Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

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

46 reviews

uranaishi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Excrement, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and War

Minor: Mental illness, Racism, Child death, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury

elltea11's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

There were several places where I felt like the book could and perhaps should have ended. Not as good as Nettle & Bone imo, but still worth a read.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Excrement, Animal death, Confinement, Stalking, War, Xenophobia, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Classism, Death of parent, Vomit, Mental illness, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Sexism, Self harm, Suicide, and Police brutality

nina_rae_131's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Death and Violence

Minor: Excrement, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

hobbithopeful's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

Bread. Wizard. Really I shouldn't have to tell you anything else but I will because I am so kind-hearted. Gingerbread. Army. Convinced yet? This a book full of magic and wizards, and people who only can do a bit of magic and not the mountain-moving type of magic. Mona can magic dough to not burn, and even make gingerbread dance. When she finds a dead body in her aunt's bakery, she soons finds herself accused of murder and in the middle of..well quite a mess.
IT IS A CRIME NO ONE HAS RECOMMENDED ME ANYTHING BY T. KINGFISHER!
The writing style and topics are enough that it can easily be enjoyed and consumed by any age, be it middle grade or even adult. (I myself, being a tax-paying variety of human, fell in love with this story from the very first page) Delving into corruption, the true price of being a hero, and adults who fail had me immersed and even misty eyed.
The characters are humorous, and while sometimes first person can be a bit repetitive, Mona's sarcasm and observations kept it fresh and never dull. My favorite character from this book is obviously Bob, the true hero of the story. A close second is Mona's gingerbread familiar.
Truly a read that will cheer you up, and much like the stickiness of raw dough, it won't let you go until you're done.
Read this. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go root out every book that Kingfisher has ever written and add it to my tbr.

 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and War

Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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? Yes

4.0

I so wish I could go back in time and hand this book to my pre-teen self because I know it would have immediately become a favorite of all time. As it stands, I loved this book a whole lot. Specifically, the cast of characters really stole my heart. If you're looking for something whimsical and fun with just a splash of darkness, this is a great one to pick up, and I can see it become a comfort read for me moving forward. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Vomit, and War

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Animal death, and Death of parent

beeeverly's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and War

anntharai's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny sad fast-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

T Kingfisher is fast becoming an instant read for me, this book is frankly phenomenal. You wouldn't think a book about semi sentient flour based goods could be heart wrenching and epic BUT YOU WOULD BE WRONG. Fight for books like this, share them widely and listen to what they're saying because appearances can be deceiving. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Death of parent and Police brutality

edamamebean's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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? N/A

3.5

Definitely a cute, lighthearted read. I found the slightly darker elements to be kind of refreshing in contrast with Mona’s naivety. Her inner monologue was at times charming, and at other times really quite annoying, but I can appreciate that the author managed to capture her unique voice. It gets kind of slow and bogged down in the middle, and sometimes the way she walks you through every detail can make the book feel almost procedural? But it was still a lot of fun and I would recommend if you’re looking for a cozy fantasy to fill the Howl’s Moving Castle shaped void in your heart. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, War, Animal death, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent

sonatica's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Death, War, Vomit, Murder, and Blood

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Child death

its_erin's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring 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

4.5

A delicious adventure suitable for readers of all ages! Follow along as Mona, a young wizard with the special gift related to bread, unwittingly gets pulled into an adventure involving murder, royalty, and treasonous plots. With her trusty gingerbread golem and sourdough starter familiar, she will work with new friends to save the city and people they love.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: War and Murder

Minor: Vomit, Death, and Death of parent