The Introvert's Book Club

Legends & Lattes #2 Rating: 5/5 Spice: 0/5 Plot: 5/5 Primary Genre: Cozy Fantasy Blurb: 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 ...

The Spellbound Sisters #1 Rating: 3/5 Spice: 0/5 Plot: 4/5 Primary Genre: Cozy Fantasy Blurb:  The magical Quigley sisters return to bargain with fate once more in this follow-up to the “charming, uplifting, and utterly enchanting” (Lana Harper, New York Times bestselling author) national bestseller The Crescent Moon Tearoom. The Crescent Moon is thriving after a much-needed expansion, with the ladies who step through its doors continuing to seek comfort in the glimpses of their futures found in the swirls at the bottom of their teacups. Anne is leading the city’s witches as Chicago’s Diviner, Beatrix is swept away on a book tour across the country, and Violet has found her place with her feet swinging through the air above the circus crowds. That is, until the Quigley sisters find themselves stumbling on their chosen paths, and they are drawn back home in search of refuge in each other’s company. As Anne struggles to balance her growing responsibilities, Beatrix fears she has ...

The Spellbound Sisters #1 Rating: 3.5/5 Spice: 0/5 Plot: 4/5 Primary Genre: Cozy Witchy Fantasy Blurb:  A cozy and uplifting debut novel about three clairvoyant sisters who face an unexpected twist of Fate at the bottom of their own delicate porcelain cups. Ever since the untimely death of their parents, Anne, Beatrix, and Violet Quigley have made a business of threading together the stories that rest in the swirls of ginger, cloves, and cardamom at the bottom of their customers’ cups. Their days at the teashop are filled with talk of butterflies and good fortune intertwined with the sound of cinnamon shortbread being snapped by laced fingers. That is, until the Council of Witches comes calling with news that the city Diviner has lost her powers, and the sisters suddenly find themselves being pulled in different directions. As Anne’s magic begins to develop beyond that of her sisters’, Beatrix’s writing attracts the attention of a publisher, and Violet is enchanted by the song of ...

Purchase Rating: 4/5 Spice: 0/5 Plot: 5/5 Primary Genre: Magical realism/cozy fantasy Blurb: With a dash of magic and an ensemble cast of oddball, small-town characters, this feel-good novel explores forgiveness, family, and the sense of humor it takes to live with the ones we love the most. Ebey’s End is a small town on an island off the Pacific coast, reachable only by ferry (assuming the gods are with you and it’s not a Tuesday). It’s a comfortable, familiar (but okay, fine, sometimes lonely) life for its resident grocer Anita Odom. That is, until fourteen-year-old July shows up on her doorstep. Taking in the recently orphaned daughter of an estranged cousin had not been on Anita’s to-do list. In fact, it’s a terrible idea. Anita is ill-suited, ill-prepared, and absolutely certain the entire enterprise will end in disaster—for both of them. From the moment she arrives, July seems to “know” what each customer at the Island Grocery needs. They’re small: a housekeeping magazine sli...

Purchase Rating: 5/5 Spice: 0/5 Plot: 5/5 Primary Genre: Fantasy/Cozy fantasy Blurb: Princesses Neve, Della, and Bry are sisters-in-law, having married into the royal Charming family, and for the last thirty-plus years, they’ve been living a coveted happily-ever-after life in the idyllic kingdom of Foreverness. But royal life isn’t what it seems. Bry’s people-pleasing is exhausting her, Della’s exquisite and renowned beauty is fading with time, and Neve dreads the prospect of becoming queen one day, because power makes one a target, and she doesn’t want to be killed...again. Then the king’s sudden death thrusts each princess into a personal quest that shows her the truth behind the kingdom’s “perfection” and challenges her sense of purpose. My Thoughts: This is the type of content that Disney should be releasing. A feminist’s fairy tale starring Snow White (Neve), Delle (Cinderella), and Bry (Sleeping Beauty) who are married to the Charming princes, all brothers and princes who op...

Click book cover art to purchase Legends & Lattes #0 Rating: 5/5 Spice: 0/5 Plot: 5/5 Primary Genre: Cozy Fantasy Blurb: When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek. In Bookshops & Bonedust, a prequel to Legends & Lattes, author Travis Baldree takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books. Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned. Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it. What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do? Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn...

  Buy on Amazon Rating: 4/5 Spice: 1/5 Plot: 4/5 Primary Genre: Cozy fantasy Blurb: "I just thought my life would be different." At 34, Elaine spends each day going through the motions---alone. When she learns of her father's passing, she puts her home up for sale, hoping it will give her the strength to abandon the city, its memories, and the ghosts of her dashed hopes. Like her mother "There’s no longer a reason to stay." But soon, Elaine wonders if reason may have agreed to split spices at the market. Tall, handsome, green, with a bone shaking laugh, and a glorious smile, the orc innkeeper seems set on wooing her, but he doesn’t know the depth of her heartache. Or the truth that could very well push him away. "This one can still be good." Innkeeper by day, smuggler by night, Satyr dreams of a future where he can keep the Aspen Inn afloat without skimming Arnell’s precious pearls—but too many rely on him for it to be a choice. When the pressur...

Purchase Legends & Lattes #1 Rating: 5 Spice: 0 Plot: 4/5 Primary Genre: Cozy Fantasy Trigger Warnings: Violence, arson, stalking Favorite Quote: “A pleasure,” said Viv. It wasn’t. Blurb: 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. The Good: * I’m unsure how to iniate this list. This is probably in my top 10 of favorite books I...