Title: Brigands and Breadknives
Author: Travis Baldree, narrated by Travis Baldree
Length: 8 hours, 24 minutes
Genre: cozy fantasy, adventure, romance, LGBTQ
Is this part of a series? Yes, this is considered the second book in the Legends & Lattes series, as Bookshops and Bonedust is considered a prequel, making it #0.
I discovered this book via… Netgalley working with Macmillan audio
Publish Date: November 11th, 2025
Summary Courtesy of Goodreads:
Return to the cozy fantasy world of the #1 New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes series with a new adventure featuring fan-favorite, foul-mouthed bookseller, Fern.
Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend’s coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!
If only things were so simple…
It turns out that fixing your life isn’t a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.
A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior surviving on inertia, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.
As together they fend off a rogue’s gallery of ne’er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when there isn’t a job to get in the way.
My thoughts:
This was most likely my favorite of the three books. They’re charming, and funny with enough adventure to keep me entertained. This was a fun, fast read for me, and I was just celebrating being allowed to spend more time with beloved characters again- and meeting new. I think I loved Zyll, our sticky-fingered chaos goblin who can’t help but escape captivity only to come back time and again. This story had a lot of heart, delving into deeper emotions- the feeling of burnout, loss of self, loss of purpose… while being hilarious and ridiculous at the same time. It’s sarcastically charming, light fantasy and I loved it. For me, this was a four star book.
I feel as if I can’t say too much without giving too much of the story away, but be prepared for sarcastic swords, world weary bounty hunters, handymen-turned-therapist and the occasional murder bird. You’ll enjoy the ride!
As far as adult content goes, there is a lot of swearing, drinking, flirting and fighting. I would say new adults and older, but would have had no issue handing this one to my niece when she was very little.
I was lucky enough to recieve an advanced audio copy of this from Netgalley working with Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review. My thanks!
Happy Reading!
Gwen
