Can't Spell Treason Without Tea (Tomes & Tea, 1)

I knew I needed this book when I saw the title and I was right. It was a fun fast pace but also a cozy read. Great plot and the characters were very relatable. I am so excited to get the second book and excited to see how the story continues to evolve and grow. A must read everyone should have on their tbr.

The idea of a cozy romance between a former Knight and an Archmage as they flee a tyrannical queen to open a book and tea shop in the middle of nowhere while helping solve a mystery of lost dragon eggs and resolve a succession crisis between two potential rulers in their new home sounds like a great idea on paper.But this book unfortunately fell a little flat when it came to the delivery.When it comes to this book I did overall like it, but there are some glaring issues with it so I'll list them both as followsPROS:- I loved the characters, pretty much all of them. The queen stole the show when she was on screen with how tense she made everything due to her wildly unpredictable mood, the rival lords were both quite interesting and actually had really good points for why either one should take over ruling the town without demonizing the actions of another, the griffon was adorable, and the townsfolk really felt believable for what it was- The magic system has an interesting spin on it and the way Kianthe describes it is actually really intriguing, especially when it began delving into other types of magic and how she responds to it (alchemy, dragon magic)- the writing was easy to read and engage with, with minimal errors I could fin((SPOILERS AHEAD))CONS- The pacing is.... not great. It feels incredibly all over the place and except for in the very beginning and the very end, not really all that much happens except Kianthe and Rayna setting up their book/tea shop. We get a few shreds of interesting plot here and there, from the feud between the two potential lords, the looming threat of the queen, the missing dragon egg that turns out to be multiple eggs, and the dragon attacks but for 80% of the book it is just setting up the tea shop, a little bit of dialogue describing these issues, sometimes a character has to run an errand, and rinse and repeat until we finally get to see a dragon attack near the end of the book and this kickstarts the last few chapters when Kianthe actually realizes she has to look for the eggs and Rayna finally goes to deal with the queen in a rather anti-climactic way in half a chapter with a hint that something might be brewing behind the scenes. Overall, the plot could have used more revision as it would have worked better if we could have seen more of the issues presented in the main conflicts of the story, but instead we got 20% of that with 10% at the very beginning and 10% at the very end with 80% mindless filler in between.- The relationship between Kianthe and Rayna, while adorable, I was finding hard to be believable. While the initial panic and fear in the beginning of the book was warranted, but the middle and especially towards the end I was struggling to find a reason to believe these two were actually a couple. The book has a severe case of Tell, not Show with their relationship in that we are told they are incredibly in love (and indeed some points do show really cute moments of them being incredibly affectionate and loving to each other), we are told more often then shown how much they love each other and how devoted they are to each other with both characters raising valid concerns about the other's loyalty and devotion but either not discussing it or when they do it is almost immediately put to rest and swept under the rug. This isn't helped when the two characters are seperated and show they actually have very distinct and interesting personalities when away from each other, but suddenly lose a lot of that spark and interest the instant they are together again (Rayna's more ambiguous morality, code of honor, and extroverted friendliness, or Kianthe's scarcasim, hatred for her role and the people who forced her into it, and selective obliviousness. All of these point to both having deep scars and unhealthy coping mechanisms but the moment they are together all these points just disappear)- The world building isn't to great, despite all the interesting parts we are shown. I won't knock the book for containing a map, but the overall world is clearly defined but not overly shown leaving the reader to guess where things fit for themselves and other countries are mentioned frequently but without substance other than an idea that they could either become important later or that they could easily have been more involved in the plot. Some heavily missed opportunities that I could guess will become important in the sequel are easily the plot thread that the queen may have a missing half sister and the other country that is implied to be gearing up for a major conflict with the queendom soon.Overall I don't think the book is terrible by any means, but it definately could have used another revision or two so the plot could have been brought in on a tighter narrative that didn't feel like 80% mindless filler. I am still looking forward to reading the sequel after I cut through more of my reading backlog.

Last year I absolutely adored “Legends & Lattes” by Travis Baldree, who also designed the Fate and Torchlight action-RPG video games I loved. It is fitting that Thorne refers to Baldree in the acknowledgements, as this fits into a similar genre - they call it ‘cozy fantasy’ which works just fine for me.When I think of Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea (CSTWT) my brain says “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it and THEN what will you do?” This is the story of skilled and deadly palace guard Reyna and head of the magical society Kianthe, who fall in love but are bound to responsibilities that they cannot easily quit. Reyna serves a cruel & selfish queen and Kianthe is the Arcandor, mage of ages with responsibilities around the realm.The story traces their journey to escape the crush of their lives and pursue their dreams of settling down and opening a shop based around their loves of tea and books. Of course, problems abound - their chosen location is harsh & remote with disputed allegiances, and of course neither of their former lives plan to let them go easily. But perhaps most of all, the transition from a covert relationship to being openly together all the time forces them to face many truths about their relationship - and themselves.I loved the characters - of course Key and Rain are complex characters who have to deal with internal and external doubts while building a relationship, business, and adapting to life in a remote town. But the others - Matild, Tarly, Gossley, Visk, Feo and Wylan in particular - are intriguing characters with interesting backgrounds and motivations that I hope we get to revisit in future stories.As I said at the start this falls into the ‘cozy fantasy’ genre, but that doesn’t mean there are no stakes or thrills by any stretch! There are numerous exciting scenes with desperate potential outcomes and it was thrilling to see that no one is too important or powerful to escape consequences.The book ends with an epilogue that sets the table for a follow-on adventure that I know is already in progress - can’t wait!

Sometimes you want a book to take you away. To be a gentle place you can go to. This is that kind of book. Because it does that job well it gets 5 comfortable stars.

A little bit of stakes, a wholesome relationship, found family and dragons. What more could you expect from a book? I loved it!

Honestly, I have been struggling to read at all after Uni. Before university I loved reading books of all kinds but after spending so much time researching and doing reading that didnt really spark much joy other than finding what I needed for essays or some type of research.. I dunno, I started to resent and avoid books overall.After reading the blurb for this book I decided to give it a go. I dont remember reading a book and catching myself daydreaming about it in my adult life, but all of a sudden I am experiencing that again!I have been recomending it to all my friends, even some strangers as I waa out traveling.Its amazing. You won't regret buying it, its a lovely book. Go on, get a copy and join in on the daydreaming, with a cup of tea of course!

I've been in a reading slump lately. After reading Legends and Lattes, I was 'introduced' to the cozy fantasy notion and I couldn't be more pleased about it. This is exactly the kind of genre I've always wanted to be able to easily find.Can't Spell Treason without Tea... I really can't explain how much I love this book. Kianthe and Reyna are such characters, and their interactions are full of wholesome love (and terrible puns) and I love every second of it.The physical book is expensive (as most are, these days), but it's most definitely worth it. I've already ordered the second one and can't wait to read more of this pair. I deeply adore them, and feel like this book really touched my life. Sounds a bit much, perhaps, but sometimes the perfect book comes at the perfect time in your life. For me, that was this book.

I enjoyed every page of this book. Such a cozy story. Romance and fantasy are well balanced and who doesn't love books and tea?I really enjoyed how the characters and the story develop. It makes for an interesting book and I can't wait for the next tome.This felt like a warm hug, I'm glad I found it. Thank you so much for the writer!