Reviews tagging 'Violence'

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

80 reviews

abbey_marie's review

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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. 🤷‍♀️
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beccaand'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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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notsky's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted 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 is bursting with creativity and has the fantastic writing & lovable MC needed to support it.

As an adult I marvelled at how everything came together and how the world just worked.

The child I gave it too seemed to enjoy that it didn’t coddle them. 
Be warned that the subject matter is quite serious, even if the writing makes it feel fairly lighthearted. 
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thirdtimesacharm's review against another edition

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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

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palmkd's review

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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!
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pvp_niki's review against another edition

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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

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bubski_mcboo's review

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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.
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billy_socks's review

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring medium-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

5.0

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kmhst25's review

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

3.75

While this book is categorized as YA, I honestly think it belongs in the Middle Grade genre. The overall tone is much more juvenile than I expected and not in line with your average YA read. There's a shocking amount of "Golly gee willikers! It sure is hard being a kid in a grown-ups' world!" And the main character tells you over and over again that she's not equipped to deal with the things happening to her, because she's only fourteen years old. She probably mentions being fourteen every 5 pages. She also has a bad habit of referring to herself as a "kid" and adults as "grown-ups," which is not something I have ever known an actual fourteen-year-old to do. One gets the sense that the MC was younger at some point in the editing process.

Beyond that, it's an easy read and a fun story. There are some exciting twists and interesting plot points, but it's hard to shake the feeling that this isn't a book for adults (which I suppose it isn't, but it's widely read by adults, so maybe my expectations are the problem here).
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growintogardens's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful 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

I love books that manage to make something somehow cozy and charming despite all the violence. Good at balancing the darkness and lighthearted moments. Anyway, off to add everything this author has written to my read list. 
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