[Buddy Reads] Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldtree

[Fuwa]

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"After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed."

Planned Schedule: 10 chapters per week (2/day), total of 29(+2) chapters over 3 weeks

[Katie]

Chapters 1-10

Can’t spoiler tag on mobile so I shall be attempting a spoiler free review.

Pretty cozy so far. The story shows you that they are in a fantasy setting without it having to be about fighting monsters all the time so there is not much anxiety. Yet there is some tension as you watch Viv set up her business. I like seeing the process of how it gets started. It is interesting, though a little distracting, how they explain coffee existing in a dnd world. There are some mysteries too, which I won’t comment on.

I love the side characters, Cal and Tandri. I think Viv acts a little too dumb sometimes and I’m not sure what type of character she is supposed to be. I don’t see her behavior matching her implied past life. It’s like she’s actually kind of shy? Like generic relatable protagonist girl in an orc body.

The mobile app UI is awful and I won’t be able to see what I’ve written beyond this, so I’ll leave it here.

[Fuwa]

I have not caught up to the 10 chapters but I will!! Mostly some stuff happened and so on but anyway

Chapter 1
(view spoiler)[Coffee in a non coffee world. Even as a non fanatic of coffee, I can smell this potential. I love how they didn't actually explain that no one knew about it until the very end of the chapter. Hehe looking forward to more (hide spoiler)]

[Fuwa]

Katie wrote: "Chapters 1-10

... I love the side characters, Cal and Tandri. I think Viv acts a little too dumb sometimes and I’m not sure what type of character she is supposed to be. I don’t see her behavior matching her implied past life. It’s like she’s actually kind of shy? Like generic relatable protagonist girl in an orc body. ..."

Chapters 2-10

So a little more into this, and I also find the side characters, Cal and Tandri a lot more interesting. I love Cal specifically.

(view spoiler)[I think Viv role kinda diminish her into an observer role rather than a main player, which is a little sad considering she's the protagonist.

I am also suspicious of Laney who seems to be supportive on the outside but yeah, not much is know of her on the inside - but if I have to hazard a guess... she likely have something to do with that thing Viv's kept hidden.

Moving on, the whole Fennus showing up the way he did increased the tension a bit more, and despite him whoever he is, I feel glad that he appeared. Feels like the story will move more and Viv will play a more active role in her story. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, still looking forward to the next!

[Fuwa]

Chapters 11-20

Overall, I think the story thus far is interesting. It is however, not as exciting as I would like. There is some tension here and there but the tension dissipates almost immediately. I think my favourite character out of them all would be Cal and Thimble.
(view spoiler)[Cal for his wonderful character and Thimble... who doesn't like chocolate maker? For creating it, he's on top of my list.

I was also hoping the Madrigal would be a big threat. I do like it how it is, and that Fennus end up to be the bigger threat, but it does put the anticipation down by a lot. (hide spoiler)]

Still a pleasant read so far and looking forward to the next!

[Katie]

Yeah it's very slow paced and low stakes. Feels like reading a slice of life. At least there is a little bit of tension but its given in tiny bites.

Chapters 11-20

The cast of regular characters grows, and we learn more details about some. For some reason I like the side-quest progression of figuring out what the Ackard student (Hemming-something) would like to buy, lol. Thimble is great but somewhat hard to believe as an added cast member, like did he really not have anything else going on in his life before the coffee shop? It doesn't seem like his personal life is a mystery it just seems like you're not supposed to care because cute rat boy who makes the bestest pastries and never messes up.

(view spoiler)[I'm not surprised the Madrigal is some old lady but I am surprised she is allowing Viv to waive the fee for some cinnamon rolls, it's so weirdly convenient after all the build up. I guess the main point is that she hates Fennus and does it to spite him. And I hope Viv is paying Thimble extra for all the extra baking he is always doing and not just hourly.

It's weird that an adventuring party member is becoming the villain, not that they had to be friends but how can you have THAT bad of a relationship with someone you spent so much time with and needed to have trust with in order to win fights.

In this round of chapters it seems like a bit of romance is blossoming. I honestly didn't expect any romance from this series but it is cute. I wonder if it will progress or if the author is only teasing romantic interest. I'm half expecting Tandri to just move in with Viv at this point. (hide spoiler)]

Overall so far still a relaxing read and just intriguing enough to have me continue reading. I would like to see more in depth discussion about the coffee and running a business. But I think this is written for vibes more than for learning niche subjects, and it's fine at that. The cast of characters carries the story. Hope we learn more about Laney, and the chess-playing gnome. And Thimble of course.

[Balkaran]

Very low stakes, comfortable read. It is a refreshing take on monster hunting/fantasty fighting genres with the author showing us fantasy life after the credits roll.

The plot is soft and slow with some development. Overall enjoyable read but nothing to write home about. Could not find myself liking the main character or being interested in the overall development of the story.

[Katie]

I keep forgetting I still need to write my final review for this.

Some drama happens real quick and then the story gets resolved with a nice bow tie on top. None of the character explorations I was hoping for got done but I guess there really wasn't enough time to do so. Feels like the books was a little hint at something interesting but didn't really go anywhere with it. Its nice but not impactful. That said, it doesn't really have to be impactful, it was still enjoyable enough for what it was. Main character still has no real personality though and it is beyond me why every character in the book (besides Fennus) is in love with her. She hardly even did any work toward the shop, she just got everyone else to do their expertise for her.