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I came to this book knowing that it is described as ‘cosy fantasy’ and they’d be few surprises. I didn’t know what cosy fantasy is but do now. Here, we have light-hearted, but not sexual, romance embedded in a fun slice of life story about Viv, an orc, opening a café (complete with a cook to make cinnamon buns and biscotti) perhaps, or perhaps not, with a little magical help. The other characters comprise those enlisted to help in the cafe endeavour, as well as a few rogues and the members of DnD-style adventurers’ troupe that Viv previously belonged to. The trouble is there’s just not much here world- or character-building wise, and the book itself is very short. The only person we really learn anything about is Viv, and apart from a few references to height and strength, she might as well be human. One to enjoy on a commute but could only recommend buying if you get a really heavy discount off list price, which thankfully I did. 3.5 stars, but grudgingly, I’ll round it up not down (mostly for the descriptions of the baking).

At 10% of the way through: Before having looked at other reviews, I was a bit ummmm…. perhaps a little over-inspired by Rothfuss (which I read back when it came out and can hardly remember). The main character’s overblown prose is somewhat irritating, but still not sure how much that’s deliberate as opposed to the writer’s style - it’s clever if the former. Only just getting going with the ‘back story’, so next need to see how that works in. It’s a long book… lots to go! When finished: Much better after the back story starts; still weakest when it strays into fan fiction - we have several more scenes that even I spot as Rothfuss rewrites. Overwrought prose will pull you out of the story at times, but we do have a remarkable world, strong characters and some wicked twists as baddies are revealed. I quite like its slow-burner pacing, and excellent portrayal of the value vs costs of things. Cliffhanger ending. I’ll read the next one. Thank you to @kithrup@wandering.shop for giving this away.