Title: Legends and Lattes
Author: Travis Baldree
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: 2022
Format: Audiobook
Length: 6 hours 21 minutes

Rating:

I’ve seen so much hype around Legends and Lattes since it was first released that even though it didn’t initially sound like a narrative I’d pick up on my own, I knew I had to see what it was all about.

Legends and Lattes was one of the most unique fantasy novels I’ve read in some time. There was, of course, a plot, but what pulls you into the story are the cozy café vibes and the relationship dynamics between the characters. There wasn’t a huge amount of movement or action, but it didn’t matter to me. The whole experience was like snuggling up on the couch with a warm blanket and a big cup of coffee while listening to someone tell a heartfelt story about love and loss and finding (or creating) a place where you can fit in.

I listened to the audiobook version of this novel and I can’t recommend that format enough. It was narrated by Baldree himself and it was just perfection in this format, he was able to paint the scene and draw out the characters perfectly.

As a whole, this was a super quick and very enjoyable read. If you’re looking for a feel-good, vibe-y, cozy light fantasy, this is a great book to dive into.

Fair warning: spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn’t read this book.

The Book: Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Legends and Lattes begins with Viv, an Orc mercenary-turned-retiree looking to settle down after a long history of being a warrior. She takes her winnings from her most recent battle, including a stone designed to bring good fortune and luck, to a bustling city called Thune where she intends to open the first-ever coffee shop in the region.

She finds a run-down building that used to be a tavern and purchases it outright. She then begins to assemble a crew of other seeming misfits to help her rebuild the tavern into the café of her dreams and run the place in her vision.

As the café opens, it’s initially slow as they begin to educate the city about what coffee is and why people should drink it, but before long, and with the help of her friends, Viv’s café becomes a bustling enterprise that pulls in people from all walks of life. As the café starts to see success, she begins to run into trouble, including new magistrates who want a cut of her new earnings, and old enemies that want to steal her stone for their benefit. Viv will have to face some of the criminal enterprises of the city and her demons if she wants her café to survive and thrive, all the while building relationships and rooting herself in her new home.

The Review

If the overview of the plot of this book seems brief, it’s because all in all, the plot was pretty straightforward. There wasn’t a huge amount of action or world-building because the focus of the novel was really on the setting, the vibes, and the characters themselves. It was a completely different feel to a lot of fantasy, which is heavy on the plot and the world-building, but still contained all those core aspects I look for in a fantasy like a unique type of magic, various types of magical creates, and a well-constructed world and society to hold all the magic in.

Given that the book was so focused on setting and vibes, it was no surprise that both were immaculate. Baldree did an impeccable job of evoking the exact feeling of a bustling, warm, friendly café. I often would forget that I was reading fantasy at all and instead would begin to romanticize in my head how wonderful it would be to open a café like Viv’s. Seeing the business transition from a literal heap of garbage into the bustling enterprise it became was so supremely satisfying.

The characters were also beautifully constructed and memorable. Viv herself is a society misfit, having spent most of her life as a mercenary, fulfilling people’s worst opinions of her race. It seems likely that this is the reason she tends to be drawn to other misfits, but as she begins to gather them to work with and for her, it’s clear that while everyone may bring their own baggage, they all have so much value. They each bring something unique and necessary to the café that Viv could not have brought on her own, and by the end of the story, the success of the café is a combination of all of their efforts and talents.

I totally get why so many people absolutely adored this book. It was lovely and unique and felt like a warm blanket and steaming cup of coffee in book form, particularly the audiobook, which I felt truly evoked the feeling of the scene that Baldree was depicting. I’m not sure I’ve ever described a book as “cozy fantasy” before, but it feels like the most appropriate term for this book. If you’re looking for a very vibe-y book that’ll make you want to open your own café in a mythical fantasy world, I’d recommend giving this book a go.