 Travis Bouldery's Legends and Latte's was the cozy fantasy the book Reading World needed in 2022. But does its prequel show that Bouldery, former games developer and full-time narrator, can catch lightning in a bottle twice? The short answer? Yes, yes it does. It's not the same lightning and it's not the same story. A prequel is a risky proposition and brings with it at least some hesitation to any fandom. But if you enjoy a character enough, seeing a younger, more brash version of them is a welcome experience. Nothing of Viv's world-weiriness is to be found here. She's only taken that first initial step of becoming the adventurer, Legends will one day be told about. There's a hunger to her, one that occasionally borders on a savage love for violence. That's what gets her in the pinch of trouble we find her in. Brashness earns Viv a legwound and her adventuring party leaves her behind to heal. The day just so happened to leave her in the sleepiest little seaside town is a joyous happenstance for the reader if not for an initially bored Viv. One of the great strengths of this prequel novel is that, alongside the cozy delights of baked goods, good books and hearty friends, bookshops and bone dust, parks an enjoyable story of dastardly necromancy. Remarkably, Boldream manages to offer actual stakes thanks to a delightful cast of characters I grew to care for. I know I'm a soppy mess, it's really quite the reputation killer for a dastardly fellow such as myself. Viv ends up in the outskirts to a small seaside town, Murk, where she befriends a Ratkin, a humanoid cat, named Fern, whose tendency to curse would put sailors to shame. She also dates a retired dwarf and adventurer slash Baker, Mei Li, whose chill predisposition is all the more reason for our orc to feel guilty for knowing she'll eventually be pulled away by the lure of adventure. There's the gnome Galina, an adventurer as hungry as Viv herself is, at first obnoxious but eventually revealing a heart of gold and someone you can count on. Then there's a selection of other refined characters, from an orc with a penchant for poetry to a doctor with a love for romance, and of course an elven novelist and her hunk of a human boyfriend. And even a bony little fella you'll love. The meat on the bone of this for readers returning from legends and lattes has to be with working with Fern to resurrect the latter's ailing bookstore. A damp smelly shopfront is converted over 300-some pages into the kind of independent bookstore I wouldn't mind spending a few months in, true heroic effort and even more money than just what you might think is reasonable. Plenty of character growth found family the whole stick and Viv, she finds solace in books and wisdom and a good bit more besides. Foot descriptions are back too, as mouth-watering as ever. An inch-tick slab of heavily peppered beef crowded a bunch of salted, diced potatoes, om nom nom. Why is mine, Mr. Baldry? I ask again. Where is my portion? Now and then, Viv gets to do some wonderfully nasty things to some wonderfully evil folks. So what's not to like? Oh and did I not mention Potroast? You'll be sure to love Potroast. He's basically a dog-sized owlbear, named otherwise for what I can only assume are legal. We don't want Wizards of the Coast to send the Pinkatons after us reasons. Not that I'd ever do that. The pros. A heartfelt story, cosy and full of heart. Laugh out loud, bony fun. Who doesn't love witnessing the sprucing up of a book star? Also, do you like Legend of Korra's Slyn Bayfong? This book has one. And it has one hell of a foul necromancer too. An action, let's not forget action. The cons, no raunchy dwarf slash orc sexy times, which really is why we read fantasy books, right? And a few sentences I thought were a little rough. Nothing too noticeable, but that was an impression I went away with. Travis Baldry's work continues to be great fun, and the kind of heartwarming literature you should treat yourself to while dealing with hardship or in need of a cosy read while snow pours heedlessly on out. This was my holiday read around the New Year, a finer one I couldn't have hoped for. And by the way, if you are not familiar with his legends in lattes, I just so happen to have a link to my review of it from last year. If you enjoyed this video, please don't forget to share it with your friends to subscribe to smash that like button and be on the lookout. I'll be sure to pick up any of Travis Baldry's next works, and I'll be certain to tell you all about him. Until then, I'll be reviewing plenty of other books and video games, and other things as well, probably. Who knows what fancies will take me. Anyway, I'll see you again next time. I'm Philip Magnus, you're not! Bye!