It's a shame that cosy fantasy is such a big thing these days because it's inevitable that all new books will get compared to the rest. You Can't Spell Treason Without Tea was always going to be compared to Legends and Lattes whether that was fair or not. I absolutely loved reading Legends and Lattes and expected to feel the same about this one. Maybe that meant I set my expectations too high because this one didn't quite do it for me. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy it because I did. It was a sweet read and one that kept me entertained as I listened. It just wasn't exactly what I hoped it would be. Meaning it didn't grab me as much as other books in this genre.

I loved the concept though, which is why I picked it up. A Queen's guard leaves her position to settle down in secret with her girlfriend. Reyna is one of the tyrant Queen's private guards and Kianthe is one of the most powerful mages alive. Their relationship has been a secret for years but now they want to live together as a proper couple. To do this, they have to hide in a small town and make plans to open a shop selling tea and books. They can't keep their pasts away for long as they have to deal with dragons and former employers getting in their way. Will they be able to make a new life for themselves or will they get dragged back to their old ones?

You Can't Spell Treason Without Tea is an odd mix of cosy fantasy and high-stakes fantasy. To start with, it follows the couple's journey to open their bookshop and make a home in the town of Tawney. We see them decorating, ordering stock and gaining customers. It's all very sweet until the dragons turn up. Then the stakes start to get a bit higher as Kianthe has to find a way to stop them from killing people. At the same time, the Queen sends out men to bring Reyna back, which could lead to her being tried for treason. It feels like we're about to witness a lot of drama but nothing really goes anywhere. The dragons are dealt with pretty easily and put off for future instalments. Likewise, the Queen turns up for a few pages and then is easily calmed. It feels like a lot of build-up for very little.

That's not to say that this isn't a good book but it definitely exists to set up the rest of the series. It's a warm-up, which means it spends more time introducing things than actually doing a great deal. this makes the pacing feel a bit weird. There's a lot of sedate stuff followed by short periods of drama before it completely calms down again. This was the first book in the series, so it's possible that it was just suffering because of that. However, it would have been a bit better if so much of the "good stuff" wasn't being held back for the future. I get that you need to introduce world-building, but I also feel like this was somewhat lacking. Some of the political and magical systems seem a little undefined. Again, this is probably going to be explored further in other books but it's still frustrating.

Of course, all of this would be fine if the main couple had great chemistry. In the end, I was underwhelmed with the pairing of Reyna and Kianthe. I didn't necessarily feel them as a couple and I found their dialogue stiff and awkward. Their interactions felt unnatural and it just kept throwing me out of the narrative. I wasn't engaged in their relationship which made it hard to care about it being torn apart. I didn't believe that they were soulmates. I also found it irritating that they repeatedly worried about the strength of their relationship no matter how many times they reassured each other. If they don't feel secure in their own relationship then how am I supposed to? Still, this was an easy book to listen to, so I'm not completely put off. I will still keep going with the rest of the series and see how it goes. Hopefully, we'll get to know the couple a bit more in the next one.