Cozy Fantasy

 Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

This is both a prequel and a sequel all at the same time. This follows Viv and her adventures right after joining her troop. Hence prequel. But, it ends with a flash forward to her life now. Hence sequel. Viv is on her first adventure with the troop she joined and she gets a bad leg wound. They drop her at the nearest town and tell her they will see her when they come back through, as long as she doesn't die first. She has a couple setbacks from not listening to her doctor. She makes some friends, particularly Fern who owns the bookstore and starts up her love of reading. In fact, she spends most of her time with Fern, helping her revitalize her store. We discover how her friendship with Gallina started. We see her first relationship, and watch as it blooms knowing it is destined to fail. We have trouble with a minion of a necromancer. We meet my favorite character, Satchel, a sentient pile of bones that only comes to life when sprinkled with bonedust. He was created by the necromancer to be her servant, but he has a lot of skills. Viv and friends let him out and he gets to make his own choices for the first time ever. He also helps Viv defeat the necromancer. Her defeat grants him his life to live on his own terms. I would burn the world for him. This book had a lot more action than the first, but it wasn't overly gory. It set up a third book nicely and I need it desperately. I loved this book. I love this series. Cozy fantasy is my jam.