I absolutely love the current slew of feel-good fantasy and this offering clearly was leaning heavily into that sub-genre, so I requested it and was delighted to get hold of an audiobook.
BLURB: Reyna and Kianthe dream of opening a friendly book shop together, serving the very best tea and cakes. Worn wooden floors, plants on every table, firelight drifting between the rafters – all complemented by love and good company. But Reyna is an elite bodyguard to a vengeful queen, and Kianthe is the most powerful mage in existence. Leaving their lives behind seems . . . impossible. Yet they flee to Tawney, a town nestled in the icy peaks of dragon country. There, they open the bookstore they’d always wanted.
What follows is a tale of mishaps, mysteries, dragons, and a murderous queen throwing the realm’s biggest temper tantrum. Through it, these two women will discover what they mean to each other – and their world.
REVIEW: Initially, I found the very strong similarity to Legends & Lattes a bit disconcerting, but it didn’t take too long for the differences between the stories to surface. CSTWT is far more invested in the relationship between the two main characters, who both equally feature throughout the story. Whereas Legends & Lattes, especially in the first half of the book, is mostly about Viv.
I like how CSTWT features the vulnerabilities of each young woman and how that has impacted their ongoing relationship. We see them working through the challenges presented to them and how each of the adventures affects both of them – there is nothing Teflon-coated about these two. Although it was interesting to note that in the emergencies that happened, they didn’t ever seem to fight together – it was either one or the other that stepped up. However, I did find the banter between them, given they’re living together, was a little OTT though I did like the punning. And they didn’t have much in the way of filters when it came to flirting in front of other people. I was very relieved that Thorne kept us out of their bedroom.
They seem to be reasonably financially stable throughout – this isn’t about a fight to establish a new business with a tight budget. The problems facing them tend to be far bigger and dangerous, such as a psychotic queen and vengeful dragons. I didn’t mind the bigger stakes with the cosy backdrop – after all, fantasy generally provides life-threatening danger to its protagonists. While I don’t think it is in the same league of Legends & Lattes, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and will happily seek out the sequel in due course. Recommended for fans of feel-good fantasy adventures. While I obtained an arc of Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea from the publisher via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10
Brainfluff 