Book Review of Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (Cryptid Press, 2022)

D&D meets coffee shop in this cozy fantasy where life after adventuring takes center stage.

Viv is your typical adventurer-type character—except for the fact that she decides she’s done with that life and wants to open a coffee shop despite knowing little about going into business or coffee.

A delightful bunch of side characters—a rattkin who makes delicious cinnamon buns, a succubus love interest, a hob woodworker, and an eccentric old woman who lives across the street, as well as many more drawn in by the allure of the coffeeshop—join her on this journey in a found family kind of way as the business is established, a menu is created, and marketing gets underway. But the underground authority in town, the Madrigal, also seeks to profit off this venture, imposing a sort of tax that Viv refuses to pay.

Struggling with their threats and running the shop, all while navigating a potential relationship and trying to keep her past life from ruining her future, Viv also has to successfully hide a magical luck stone from those who would try to steal it.

The vibe was the best part about this book. Word of warning: You may have a strong urge to visit a coffee shop during or after reading. It’s intensely cozy in all the right ways, and the characters will start to feel like your friends.

Despite being set in a fantasy world, there is a realism about the circumstances of opening and running a coffee shop that really grounds it—for example, Viv failing to market before opening so that no one knew about it. 

The characters really bring it to life, though. We’re shown all different walks of life—a whole town of characters that are transformed through this coffee shop. The fade-to-black sapphic romance provides just the right amount of warmth and drama. And Viv herself is a kind, driven, sometimes awkward, lovable character who finds her way after deciding to make an entirely new life for herself.

The angle of showcasing the less exciting side of an adventurer-filled fantasy world will appeal to any fantasy lover who also enjoys slice-of-life kind of stories. Legends & Lattes provides an escape from the anxieties of life, as the stakes are low and it’s apparent that it will all work out in the end.

This isn’t to say the story isn’t gripping by any means, but it is meant to be enjoyed by the world-weary fantasy reader looking for a cozy sort of adventure rather than an epic quest filled with battles and thrills. Lovers of fast-paced, gripping fantasy tales should look elsewhere for their reading pleasure.

In sum, Legends & Lattes is a warm hug of a magical story that pairs well with a cup of coffee and any sort of baked good and will delight cozy fantasy readers.