Every year, on the first day of November, I commit myself to National Novel Writing Month. And every year, invariably within the second week of November, I regret the decision and give up.
For those blissfully unaware, NaNoWriMo is a worldwide event in which thousands of people commit to writing the first draft of a brand new novel (50k words) in a month. This is broken down to 1667 words a day. The core belief behind this incredible foolishness is that when you do not have time to think, plan, or edit your ideas or your writing, you can get a first draft done. It is impossible to edit a blank page, as they say.
I will be the first one to tell you that it works - for the first two weeks, I do get a record amount of writing done, even if I never meet the threshold of 50k with a complete story. There has been one exception when I allowed myself to write whatever I wanted - meaning diary entries, book reviews, random thoughts and dialogue - last November and easily breezed past the 50k mark. Better proof of concept lies in the massively successful books that have begun as NaNoWriMo drafts, including Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
Legends & Lattes is one of those successes, as Travis Baldree wrote the first draft during NaNoWriMo and published it independently. It was picked up and republished traditionally, and quickly took over most of my social media feeds. One review described it as "Dungeons and Dragons [having] a baby with Animal Crossing", and I knew I had to find it for my partner to read to me. This is a book I purchased from a local bookstore (#shoplocal). I know, me, purchasing a book from a store and not just hoping to find it for free in a Little Free Library in a couple years time. That should tell you how high my expectations were for this one.
"After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.
The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.
If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone.
But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed."
Told exclusively from Viv's point of view, this novel does an excellent job exploring the emotional gamut that accompanies a big shift in life, and the risks and rewards of taking the leap. The side characters are vivid, and with names like Thimble and the Madrigal, they dominate scenes and keep the fantasy alive in what could have drifted into a tedious account of day to day in a standard coffee shop. That fear was quelled within the first chapter.
I was extremely lucky to have had this whole book narrated to me (with voices!) by my partner, each chapter serving as a bedtime story over a few months. I highly recommend doing the same if possible, because the cozy atmosphere and lower stakes lent itself well to pre-sleep reading, while the characters kept us coming back to check on them. Plus when I've been reading all day for work, there is nothing better than my boyfriend using silly voices and pretending to be a baking rat or gruff dwarf. 10/10 recommend.
I'd give this a read if you are interested in the everyday of the fantasy world so common to Pathfinder and Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. Read if you've ever asked yourself what the hero does when their body is no longer fit for adventuring, they've saved up a couple gold, and it's time to hang up the sword.
Big kudos to Travis Baldree for this debut and perfect blending of genres - 4.5 stars.
Happy reading,
Holly
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