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This was an amazing book. I loved it. I like the worldbuilding. I adore Viv. 

I actually liked Bookshops & Bonedust more than its predecessor. The characters were great, and the plot was for me more engaging. In general, though, the two books in the series are very similar and follow basically the same structure. 

This book takes places before Legends & Lattes and tells the story how Viv is hurt in a fight and forced to stay in the small-town Murk. Instead of a café, the focus is on rebuilding a bookstore which I quite enjoyed. I liked the books that Baldree made up, and also that the café slowly changes step by step. But the longer I think about, the more I realize that the premise of the series is just capitalism in the end since businesses have to change because they’re not profitable enough in their current form. Furthermore, the book was catering a bit too much to the book community which was a bit cringe. I additionally always love small town vibes. 

The plot besides the bookstore was okay, I guess. It was a bit cliché with “you have to see that instead of just saying what someone has to see”-moments; I also didn’t understand why they

wouldn’t just hand the bag in instead of keeping it

. The finale was better than in the first book but quite similar with

the bookstore kind of getting destroyed

. The characters are again all very lovely, and I appreciate that many of important characters are female. It annoyed me though how Viv is getting them all in danger and not reflecting on it a bit. 

If you liked the first book, you will also probably like Bookshops & Bonedust. It has lovely character, a simple plot, and a happy ending. 

"Bookshops & Bonedust" unfortunately suffers from the sequel (or in this case, prequel) syndrome of being good but not as good as the original. While I did enjoy getting to know a younger version of the main character, Viv, I felt like she was much flatter in her characterization than she was in "Legends & Lattes." The cast of supporting characters were loveable, but not as loveable as those found in the previous book.

As for the plot, it was solid; I was entertained and enjoyed myself while reading. I enjoyed the slow and steady pace. There was some action in areas to break up the easy feeling--to keep one on one's toes, I suppose you might say. The growing danger of the villain was a nice touch. The moments of reading a book within a book were nice as well, giving the reader a good look into the literature of Viv's world.  I really enjoyed that bit as it is something you don't normally see in a fantasy novel.

That's really what makes this series, as a whole, wonderful--author Travis Baldree is able to weave and create a world around the characters without being too abrasive about it. The world building is gentle, easy. It feels so natural to learn about the universe held within the series by just taking in small things like town names, the literature, the food, the drinks, and the small shops that Viv visits and eventually owns.

Second come the characters. As I mentioned, in this book, Viv is a little lackluster compared to the older version of herself that comes later. The Viv we have in "Bookshops & Bonedust" is still fresh to the world, so it's understandable that she comes across as a blank slate. She doesn't really know who she is yet, either. Joining her this go around is a cast of characters that are memorable. That being said, I don't feel like they stick in the same way the characters in "Legends & Lattes" do. They are still interesting, but they just don't scratch the itch the same way.

If you are going to read this book, please do yourself a favor and read it before you take a gander at "Legends & Lattes." For those readers that have already read the aforementioned book, maybe skip this one unless you really, really love Viv.

Travis Baldree delivered yet another cozy fantasy set in the 'Legends & Lattes' world! This time it was a love letter to books and the connections readers make with one another. Unfortunately, its difficult not to compare this book to its predecessor.

While I really enjoyed the lore behind Viv's greatsword and friendship with Gallina, this story was lacking some of the warmth that L&L provided. The newly introduced characters were lovable enough but didn't charm me in the same way that Cal and Thimble did. The pacing was VERY slow and often felt as-if nothing was happening; the goals were secondary and the dangers weren't fully explained.

Despite my critiques, this was still an average read that felt safe to return to each day and I really appreciated the epilogue!

As with Legends & Lattes, I absolutely loved this book. Over 300 pages and the only thing I can find to fault it on was the technicality of poisonous toads, so much of it was good. I particularly liked Satchel, which seems weird with only a basic explanation of the character.