Audiobook Review: Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree
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If readers have learned anything from Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes series, it’s that it doesn’t matter if you’re human or orc; there’s nothing quite like a good book and a good cup of coffee. But the audio edition of the third book in the series, Brigands & Breadknives, leaves the cozy shops behind for an unexpected adventure.
The story finds rattkin bookseller Fern traveling to the village of Thune to open a new shop near her old friend Viv’s coffee shop. Following a successful opening, though, she realizes that she isn’t feeling the joy that she should. After attempting to drink away her sadness and regret, Fern wakes far from home, in the back of a wagon belonging to a legendary warrior elf. Though she’s set on returning to Thune for an unpleasant conversation with Viv, she finds herself enjoying her new adventure with the elf, a cutlery-loving goblin, and a couple of talking knives.
In the first book in the series, readers fell in love with Viv and her coffee-loving friends in Thune. In the second book, we traveled back in time to the beginning of Viv’s friendship with Fern in the village of Murk—though the characters didn’t have quite the same chemistry. Now, for the third installment, we’re venturing off with Fern and completely leaving Viv behind—and, once again, it feels like something’s missing.
That’s not to say that the characters here aren’t likable. As foul-mouthed rattkin bookseller Fern finds herself far away from her friends, she meets plenty of interesting characters along the way—from rattkin monks to vengeful orcs—but they simply don’t have the memorable personalities that Thune’s villagers do. Elven hero Astryx is little more than an enigma, and no one really knows much about chaos goblin Zyll—or what she’s done to have a bounty placed on her head—which makes is difficult to connect with either one. And Fern herself just feels lost through most of the story. And while you’ll still find plenty of laughs here—and more action and adventure than before—it all feels a little disconnected.
Through the first three genre-bending books in the Legends & Lattes series of cozy fantasies, readers have followed some charming mystical characters on plenty of unexpected adventures. But while Brigands & Breadknives introduces some interesting new characters, it seems to have lost some of the energy and personality of the lovably clever first installment.
Pros:
– Plenty of action and adventure to keep listeners engaged
– Likable characters
Cons:
– Doesn’t have the same charm as earlier books in the series
– Lack of character development makes it feel disconnected
You can find Brigands & Breadknives and the other Legends & Lattes books on Amazon.
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