If you’ve never heard of the term ‘cozy fantasy’ and have no idea what that is or means, let me introduce you to Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes, a perfect entry into the subgenre. The story involves non-human characters (the fantasy) engaging in slice-of-life, low-stakes activities (thus the cozy), providing a light, easy read that might not make your heart pound but will most likely make you smile.

Viv is an orc. After a proud career of doing the very things you’d imagine an orc might do to make a living, she’s tired of the nomadic lifestyle and the never ending violence and bloodshed. Plus, her back aches. Not to worry, because Viv has a plan. After obtaining a special stone that is fabled to give the possessor some form of good luck, she heads to the city of Thune where she intends to open a coffee shop. The thing is, in the world of Legends & Lattes, very few people have ever even heard of coffee much less tasted it.

But Viv has a can-do attitude (plus her lucky stone), so she procures an old livery in need of repair and hires a carpenter named Cal to help her get the building in shape and café-appropriate. With a lot of hard work, her establishment, aptly named Legends & Lattes, takes shape, and she brings on a rag-tag crew to help her run the place.

First up is Tandri, a succubus with a flair for art, who becomes Viv’s friend, her partner in making the perfect latte, and potentially something more. Viv hires a rattkin named Thimble, who is a genius at baking pastries, and the bard Pendry wanders in one day to offer live entertainment. As Legends & Lattes takes off, returning customers also become friends and advisors.

But life is not perfect. Not only does Viv have to deal with the Madrigal, a local crime boss who sends thugs to extort her for protection money, but also with a disgruntled co-worker from her past who is determined to get his hands on her lucky stone. He’ll stop at nothing to find it, and when Viv’s entire world comes crashing down around her, she must decide if she has the strength to rebuild or if she’s destined to be nothing more than a violent orc.

Legends & Lattes is a cute story. It reads easily, and the found-family trope is always a winner in my book. Viv, with her determination and no-nonsense manner, is easy to root for. She has a dream and she goes about achieving it in a logical, methodical manner that would make sense in our real world. And the overall premise – that of a retired orc warrior introducing a town to the joy that is coffee and a freshly baked cinnamon roll – is charming.

Being a cozy fantasy, the world building is very surface-level, but I wish we’d gotten more description of the different types of characters. For example, I never understood what a rattkin is, nor a hob (which is what carpenter Cal is). And Tandri is a succubus, which has definite connotations in my mind that didn’t make sense to me within the context of this story. The book is populated by fantasy characters who don’t seem any different than humans other than having tails or funny ears. This felt like a missed opportunity to me.

The stakes are low because while the threats to Viv and her fledgling business are real, she’s a war-savvy, giant orc who can handle pretty much anything. In fact, in the beginning, the biggest source of conflict is her effort to get customers into her shop and to get them to try this mysterious “bean water”.

As far as romance, it’s of the LGBTQ+ variety and is most definitely a sub-plot, almost non-existent in its subtlety. You won’t find any spice here.

Legends & Lattes was a BookTok sensation, and as such, I would call it a BookTok Win, with good writing, relatable characters, and a plot that makes sense. If you are looking for something that won’t tax your reading brain, I say give it a go.