A Pirate's Life for Tea

August 5, 2024
Thorne’s gleeful if haphazard sequel to Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea feels less like a true cozy romantasy and more like a parody of the subgenre, ticking off millennial memes in a loosely plotted bit of shtick. Mage Kianthe and her fiancée, retired guard Reyna, improvise their way through implausible episodes of mayhem—featuring wannabe pirates, a naughty baby griffon, and “that’s what she said” jokes—as they strive to fulfill promises made in the first volume while en route to a wedding that will (presumably) occur in the third. Their bookstore/tea shop is consigned to the background, but the established ensemble of supporting characters is very much present, along with a new pair of lovers: Bobbie, a constable helping the women to hunt down the pirate Serina, and Serina herself, the plot’s primary chaos-maker. The writing is rough, the characterization fairly shallow, and the worldbuilding incoherent. As a somewhat overlong in-joke for the trope junkies, however, it’s entertaining enough.

September 1, 2024
Thorne's follow-up to the delightful Can't Spell Treason without Tea (2024) returns to Kianthe and Reyna as they work on tailing stolen dragon eggs that have been missing for decades. Along the way, they encounter constable Bobbie and her quarry, the pirate Serrina. Once best friends, the two now oppose each other over the local lord's treatment of his people. Kianthe and Reyna watch the sparks fly and are certain the pair need only a bit of encouragement to finish their enemies-to-lovers run. Will their meddling endanger lives and a relationship? How will the lord react to the flouting of his authority? What role, if any, will the Dastardly Pirate Dreggs play? As a pair who are extremely punny, amusingly anachronistic for a typical fantasy world, and entirely in love, Kianthe and Reyna engage the reader easily with the rest of the narrative. At turns sweet, spicy, and thrilling, A Pirate's Life for Tea provides fans of cozy fantasies a rich confection of a novel to enjoy, preferably with a cup of tea.

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August 1, 2024

The second in Thorne's sapphic cozy series (after Can't Spell Treason Without Tea) sees Kianthe (a powerful mage) and Reyna (an ex-Queen's guard) on the hunt for the dragon eggs that are key to the safety of their hometown. They travel to the Nacean River area to visit Diarn Arlon, the local ruler. As happens whenever Key and Rain go adventuring, lots of interesting characters, with stories of their own, somehow get involved, and the couple must conspire to save the day. In this outing, the pair meet Bobbie and Serina--one a constable and the other a pirate--who are suffering through their mutually caused broken hearts. Also on deck is the Dastardly Pirate Dreggs, a famous figure who takes an interest in Rain and Serina and has their own plans for Arlon. It is all charming, pun-filled, gentle, and deeply affirming. Thorne spins out the story at an easy pace, creating a feeling of calm and ease, even as a tumble of angst and misadventures fill the plot. VERDICT As was true with the first in the delightful "Tomes & Tea" series, the pleasures of this novel are centered in the relationships and the ethics Key and Rain advance.--Neal Wyatt

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