Skip to main content

Legends & Lattes is a Critical Hit

For reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, I dislike Guy Fawkes Night, the UK's answer to the 4th of July. We celebrate our opression with bonfires, fireworks and funfairs. I personally sit indoors crying and working through my own opressive grief. 

So what I'm trying to say is that I REALLY needed cheering up.

Legends & Lattes (Travis Baldree) is one of those books that sounds too good to be true. 'Low-stakes' is often code for 'lack of plot' and 'queer romance'... well... we've been hurt before. To my great surprise, all the other excited reviewers were right. Legends & Lattes is fantastic. 

We follow Viv, an Orc with a dream. A dream of putting down the sword and putting on a barista apron. She wants to open a coffee shop in a city that hasn't heard of coffee. Of course, she can't do it alone, and so she gathers a ragtag group of misfits along the way.

They progress from coffee to lattes, from lattes to pastries, and even (gasp!) introduce iced drinks. Every menu update is as thrilling as levelling up in a game, and the threats they face are solved with the power of friendship. The romance is subtle at first but sweetens up right along with Mr. Thimble's cooked delicacies. 

In my opinion, this is a book that you should keep behind glass, with a 'break in case of emergencies' sign. Break it open whenever your own personal Guy-Fawkes-Night-of-the-Soul rolls around.  

Where did I hear about this book? Cosy Fantasy Reddit

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3 Books to Trigger Some SERIOUS 90s Nostalgia

Being a 90s kid was great. As those Facebook nostalgia posts regularly remind us, we were the last generation to play outside and we were free from the pollution of texting and the internet. We had mysterious Pogs, troublesome Tamagotchis, decent mid-budget movies, and only mildly-embarassing fashion. We also had our future stolen from us, but hey, we didn't know that yet! Our parents were still telling us we could have a comfortable 2.4 kids life and any career we wanted.  Suffice to say, when times are tough, nostalgia is a comforting tonic. There's been a trend for books that trigger our nostalgia recently - so I've rounded up three that should send you back to the 90s so hard your hair will re-perm itself.  Practical Magic The Practical Magic trailer was at the beginning of a VHS video I loved, so I saw it a LOT. Inevitably, I was rather underwhelmed when I eventually rented the movie from LoveFilm (I am not nostalgic for LoveFilm, by the way).  It was fine . Sandra ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Carrie Soto is Back

Here I am reviewing a sports novel... who'd have thought it?  I have a soft spot for the extremely-hyped Taylor Jenkins Reid. I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo because a colleague (clearly tuned in to my queerness) gave me the copy they'd just finished with a knowing ' this seems up your street '. And whilst I was dubious (novels about celebrity are not my thing) they were proven correct. I loved it.  Likewise I enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six which, though not as good, was a fun evening's audiobook listen. I decided to put Taylor Jenkins Reid in the category of an author I wouldn't go out of my way for, but would probably read if a book came my way via the library, or a sale.  Which is how Carrie Soto is Back arrived in my lap. I snagged it for 99p and then ignored it for over a year, because... a tennis novel? Really?!  Believe it or not, I have form with tennis romances, with a friend of mine having written a particularly popular one. This was my j...
Post a Comment
Read more

Redshirts: When Star Trek Lower Decks Meets Kevin Can F*** Himself

Last year Amazon released the criminally underrated Kevin Can F*** Himself . It's the story of a perfect sitcom housewife. In one moment she is standing in the brightly-lit living-room, performing to the fourth wall and setting up her manchild husband's punchlines, the next she is in her dingy, cockroach infested kitchen, shaking with anger while she fetches him a sandwich. The show moves between the two worlds, as Alison realises how trapped she is and fights to escape her husband's control. It's a beautiful metaphor for an abusive marriage, with a fantastic queer love story and it deserves more attention, but I digress.  Redshirts by John Scalzi is Kevin Can F*** Himself meets Star Trek: Lower Decks . Five new Ensigns arrive on a suspiciously Starship Enterprise-y ship. They all have interesting and trope-filled backgrounds - a former monk, a sexy but tough medic, a billionaire's son trying to make it alone, and a rogueish minor drug dealer. They are ready to lea...
Post a Comment
Read more