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

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. 
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