{"id":16638,"date":"2026-07-02T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=16638"},"modified":"2026-06-21T21:07:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T01:07:59","slug":"review-brigands-breadknives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/review-brigands-breadknives\/","title":{"rendered":"Review – Brigands & Breadknives"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Brigands & Breadknives<\/a><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

by Travis Baldree<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Book<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Series:\u00a0<\/strong>Legends & Lattes, #2
Genres:<\/strong> Fantasy
Release Date:<\/strong> November 11, 2025
Pages:<\/strong> 336
Get from:<\/strong> Library<\/a> | Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Barnes & Noble<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Kobo<\/a>
My Rating:\u00a0\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2bea<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Review<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

NOTE: This review is based on an eBook I borrowed from my local public library system.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are **SPOILERS** in this review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t expect to love Brigands & Breadknives<\/em> (B&B<\/em>) as much as I did. After reading the blurb and realizing that it wasn\u2019t a continuation of Viv and Tandri\u2019s story, I put off reading it for a while \u2014 helped by the wait on Libby. But, once I started reading it, I was captivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three main characters really resonated with me. You have Astryx, who is all about work and duty until Fern and Zyll come along and remind her how to live again. Zyll is childlike in her honest emotions and joy of life, but you also definitely wouldn\u2019t want to get on her bad side. She can hold her own when she needs to. And Fern feels like your average person, stuck between the two \u2014 head and heart, duty and desire \u2014 not sure which she is willing to follow and feeling torn because of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the stakes are much higher in B&B<\/em> \u2014 they face death several times \u2014 in many ways it\u2019s still a cozy read. There\u2019s a lot of character growth, and watching the friendships develop is delightful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only part I didn\u2019t like \u2014 and why I knocked off half a star \u2014 is the ending. To me, it felt like it came straight out of left field. I fully expected Fern to be overjoyed to have a place where she fit and a friend who desperately wanted her. Especially for such important work. I was sure she\u2019d stay with Astryx with the caveat that they had to go to Thune so she could talk to Viv. Instead, Fern turns down Astryx in a perfunctory, almost heartless manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zyll also takes off rather quickly given everything they’d been through together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fern’s reunion with Viv was nice, but the epilogue was a disappointment. Fern is with Quillin, likely in a relationship, but she seems to have lost contact with Astryx and Zyll, despite the life-changing experiences they had been through together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other thing I wish we’d gotten was more information on Tullah. Once she revealed that Zyll had “obliterated” her army and reputation, I was certain she was the force behind the Four Fingers gang. But we never got any additional information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those two things aren’t enough to dampen my enthusiasm, though. I highly<\/em> recommend B&B<\/em>, whether you’ve read Legends & Lattes<\/em> or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Notable Quotes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 2: …new chapter freshly opened in Fern\u2019s life\u2014the page turned, the title printed, and ready to be filled with words of renewal, purpose, and peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 8: \u201cThat\u2019s nice. You\u2019re very polite,\u201d replied the Oathmaiden. \u201cIt would\u2019ve been a shame to have to kill you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 17: The mist churned in slow motion on its way up the channel to the northeast, blushing with conch pinks and delicate oranges. Here and there it tore apart like dough stretched too far, and the river below glittered in sudden sunfire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 17: There atop the bluff, surrounded on all sides by a beautiful distance, Fern was consumed by a sense of remoteness that was not at all lonely. A safe smallness wherein the horizon was infinite, and as such, judgment, too, must be impossibly distant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 17: \u201cI think for the first time in a long time, I wasn\u2019t looking backward \u2026 or forward, either. So maybe I was looking at whatever is between those things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 20: \u201cI\u2019ve tried to make a habit of never talking about what I do until I\u2019m out of anything else to talk about. In my experience, it\u2019s a terrible way to get to know somebody\u2014at least if you want to know anything worthwhile. I want to learn what you laugh at, what makes you roll your eyes, what gets you upset, or passionate, or puts you at ease. Work is just\u2026 The stuff that holds the rest of it together. It\u2019s like describing a house by talking about the nails.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 20: She traded silver for dreams in ink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 20: So, your fire\u2019s gone out, and the coals are cold…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 28: Conversations with Zyll tended to be like bottling smoke. You mostly weren\u2019t sure if you were going to end up with anything for the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 29: I find myself wondering if, for every hard decision of my life, I\u2019ve put a thumb on the scale in favor of what I imagine somebody else\u2019s opinion of me might be. Is that true, and I\u2019ve just stacked other reasons on top to hide it from myself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 37: … books are a weapon against loneliness. Putting them in the right hands lets people see one another. It makes us \u2026 better to one another. I think that\u2019s a worthy thing to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 38: A thimbleful of disdain poisons the entire well. It must never find its way into a friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Have you read Brigands & Breadknives<\/em>? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed my post. Make sure to subscribe to my blog<\/a> or follow me on Instagram<\/a> so you don\u2019t miss any posts. I generally post at least once a week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe three main characters really resonated with me.\u201d Check out my review of *Brigands & Breadknives* by Travis Baldree.<\/p>\n

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