Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

Content warnings:
The author lists the following content warnings: violence, injury, swearing, near-death experiences.

Additionally:

This book contains scenes of blood, poison, tyrannical rule, a toxic relationship between a male friend/coworker and female friend/coworker, toxic workplaces and an emotionally abusive employer.

There are references to events off page: corpses put on display, spiked drinks, and death of loved ones.

Guarding the Queen is all Reyna has ever known. It’s the family business, and it was assumed from birth that she would follow in the footsteps of her mother. The thought of doing something else hadn’t crossed her mind until she met Kianthe, the Arcandor, the infamous Mage of Ages. Falling in love with Kianthe was a risk, and the two sneaked midnight rendezvous afraid that the Queen, not known for her mercy, would find out.

After a particularly nasty assassination attempt leaves Reyna realising just how expendable she is to the Queen despite her loyalty, Reyna decides to accept the offer Kianthe made to her – to run away and set up a bookshop with a tearoom.

Of course, Queen Tilaine is never going to just let Reyna go. Finding the seemingly perfect place in Tawney, a town with uncertain borders far away from the Queen’s court, the couple set up shop in an old bandit hideout. But life was never going to be quiet for the Mage of Ages, and Tawney, well, it’s a town that has more happening than they first realised, including dragon attacks.

Can Reyna and Kianthe help the town, avoid the Queen’s guards, and get their business off the ground, all while working out their relationship as a proper couple?

I picked up Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne because the title practically begged me to, and the synopsis backed it up. I was expecting a cosy fantasy that would be fun and interesting and was blown away by how good it was. Thorne’s writing is brilliant. From her characters to her plot twists and her world building, her writing was a delight to read and I love her style. Her unique narrative style fits well with the cosy fantasy genre, and I loved the way that the narrative slipped into omniscient narration at times, commenting on how Renya and Kianthe reacted to a situation later. For example, when they tell a necessary white lie to save a teenager from a life of crime, the narration mentions that it’s something that they never dissuade him of his belief.

Speaking of said teenager, the whole bandit subplot was such a laugh, and I enjoyed the way that Thorne seamlessly blended humour with romance and fantasy in this book. While this cosy fantasy definitely comes under the romantasy genre, there is a lot more happening other than just the romance. Also while there are a lot of displays of care, snuggles, hugs and kisses, that is the only intimacy shown on the page, although there are plenty of hints in the dialogue that more is happening off the page. I’ve seen other reviewers referring to the flirting scenes as being a lot more involved.

I don’t know if the author has reworked the book for this Tor reprint in 2024 or if other people have a much lower tolerance for scenes like this. But I did not find anything to be “inappropriate for a workplace”, especially one that is run by a couple that is clearly in love.

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea also has great mental health representation, which was a nice surprise, and I was very impressed with how well these scenes were written. There is a focus on anxiety, intrusive thoughts and recovering from abusive and toxic situations.

What stops this book from being a full five stars for me is that I realised a bit of a big plot hole. Reyna is running for her life from the Queen, and a huge deal is made about how dangerous it is for her… and yet she doesn’t change her appearance at all? It also takes a while for both her and Kianthe to realise that Reyna running around with her Queen’s guard sword probably isn’t the smartest idea! Everything else in the book fits together very well, and Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea has one of the most daringly funny endings I’ve read in a long time. But that bit let it down for me, and once I realised it, I couldn’t stop going back to it.

I fell completely in love with the world and characters that Thorne has created, and can’t wait to continue the adventures of Renya and Kianthe in the next Tomes & Tea book!

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When Reyna is seriously injured in the queen's service and the queen brushes it off as if it were nothing, Reyna decides that she's out. She's going to take her girlfriend up on the offer of running away together and starting a bookshop/tea house in some remote place. Problem is, Kianthe, Reyna's girlfriend, is the most powerful magic user in the world, and that's a position she can't exactly step away from. Can they find a place for their dream bookshop that is close enough for Kianthe to still be able to make occasional trips into work, but far enough away that the angry queen won't be able to trace them?

The success of Legends & Lattes was bound to spawn a run of cozy fantasy books of varying quality. This one is not terrible, but neither is it the top of the form. I felt like every problem the characters solved wasn't really solved, just pushed off for later. I didn't feel like the characters were particularly well differentiated, and I had trouble staying engaged in the story. If you're super into cozy fantasy this is still worth the read, but I won't be seeking out the sequel. ( )

This occupies much the same space as Legends and Lattes, but I didn't find it quite as engaging. I did enjoy it, however, and will be reading the sequel.

Reyna resigns the Queensguard by running away with her girlfriend Kianthe, the world's leading mage. This is treason; no one leaves the Queen's service. They open a teashop/bookstore in a remote border village and begin making friends. But dragons and the Queen's spies don't care about their comfort.

A cross between cozy and action. ( )

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

Reyna is the private guard for a cruel queen. Kianthe is the most powerful mage in the world. They love each other. When Reyna has yet another near-death scrape with no respect or gratitude, that's it--she flees, and with Kianthe, they set up shop in a remote border village to create the tea-and-bookstore of their dreams. There are bandits to consider. That the squabbling local leaders. And the dragons that keep threatening to burn down the town. But through it all. Reyna and Kianthe's love is the constant.

The love story at the center of this is cute. I mean, this book is as formulaic and cozy as they come. I really enjoyed that aspect, and the village and the townspeople. The whole vibe is just lovely. What drove me bonkers, though, and kept jolting me out of the coziness was the worldbuilding. It just didn't make sense. A lot of emphasis was placed on the food and drink they were making, because that was a major part of the cozy vibe. This medieval culture was making things that didn't make sense. Yeah, yeah, I know, I should let it go, like enjoying a big turkey leg at a Renaissance Fair, but after researching this stuff extensively for my own books, it's really hard when it's not just one thing that doesn't make sense, but everything. Where are these supplies coming from? How are they eating these foods in THIS season? What about their winter stores? Do you realize how much butter goes into croissants--and that they didn't exist until the 19th century, which is weirdly out of step even in this secondary world? How do these people know what vanilla smells like?! Cocoa?!

I think most people wouldn't even notice these things, but for me they were like a flock of mosquitoes. ( )

This book is often compared to Legends and Lattes. I'll admit that I struggled a bit with that one since I need a bit more action in my books. I got a little bored and it didn't keep my attention as much as they hype suggested. I, however, heard good things about Can't Spell Treason Without Tea from bookish people I know so decided to give it a shot! And I'm glad I did. It has a lot more action (and a griffin!) and it was less repetitive so I found it much easier to stay invested in what's happening. Maybe the fact that I'm more of a tea person also helps! I don't know.

If, like me, you like the idea of lower stakes fantasy but still need some stakes and a plot to keep reading, this one may be one of the better cozy fantasy options for you. I loved Visk. Easily my favourite character and I wish we'd gotten to see more of him. I did enjoy the other characters and getting to know them as well of course. I liked that the narrator used different voices and accents to distinguish them.

Despite my enjoyment I do feel like the plot suffers from a big event being solved far too simply, similar to how I felt in Legends and Lattes. I suspect this is largely to keep it low stakes but I was hoping for something bigger. While it definitely had lower stakes (mostly personal rather than the whole world is in danger variety) I felt like this book had done a decent job of dealing with them until this point. The journey in Can't Spell Treason Without Tea was still incredibly enjoyable for me though! The ending definitely didn't ruin the experience, even though I did find myself wishing for more. I'm definitely interested in picking up the sequel.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own. ( )