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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
palmkd's review
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
kmhst25's review
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).
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).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Excrement, and Murder
Minor: Genocide, Blood, and War
kingorgan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
fantaiil's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, and Domestic abuse
directorpurry's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit and War
Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Blood
sai_like_sigh's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
bookcheshirecat's review
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.
“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.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and War
maryellen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and War
Minor: Animal death, Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
philososquid's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
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? No
3.25
What a joyful concept -- a young wizard who can enchant bread, cookies, and all sorts of baked goods. The concept was just so sweet and magical.
However, I felt disappointed with the plot. I thought this was going to be a murder mystery, and it turned out differently. Which wouldn't matter so much, if the plot was done well. But I felt it was lacking. I don't feel the story deserved the ending battle, nor did some of the characters.
Most of all, I felt the author did a lot of telling, instead of showing. The main character explicitly stated a lot of her thoughts -- instead of the author showing the reader how she felt in different situations. Overall, I wasn't able to envision the events in this book so well. When an author is able to show, not tell, I can always envision the story better.
Overall, there are some loveable characters and a cool idea. A great ending battle, even if it felt a little undeserved.
However, I felt disappointed with the plot. I thought this was going to be a murder mystery, and it turned out differently. Which wouldn't matter so much, if the plot was done well. But I felt it was lacking. I don't feel the story deserved the ending battle, nor did some of the characters.
Most of all, I felt the author did a lot of telling, instead of showing. The main character explicitly stated a lot of her thoughts -- instead of the author showing the reader how she felt in different situations. Overall, I wasn't able to envision the events in this book so well. When an author is able to show, not tell, I can always envision the story better.
Overall, there are some loveable characters and a cool idea. A great ending battle, even if it felt a little undeserved.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Blood, and Murder