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.