Recent Read: Bookshops & Bondust by Travis Baldree

Bookshops & Bondust by Travis Baldree

Series: Legends & Lattes #0
Publisher: Trade
Publication Date:  November 7, 2023

 

Format: Paperback
Source: Bought/Own

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek.

In Bookshops & Bonedust, a prequel to Legends & Lattes, author Travis Baldree takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books.

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.

What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.

Review: 

This is book 2 from Travis and I really enjoyed his first, Legends and Lattes. This book is actually a prequel to the other. Viv is a young mercentary but has gotten herself severly injured and she is stuck in a small town recooping while her group is off on a hunt for a necromancer. It was her own stubbornness and hubris that got her into this mess. Now in the small town she is settling in for her healing process and developing friendships with the townies. She meets the owner of a bookstore, the guard captain, a stab-happy mercernary that wants to join her crew, and a bakery owner that all lend to her story. 

This is when Viv finder her love for books and reading and I LOVE that. She makes friends and helps around the town as well. I appreciate that this sets the tone for Legends & Lattes, her passion here shows into that book. I love Viv, she is so stubborn and I appreciate that for her. 

The book overall gives off this warm and cozy vibe that just warms my soul. The town and the eating and the fires of the setting really lend well to that feeling and I think that these fantasy/cozy/ mysteries encompass such a nice feeling when you read them. 

If you enjoyed L&L, I think you will enjoy Viv before she gets there - it was a fun read.