Legends & Lattes

Created on the 09/02/2025

A cozy slice of life fantasy book focusing on the central character--Viv as she trades a life of brutal glory for the quiet simplicity of coffee. She befriends a cast of genial characters as her cafe grows into a hub for the working lady and gent.

I personally did not find this book to be particularly cozy, the writing style was quite bland and the plot? Flat.

Before we start as always there's one thing I want to get straight:

I'm aware that this is a low-stakes book and meant to be an easy read for an audience who wants to relax. I'm just speaking on my own personal experience on the book.

Okay, lets go!

I have a few things I want to speak on focusing on the characters. Despite new faces being introduced and contributing to the coffee shop, many of them blend into each other as there's nothing particularly distinct in the way they act. I think it's due to trying to avoid fantasy tropes or tone them down. Which is completely fair in my books as many fantasy races fall into racist or unfortunate stereotyping (especially Orcs!) if not done properly.

But! Going back to the point above--I don't believe for a second that's a good excuse to make your main character that bland. Let's run down Viv's character: she's a 6ft Orc woman with decades worth of adventuring under her belt, and she fully abandons this life in favour of a new path. In the beginning chapters, she's not fully sure what coffee is in the first place but is determined on making a cafe centered on the drink despite having no experience in business. Making this a rather impulsive decision that she probably made as an excuse to herself to get away from adventuring as much as possible mentally. Viv is very indifferent to many choices within the book, as if her adventuring made her numb to emotion.

So then why does she not stand out within the main cast despite having this history? I personally find it interesting enough for a 300ish novel but it feels like the author just does not know what to do with the material. Viv's character stays stagnant for most of the story, her speech resembles that of an indifferent 20 something and not of a seasoned adventurer settling down in search of a new life. And I don't mean this in a "she should talk like a stereotypical Orc" not at all, instead I just think she should seem more stoic and, maybe, less awkward? It's not crazy to think that she would be a bit unsure of herself, but I think it'd be more fun if she was more confident is all.p>

The second and last character I want to speak on is Tandri, Viv's right-hand woman and eventual love interest. One thing I like about her is how the author interprets succubus's and how their quirks function. For Tandri she's more artistically inclined and has an easier time socialising due to her deepened understanding of emotions. Her romance with Viv nearing the end was cute, but honestly none of the scenes where they interact really hit for me, which mostly has to do with the writing style and lack of build-up. It doesn't really help that their characters fall so flat either.

Talking about writing style, this book has no interest in the fantasy genre whatsoever, not once was I convinced that any of this took place in the 1300s. Its lack of good prose really hurt the enjoyability of this book for me; Especially with the "referring to a character by their physical attributes" thing. We know Tandri! She's one of the main characters, isn't she? Stop calling her the succubus: you're scaring me!.

I'm frustrated with Legends & Lattes because I actually enjoy the concept, I'm not against "cozy fantasy". Rather, the book doesn't seem to know what to do with itself and more concerned with hitting a word count quota. Despite most of this being negative it was an okay read. Though, I'd rather spent my money elsewhere and picked it up at my local library instead.

I think I just wanted a more traditional fantasy book. 😓