So this is book two in the Legends and Lattes universe. I read book 1 first (shocker!), and then book 0, and then book 2. This was definitely the correct order! We met Viv and Tandree in the first book, along with the rest of the Legends and Lattes crew. Then we traveled back in time to Viv meeting Fern.
In this book, it’s about twenty years after Bookshops and Bonedust (Book 0), and Fern is travelling to Thune to open a bookshop next to Viv’s latte shop. She has Potroast with her, and Satchel has left to have his own adventures. It was nice to hear how they were doing!
Fern is unfortunately having a wee little midlife crisis though. She gets hammered (which apparently doesn’t take a lot for a little rattkin) and passes out in a wagon. She’s far along someone else’s journey by the time she wakes up and realizes what’s happening though.
This book still had the same writing style and character types, but it was far less cozy. I still really enjoyed it though. There was a lot of new friend making and all the embarrassment and self-esteem issues that involves. There were adventures, and battles, and a bounty, but it didn’t all work out how I thought it would. Fern felt very human with all of her emotions and thoughts. It was a nice addition to this world, and although there are all sorts of magical / fantastical creatures, it felt very real. There was such great character development throughout this book. You start out not knowing much about the giant warrior elf or the goblin she’s transporting, but slowly you learn more about them and they become real. I guess I just read a lot of books with bad writing, because I’m literally describing character development. Anyway, read it, twas good.
