Bookshops & Bonedust

by Travis Baldree

Hardcover, 356 pages

English language

Published Nov. 5, 2023 by Pan Macmillan.

ISBN:: 978-1-0350-0735-6

(4 reviews)

Viv’s career with the renowned 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 struggling bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted. Even though it may be exactly what she needs. Still, adventure isn’t far away. A suspicious traveller in grey, 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.

Sometimes, right things happen at the wrong time. Sometimes, what we need isn’t what we seek. And sometimes, we …

Sometimes, right things happen at the wrong time. Sometimes, what we need isn’t what we seek. And sometimes, we find ourselves in the stories we experience together.

Set twenty years before the events of Legends & Lattes , Bookshops & Bonedust is a standalone cosy fantasy by BookTok sensation Travis Baldree about the power of good bookshops, great friends and the unexpected choices along the way.

5 editions

Soh Kam Yung reviewed Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree (Legends & Lattes, #0)

A fun prequel, with romance, books, and a necromancer involved.

4 stars

A fun prequel to the author's previous book, this one concerns the adventures of Viv the Orc when she was just starting out in the 'hack and slash' business with a group of mercenaries. Injured during a battle against a necromancer, Viv is bundled off to recover in a seaside town in the middle of nowhere.

With nothing else to do, Viv wanders into a bookshop, where she discovers an owner with a very discerning eye for readers, who recommends to her a series of books that Viv is startled to discover she enjoys. Viv then returns the favour by helping the owner to clean up the shop and help advertise it to visitors. Viv also gets acquainted with the owner of a bakery, which turns into a summer fling while she waits to rejoin the mercenaries.

Things take a dark turn when a creepy visitor turns up at the …

Things take a dark turn when a creepy visitor turns up at the town, leading to a fight between the visitor and Viv. This would begin a series of events that would lead the necromancer Viv was fighting to the town, and it would need all of Viv and her friends' bravery to put an end to the necromancer.

The book might be called a 'cozy fantasy', as the story is more about friendships and romance, rather than heroics and fights, the usual tropes in fantasy stories. It is also a good lead-up to the author's previous book, showing the readers more about Viv's background as a fighter and why she eventually chooses to quit it and turn to running a coffee shop instead. It also shows a fantasy world where people are not judged by what they are (an orc, dwarf, elf, etc.) but by their actions. And, of course, interspecies romance would be in the air.

A light and fun read.

Meadhbh Dhommnail reviewed Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree (Legends & Lattes, #0)

Cozy and sweet and I wish I could live there

5 stars

Sometimes you need something cozy and heartwarming where a dwarf and an orc can fall in love over pastries and 'moist' books. These books are the literary equivalent of a comfortable chair in front of a cheerful fire with a good story in your hand and a mug of coffee and some sweet treat on the table beside you while a pleasant rain tinkles to the ground outside. Cozy and warm and lovely.

Of course, now I need to immediately re-read Legends and Lattes.

Raven reviewed Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree (Legends and Lattes, #0)

A perfect prequel

5 stars

I really well enjoyed the accompanying book Legends and Lattes which was published first. I of course needed to pick up its prequel. I found I enjoyed this book even more than the first. A little more action than the previous book but I would still solidly place this book in the cozy fantasy genre. I found myself breezing through the pages and reading during breaks at work just to finish. I again would recommend this for a relaxing read.

heavyboots

rated it

Apr 15