In fact she not only pays for the book but she fixes the boardwalk outside Fern's store. In fact soon Viv is a regular at the store with her new friend Gallina, a gnome who wants to be a mercenary just like Viv. They start to fix up Fern's shop, hoping to bring in new customers. Well, actually, any customers. Fern's at her wit's end. This shop was the dream of her father and she doesn't want to lose the last thing of his she has left. Well, if Viv has her way, Fern won't. They source new furniture and make reading nooks and book displays and have baked goods from the sexy dwarven baker down the street, Maylee. It might not be the recuperation that Viv expected, but it's turning out to be the one she needed. Until a man in gray appears. He sends a shiver down Viv's spine. The next day he leaves behind a satchel in the bookstore and nearly kills Viv in a fight but Gallina comes to her rescue. All three brawlers end up under the gimlet glare of Iridia, the head Gatewarden. They cool their heels overnight, but when dawn comes the mysterious stranger is gone but in his place is the certainty that he worked for Varine. The fight Viv was sidelined from might be coming to Murk. And now she has something more to lose than her life.

My book club read Legends and Lattes. And if there's one thing about my book club it's that we have such radically different tastes when it comes to books that we will never agree on anything. So for those of you thinking that Legends and Lattes is a fairly innocuous book you'd be wrong. Because one member had "issues." Of course this is the member whose tastes I am the least compatible with. They actually tried to defend Scattered All Over the Earth by Yōko Tawada, otherwise known as the book that almost did me in, as perhaps being written ironically. With that much hate and racism even if it was ironic the toxicity oozing out of the pages made me physically ill and put me in a reading slump for a long time. So their issues with Legends and Lattes? They felt that Viv didn't struggle enough in her decision to give up her mercenary lifestyle and that it was too much a fait accompli. They wanted turmoil and second-guessing. I personally didn't feel this because the journey of Viv wasn't her journey to realizing she wanted to change her life but to making her coffeeshop a success. So what they wanted was another book. What they wanted, ironically, was this book. When Legends and Lattes was chosen for book club I had just finished reading it the month prior and instead of rereading it I thought to myself, how about reading the prequel/sequel instead? Which meant that I could say, hey, you know all that lack of struggle you were complaining about? Read this instead. Because here we don't have a settled Viv, we have a young and hungry Viv who is in forced convalescence. She was trying to prove herself and waylaid by an injury she's a ball of pent-up frustration with no outlet. But I love that Viv. And I love that this is the proto Legends and Lattes Viv. You can feel her youth and her thirst for adventure, but you can also see how because of this injury and the friendships she's made in Murk this time was formative. This is where her love of reading started. As well as her love of baked goods... But what touched me most is Fern. Fern sees this injured orc shamble into her bookshop and sees someone who has never picked up a book. Someone who doesn't understand that adventure can be found on the page as much as on the trail of a necromancer. And she asks Viv to give her a chance to turn her into a reader. Because hasn't every one of us had a Fern in our life? Someone who hands us the right book at the right time and that's it. We're booklovers for life. Oh, and ironically, the fact that this book has a necromancer would have alienated a different member of my book club. We all might be booklovers, we just really love different things.

This book is a captivating and immersive read that hooks you from the first page. The writing is beautifully crafted, with vivid descriptions and strong character development that makes the story come alive. The plot is well-paced, balancing moments of tension with quieter, reflective scenes that allow the characters to grow. The themes explored are deep and thought-provoking, resonating long after the final page. Whether it's the emotional depth, the twists and turns of the plot, or the unforgettable characters, this book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys rich, engaging stories. Highly recommended

I didn't realize I hadn't reviewed this one! Had a hard time deciding if I liked this one more or the same as the first. But this prequel is fun and beautiful and cozy. Everything you'd want from a follow-up.

I can't say I "dove" into this one as much as I did his previous novel, Legends & Lattes. It's the same world, and is there anything better than a bookshop? I think the fact that this is a prequel threw me off. I think if this were any other main character I would have absolutely devoured this book.

We read the first book in this series for my D&D bookclub, and this one would be another great fit!

This series is great cozy, fantasy with a LitRPG/D&D bend addition for any collection.

An excellent prequel to Legends & Lattes. I cared about every character, even knowing Viv was going to leave them. It was a perfect balance of cozy and danger.

Legends & Lattes was my favorite book of 2022, by a WIDE margin, and I've spent the last two years enthusiastically screaming its praises to everyone I cross paths with, to the point of obnoxiousness. And with this prequel, Baldree proved he wasn't a one-hit wonder -- in these rough times, the world desperately needs more low-stakes high-fantasy of this caliber. Loved seeing barbarian Viv's earlier days, when she was a bit more brawns than brains, and the beginning of her blossoming into a reader/connoisseur of the finer things in life. (It's always so heart-warming/soul-nourishing, to see a person discover their passions and purpose in life -- especially when that person is queer/may have the deck stacked against them in some ways, as Viv does in a world that pre-judges orcs/barbarians.) A delightful read from start to finish, and I can't wait for the next gem from Baldree!

Cozy, fun, and so sweet. An excellent mini adventure that makes you fall in love with reading again. This book slows down both the characters and the reader - making both take a breath, have a snack, and devour a good book. Viv is a delight as usual, and the new characters are so charming and lovely.

This was an excellent prequel to Legends and Lattes. I love the atmosphere Baldree creates; it's both action-packed and cozy.

Such a cute and cozy read. I loved all the parts with Viv making friends, discovering her love of reading and spending time in a little bookshop in need of some tlc. The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was all the stuff with the necromancer, I just didn’t care about any of it and would have preferred more bookshop shenanigans.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for the e-arc, it was great getting to spend some time with Viv again

Travis Baldree does an amazing job at writing fun and engaging cozy fantasy stories. There's a reason that he is so popular right now. Set up as kind of a prequel to Legends & Lattes, Bookshops & Bonedust gives us a new perspective on Viv and her life at the bookshop.

It was fun and lighthearted and I liked the fact that I didn't have to read Legends & Lattes first to understand what was going on with the story or to connect with the characters.

Sweet cozy fantasy is the new thing, and we are here for it. Back in the world that gave us orcs making coffee to remind us that bookshops are the staple cozy setting for a reason.

Travis Baldree, you are now one of my auto-reads! Congrats!

Bookshops & Bonedust was a wonderful revisit into the world we all fell in love within Legends & Lattes. In this installment we met a young Viv who is seriously injured during a battle while chasing a necromancer and is left behind by the mercenary company Rackam's Ravens. During her recovery she explores the city of Murk. Her life tangents off in a new direction through her interactions with the proprietor of a suffering bookshop. Fern opens Viv's eyes with her perfect book suggestions. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, as this cozy fantasy has a touch of mystery but it was a joy to witness Viv emersed herself in the possibilities of a life that has nothing to do with battles.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I recommend!

Bookshops & Bonedust is the prequel to Legends & Lattes. This fantasy combines first love and secondhand books. I enjoyed the setting of the bookshop and the friendships that were made.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC! While not as successful debut, it was still lovely to be in this universe and with these characters. Out now!

We meet Viv as a young brash mercenary. Her impetuousness lands her in a small beach town recovering from a injury while the rest of her company moves on to deal with the necromancer who is their target.

The author gets the rainy-day-grey-sad-beach vibes right, and also the sunny-day-grassy-sandy-dunes-boardwalk atmosphere right too. I'm American but this felt sort of like a British seaside town vibe to me. Another thing that the author gets right is how difficult it can be to run an independent bookstore. Bookstores have a way of hooking into you and investing you in their success if you work in them at all and Viv finds herself spending time beating dusty rugs, giving the walls a new coat of paint, and finding thrift store furniture to make the place cosier.

Yet a third thing that the author gets right is the difficulty of recovering from an injury. Viv's hurt leg takes time to mend, she overdoes it and gives herself a setback, she has to slowly work her way into gradually getting better. It feels like a real presence instead of the way so many novels give lip service to the idea of injury but then go on to ignore it because it's inconvenient.

Viv doesn't think she's a reader but is convinced otherwise. I liked how what she's reading ends up coming up in her own life. She reads an adventure story and finds more adventure, reads a steamy romance and romance comes into her life, starts a mystery book and finds a murder to solve, reads a gothic novel and here comes the spooky stuff.

This was a great way to escape for a while into a world with some time on your hands and books to read, succulent baked goods and an adventure that wasn't too stressful.

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree is a charming and enjoyable read, though it didn’t quite reach the same heights as his debut, Legends & Lattes.

One of the highlights of this book is getting to explore the "origins" of the characters from Baldree’s first novel. It’s a delightful treat for fans who are eager to delve deeper into the backstories of these beloved figures. The cozy fantasy world that Baldree continues to build is as enchanting as ever, offering a comforting escape from more complex high-fantasy narratives.

The novel is a fun, light-hearted adventure that fits perfectly into the niche of accessible fantasy. For readers who appreciate a more relaxed pace and aren’t interested in getting bogged down by the lengthy tomes of high-fantasy literature, Bookshops & Bonedust is a perfect choice. It delivers the right amount of whimsy and warmth without overwhelming the reader.

Overall, while it may not surpass Legends & Lattes in terms of impact, Bookshops & Bonedust is a delightful addition to Baldree’s oeuvre. It’s a feel-good fantasy that continues to showcase his talent for creating immersive and cozy worlds.

An absolutely perfect prequel to Legends and Lattes. Endearing and action packed. Loved it and I can't wait to see what else Baldree does in the future!

Let’s start by saying this epilogue is 5 star worthy alone! This one is a sweet cozy prequel to Legends & Lattes. If you loved book one you’ll love this one as well. A sweet cozy fantasy in a bookshop, say less! I was totally here for it!

Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review! All opinions are my own. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series and quite literally anything Travis Baldree puts out next! Such a magical fun time.

When I first came across the blurb for Legends and Lattes, I told another bookseller that it was either going to make it big and be fantastic, or it would be a cult classic. I think that he managed to achieve both, already! The second book in his set only builds on his excellent writing and a fun advancement for the series. I'm hoping to see a third come out!