Can't Spell Treason Without Tea

This was inspired by Legends & Lattes, and for me, it matched the vibes while otherwise being a different story.

I'll probably pick up the sequel, as there are some characters I'm waiting to see get their comeuppance.

Unrelated, names are pretty typically fantasy fare. It's unfortunate that Kianthe's name is phonetically given in the prequel story at the end of the book, and possibly more unfortunate for Feo that I took Spanish in high school.

Rebecca Thorne's Can't Spell Treason Without Tea is a cozy sapphic romance fantasy, explicitly in the vein of Travis Baldree's work. The book focuses on the (prexisting, and secret) relationship between a palace guard and a powerful mage. When the queen pushes too far, they treasonously abandon responsibility to set up a combination teashop/bookshop in a small town, like you do. It feels like there's larger stakes here than in similar books, but they're still personal and local ones. I'd also argue that these two are so competent in their own domains that any conflict feels much more about the potential emotional impact than a true worrisome threat.

I appreciated the amount of worldbuilding heft here. I am always a sucker for anything that opens with a fantasy map, and I felt like small bordertown Tawney was interestingly situated both geographically and politically. It's caught between three countries, and has two local governers who butt heads over who actually is in charge. It's just got the sense of place that I want out of a fantasy book. The book also has some magic system details that had more depth than I was expecting from this sort of book.

Overall, this was quite the cozy read, and it's definitely the kind of treat my brain needed right now. I'm looking forward to more novels in this series, as it felt like there were quite a few hooks for future complications. I laughed at the in-world explanation for why the biggest of these hooks lands itself in the "quite important but not at all urgent" category, which seems perfect for ongoing fantasy hijinks.

Like many, I found this book via TikTok and the Author herself.

We follow Rayne, who is a loyal palace guard for a mad queen, who doesn't care a bit about Raynes life, but would never let anyone go from her service, out of principles (and spite).
The second main character is Kianthe, the Arcandor, which is the most powerful mage in the world, chosen directly from the Stone of Seeing. She met Rayna during one of her duty visits in the palace and they fell in love.

They flee together and build a new life in a town far away, where they open a book shop that also serves tea. It takes a while, but slowly, the town's people love and welcome the two women and everything could be cozy and perfect.

But on one hand, there are Dragons, who attack the town frequently and we learn that the people stole three of their eggs decades ago, so Kianthe makes a deal to find them to keep the dragons out of the town.

On the other hand, the queen is very pissed and sends her spies and soldiers, to get Rayna back, who is now considered a traitor.

So, never a busy day for the couple, but they have friends and allies now on their journey to find the eggs and survive the queen't wrath.

The world building was very nice and the characters are very lovable, with all their problems and flaws. I really enjoyed the plot and I'm thankful that the book ends with some kind of closure, even though a lot of the plot arcs are still going strong. Fortunately, "A Pirate's Life for Tea" is only a month away :)