FORMAT/INFO: Brigands and Breadknives was published November 11th, 2025. It is 336 pages long and available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.

 

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Fern needs a change. Running a bookstore doesn't bring her the same joy like it used to. The answer is clearly to move to a new town and start a new bookshop, just to shake things up. But when the dust has settled, Fern realizes she still feels completely unmotivated by her life. One drunken bender later, she finds herself in the back of a wagon with one of the most legendary warriors of the ages, days away from her home. Her only choice is to keep traveling with the elven warrior and their odd prisoner: a goblin with a rather large bounty on their head. Across a dangerous journey, full of other warriors hoping to claim the same bounty, Fern has to grapple with the big question: what DOES she want out of life?

Brigands and Breadknives is an adventure-filled quest with a scene-stealing chaos goblin. Let's be clear at the start here: if you're looking for a quiet, low-action tale similar to the original Legends and Lattes, you won't find that here. That doesn't make this story any less heartwarming, but it is a decidedly different kind of story than its predecessors. There will be danger and there will be deadly sword fights. But underneath it all is still the theme of finding yourself, especially when what used to bring you joy is no longer fulfilling.

The theme of reinvention is an old one, but I liked the different approaches the story took with it. Fern is burdened not just by a desire to find a new purpose, but also by the guilt that she is somehow letting all her friends down by going against their expectations for her. They put so much effort into helping her - will they hate her if she admits that she's realized being a bookseller isn't what she wants anymore?  Meanwhile Astryx, the legendary elven warrior, is trapped in a monotony of her own making. She does the same thing over and over because she fears doing anything different will have her utterly lost.

Fern and Astryx help each other work through their respective conundrums, but it is Zyll the goblin who steals the show. Zyll is a goblin of few words, but their actions manage to captivate regardless. Ever mercurial, their antics had me chuckling at every turn and were definitely a highlight of the book.

Brigands and Breadknives is a story of reinvention that manages to be a rousing adventure from start to finish. I thoroughly enjoyed the various adventures of the party on their quest. Though this story is decidedly more action-packed than the others set in this world, it never loses sight of its heart-filled message, making it another worthy entry in the Legends and Lattes series.