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maryellen's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-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? No
5.0
This book was an utter delight. Wonderful characters, humor, suspense... I just loved it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail
novella42's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
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
Such a fun, weird, dark-yet-delightful book! I love baking bread and reading fantasy stories, and found this book to be hilarious and just the right amount of snarky. I usually avoid dark/horror themes but I love Kingfisher's style and take on mental health and relationships enough that I keep going back to read a lot of Kingfisher's other books in the Clocktower universe. I kept imagining this story taking place there, too. It's certainly dark enough for it, to the point where I kept feeling surprised that this is a young adult novel. But then Mona would do or say something and I'd have a little argument with myself that of course this is a young adult novel. If Hunger Games is Young Adult, than this can be too, and is a heck of a lot sweeter. (And not just because of all the scones and gingerbread.) I genuinely love Mona and all the people in her life. Kingfisher has a real talent for writing group dynamics and I think that shows here. I was surprised to learn in her afterword that she first wrote this in 2007, as many of the themes are especially relevant in the 2020s. I'd love to read another in a series, and I also think this makes a lovely standalone story too. Well done, Kingfisher!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Genocide, Medical content, and Cannibalism
bex_knighthunterbooks's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.5
With Kingfisher's distinctive humour and dark whimsey, this children's adventure was charming and easy to love. The baking elements were well incorporated and the baking magic paid off nicely as the action ramped up at the end. The peril felt real, and I loved the messages around the dark side of heroism and how it often shows a failure of a system (and how a city probably shouldn't be saved by two kids). Mona had a distinctive snarky voice that did feel somewhat realistic for a 14-year old, and she had some good character growth. The side characters were also well drawn, in particular the magical ones: bob the sourdough starter, the gingerbread man that sticks with her, and Molly (whose power is horse necromancy). My only criticisms are that the plot resolution was a little overpowered, making all the hard work up to that point seem wasted, and that the world building was pretty light and generic, although parts of the city did come to life for me. Overall, this was a funny light hearted and entertaining read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and War
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, and Death of parent
emfass's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My book club chose it for "cozy mystery" month. We did agree that it ended up not really being a mystery after all, (small spoiler) as you find out who the assassin is a quarter of the way into the book, but still enjoyed it a lot for other aspects of the story and the things it had to say.
I really liked the use of magic in this book; the emphasis was on creativity, and not necessarily how much power a character had or what the end result of them using their power was. I also loved that Mona wasn't suddenly an expert at any point: she continually grappled with learning how to use her magic throughout the story. Magic didn't solve all of anyone's problems, the characters still had to be creative, and no one person was the hero: there was lots of teamwork involved. The exception to this might be the final moment of the end battle that saves everybody, but I thought even that was earned and also poignantly done.
I also liked the portrayal of the citizens of the city as real people (well, maybe not the villains so much, they were pretty heightened), all the way up to the Duchess. She was nothing special, and certainly not a perfect ruler; she was just a regular middle-aged woman doing the best she could to take care of her city and her people.
Lastly, I loved the themes I found in this book, namely how we call people "heroes" in order to avoid taking accountability for the way we may have put them in harm's way without support, and also the disappointment (and, occasionally, disaster) that we feel when those we trust to take care of us fall down on the job.
I really liked the use of magic in this book; the emphasis was on creativity, and not necessarily how much power a character had or what the end result of them using their power was. I also loved that Mona wasn't suddenly an expert at any point: she continually grappled with learning how to use her magic throughout the story. Magic didn't solve all of anyone's problems, the characters still had to be creative, and no one person was the hero: there was lots of teamwork involved.
I also liked the portrayal of the citizens of the city as real people (well, maybe not the villains so much, they were pretty heightened), all the way up to the Duchess. She was nothing special, and certainly not a perfect ruler; she was just a regular middle-aged woman doing the best she could to take care of her city and her people.
Lastly, I loved the themes I found in this book, namely how we call people "heroes" in order to avoid taking accountability for the way we may have put them in harm's way without support, and also the disappointment (and, occasionally, disaster) that we feel when those we trust to take care of us fall down on the job.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Excrement, Vomit, and Grief
Minor: Animal death and Death of parent
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