Bookshops & Bonedust
Ratings296
Average rating4.3
Vous aimerez ce livre pour les mêmes raisons que vous avez aimé L&L tout comme vous le détesterez pour les mêmes raisons que vous avez détesté L&L. Et pour cause, la recette est très similaire et on échange le café pour une librairie.
Pour ma part, j'ai aimé mon temps passé avec Viv et ses nouveaux (anciens) amis et j'en reprendrai un troisième si Travis Baldree décide d'écrire à nouveau dans cet univers.
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You will love this book for the same reasons you loved L&L just as you will hate it for the same reasons you hated L&L. And for good reason, the recipe is very similar and we swap the coffee for a bookstore.
For my part, I enjoyed my time spent with Viv and her new (old) friends and I will have a third time if Travis Baldree decides to write in this universe again.
this was such a nice cozy read! At first I was a lil disappointed that it wasn't a sequel but I ended up really enjoying Viv's backstory.
In short: I loved this book. Baldree continues to impress with his inspired characters and slice of life storytelling. Bookshops & Bonedust has a sprinkle more physical conflict than Legends & Lattes, but don't let that fool you into thinking that it doesn't provide you with the same warm and cosy embrace of L&L. I really enjoyed learning more about Viv's past and watching new friendships bloom - not to mention the coastal setting adding a new depth to the world. Despite this being a prequel, I would still recommend reading L&L first, as I think that really helps set the tone. The books complement each other wonderfully. And for those who have already read B&B but not L&L: you are going to love the story after the story.
There's always a fear that the second book won't live up to the first but this one more than does. Baldree combines carnage and cosiness to create another perfect piece of work.
Characters are completely believable: flawed, funny and (in one particular case) foul-mouthed.
As with the previous one I just didn't want to put it down and could have happily read many more pages. I hope that there are more stories to come.
My second book for 2024! This book is a prequel to Legends and Lattes, which I'm sure all of you will remember was one of my top three for 2023.
This series checks a lot of boxes for me. Lesbian relationship: check. Strong female lead: check. Fantasy setting: check. Reads like a cozy YA fantasy. I'd recommend people to read this book first (before Legends and Lattes), except for the Epilogue. Then, read Legends and Lattes, and come back to read the Epilogue from this book. I feel like this book strengthens the character development for Viv, and gives us a much better picture of her origin story. I'm kind of hoping he'll write more intermediate novels to give us Viv's full backstory!
Finding ourselves in Murk where Viv finds time to grow as a character while surrounded by the most delectable baked goods and dusty books. This prequel is such an awesome story of coming of age, the process of developing temporary yet strong friends and connections, and making the reader jealous of all the food being eaten ;w;
A prequel to the absolutely winning Legends and Lattes which first introduced me to cozy fantasy. Here we find Viv, the battle hardened orc, early in her marauding career. Headstrong and impulsive, she surges ahead of her crew in battle and sustains a serious leg wound for her troubles. She's left behind in the sleepy town of Murk as the rest of Rackham's Ravens set off in pursuit of the necromancer Varine the Pale.
From that breathless beginning we settle into the slower pace of the town where Viv finds a struggling bookshop and a sapphic love interest in the form of the town baker. (Baldree once again shows that's he's an unabashed fan of baked goods, treating us to more mouthwatering reactions to some heavenly pastries)
We're introduced to the rattkin bookseller who proves to be one hell of a bookish hand seller, slowly easing Viv from swashbuckling thrillers into steamy romance novels. We also get some wonderful creatures, from Potroast the pet gryphet that is part owl part begging dog, to the most adorable skeleton I've encountered in fiction yet (I'm already fan-casting Alan Tudyk as the voice) Top it off with Gallina, the overeager chickenhawk to Viv's Foghorn Leghorn and you've got another fun fantasy tale that was a breeze to read.
While [b:Legends & Lattes 61242426 Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1) Travis Baldree https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654581271l/61242426.SY75.jpg 94968745] was a fun, cozy low-stakes adventure that had missed its potential by an inch, Bookshops & Bonedust missed it by good ten feet.Prequels are boring when they were not planned. Viv, in Legends & Lattes, admits to being quite the bookworm but that's all this book has going for it. The characters, the adventures, antagonists, nothing from this book is mentioned in the first one. It makes for a very boring read because I know that these characters will disappear from the face of the Earth. What's worse is that many of the people Viv meets here could have been a help in establishing her coffee shop, or at the very least she should have stopped by after retiring.Again, we are with Viv who is a bloodthirsty orc yearning for a fight. She gets injured and has to stay in an ugly little coastal town. Inexplicably this town with seemingly few dozen citizens has a bookshop run by a ‘ratkin' who occasionally drops a vulgar term. While the previous book focused on the cozy, low-stakes theme of it all, for some reason Bookshops & Bonedust chooses to have stakes higher than Legends & Lattes. I cannot understand why. It's such a strange switch from an angry elf who wants an allegedly magical rock to a necromancer.There is a romance which I've forgotten about almost entirely. This should have been the focus! A cute cozy romance in a bookstore. I loved the owner of the titular bookshop Fern but I'd much prefer if the romance was between Viv and her while they rummage around in books and discover fun secrets.A step down from the first book. The Epilogue is nice but only if there is a sequel coming.
Admittedly I was looking forward to a sequel more so then a prequel, but with that being said if you can get over that and enjoyed Legends & Latte's you'll probably enjoy this one as well. It's the same formula with the same strengths and weaknesses.
Not the type of book I could read on a regular basis, but a nice treat here and there.
I began my year with Legends and Lattes so it seems only fitting that I end it with Bookshops and Bonedust. These novels are truly like sipping hot cocoa from my favorite mug whilst curled on my favorite seat on the couch under the softest blanket in the house. The vibes are impeccable
It's a little less cozy than Legends & Lattes, but still has themes of found family, construction/renovation, and baking. And books, lots and lots of books.
The “romance” felt a little lackluster, but I think that's kinda the point, since Viv is only in Murk for a short period of time. That being said, there was much more chemistry between Viv and Fern (or even Viv and Pitts) than with Maylee. Don't get me wrong, I liked Maylee a lot, but I kept getting secondhand embarrassment reading some of their interactions.
But I really liked her interactions with the variety of characters (Fern is an absolute delight and Satchel is a fascinating dude).
I officially fancast Gatewarden Iridia as Captain Amelia from Treasure Planet.
I want a real-life Potroast (or at least a small plush)!
I loved seeing Viv again and the way she collected people around her in her stop over in Murk. The bad guy she had to battle was compelling. Her help with the bookstore and bakery was the perfect amount of cozy. The Epilogue was so good! I can totally see why we needed book 1 and then this book in that order. The audiobook was really entertaining and helped immerse me in the story.
I am really hoping for at least one more in this series!
Bookshops and Bonedust is a such a delightful prequel that takes us on an adventure of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books.
The book starts with Viv, a battle-hungry orc, finding herself recuperating in the sleepy beach town of Murk after being wounded during a hunt for a powerful necromancer. Easily bored with no battles to wage, she spends her time at an old bookshop, forging an unlikely friendship with its foul-mouthed proprietor, a ratkin named Fern. The story then unfolds with eager gnomes, delicious baked goods, suspicious travelers and another unexpected friendship.
Baldree continues to build a cozy fantasy world as was done with the predecessor book, Legends and Lattes. The story told and the character building continues to be heartwarming and oh so satisfying.
As good as the first! Again, it's more a dialogues driven story, with not much action (except at the end). I understand it's not for everyone, but for me, it's perfect!
It was fun to see this young Viv, so eager. I love all the characters, especially Fern. The ending was bittersweet, made me teared up a bit. And I love the epilogue, which wraps up everything to bring us back to the present.
Love this serie, I hope more will come!