I've just finished reading this book a few weeks ago and my only minor complaint is that part of me was expecting at least SOME mention of how Viv first came across coffee for the first time. Since this is a prequel to Legends & Lattes, you can't help but think that. But truthfully, that didn't dampen my overall enjoyment of the book
I picked this up but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I liked L&L, but I didn't love it. Skirting spoilers, I'll say I love a good friendship in my fantasy books and generally don't care to hate romances. So the first half of L&L I was all in on the friendships, but once they introduced the romance, I lost interest pretty fast. But I still picked up B&B, so obviously I still ended up liking it.
You might find B&B better than. It does have an element with romance in it but the element of friendship is more of the focus. If you get to read it let me know your thoughts 😊
The criticism I hear that gives me pause on wanting to try either of these is there's not much particularly fantasy about the world beyond superficial detail - sure it stars an orc and has other creatures, but you could replace them with humans and it could easily be normal slice of life fiction. Is that fair? Is there anything to commend it as fantasy world building? If this was, say, a Dragonlace story about running an inn, I'd be quite intrigued, because I know there a lot of interesting racial history to draw from, even if it's not as heated as DL usually gets - it'd be a relaxing exception.
That's the thing about Cozy Fantasy, it operates on a different level than typical fantasy books. Sure, there's mystical creatures and some mentions of magic/sorcery but in the end, it feels like a slice of life story
@@SilverScribe85 Perhaps that's unrealistic expectations then, but I think I'm more drawn to cozy fantasy set in our world, cause at least the background is mostly established. I might check L&L out from the library just to see, but there's lots of classic children's fantasies like Narnia or OZ that give me a cozy read along with a decent amount of loose lore.
@@MagusMarquillin Many films from Studio Ghibli ALSO count as Cozy Fantasy, which also happen to be books as well. One of my favorites is Kiki's Delivery Service
@@SilverScribe85 Ah, yeah well I love Kiki, and Howl's Moving Castle, I'd call those well realized fantasy worlds - granted Kiki stays pretty regional and low key fantasy witch powers. Course films are also less of a time investment then books.
