Viv’s career with the renowned mercenary company Rackam’s Ravens isn’t going as planned. Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she’s packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk – so far from the action that she worries she’ll never be able to return to it. What’s a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?
Spending her hours at a struggling bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted. Even though it may be exactly …
Viv’s career with the renowned mercenary company Rackam’s Ravens isn’t going as planned. Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she’s packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk – so far from the action that she worries she’ll never be able to return to it. What’s a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?
Spending her hours at a struggling bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted. Even though it may be exactly what she needs. Still, adventure isn’t 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.
Sometimes, right things happen at the wrong time. Sometimes, what we need isn’t what we seek. And sometimes, we find ourselves in the stories we experience together.
Set twenty years before the events of Legends & Lattes , Bookshops & Bonedust is a standalone cosy fantasy by BookTok sensation Travis Baldree about the power of good bookshops, great friends and the unexpected choices along the way.
Hardcover, 356 pages
English language
Published Nov. 5, 2023 by Pan Macmillan.
A fun read through a relaxing small town with great characters. I really like the slow pace which contrasts with the restlessness of the main character.
This is a prequel book so you can read it before Legends & Lattes, but only until the epilogue and best to read L&L through. Such a nice relaxing story to see how Viv changed and grew before L&L, and how even in the middle of a quest there can be peace and growth.
More wholesome cosiness - 10/10. I loved being back with Viv.
A sequel every good as the first without being a repeat or derivative. A prequel that stands on its own. This was such a joy to read, and I hope there is more to come!
I really well enjoyed the accompanying book Legends and Lattes which was published first. I of course needed to pick up its prequel. I found I enjoyed this book even more than the first. A little more action than the previous book but I would still solidly place this book in the cozy fantasy genre. I found myself breezing through the pages and reading during breaks at work just to finish. I again would recommend this for a relaxing read.
This prequel to Legends & Lattes doesn't have quite the same charm as that novel, but it's still a fun, low-stakes fantasy. The characters in this one were the highlight, with the ratfolk and bone homunculus being delights.
My perspective is different than most - I haven't read Legends & Lattes, and picked this up somewhat on a whim. I didn't even realize it was a prequel until the Epilogue.
Thoroughly enjoyed it though, and I'll definitely be reading Legends & Lattes too. Kingfisher's review on the jacket summed it up better than i could - "A warm hug of a book."
