Legends & Lattes: A heart-warming cosy fantasy and TikTok sensation (Legends & Lattes, 1) : Baldree, Travis: Amazon.de: Books

I usually only read the "usual" fantasy novels (epic stories with high stakes).This was... Unexpected pleasant and fun to read!Reading about a former adventurer that wants to open a coffee shop (in a place where no one knows what coffee is), and following her on all the struggles and friendships she makes along the way... Was really fun, and a smiled quite a lot during the read. I also finished this one in a day!Hopefully we get more from Viv & Tandril

If you like the feeling of wearing a sweater and sitting at the window with a cup of tea, if you like to play stardew valley, watch slice of life content and secretly dream of moving somewhere else and open some sort of cosy establishment, and if you like low key romance and beautiful stories of unconditional friendship and community this book is for you.

I bought this book by Daniel Greene's recommendation on Youtube and had a really cozy time reading it - even on a very late train ride with drunken soccer fans "singing" their best of on one side of the carriage and clumps of half drunken youths eager to party on the other, this book pulled me into a bubble of coffee-cosiness. I actually switched to a even later train to hitch onto it wifi and download the full book and kept on reading back at home around 2 a.m.So, yes, I had a good time. I'm a female Pen&Paper-player, fantasy reader and amateur writer and I love books with well rounded female characters, more than one if possible, and a bit of whimsy, playing with tropes. A female adventurer-warrior orc turning barista and café-owner - that really got me hooked!I still give it 4 stars out of 5 because there were a number of moments where I stubbed my toe on "realism", internal/external consistency of the world plus weaknesses in the plot.- As a former small business owner starting the café went a bit too easy and quickly. Yes, McGuffin, but still.- clearing a full building site and laying stones/bricks even for half walls within 3 weeks with one general handyman, one stonemason and two baristas? Seems way to short, same for the wooden rest of exterior/interior. Is the author accustomed to premade houses that only need to be assembled on-site or is it just me, accustomed to german building and having done an internship at a parc where I helped build medieval houses?- The coffee machine. I'm a coffee-lover but introducing a steampunk-y wondermachine did make me stumble. Some for the airco and stove from the catalogue. It just didn't fit with the image of the world I had in my mind, which was quite classical (eurocentric) fantasy RPG since there wasn't much information on it being otherwise. There are other, low-tech methods of making good coffee besides using a stocking.- neighbours? Apart from Laney there aren't any. Especially at the most dramatic moment I would expect more than just some officials. With what is going on I would expect at least some panic from the inhabitants of the houses right next to the café.- All conflicts were solved super quickly, at the finale by (non-present) deus-ex-machina. This diminished drama. There were quite a number of stumbling blocks for Viv but as they were dealt with the next moment I felt like reading some serial, maybe a telenovela. I would vote for less, but harder to overcome. She never really struggles during the first 87% of the book. Yes, the McGuffin. But: missed dramatic potential. This goes for how much of a foe both antagonists could have been.I still had a good time reading it and would love to read more by this author.