Reviews tagging 'War'

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

97 reviews

fantaiil's review against another edition

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funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.75

You take one cup of talent, mix it with two cups of potential and sprinkle a bit of humour about it. You bake a cake and throw it out of the window. Remember to really destroy all the fun.

Out of the remaining crumbs you try to assemble a ginger bread house. Take a whining "oh i am 14 and just a baker" and put it at any given place. If you think, it's enough whining and remembering the reader that the fmc is 14 and just a baker, put some more. Now add poop, jokes about peeing, more poop and peeing again to really sell how much of a disgusting waste this book in reality is.

I guess if I hadn't liked the potential that much, i wouldn't be that disappointed. It is a nice idea. There are some funny lines. Even maybe a bit to think about. With some practice, a lot of editing and reducing the peeing and poop situations from 4 to maybe just one (or cut it altogether if I'm being honest), it cut have been such a cute, funny, little book. 

But in the end... it's just shit.
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metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.5

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directorpurry's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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mamaewalk's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-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

Cute! Took me a bit to get into it but a precious YA hero novel. 
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katebella's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Really loved at the start, but had to force myself through a lot of the later parts (still enjoyed, think it might’ve been timing rather than the book!)
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waurayo's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Great read for middle-school age and above; themes of war , wizardry & one murderous magician are key elements of the story
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twoweeeeks's review

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adventurous dark hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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bessadams's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-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? Yes

3.5

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sai_like_sigh's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

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bookcheshirecat's review

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emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

4.0

“But I shouldn’t have had to do any of it. There should have been so many grown-ups who should have fixed things before it got down to me and Spindle. It doesn’t make you a hero just because everybody else didn’t do their job.” 

➽ A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking caught my eye because of the hilarious premise! The story follows 14-year-old Mona who works in her aunt's bakery. She's a magician ... but can only work with bread, which is useful in a bakery, but not anywhere else. The fact that she can animate dough and her familiar is a Sourdough starter had me so intrigued! I loved Mona, her humor was hilarious and her character voice really came through when she was narrating the story. It was interesting seeing her relationship to her magic and the comfort she found in it, despite it not being 'flashy'.

➽ Generally, she felt very grounded as a character and I appreciate that she actually sounded like a young teen! Mona is forced to be brave because a murder happens in her aunt's bakery and wizards around her city keep disappearing. She has caught the eye of dangerous people and has no choice but to go against them, despite not being a fighter. Still, she wishes that the adults would solve her problems and look out for her when she needs to. Mona has complicated feelings towards the adults who were supposed to protect her but failed because they are only human as well. It was easy to connect to her, as she feels so genuine and gets thrust into a position she doesn't want!

➽ I loved the themes of this story and how it combined cozy with darker elements. The bakery and Mona's bread magic have a cozy feel to them. She's often funny and her banter with her new friend Spindle was nice to watch. At the same time, Mona's paranoid as magicians like her are being targeted and she's the one who's supposed to save them. I loved the discussion of what it means to be a hero and if it's fair to expect people to fill the role. In general, the magic system was very intriguing. Most magicians have small, specific talents like Mona's ability to work with dough. I loved that the powerful magical talents you usually imagine are rare. I loved the unique magical talents we got to see!

➽ The biggest weakness of the book is the plot and slow pacing! I was considering lowering my rating because of how disappointing the plot was, but fortunately, I'm more of a character-focused reader. I felt like the story didn't know what it wanted to be. It was a murder mystery at first and I loved that, so I wish we'd stuck with the original premise. The second half of the book turned into a political intrigue/war story and while it had interesting themes, it was underdeveloped and didn't connect to the beginning. I also struggled to understand the antagonists' motives, I still don't get them even after finishing this book. They didn't have much personality, so I wasn't impressed. Some plot points in the second half felt a bit too easy.
Such as Spindle and Mona infiltrating the palace and convincing the Duchess that something is amiss in the city. It was too easy to convince her, given that they hadn't met her before and she had every right to be suspicious. Sadly, she barely had any personality and the scenes in the palace lacked any excitement for me.


“You expect heroes to survive terrible things. If you give them a medal, then you don't ever have to ask why the terrible thing happened in the first place. Or try to fix it.” 
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