Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
Reyna is one of the Queen’s personal guards and comes from a long line of women who did the same work. Queen Tilaine is known for being merciless and has more than a few enemies, so the assassin at the Queen’s party was not unexpected. Reyna has dealt with assassins before, being a trained and quite adept killer, but the assassin at this party comes very close to taking Reyna’s life and the ruthless Queen would have easily let them. This was the final straw for Reyna so she commits treason by running away. Of course, she doesn’t quite have a fully fleshed-out plan but there is one thing that is certain: Kianthe, Reyna’s secret girlfriend who is also the most powerful mage to exist.
Kianthe absolutely abhors Queen Tilaine and has been begging Reyna to run away with her to open a bookstore and tea shop and live a comfortable little life. Kianthe herself has been looking for every excuse to shirk her mage duties as the Arcandor. After Reyna has escaped and Kianthe finds her with the help of the pair of moonstones she had enchanted, the two set out to put their dreams into reality. They settle in Tawny, a small town on the outskirts of the Queendom and in the icy tundra next to dragon country. Even with fake names and enough money to get things going, they have a steep path ahead of them as they try to win the townspeople over. Of course, there are also the issues of Reyna’s injuries from the assassin, the bandits who continue to visit the building that Reyna and Kianthe had commandeered, and the dragon attacks.
This book had just enough action to keep me interested, enough tea and books to keep me soothed, and enough puns to make me giggle frequently. It’s a lovely escapist read for anyone looking to get away from reality for a bit.