Travis Baldree

An absolutely wonderful story, with a pleasantly cozy atmosphere, mixed with a healthy dose of unexpected gore, excitingly surprising violence, and completely delightful vulgarity. This Slice-of-life Cozy Fantasy kept me turning page after page, reading the joy evident on every page.
Viv the Orc is tired of being a bounty hunter and is hanging up her sword (Figuratively, by giving up her life as a mercenary, and literally, as Blackblood is proudly displayed in the shop). She comes to the city of Thune looking to start over again, open her coffee shop, and live a life fulfilled. I love how she finds people with whom she is able to create strong and meaningful friendships with, as well as working relationships. Stories about Women loving Women don't often have them have a happy ending as a couple, and even as Viv and Tandri met it was clear about their attraction to each other. The romance wasn’t overstated, or made to be a big deal, it was just a deepening of their friendship and all the characters accepted that.
The ‘Found Family” that Viv manages to cultivate around her, from Tandri, the succubus she takes on as an assistant and becomes her accidental business partner and girlfriend, to her eccentric neighbor, Laney, who while not understanding the coffee world, is still very supportive, to the ever quiet but always easily excitable Ratkin baker, Thimble, and even The Madrigal, the notorious local protection racket, which becomes one of Viv’s benefactors and best customers. The entire ensemble makes for a great cast of characters to be the foreground of this genre bending fantasy.… (more)