Imagine, if you will, starting your weekend relaxing with the start of a long first book of an epic fantasy series. You get several chapters in, enjoying the story, but you are a responsible adult and have errands to get to, so you put down your book and grab the car keys. When you get in the car, you start an audiobook just to keep you company for an hour of errands, but you are enjoying the book so much that you extend your errands. The story grows on you and you are just having so much fun that you've even chosen to attend to things that you've been procrastinating for weeks just to hear more of this book. At one point, you encounter a curmudgeon who wants to know why you are laughing and you debate giving a snarky response, then decide to recommend the book instead. So for all of you curmudgeons and even the sugar-sweet rays of sunshine, you really should read, or better yet, listen to Brigands & Breadknives. (If you haven't read the first two books in the Legends & Lattes series, consider those first.) This book was fun and funny with just the right blend of snarky humor, and cozy fantasy adventure. I only intended to listen to a few chapters when I started but couldn't stop until I finished the whole book. For readers who enjoyed Fern from Bookshops & Bonedust, this is the book you've been waiting for because this is her story, her adventure.
As far as audiobooks go, this one was excellent, the author does an amazing job at narration, you'd think that he does it professionally (he does, not just his own books but other authors' too and video games, too)
I received the ALC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Macmillan Audio) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree

Release date November 11

Cozy fantasy
Audiobook read by the author

Fern the foul-mouthed rattkin bookseller from Bookshops & Bonedust decides to close up shop and move to Thune where she will open up a new bookshop next to Legends & Latte’s Viv’s coffee shop. Miserable and drunk Fern passes out in a cart and that is where our story really gets going.

There’s an elf warrior, a chaos goblin, a sentient sword, and a sentient breadknife as new companions for Fern.

This was so good the author did a phenomenal job reading his book. I loved that we got a glimpse of some fan favorite characters from the series as well as new characters that stole the show.

This book is fun, cozy, and hilarious.

If you’ve read the other 2 books in the series you must read this one.

Highly recommend

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan audio for my advanced listening copy of this perfect book.

In “Brigands and Breadknives,” Travis Baldree invites us back into the world of "Legends and Lattes." The story continues with Fern, a character from the original novel and its prequel.

While the first two books were cozy and comforting reads, this novel takes a more adventurous turn. Fern embarks on a road trip and a chaotic journey of self-discovery alongside some unlikely friends.

As both the author and narrator, Travis Baldree excels at bringing this tale to life. His latest novel incorporates themes of coziness, self-discovery, and chosen family.

I do think it is helpful if readers or listeners have read his first two books in the series before they read this one; however, Baldree provides context for those who didn’t or need a refresher. I highly recommend this novel and plan to purchase a copy when it becomes available.

I cannot wait to see what this author and narrator does next. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.25⭐️
I was thrilled for the audiobook ALC to come out so early as the book isn’t due until November 11, 2025. It’s a rare occurrence for this to occur but then I saw that the author was who narrated it so it made sense.

I’ll be fully forthright that I was a bit worried when I saw that author Travis Baldree narrated their own book as in general with the exception of memoirs it usually doesn’t work out so good. Thankfully, this was the exception as he did a fabulous job!

Travis obviously has a talent in voice acting and has such inside on what his characters are to sound like and it effortlessly comes across in his narration. What I was surprised about was how fast he spoke. Generally I have issues with some narrators speaking so painfully slow where it’s very unnatural but this was the exact opposite. The only problem was I wasn’t inclined to speed it up which meant I had to listen for the full 8.5 hours 😂

However, it was delightful to consume. It still has the same kitschy feel that Legends and Lattes has but without feeling repetitive. As a person who plays D&D, I love feeling like I am entrenched in a static and active campaign getting to meet all these fun characters.

There is also an awful lot of thinking to be had in the subtext. It’s a much slower story than the others in the series but it’s literally a journey that the reader gets to hitch a ride on. The low stakes fantasy environment allows the reader to more easily digest the FMCs inner journey. I mean who doesn’t love sentient cutlery?

While this is a series and reading the first two books will certainly give you a bunch of context, this book can easily be read as a standalone adventure.

It’s available for preorder and I am definitely looking forward to having this on my shelf. However, I highly recommend the audiobook as it creates such a better experience.

I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from MacMillan Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillian audio for an early audiobook copy of this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I absolutely love this series and it just keeps getting better. This is a Fern centric story but alot of previous favs make an appearance too.

If you didn’t love Legends and Lattes because it was perhaps a little too low stakes I recommend continuing with the series because the stories get much more intricate. Recommend reading in publication order.

I read all the book in audio and Travis does an incredible job making it an immersive experience. There’s unique, adorable voices for every single character. Definitely recommend the audio I had such a good time with this. If he keeps writing them, I’ll keep listening to them.

Travis Baldree is back as author and narrator in his next realease Brigands & Breadknives the second installment in the Legends & Lattes series. We have gotten Viv’s story and her prequel to it and now it is time for Fern to shine. You can expect more action, a sentent breadknive, laughter and just a good time. There is not a time.
In this we got to meet new characters on Fern’s journey, we got to see some old ones. I loved that we gotten taken on an adventure and their was more action. While not the coziness we really got from the beginning of the series with Legends & Lattes I feel that it still fit the series well and balanced it. I have been bing into critical roll type things as of late and I feel like the prequel and now this has more of that brought into this series with the bit more of the action we get.
Now I will admit I never listened to the other audio’s and now I am kicking myself for that. I didn’t realize that Travis had narrated those as well. He is such a fantastic narrator. The range in his voice and the variety of voices he can do makes me wonder if that is what he hears and sees when he is writing the books. It is so entertaining that I can see it brought out to life in my head. I highly recommend the audio as they really bring the exerience of the book to the very next level. It really was so much fun having the author bring the characters to life.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the completmentary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Brigands & Breadknives by @travis_baldree

Another hit from a favorite cozy fantasy author! I really enjoyed Fern’s journey to find herself and her happiness. It was also super fun catching up with some of my favorite characters from his precious books. Having Travis as the narrator was super cool because I feel like he’s doing the voices and inflections exactly as he wrote them out and imagined them and that’s so fun! There is lots of action, heart, and character growth that I enjoyed so much.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the audio arc!
Pub date: 11/11/25

3.5 stars

It’s always a good combination when Travis Baldree is both author and narrator! I enjoyed meeting new characters and being able to catch up with some of the gang from the previous books. It’s a cozy vibe from start to finish. I look forward to the next one!
*Thanks to MacMillan Audio & NetGalley for the advance audiobook

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the preview. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

Ok I think this one was my favorite yet! There’s more action, and I laughed so much! It might sound bizarre, but the sentient bread knife was possibly my favorite character.

As usual, there’s a ton of heart and character discovery and growth here. And of course found family! This might be the most eclectic collection yet with the bookseller ratkin, elf bounty hunter, the bounty goblin with a love of cutlery, and 2 sentient swords/knives. I loved the journey, the adventure, the camaraderie, the heart-to-hearts, and the laughs. And I still loved seeing our friends from previous books.

Highly recommend for a fun read and listen!