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abbey_marie's review against another edition
Too dark for me and didn’t like the creepy vibes. I found myself SO stressed out reading this book. It’s not what I would call “cozy” and maybe it’s just that I’m not a horror person and this was a pretty dark plot but this book triggered me majorly and freaked me out. If you like horror, you might love this. Heck, give it a chance and see if it’s your book. Will say that it’s incredibly well written and I liked the narration style. I can easily see how talented T. Kingfisher is through reading part of this book and I hope she has a great, long career. Me, I just couldn’t get through this book for my own mental health. I tried, lol, maybe I’m a softie but it is what it is. 🤷♀️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Death
beccaand's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent
schnaucl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I really enjoyed it. I loved Mona and Spindle and the idea of using a minor talent to great effect. I also loved Mona's constant (and justified) frustration about it falling to a child to fix things because the adults had failed to do so.
I thought the conversation with Mona's uncle about how if we just pin a medal on someone call them a hero we don't have to look at why the situation happened in the first place (or make changes to prevent it from happening again) was particularly insightful.
And Molly's death was a painful tragedy. I loved the way it was written though and the image of all the dead horses rising up, especially from the knackeryard was brilliant.
And Molly's death was a painful tragedy. I loved the way it was written though and the image of all the dead horses rising up, especially from the knackeryard was brilliant.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Death, Grief, Murder, and War
onthesamepage's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I truly don't know how Kingfisher managed to make me laugh out loud and then hold back tears within a handful of pages. The first part is a bit slow, but about halfway through it starts to pick up. I loved the way Kingfisher played around with small magic, and what that would look like. All the things Mona managed to do with dough were so fun to read about. The little gingerbread cookie was my favourite side character, followed closely by Bob.
There are a handful of (maybe overly) descriptive scenes that have to do with excrement that could've been excluded, but I ended up being pretty charmed by this book. The protagonist is fourteen and reads pretty young, and there's no romance to speak of, but there are still some darker themes here. I think it's okay for a younger audience, though.
There are a handful of (maybe overly) descriptive scenes that have to do with excrement that could've been excluded, but I ended up being pretty charmed by this book. The protagonist is fourteen and reads pretty young, and there's no romance to speak of, but there are still some darker themes here. I think it's okay for a younger audience, though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, and Murder
thirdtimesacharm's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Grief, and War
craftysnailtail's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
This one wasn't for me. It keeps making its way onto cozy book lists and I'm very confused by that. Sure, she works in a bakery, but you see very little of that life. You know, considering the brutal murders going on everywhere, including in said bakery? Nothing about a young girl being terrified for her life, pursued by a serial killer, corrupt government and police, and forced to fight in a bloody war, says "cozy" to me. This novel wasn't graphic, but it would've scared me if I had read it at what it seems was the author's target age- 14. The main character makes sure you know she's 14 about a dozen times, so I assume it's important.
As confused as I am about this book's target audience, if you like short stories that depict almost mundane forms of magic mixed with a reluctant protagonist solving a serial killer mystery, then this might be for you.
As confused as I am about this book's target audience, if you like short stories that depict almost mundane forms of magic mixed with a reluctant protagonist solving a serial killer mystery, then this might be for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Murder, and War
Moderate: Hate crime and Police brutality
Minor: Death of parent
cato_g's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Vomit, and War
palmkd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was such a fun story about a young wizard who has bread magic. While she doesn't have much, Mona is content with her life working in the bakery making delicious baked goods and sometimes making the gingerbread cookies come to life and do a little dance. The story starts on the day Mona comes to work to find a dead body in the bakery... that's definitely NOT supposed to be there.
This story is full of zany fun and I definitely recommend it!
This story is full of zany fun and I definitely recommend it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Violence and War
pvp_niki's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Murder, and War
Moderate: Animal death and Grief
Minor: Cannibalism and Death of parent
bubski_mcboo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Gallows humour makes themes of heroism, political freedom, inept authority, and death approachable through the eyes of a fourteen-year-old baker forced to fix a big mess made by adults.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Vomit