Haven’t we all had the feeling of wanting to start things afresh, from scratch, believing that may help put things straight and help find that undefinable thing we are looking for? Legends and Lattes, the smash cozy fantasy hit of 2022, explored that perfectly, featuring Viv transitioning from a mercenary life to a coffee shop owner. What happens when such a life-upending move doesn’t work out – that is the story Travis Baldree tries to explore in Brigands and Breadknives. A sequel that treads a different path as compared to its predecessor while retaining the charm, magic, and feel-goodness of the first book. I am thankful to Olivia-Savannah Roach at Macmillan UK and NetGalley for my review copy

Legends and Lattes was the perfect book for the Covid life we all were under in 2022 (Covid – remember that). In a way, it set out its stall and kind of encouraged all the dreamers among us to set up their own coffee shop (or any other small business) and live their lives. Brigands and Breadknives takes it a step further in asking, maybe this coffee shop (or bookshop) thing isn’t for everyone. What would you do then?

“She wasn’t even sure what home meant anymore”

This is also a book that I went into with a little bit of trepidation. I loved Legends and Lattes, but that truly felt like a lightning in a bottle scenario. The initial 10-15% of Brigands and Breadknives did not quell those feelings, but once the book hits its stride and you make your mental adjustment, this book flows well with an easy charm while raising some interesting questions.

“She appears in a place and chaos follows. Magistrates deposed. Riots fomented. Treasures absconded with”

Brigands and Breadknives finds Fern, a foul-mouthed bookseller, heeding Viv’s call and uproots her life to open a bookshop next to Viv’s coffeeshop. Fern, at this point, is a bundle of nerves at the move, but wants to do it, believing that this will get her out of the rut that she’s finding herself in. Once the bookshop is set and despite booming business, Fern is unable to shake her sense of ennui and find herself on the back of a wagon belonging to a thousand-year-old legendary Elf Warrior. The journey that unfolds is that of Fern learning what it means to not do the thing you were doing your whole life, even if you were good at it, but understanding you could do other things as well. All of this even as the now bounty hunter turned Elf Warriors tries to bring her bounty, a goblin, and claim the money.

“Bradelys, was it?” asked the elf. 

“Blademistress, you can call me whatever you want”

”Brea dlee” insisted Zyll. 

“Except that”

Brigands and Breadknives definitely inherits a lot of the charm that Legends and Lattes had, but it also positions itself as an adventure book. Astryx, the elf warrior turned bounty hunter, and Zyll, the bounty in the form of a chaos goblin with a predilection for silverware, are the targets of other bounty hunters who wouldn’t mind grabbing that generous bounty for themselves. Fern finds herself smack in the middle of this. There is a greater focus on the action and the chase part than what Legends and Lattes had. The elements of kindness and whimsy still shine through in this despite the action. The humor element is another element of the story, especially as it involves Zyll, easily the most favorite and cute part of this story. I was thinking of Grogu most of the time when Zyll was on the page. Adding to the charm and banter, you had a pair of sentient Elder Blades with their inflated sense of grandeur enlivening the proceedings.

“I think for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t looking backward… or forward, either. So maybe I was looking at whatever is between those things”

The reflective element of the story on Fern and, by extension, Astryx’s journey plays out well through the book. Fern’s story plays more from a burnout perspective, wherein after doing the same thing for most of her life, she finds herself trying to discover who she is and what she wants. Astryx’s journey is somewhat similar but without as much of the angst as Fern’s. However, Astryx has been doing this for even longer, and her denial patterns are even more set in stone. The journey that Fern has in a way seeks to awaken Astryx up to her choices as well, which makes the blossoming of their relationship very naturally rendered.

“I’ve tried to make a habit of never talking about what I do until I’m out of anything to talk about. In my experience, it’s a terrible way to get to know somebody – at least if you want to know anything worthwhile. I want to learn what you laugh at, what makes you roll your eyes, what gets you upset or passionate, or puts you at ease. Work is just…the stuff that holds the rest of it together. It’s like describing a house by talking about the nails.”

A thing that felt particularly refreshing was the lack of judgment in Fern’s not knowing what to do. Fern is aware enough that whatever she decides to do next may not solve her feeling of restlessness or unhappiness, and is ok with that. It is a gradual process that often involves a lot of introspection and questioning, while invoking a plethora of ‘I don’t know,’ but the writing is often extremely charming and easy on the eye while being completely organic in this process of self-discovery.

“You’re worried about what will fall apart if you don’t keep doing what you’re doing”

For all the charm and coziness the book has got going on, I still feel that the start was a bit rough. It took some time to get into this story, and that is also due to the heightened expectation carryover from Legends and Lattes. It also doesn’t help that Fern initially comes across as a rather ungrateful and whiny character. I also felt, for someone who has lived and been a warrior for a thousand years, some of Astryx’s choices felt shockingly naïve, and that she displayed some combat vulnerabilities that didn’t seem to be in character with her experience and reputation

“Fern was consumed by a sense of remoteness that was not at all lonely. A safe smallness wherein the horizon was infinite, and as such, judgment too must be impossibly distant”

Brigands and Breadknives is a worthy addition to the Legends and Lattes series. It takes the series in a different direction with different characters while retaining most of the charm, tenderness, coziness, and humor of Legends and Lattes. Brigands and Breadknives only pales in comparison because Legends and Lattes set such a high bar. Falling short in this case is no big deal, as Brigands and Breadknives is still a good book in its own right while being relatable across multiple levels

Rating – 3.5 Sentient Blades on 5

Brigands and Breadknives is available now – you can order your copy on Bookshop.org