Becca Reviews: Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree

This really does what it says on the tin. It is the cosiest fantasy out there. I read and enjoyed Legends & Lattes last year, but honestly, for me, Brigands & Breadknives is leagues above that. Across the board, there was heaps more humour, emotion, lore, history of the area, sentiment, life lessons, and magical silverware!

I accept that when reading a cosy fantasy, you’re not expecting huge amounts of world-building and action, but this novel hit the sweet spot. There are a few climax points throughout the novel and they each find the balance of drama, and that drama being fairly succinctly resolved.

The alternative cover is truly a work of art. Without giving away any spoilers I just want to explore some of the details here that only make sense once you've read the book.

• The warrior's slightly unsheathed sword.

• The rattkin writing reems and reems of pages.

• The goblin holding a butter knife with a chicken (?) on they're head.

• A (rightfully so) bemused-looking horse.

We see Fern, a friend of Viv’s, experience a bit of a midlife crisis and end up on her own adventure. She, of course, meets many colourful characters along the way!

The world feels, and is, a lot bigger compared to Legends & Lattes (which some readers may not like as it takes away from the 'cosy' element).

I really enjoyed the scenes in the abbey and loved meeting a larger variety of creatures. We were given more mystery and backstory with a central conceit that is satisfyingly and comedically tied up at the end.

I can imagine some reviews may say it didn’t need to be over 300 pages, and a lot of it was slow-burn friendship, but I think it was a good length, as we needed the journeying scenes to understand the characters and see them develop.

This novel demonstrates 3 of the best character arcs I’ve read for a while! What a treat for autumn!

Read: 30/09/2025

Published: 11/11/2022

Price: £13.86 (GBP)