Can't Spell Treason Without Tea: A heart-warming cosy fantasy - Legends & Lattes but with tea! (Tomes & Tea)

Product Information

I'd like to thank Rebecca Thorne for providing an ARC of Can't Spell Treason without Tea in exchange for an unbiased review. My partner found me sat on the kitchen floor keeping an eye on the cookies Reyna made me bake while still reading and slightly dancing. Still, I did read the whole thing, and would be willing to recommend it (with caveats) to cozy fantasy fans who are more into *vibes* than a tightly-written and well-paced plot, provided you also aren't as wildly uncomfortable with ass-smacking in the workplace as I am.

Aside from the decision Reyna makes at the beginning to leave the queen, this is a story where the plot happens to the characters. there's no development of any of their relationships, so there's no way for the readers to form a bond with them either.I'd say the biggest weakness of this book is that the characters don't feel very rich or differentiated from one another, but I hope the author can grow in future books.

I really liked the premise, but think the book suffered from a lack of identity, wavering between "cozy " and high-stakes fantasy. Furthermore, their lovey-dovey couples banter and flirting is just a bit nauseating - more like the author just wanted to depict a "perfect" lesbian relationship - which as a lesbian, I just found boring and mildly infuriating. It leaves off with a bit more story still to come, so I really look forward to the next installment. we were told over and over again that they were so deeply in love, but we never really saw it (or felt it). part of the reason why i also think this fails as a cozy fantasy is that it was very hard to care about any of the characters.Parts of the worldbuilding were intriguing, particularly the magic systems, but a lot of the politics and technology felt somewhat flimsy and implausibly convenient. you don't have to do this through using pronoun pins or clumsily explaining away the use of gender neutral pronouns as coming from a culture that you tell us literally nothing else about.

After years operating in the traditional publishing space, Rebecca has pivoted into self-publishing. I wish I could have a whole novel of all the character moments, shenanigans, and romance without the deadly serious world-ending adventure storyline getting in the way”?When she's not writing (or avoiding writing), Rebecca can be found traveling the country as a flight attendant, or doing her best impression of a granola-girl hermit with her two dogs.

i love cozy fantasy, i love regular fantasy, i love lesbian romance, and was sure this would end up as at least a four star read, if not earning a place on my favorites shelf. When she’s not writing or avoiding writing, Rebecca can be found traveling the country as a flight attendant, or doing her best impression of a granola-girl hermit with her two dogs. i get that the author was setting themselves up for a second book in the series, but that meant that there was barely any story arc to this one.

Reyne is a Queen’s guard who is fed up of her life of sacrificing herself for the sake of a cruel ruler and wants out with her lover. You can feel the Legends and Lattes inspiration, but Can't Spell Treason is almost a different animal than its predecessor. I am so excited to get the second book and excited to see how the story continues to evolve and grow. This story is also slightly more tense, and we get a possible mystery involving dragon eggs which makes for far reaching consequences, which I’m sure will come to fruition in the rest of the series. Part of it also felt like it was all telling and no showing, especially with the romance between the two main characters.