A story about an adventurer who was just getting out into the world suddenly finding herself stuck in a small town with nothing to do. Sounds pretty boring huh? Well if you like character development and people from different backgrounds coming together to form a sort of found family, you’re in for a treat.

Viv is an orc who was injured on one of her first missions with her crew. They’re hunting an evil necromancer and she gets stabbed deeply in the leg. The crew leaves her to recover in a small town to continue their hunt. Viv is distraught and stir crazy, so she explores the town. This is the set up for some of the most charming character writing I’ve seen yet. She visits the local bookshop on a whim and finds herself reading a book within the next couple days. Though she knows in her soul that she was made to adventure, she finds solace in adventuring through reading. Viv also finds companionship in the bookshop owner, a ratkin named Fern and her pet owlkin Potroast. Other residents of the town come into the picture very organically. I was surprised at the breadth of the cast and their depth as well. Not too much is revealed about many of them but through their actions, you can infer a lot. It really engrossed me in the way I felt like a part of the community. Through Viv’s eyes, we get to see how she really cares about others and is considerate about how she’s perceived. Yes, she has innate animalistic tendencies, but she controls them more than people expect her to. She’s kind and thoughtful in a way that I relate to. She’s a great vessel to experience the town of Murk through.

Though there’s not a lot to say about the premise, the story wraps around nicely near the end. There are a decent amount of surprises throughout and the dialogue was so endearing that I was chuckling, blushing and even tearing up at parts. Viv has some truly emotional moments with a few characters and I could feel how conflicted she was during those instances. She’s torn between her adventurer life and the found family that she’s made in Murk. The decision she has to make is constantly eating at her and I felt that pressure as well. It’s a complicated scenario and I think it was portrayed perfectly here.

I’m keen to read more of Baldree’s books. This story was a delight to read. I had thought it would be a cozy read and I couldn’t have been more right. There were some truly emotional moments involving a passionate baker, foul-mouthed bookseller and a sassy gnome, and they all made me feel like part of the group. It was ultimately a story about a community coming together to support one another and an outsider finding a place to call home, while also discovering there is more than one way to live. I loved reading this and I think anyone can enjoy this type of story.