Set in the world of New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes, Travis Baldree's Bookshops & Bonedust takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and secondhand books. Bookshops & Bonedust is a prequel that takes place 20 years before Legends & Lattes. In this book, we meet a much younger Viv who has just started her career as an adventurer. Her career gets waylaid (and potentially derailed) by an injury, and she's left behind in a small seaside village to recover. As Viv regains her strength and starts to move around town, we get to know the town and its inhabitants along with her. I fell in love with the place. Her leg was cleanly wrapped at least, splinted so the knee wouldn’t bend. Her trouser leg had been cut away. The bandages showed some discoloration where she’d oozed through, but it was a big step up from moss and a dirty wool shirt. A standalone cosy fantasy about the power of good bookshops, great friends and the unexpected choices along the way from the bestselling author of BookTok sensation Legends & Lattes. Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn’t possibly imagine.

I'm excited to continue to read anything Travis Baldree writes. Whether it's in this universe or in another! Nils:The way Baldree describes Viv being transported somewhere else when she’s reading was perfection! That’s exactly how books make me feel. Like just for a while I can escape to somewhere else, be someone else and have an adventure! Escapism is one of the most rewarding parts of reading and I appreciate seeing an author express the essence of this so accurately, it obviously shows they also have a deep love for books.What I love about Travis Baldree is that set against an epic world of adventure, he writes about the small victories that make life worthwhile. Bookshops & Bonedust does this and it is glorious."—Ben Aaronovitch, bestselling author of Rivers of London Nils: Oh I’m the same, ever since reading The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, I’ve been so drawn to cosy fantasy. But things don’t stay quiet for long, even in a sleepy town like Murk. Viv’s life takes an unexpected turn as she encounters mysterious travelers, a summer romance and a surprising number of skeletons. It turns out that running a bookshop is more of an adventure than Viv ever expected.

stars] I’m glad for more time with this author’s works, even if I enjoyed Legends & Lattes a bit more. Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveller in grey, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected. We didn’t get that same level of commitment to focus on the business as we did with L&L. It tried to bring in too many other elements and sort of forgot what made this type of story special in the first place. I can read about necromancers and magic swords anywhere. What I can’t get is book organizing, quirky customer service, and sales reports (I need it). I wanted to see them get their hands dirty turning the store around, of which it provided only glimpses. When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek. Set in the world of New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes , Travis Baldree's Bookshops & Bonedust takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and secondhand books.Reading Viv’s perspective on the state of the bookshop it’s clear Fern is overwhelmed to the point that she’s kind of given up on it, there’s so much to do that she can’t see where to start. A bookshop has to have an ambience and certain style to attract readers and that’s what Fern is missing. She needs a friend to bounce ideas off and help set her on her way and we know that’s going to be our Viv. With its mysterious encounters, summer flings and a growing number of skeletons, Baldree’s fantastical novel is the perfect cozy romp."—HuffPost Books Viv's journey is not unlike traditional tales of a traveling hero trapped in unforeseen circumstances. It hits a lot of the tropes and isn't really shy about it either. Viv becomes engrained in the small community she has temporarily made her home, making acquaintances with several people that help her and Fern bring new life to the struggling bookstore. Viv even finds time for romance, charming the dwarf who owns the local bakery, Maylee. It's like a Hallmark Christmas movie but with a Dungeons & Dragons motif. Now, her head was clear. Which mostly meant she could also feel everything with complete clarity. It was a debatable improvement. I hope we see more of the Legends world. The stories don't all have to center on Viv, but should include her and her growing family.

If there are that many books people don’t want, though, then what’s the use in having them around?”

When Legends and Lattes appeared and took over the fantasy landscape early last year, it popularized the cozy fantasy subgenre. Before the surge of romantasy, plenty of fantasy authors rushed to write and publish their respective cozy fantasy novels as soon as possible. The purpose might be to write a wholesome story that resonates with readers. Or maybe they hoped to gain the fame and success Baldree attained from his debut novel. Traditional publishing tends to follow trends, and cozy fantasy was (and is) one of the trends in the market. Whatever the reasons, since the release of Legends and Lattes, I still haven’t found many cozy fantasy books or series that attract my interest as much as Legends and Lattes did. Sure, most of the books I read are serious, grim, or dark in their tone. But occasionally, I would like to have the option to take a break by reading a wonderfully cozy or slice-of-life story when I am in the proper reading mood. This is where Bookshops and Bonedust came in. Written after Legends and Lattes but chronologically taking place two decades before it, this is a prequel novel I didn’t know would be written but grateful to have. The author did not plan to write this prequel, too! And similar to Legends and Lattes, Viv’s younger days manage to charm me again. I started the book worried about it not having my favorite characters and ended up falling in love with a whole other town! I cried at the end - a lot. There's no telling how long with book hangover will last. Aleksandra (Ola) Hill is a Polish-Canadian writer and the founder and publisher of khōréō, a Hugo-nominated and IGNYTE-winning magazine of speculative fiction by immigrant and diaspora writers. Her fiction has been published or is forthcoming in Analog Magazine, LeVar Burton Reads, Writer’s Digest, and others. Learn more at www.aleksandrahill.com Travis Baldree's narration is excellent as always. He gives each character a distinct and easily recognized voice and personality. His narration really brought this story and its characters to life. This is a book that is going on my list of books to read every year. I'm already looking forward to the next time.