A review by sarahlreadseverything
The Confectioner's Guild by Claire Luana

4.0

A solid 3.5 stars, rounded up. I picked this up as a freebie, having read other excellent reviews, and I'm glad I did. I'd have enjoyed it for the magic system alone, which is unique and well-built (the world-building is good full stop, with political intrigue and a fun parthenon of interesting Gods). Fantasy murder-mystery is also not a combo I've read much of, and I enjoyed this aspect too. There were definitely enough breadcrumbs to guess the killer if you thought about it (I guessed correctly at about the 2/3rds mark) but it was mysterious enough not to destroy enjoyment of the story.

Personally, I found the supporting characters more interesting than Wren herself (she was a bit flip-floppy for me, confident and fearless one minute, hiding in corners the next) - forgivable because the secondary characters were numerous and fun.

SpoilerDocking points for the insta-love romance, which was a truly terrible/excellent example of the aforesaid trope. This is the worst example of it I've read in a while, and I would have docked more, if it wasn't for the fact that the romantic scenes are well-written are pretty swoonworthy despite their circumstance.