Bookshops & Bonedust

By: Travis Baldree

Narrated by: Travis Baldree

First loves. Second-hand books. Epic adventures.

Viv’s career with the renowned mercenary company Rackam’s Ravens isn’t going as planned. Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she’s packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk – so far from the action that she worries she’ll never be able to return to it. What’s a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a struggling bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted. Even though it may be exactly what she needs. Still, adventure isn’t far away. A suspicious traveller in grey, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.

Sometimes, right things happen at the wrong time. Sometimes, what we need isn’t what we seek. And sometimes, we find ourselves in the stories we experience together.

Set twenty years before the events of Legends & Lattes, Bookshops & Bonedust is a standalone cosy fantasy by BookTok sensation Travis Baldree about the power of good bookshops, great friends and the unexpected choices along the way. Narrated by Travis Baldree.

©2023 Travis Baldree (P)2023 Macmillan Publishers International Limited

Critic reviews

'Baldree introduces some delightful new characters and reprises others. He draws from a universe of gnomes, elves, skeletons, and other species and provides a perfect voice for each.' - AudioFile

'It's the rare prequel that beautifully adds depth, power, and love to the lore. This is a book for those who were once young and pulled between fighting the world with all they had...or curling up in a dusty bookshop with a good story' - J. R. Dawson

'What I love about Travis Baldree is that set against an epic world of adventure, he writes about the small victories that make life worthwhile. Bookshops & Bonedust does this and it is glorious.' - Ben Aaronovitch

Incredible follow up!

It hit all the spots of the previous ones and then some! I didn’t expect it to but it was perhaps even better than the first one. But I recommend reading Legends and Lattes first. hh

More characters that you will fall in love with...

... And that you will miss after you have finished the story. Which is kind of the message of the books I guess 😊

Unexpected prequel

I very much enjoyed authors previous work, so I didn’t read much going in to this story. A “slice of life” kind of story, with a surprise at the ending, which I suspected, but the conformation made it that much more gratifying.

Verry good

Loved it. Not as good as the first, but still great. Wish there was more.

Cozy fantasy, very delightful!

Love the style of these oddball character relations! I hope to see more of Viv!

Another cosy chapter of a practically perfect story

Like many other people I read Legends and Lattes last year and was completely caught up in the sweet (sometimes literally—I bake a LOT when I relisten!!) tale. I have loved Mr Baldree’s voice and performance for a long time and to now have the joy of him performing his own stories…he’s even more expressive when he voices his own characters!

I was perfectly happy with where Viv ends up at the end of L&L, so I will say I had a bit of trepidation when I heard there was a prequel coming out. I should not have been anxious though, because Bookshops and Bonedust is just as lovely as the first book. We meet a younger Viv, more rash and with something to prove but sidelined in a sleepy seaside town when she picks up a severe injury in battle. Out of sheer boredom she goes into a local book store and then the magic begins. Mr Baldree weaves relationships we can all believe in and aspire to in our own lives. He again adds just enough peril to the plot to drive the story and keep me interested but not so much to kill the cosy vibe. I can already tell this duology will become prime relistening material for when I’m stressed or sad and am thankful to have it!

Love the world and its characters

Sometimes one doesn't want to listen to massive emotional roller-coasters. Sometimes one just wants to to become absorbed in a character and their experiences and enjoy it with them. Copy fantasy is an apt description.
The narrator is superb and I'm so glad to enjoy his writing as well. Hopefully there is more of Viv and her friends in the pipeline.

a good background story

This is a good story to have playing in thebackground. I will say it was not my kind of tale I did enjoy parts and it is worth a listen.

Better than the first

I loved Legends and Lattes, but this stort was eve better. I see room for at least one more story in Viv’s life.

it's hard to write a good prequel.

It's a tough challenge, making a prequel. I don't think this one works as well as it should. It is well-written and interesting, but I somehow put off finishing it.