Brigands & Breadknives (Legends & Lattes, #2)

by Travis Baldree

Sometimes the storm clears away the wreckage.

Always remember, although the unimaginative see life as a thread stretched from one point to another, birth to death, a life truly lived is a glorious tangle. One is never lost. And if one is lucky, one is never found, either.

“I figure folk who lucked into findin’ each other maybe hope it happens to somebody else, too. ’Specially somebody they’re fond of.”

Fern wondered if all dramatic showdowns had such an awkward aftermath. It was more painful than a book group pretending they’d read the story.

It was weird talking to sentient cutlery.

I gotta say, it doesn’t really align with my long-term goals to be associated with mediocrity.”

“I think for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t looking backward … or forward, either.

Could you just give me a little buff? But not the kind where you breathe on me, that’s disgusting.”

“There is one thing that I have never gotten used to in a thousand years, and that is being soaking wet. It never, ever gets any less objectionable. Ever.”

“I’m a greatsword that has experienced a diminishment.”

“That books are a weapon against loneliness. Putting them in the right hands lets people see one another. It makes us … better to one another. I think that’s a worthy thing to do.”

The thing is, I don’t want to write the same book over and over. I don’t want to pretend that fantasy small-business ownership is the answer to all of life’s woes. I don’t want to imagine that the solutions for every challenge are the same for everyone, or that they are neatly resolved—or that they stay resolved.

ultimately, I hope it communicates a belief in essential goodness that makes you feel better after you’ve read it. It’s a strange line to walk, acknowledging what is hard and painful and messy in life, while at the same time advocating hope.