This was a delightful, cozy read from start to finish.

Though things do escalate, the stakes feel low in a good way - hence, the cozy - throughout. In that way, along with the misfit found family vibes, it did remind me of Legends & Lattes. 

Growina was a cutie, and I loved many of the other characters: Theo, Florian, Eddie. I only wish Growina and Florian had met up earlier in their quests. I would have liked to see their dynamic.

The first part of the book and the last ~40 pages, I devoured; I really loved the setup and the ending. However, I did find the pacing in the middle to be a bit rough, and some parts felt very “A happens, then B happens” with little foreshadowing of things to come down the line. 

One of the quotes I thought was amusing:

"That isn't your real name, then?" 
"Nope. We had to protect our families. You didn't think Slugbeard was a real name, did you? Slug beard?" 
"I... I think it's fairly common to have a name that ends in beard," said Florian Honeybeard.

If you love a cozy fantasy, enjoy the wandering nature of a D&D campaign, and don’t mind light world building, I would definitely recommend this book. 

All opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in return for my honest review.