2026 – The Obsessive Bookseller

Title: Tales From the Territory

Author: Travis Baldree

Series: Legends and Lattes #3.5

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: There are many tales yet untold . . .
‘GOBLINS & GREATCOATS’: Chaos goblin Zyll is involved in a case of mistaken identity, where she solves a murder at an inn whilst simultaneously stealing all the cutlery.
‘JUST A THIMBLEFUL’: The sweet rattkin baker Thimble finds a new home for his soon-to-be famous cinnamon rolls.
‘PAGES TO FILL’: An act of mercy leads to a life-changing discovery for warrior orc Viv.
In ‘MIROGRAPH’, young succubus Tandri assists a university professor on a mysterious project where art and science collide.
In ‘CAVALIERS & COFFEES’, Viv, now the owner of Legends & Lattes coffee shop, discovers that imitation is not the highest form of flattery. –Goodreads

Niki’s Review:

This collection was an absolute delight! I keep saying I don’t care for short stories, but I may need to re-evaluate, as I was hooked on this right from the first page. It helped that the first story (Goblins and Greatcoats) was about my single most favorite character I’ve met over the last few years: Zyll. This being is hysterical (and slightly unnerving), and her story was every bit as entertaining as the scenes we got with her from Brigands and Breadknives. It also provided a great backstory to how she came to possess a certain item…

And then the Thimble story!! Which was very reminiscent of Ratatouille, but I loved the twist Baldree put on the tale. This was the one for which I felt the largest emotional connection. It also best captured the cozy, day in the life aspect I loved so much about Legends and Lattes. Thimble spoke to my artist’s soul. He had an insatiable drive to refine his culinary confections to perfection without any external appreciation for his efforts. His story arc there was especially satisfying, and I think this is the one I’ll remember most from the collection (which is fitting because it’s the cover image feature on my Broken Binding copy).

Then we get into my least favorite of the collection, Pages to Fill. I found it oddly difficult to follow compared to the other stories and even had to go back and reread a good chunk of it at one point because I was so disengaged. It was almost as if it were missing something, but I can’t put my finger on what it was. The end half of the story was a bit more successful, and I finally found a story element I liked enough to keep my attention. While doing research after finishing the book, I discovered this particular story was written many years before the others in the collection. Interesting, then, that it’s the only one I had a struggle with. I think it signifies just how far the author has grown as a writer since his early publishing days, so I was still able to appreciate it as a good stepping stone.

And finally, a maddening but also heartwarming tale taking us to a time period after L&L with Viv and her coffee house crew. It’s fun to get a “where are they now” update, and I’m certainly hoping this isn’t the last we’ll see of them. Injustices in books, even in cozy books, stress me out, so this was probably the most evoking tale of the bunch. Even so, it ultimately left me with all the right emotions and was a good capstone for the collection.

Overall I’m not sure which story was my favorite, but I can say I think it is worth reading for fans of the series. It added a good bit of roundness to the world for me and I truly cannot wait to see what the author has in store next! I experienced the story both on audio (narrated by the author himself – a narrator by profession, so you know it’s good!) and via the Broken Binding hardback edition. The physical book I read had striking full color illustrations to go along with each story, which definitely enhanced the experience for me. Overall I’m thrilled to add this one to my library!

I’d like to thank Macmillan Audio, Travis Baldree, and Netgalley for the chance to listen to and review an early copy of Tales From the Territory!

Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Frank, Jen, Karen, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, Elizabeth, Bee, Poochtee, Kinsey, Alysa, Derek, Kelly, Grace, Carmen, Leah, and Laura! <3

Other Books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Title: Monster, Monarch, Maiden

Author: Rae Carson

Series: N/A

Genre: YA Romantacy

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Overview: Bria Angarsold isn’t supposed to be a hero. She’s just a mountain girl. A mountain girl with a near useless Gift, living an idyllic life with her sister and her parents, running the family’s thriving inn. But then the raiders come, and Bria’s family is destroyed. One of the last survivors of the raid, Bria isn’t sure she’ll live to see where the captors are taking her. Until the caravan crosses paths with a mysterious traveler and Bria’s luck changes again. With no family or home to return to, Bria swears her life to this moody, secretive young man. Titus has been chosen to complete a perilous quest—one that will make Bria question everything she’s ever believed, from the magic that weaves through their world to the very gods themselves. As the journey unfolds, Bria realizes she has something—someone—new to believe in. She’d follow Titus to the Edge of the World, sworn oath or not, even if neither of them stands a chance at returning from it. But Bria Angarsold is a survivor. She isn’t useless, and neither is her Gift. And this is her story. –Goodreads

Niki’s Review:

If anyone was going to write a wholesome, organic romantacy, it’s Rae Carson. I’ve long admired her approach to love stories and her character profiles in general because they always feel more realistic. More relatable. Where the romantic bonds are formed based on way more than just physical attraction and plot convenience.

Even so, I wish the fantasy elements in the book had been stronger. They provided the backbone objective to the story and some fun moments involving personal magical “talents,” but for the majority of the book, I forgot I was reading a fantasy. The elements were definitely a bit more subtle than I usually prefer. What’s more, a lot of the richer world-building components took place “off-screen.” There’s only so much page count, and this was a romance-first story. I think had the intent been to make it a fantasy-forward tale, all of those cool elements would’ve been featured instead of getting pushed to the periphery in favor of relationship development… and I probably would’ve liked it more. The ending felt a little rushed (regarding the fantasy plot points, not the romance, which was perfectly paced), which made the rest of the book feel too drawn-out in retrospect (because omgsh we spent a lot of time trudging through the snow), which is why I think I finished it feeling a bit dissatisfied. This is definitely an instance of the book being a wonderful representation of its genre, but me not being the intended audience.

I need to rant about romantasy in general for a minute and then explain why I liked this one better than most I’ve read. Do you ever find it ridiculous how signs of attraction between characters are written in at the absolute stupidest times? Like during life or death situations where the last thing you’d be thinking about is how hot the other person is, especially in the WAY those scenes are written where time seems to slow down, the danger subsides for a minute, and we get a couple of pages describing in detail the other person’s physique. These moments irritate me to no end because they are so obviously pushing a plot agenda, and they effectively steal away all tension and sense of danger from the scene.

What’s cool is that Carson’s books never have any of the things that irritate me about how romances are often written. The relationships are always slowly developed, based on mutual respect and gradually increasing regard for one another that comes from going through difficult things together and consistently showing up for one another. So good. I give that aspect of the story a solid A+.

I know this review is weird. I’m not a romantasy fan who is trying to fairly evaluate a romantasy book. But I AM a big Rae Carson fan and have read and will continue to read anything she comes out with. And if like me you like love stories that feel more organic and wholesome, she’s a great recommend. For the record, this romantasy contains zero spice and is a perfectly lovely little love story.

I’d like to thank HarperAudio Children’s, Rae Carson, and Netgalley for the chance to listen to and review an early audiobook copy of this book!

Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Frank, Jen, Karen, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, Mike, Elizabeth, Bee, Poochtee, Kinsey, Alysa, Derek, Kelly, Grace, Carmen, Leticia, and Leah! <3

Other books you might like: