Rattkin bookseller Fern discovers that what seems like the perfect life isn't necessarily what she needs in Brigands & Breadknives, the third in the heartwarming Legends & Lattes fantasy series by Travis Baldree.
Years ago, a young orc adventurer named Viv spent a summer recuperating and working in Fern's bookshop. Readers of the series will remember the details from Bookshops & Bonedust. Viv recently settled down and opened a coffee shop, and now she has convinced Fern to move her bookshop next door in the city of Thune. But even though the renovations and grand opening of the new shop go beautifully, Fern can't shake the feelings of dissatisfaction and hopelessness that have plagued her for years. One sad and drunken night, Fern crawls into the back of a cart owned by Astryx, a legendary elven blademistress, and passes out. She wakes too far down the road to turn back, since Astryx must deliver a captive goblin, Zyll, for a bounty. Nobody's sure why Zyll has a bounty on her head, but it's big enough that it will take all Astryx's fighting skills and a bit of help from Fern to keep rival adventurers from stealing her away.
Although this entry deals with more traditional epic fantasy adventures than the previous ones, it maintains the familiar warm and fuzzy tone. Fern faces the weighty reality of disappointing people who care about her, but Baldree's clever narration and the antics of Zyll and others keep the tone from getting too heavy. Series fans and newcomers alike will delight in Fern and her friends. --Kristen Allen-Vogel, information services librarian at Dayton Metro Library