Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree (Review)

Title: Bookshops & Bonedust
Author: Travis Baldree
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ+
Publisher: Tor Books
Date published: October 29, 2024

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review.

Viv’s career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam’s Ravens isn’t going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she’s packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk―so far from the action that she worries she’ll never be able to return to it.

What’s a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn’t possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn’t all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.

⤖ My Review ⬻

I’m not typically crazy about prequels, but in the case of Bookshops & Bonedust, I was genuinely excited to learn more about the past of a character I grew to care about in Legends & Lattes—Viv, the former warrior turned cafe owner. It felt like a cozy treat to revisit her younger days, even if I knew this version of Viv hadn’t yet found her way to cinnamon rolls and lattes. I was curious to see how she would evolve, and how her experiences in this earlier chapter of life might shape the Viv we meet later.

While I did initially feel sad that I wouldn’t get to spend more time with any of the other characters from Legends & Lattes, I was soon swept up by the setting of the little seaside town and a new cast of characters that quietly nestled their way into my heart.

I found that Bookshops & Bonedust moved at a similar pace to Legends & Lattes, and that it was also similarly low stakes. There were a few edge-of-my-seat moments, but that might just be me—I tend to get very emotionally invested.

The deluxe edition of this book is just as glorious as the first one, with beautiful gold and silver accents on and beneath the dust jacket, gorgeous end pages, and lovely sprayed edges. All in all, I enjoyed Bookshops & Bonedust just as much as Baldree’s debut, and I’m greatly anticipating the release of Brigands & Breadknives this November!