Legends and Lattes

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree is a cozy fantasy. We follow a very large female orc named Viv who has decided to make a career change. She has hung up her sword-for-hire and decided to open a coffee shop. She had tasted coffee in a far-off land while she had been busy doing her sword work. It was a life-changing moment. One final job, whose purpose was to retrieve a magic stone that would bring luck (which she suspected she would need. I mean, who doesn’t need luck when starting a small business?) and she was off across the country to find the perfect place for her shop, and to reinvent her life.

The town where she has decided to set up shop, Thune, has all sorts of magical and mythical creatures in residence: ratkins, gnomes, hobs, succubae, and a variety of humans from every walk of life. But none of them had ever heard of coffee. This was not surprising. Viv had never heard of it until she stumbled across it in that far-away land. With her life savings, she purchases an old stable, a gnomish contraption for making coffee, hires a handyman to help her convert the stable into a shop, and coffee beans. She then counts on the magic stone to do its good luck thing. She hires a couple of people to help her and opens for business. Nothing happens at first, but gradually her coffee and other offerings begin to take hold in the community.

Of course, if everything went smoothly, there would be no story. One of the strengths of the story is the characters. I mean Viv is an orc. Who ever heard of a lovable orc? Well, I guess I have now. Viv’s friend and co-worker Tandry (a succubus) and her baker Thimble (a ratkin), and her handyman Cal (a hob. Yes, I had to look up what a hob is. I invite you to do the same) make up just some of the fun cast. These characters show their true mettle when things go disastrously wrong. But mostly, they are just people (I use that term loosely) who you would like to hang out with. Is it possible for an orc to fall in love? Maybe, maybe not. You will just have to read it to find out. This is not epic fantasy and there is not much in the way of philosophy or life lessons. It is just a fun story.

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