One of the best books I've read in a while, it's simple and wholesome, using the typical DnD-like fantasy world as a foundation and, instead of throwing in epic stakes and world shattering consequences, it's a small stakes story about a well-built warrior Orc woman who puts down the Sword to start a coffee shop in an city where nobody knows what coffee is.

This story was an absolutely beautiful premise, paired with very accessible prose and loveable characters. You find yourself rooting for everyone, especially little Thimble, God I love that guy! 🥐

But there's other hassles and hurdles they must face, Liv's past keeps coming back to threaten her new way of life. 

I will say I saw some cheap uses of subversive foreshadowing, for a while into the book, it made us believe Liv was romantically interested in Cal, which honestly seemed like a weird and incompatible pairing to me, but then suddenly Tandri and Liv start giving eachother sneaky longing glances, being awkward around eachother, being intimate and it became quite clear Liv and Tandri were attracted to eachother. I did not see that one coming, I usually can, but this felt like it was just thrown in later on because the author felt it needed some romance and he wanted to subvert the audiences expectations. Well, it worked, but did feel cheap.

But honestly, that's the only gripe I have, and it's not even enough to affect my 5 star rating. This is going into my favorites pile 🤓