This universe was so heartwarming and magical ( )

I DNF this book and set it down somewhere between the 75-80% mark. I struggled to make it that far and couldn’t take it anymore. The story is sweet and calm, but I need a book that holds my interest. I want action of some sort, characters with a backstory, suspense, and real trials to overcome. This book did not offer much in terms of any of these things. ( )

Viv knows that if she doesn't give up adventuring it's going to kill her one day. And so, after one final quest in which she gains an item in payment that has interesting myths surrounding it, she heads to the town of Thune to establish a coffee shop. Not an easy proposition when no one has heard of coffee. But as Viv begins building her cafe, she'll also start building a circle of friends who will turn her business venture into so much more.

I was new to cozy fantasy but this introduction is absolute perfection. All I knew going in was that it was about an orc who gives up questing to start a coffee shop, which as a pitch worked well for me, and the execution did not disappoint. Baldree crafts a charming tale and world, full of lovely characters who develop and grow in really rewarding ways over the course of the novel. While much of the novel is focused on Viv establishing her coffee shop, there are some mild larger conflicts that add some drama to the plot. Plus there's a sweet romance subplot that adds extra delight. If this sounds like something you might enjoy, I highly recommend it. ( )

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I just don't get it. I have heard so many good things about this book (everyone seems to love it) so when I saw that my library got it I decided to give it a shot. And I was disappointed. I mean, this pretty much reads like an instruction manual as to how to open a coffee shop if you have lots of savings and wonderful luck (oh, and no competition since no one has even heard about coffee and it becomes popular quickly). There's building, then adding a drink, then another drink, then a pastry, then another pastry, then another drink, etc. And not all that much in between beyond serving customers (in what seems to be a simultaneously low stress and busy/profitable coffee shop). I guess there is a major setback around 80% into the story, but everything is fixed easily and back to normal by the end.

I didn't find myself really caring about any of the characters (although Thimble could be interesting had we been given more information - I feel like there could be an interesting back story there. Honestly, Viv's (and everyone else actually) lack of interest was a little upsetting). It feels like one of those fanfics aimed at people who love certain characters, but you don't know them before hand so just get bored. The world is also not that interesting. It's a pretty bland and generic fantasy world (which can definitely work with the right author and/or story, don't get me wrong) with nothing much fleshed out. I would have loved an actual fantasy coffee shop (think fantasy drinks instead of/ in addition to "gnomish beans" (just coffee assigned to a fantasy race) - think foods and drinks made with fantasy ingredients)

I considered giving up many times (I often found myself reaching the end of a chapter, realising I had taken nothing in and going back and re-reading only to discover that there was noting there) but since it's short I decided to see where it goes. I know this is low stakes, but I was still expecting something more. When I found out this book was written for NaNoWriMo it made a lot more sense - a lot of it feels like words for the sake of words. I recently read a cozy SciFi book that I loved and looking back, it's because there was actually a mystery in the background as well as well fleshed out characters and intriguing setting, and the writing quality was far higher than it was for this book.

I am happy for those who enjoyed it, of course, but I guess this is yet more proof of how different my reading tastes are from what is considered to be popular by the broader online world.

This is a nice, low impact, cozy fantasy novel and it is as much fun as it is silly. Reading this book made me very, very happy.
It is extremely character driven, which is a sub-genre that I am finding myself drawn to more and more.
The main characters were all engaging, and fun and people that I would want to know and there was enough world building to make me feel like I was visiting someplace that could be real...for a medieval fantasy setting. You do have to be open to the silliness of the underlying conceit of Starbucks in a medieval fantasy setting, but if you do you will have a fun read.

I am really looking forward to future stories set in this world. ( )