A warm, whimsical hug of a fantasy novel. A disgraced knight and her mage girlfriend trade danger for their dream—a bookshop and tea room in a sleepy village. Cozy world-building, found family, and just enough mystery make this feel like curling up with a blanket and your favorite brew. Perfect for fans of Legends & Lattes who want a sapphic twist with a dash of intrigue.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

I’m loving cozy fantasy. This is the start of a cozy fantasy series, who I will be continuing. You get the POV of both ladies in the relationship. It does start slow but is well written.

Rating: 4/5

I think this book was such a fun time and i think it was a good mix of cozy fantsay and also cozy romance. I think that it ded had low stakes but enough stuff to keep me reading so i am really excited to keep reading this series!!! i think this verison had a few pacing oissues but i overall enjoyed it!!

Unfortunately I DNFed this one. I love cozy fantasies so I had high hopes, but for some reason this one just didn't grab me. I didn't feel as connected to the characters as I would have liked, and the writing style felt a bit too info-dumpy for me. My opinion is in the minority though, so I am sure a lot of cozy fantasy readers would love this book.

When thinking about Can’t Spell Treason with Tea, the first word that comes to mind is charming and the second word that comes to mind is cozy. This book follows Reyna, a former guard to a tyrannical queen and Kianthe, the mage of ages as they attempt to make a life for themselves building a bookstore together in the small town of Tawney. This book follows them in their life as they try to do so while also dealing with dragons and a queen seeking revenge for Reyna leaving her post. One thing I really liked about this book was that Kianthe and Reyna are already in a long term relationship at the beginning of the story so there’s no will they won’t they, only how will they make this new life work. This book is an excellent read when you just want to escape into a fantasy world and spend time in a small fantasy town. Overall, I would recommend this read and look forward to reading further books in the series. Thank you Tor and Netgalley for the digital review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A bit more interesting to me than other cozy fantasy entries but I still wish it had more depth and nuance in its characterization.

loooooooooved this!!! I dont know why this took me so long to read, but i absolutely adored this. Their relationship was adorable, and getting to know and grow with the two of them as they live together for the first time and learn how to communicate was incredible. I loved seeing their own thought processes and just how much they love each other. The side characters are adorable, and the story is super interesting too! Cannot wait to read the next book!

DNF at 48%. I really wanted to like this one but it just wouldn't grab me.  After putting it down and picking it up just to put it down again for months I'm going to call it: it is not for me.

I'0m not a big cozy or mystery reader but wanted to try something new and I'm so glad I did! This was so fun and I had a great time with it, I'm sure many readers will love it and I'm glad to have a new recommendation for such a popular genre.

I’ve read this book twice now, but it’s the first time I’m reviewing it…because I just kept procrastinating on writing up the review after reading the indie version of this book last year. But I can say that I was approved for the second (and even the third) book in the series via NetGalley, so it’s about time to get the reviews rolling out. I’ll try and have the review for book two, A Pirate’s Life for Tea soon because I read that last month…and if I can really get on top of things, I’ll read and review Tea You at the Altar before its release date in Spring 2025.

I can fully say now, after having read a number of stories pitched as being cozy reads, that I am very much a fan of cozy fantasy books. And yes, some of them are full slice-of-life low-stakes comfort, while others have a bit of action and tension to them while overall retaining the heart of coziness and comfort. If it has cozy vibes, then I am totally here for it.

Reyna and Kianthe definitely have a little more action in their story than some other cozies I’ve read, but at its heart, in spite of the political maneuvering and the danger of dragon attacks, this is about two women who mostly want a simpler life. They do mostly run away from the dangers of their lives to settle in a small town and open up a little shop with books and tea.

Oh, and there are so many puns. Kianthe is a big fan of puns, and honestly it’s fun and cute. I loved getting to know both of these women, and get to reminisce about how they met and fell in love. And it was equally nice to see them decide to run off towards a new life and new adventure together, and find this small community that starts to feel like a found family and a nice home.

Both times I read this book, I just really enjoyed the experience, and I am happy to have this book in my collection. It definitely made me want to read more Rebecca Thorne, so hopefully I’ll be able to catch up on her backlist soon enough.

This is such a cozy and heartwarming book I couldn't put down. I love the overall concept and know that my library patrons will appreciate this book as well.

Rebecca Thorne’s Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea is unashamedly inspired by Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes, tapping into the same “stone-cold badass decides to settle down and serve hot drinks” vein. Reyna is one of the queen’s elite bodyguards, but after a serious incident in which she nearly gets killed in the process of protecting her queen — a queen who is clearly psychopathic — she decides to listen to her girlfriend’s suggestions and run off to run a bookshop/teashop somewhere the queen won’t find them for a while.

This is all somewhat stymied by her girlfriend Kianthe being the most important mage in her country, if not the world, and also as a result effectively a foreign diplomat. Needless to say, they can’t settle into total obscurity: Reyna’s battle prowess is quickly obvious, as is Kianthe’s ability as a mage.

Because of the psychopathic queen and the action scenes, this doesn’t quite fit into the same niche as Legends & Lattes, to my mind. Reyna hasn’t really put down her sword so much as decided to stop serving that queen, which is really not the same. It also feels a lot “younger”, perhaps because things are very black-and-white: the queen is obviously a monster, from a line of monsters; Reyna’s old partner in the guard is a bit slimy and definitely after her body; Kianthe is at times a bit of a sullen teenager about her power and how it marks her out without making people care for her as a person (and even obscuring who she is as a person). It doesn’t reckon very well with Reyna’s probable trauma or even with Kianthe’s anxiety (though we see her having panic attacks, it doesn’t feel like they get addressed very seriously).

It also focuses a bit more on the romance aspect, and a lot less on the practicalities of putting together a shop and drawing in customers, compared to Legends & Lattes. All in all, it feels like some of the themes and framings of YA, and it left things feeling less complex. That’s not a bad thing if that’s what you’re interested in reading, to be clear — but it could be disappointing for those who really just want another Legends & Lattes, and I found it a mite unsatisfying.

There is an ongoing plot as well which will clearly continue through at least another book, so there’s that as well. That’s an opportunity for some of the things I’ve mentioned to change/develop, and I’m curious enough about the characters and world to read it.

Overall, I had a fun time, without falling in love with it.

Rebecca Thorne has created a really fun world and such cute and cozy characters in the vein of Legends & Lattes. I love that this series is continuing and I hope the genre gets bigger and bigger because these types of stories are so charming and quirky.

This is just as sweet and cozy as I thought it would be. I am officially a fan of this adorable series. I'm very much looking forward to continuing this adventure in the future books. The characters were easy to love and root for, and they truly have the sweetest romance!

I'm glad Rebecca Thorne referred to Travis Baldree directly influencing this book because it is absolutely the fraternal twin sister to Legends and Lattes--which I loved, so I'm not complaining! It has the same sense of found family, coziness, and solid romantic relationships of that book and The House in the Cerulean Sea. So, if you're looking for a D&D-esque fantasy to curl up with during this cold season, I highly recommend this one.

I had a lot of fun with this one, considering I didnt really understand what one of the characters even was. I would love there to be a second book. This was cozy but dark and still sexy which is a balance that is hard to achieve. Well done!

It saddens me to write a low-rating review for this, but here I am. As someone who loved Legends & Lattes, and thought cozy fantasies were my thing, this one just felt short. My expectations definitely ruined my reading experience with this one. Reading through it, I was already forgetting things that had just happened, well on its way to become an unforgettable read, unfortunately.

Reyna works for a self-centered queen who wouldn’t care if her personal guards can’t serve anymore. Kianthe is the most powerful mage in the world. Together, they abandon their responsibilities and accomplish every booklover’s dream - opening a tea/bookstore!

If you’re a fan of Legends and Lattes, pick this up immediately. It has all the charm, humor, and adorableness with the addition of dragons. Cause everything’s better with dragons. Kianthe is aggressively protective of Reyna, and Reyna will end anyone who stands between her and Kianthe. These two make some odd friendships in their icy tundra home, but they also learn to redefine what home means for both of them. All the stars. All the love. Ready for the sequel: A Pirate’s Life for Tea.

With the weather getting colder and the… general state of the world, I’ve been gravitating towards cozy fantasy lately, which is why I finally picked up a book that’s been on my TBR for far too long: Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne. This is the first in the Tomes & Tea series, and it’s one I knew I would like, but I’ve been squirreling it away for a rainy day. And let’s be honest, it’s been a rainy month.

Like many other readers, I fell in love with cozy fantasy by reading Legends and Lattes (and before that, the Tea Dragon Society series). Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea has some things in common with it—Legends and Lattes, its prequel, and this one all center on renovating a building for a small business, for instance. Which seems very specific, but I’m here for it. There are also some big differences, though, which show that there are many ways to approach the cozy fantasy genre.

Before starting the Tomes & Tea series, I heard some debate about whether this is a cozy read: can a plot that includes fighting dragons while riding a griffon be called a cozy fantasy? To me, though, it fit the bill. It essentially takes the usual ratio of calm/comforting scenes and action scenes in an epic fantasy novel and reverses it. I loved the premise of these two characters who seem fated to be in an action-packed narrative—Kianthe is the most powerful mage in the world and Reyna is a guard for a queen who rules with an iron fist—and who turn their backs on it to start a tea and bookshop. Any action is handled reluctantly by the main characters, who want to return to their gentle life together as soon as possible.

Reyna and Kiantha shine as characters, and that’s the biggest strength of this story. The writing seemed a bit clunky in places, but the characters feel so real. They have an interesting dynamic at the beginning, because this is an established relationship. At the same time, their relationship up until this point has been made up only of stolen moments; it’s very different to be living together and working together all the time, and they’re still a bit shy with each other and unsure about whether this will work.

They’re both also stubborn, flawed people. Reyna’s entire life has been about being a guard, and she has internalized that sense of being disposable. She pushes through pain and injury regardless of its impact on her. She’s also insecure about dating one of the most powerful, famous, and influential people in the world. Kianthe is frustrated that Reyna doesn’t value herself enough. She also struggles with anxiety, and strong emotions combine with her magic, which can cause her to spiral dangerously. Only Reyna can pull her back.

Over the course of the novel, we get that cozy feeling of the tea shop/bookstore getting put together and the community that forms around them. There are plenty of fun side characters that the two of them get to know, and they start to really make a home for themselves. They also settle into their relationship, realizing that they’re both committed to making it work. Along the way, there are obstacles to overcome—including, yes, a death-defying fight with dragons—but the heart of the story is a quiet one between two vibrant characters.

I’m really looking forward to reading book two, A Pirate’s Life for Tea. Book three, Tea You at the Altar, is out in March! If you’re looking for a gentle, comforting read to soothe your sapphic soul, I definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne!