A gothic tale of family, the legend of the selkies – shapeshifting mythological creatures – and a young woman who is offered an impossible choice. With thanks to Leticia for her review.
Part of the Legends & Lattes cosy fantasy series, Brigands & Breadknives continues the alliteration and is the third novel instalment but can be read as a standalone – as this reviewer did.
This instalment centres on Fern, a bookseller who relocates to start a new chapter of her life and to inject some new enthusiasm into her profession. It’s short-lived however, when, with the help of liquor and a fear of letting her friends down, she realises this may not be the life she wants and drunkenly slumps/stowaways in a cart – a legendary adventurer’s cart set to fulfil a high-value bounty.
For anyone not familiar with high fantasy, being set in an alternative fictional world, an occasional search engine use might be prompted to help visualise some terms, rattkin or Travis’s own creation of a gryphet for example. This doesn’t detract from the story however, there are some glorious fantasy setting stereotypes, the walled and guarded town, ramshackle pit stops and mountainous monasteries, but at the heart is the characters. Three strangers travelling in a cart, and it’s their motives, feelings and arcs that focuses this story, alongside their journey.
For awareness, this read does feature some f-word dialogue used as swearing. I don’t believe the amount is a commonality in the series, but a characteristic of Fern and the situations she finds herself in. The anecdotes featured do encourage me to go back and read Legends & Lattes and Bookshops & Bonedust (where Fern was introduced), and the light-heartedness made this an enjoyable and relaxed read.
About the Book
Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend’s coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!
If only things were so simple . . .
It turns out that fixing your life isn’t a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.
A drunken night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.
As together they fend off a rogue’s gallery of ne’er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when nothing seems inevitable . . .
About The Author
Travis is a #1 New York Times Bestselling author, a Locus, Nebula, and Hugo finalist, and a full-time audiobook narrator who has lent his voice to hundreds of stories. Before that, he spent decades designing and building video games like Torchlight, Rebel Galaxy, and Fate. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.
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