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Viv, a battle-weary orc, has had her fill of bloodshed. She’s decided to hang up her sword and open the first-ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. There’s just one problem … No one in Thune has any idea what coffee actually is.
If Viv wants to make her business plans a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone. As new friends are drawn together by ancient magic and the coffee shop actually starts to see some customers, Viv discovers something more important than a business opportunity. She finds family and a place to call home. But leaving her old life is harder than Viv thought, as old and new rivals stand in the way of her only chance at success.
Legends and Lattes was my first interaction with the subgenre of cozy fantasy, and I absolutely loved it! I can’t remember where, but I remember seeing it once described as Dungeons and Dragons meets Animal Crossing, and that’s actually pretty accurate.
Slice-of-life stories are not something I usually enjoy, and I don’t think this story would be the same if it didn’t have those fantasy elements. Travis Baldree introduces readers to a world that feels familiar yet full of fantasy wonder, and that’s what really carries the story and makes it special.
Don’t get me wrong; it’s not a complex plot, but it is a beautiful big-hearted story brimming with a lovely cast of characters. It’s the kind of story many readers may wish they could inhabit, if only for the chance to visit Viv’s cafe and taste any number of the shop’s mouthwateringly descriptive pastries.
Overall, if you can overlook the language, Legends and Lattes is a wholesome story that is surprisingly well done and completely endearing.
Rated: Moderate, for 5 uses of strong language, around 15 uses of moderate language, and around 20 uses of mild language. Violence includes a particularly gory intro scene. Sexual content references a mythical race (succubus) and their sexual inclinations. A witching wand is used to find magical ley lines.
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