Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree Series: Legends & Latte #2
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Published by Tor Books on November 11, 2025
Also by this author: Legends & Lattes, Bookshops & Bonedust
Format: eARC (336 pages) • Source: Purchased
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Return to the cozy fantasy world of the #1 New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes series with a new adventure featuring fan-favorite, foul-mouthed bookseller, Fern.
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 and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior surviving on inertia, 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 there isn’t a job to get in the way.
I’m a huge fan of this series and Travis Baldree’s cozy fantasy writing style. I struggle with the world building and magic systems often in fantasy books, so cozy fantasy has been a great way for me to read fantasy without getting overwhelmed. So far, all of the books have been amazing.
Unfortunately this one just did not hit as much as the others. I didn’t mind the fact that it had more action vs. the cozy mundane but somehow it didn’t hold my attention at all. There were too many characters and repetitive scenes along the journey that I didn’t follow. It may have been my fault because I read it at night before bed on my Kindle and would always fall asleep in the middle of a page. It took me so long to read because I was making the slowest progress ever, plus the book itself wasn’t holding my attention.
I think part of the appeal for these (for me) is the audiobook, so reading an early copy maybe wasn’t the right move. I don’t know if that would have affected my enjoyment but it’s worth noting for myself in the future. I’d definitely continue to read more in this series!
Mate by Ali Hazelwood Series: Bride #1
Genres: Adult, Paranormal
Published by Penguin on October 7, 2025
Also by this author: Bride
Format: Audio/Physical (464 pages) • Source: Purchased, Spotify Audiobooks
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The instant #1 New York Times bestseller!
A Human hybrid and an Alpha Were claw against the bonds of fate in the highly anticipated companion novel to the New York Times bestselling Bride.
Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left—if he’ll have her.
As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn’t matter if Serena doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, nothing will stop him from keeping her safe.
But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her—and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation…
For my immediate reaction on socials, I debated copy/pasting my review of BRIDE as my review for MATE because I generally felt the exact same, except I liked this a little more somehow? It took me 200 pages instead of 100 to get into this. The romance gave me the creeps again and the mysteries were way more interesting than the romance (though less present than BRIDE). I don’t have what it takes for the omegaverse (based on this non-omegaverse book that gets close enough for me) and I will continue to NOT read Hazelwood’s books outside of this series. Another cheesy, trying too hard MC as well. Do all of her books follow the same formula or have the same exact characters in them?? Also, in the year 2025, we do not need to use cringe words like “fuckwaffle.” And yeah I’d read another one because this got addicting as hell.
The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand, Shelby Cunningham Series: The Academy Series #1
Genres: Adult, Literary Fiction, Contemporary
Published by Quercus on September 16, 2025
Also by this author: Winter Street, Winter Stroll, Winter Storms, Winter Solstice
Format: Audio/Physical (432 pages) • Source: Library, Spotify Audiobooks
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'Discovering the secret world of American boarding schools for both teaching staff and pupils was endlessly entertaining. I absolutely loved this book and can't wait to read the sequel!' JILL MANSELL
NOW A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
Secrets, rumours, and dangerous liaisons - at an elite New England boarding school, they come with the territory.It's move-in day at Tiffin Academy and amidst the happy chaos of friends reuniting, selfies uploading, and cars unloading, shocking news arrives: America Today just ranked Tiffin the number two boarding school in the country. It's a seventeen-spot jump - was there a typo? The dorms are dingy, the sports teams always come last and Tiffin students are known for being more social than academic. But the campus is exquisite, class sizes are small, and the dining hall is run by a New York chef. And they do have lots of fun . . .
But as the rarefied air of Tiffin is suffused with self-congratulation, scandalous bulletins begin to appear on phones across campus, thanks to a new app called Zip Zap, and nobody is safe. From Davi Banerjee, queen bee and international influencer, to Simone Bergeron, the young new history teacher; to Charley Hicks, a transfer student who seems determined not to fit in, it seems everyone has something to hide.
As the year unfolds, bonds are forged and broken, secrets are shared and exposed, and the lives of Tiffin's students and staff are changed forever.
Elin Hilderbrand, bestselling author of The Perfect Couple, teams up with her daughter, Shelby Cunningham, to deliver a fresh and buzzy look behind ivy-covered walls.
'The perfect back-to-school read' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review
'Pure nostalgia' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review
'Prep meets Dead Poets' Society' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review
Unlike most readers, I haven’t even read any of the Nantucket books – only her Winter ones. I enjoyed them enough over a couple of holiday seasons years back. I was enthralled by the concept of this one, as I am with all boarding school books. Her daughter actually attending boarding school and sharing her experiences as a basis for this book definitely made the age target go down (in a good way for me).
This was not a literary masterpiece by any stretch. It was incredibly cliche in every way a boarding school book can be (especially knowing there’s another book – what tropes are left to cover??). But I’m not going to lie, it was highly entertaining and addicting, which I really needed. The setting was great, the characters were unlikeable (intentionally I’m sure?), and the drama was good.
Other reviews had me thinking it was going to be confusing with all the characters but I thought it was straightforward. I also saw people complaining about too much Gen Z language to the point where it was off-putting or won’t age well – I can kind of see the latter but honestly I didn’t even notice it during my read.
I’m highly interested in where the next book goes because while I think all the tropes have been covered, there will be a lot more fallout and doors that got opened toward the end of book one.
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