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A review by rainbowofcrazy
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
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
As someone that loves to bake and has an affinity for sourdough, this hit ALL the right notes for me. I absolutely loved this book! I couldn't help but constantly smile real big through the entire story. We have a young wizard with magic that only works with bread? AYFKMRN? A magic, manic sourdough starter? A cute lil animated gingerbread man? UGH sign me up for this world, stat!
I listened to the audiobook and this is the first time I've listened to Patricia Santomasso narrate and I am in LOVE. She was so perfect in this and made it that much more fun!
This was such a refreshing read, especially as a YA novel. Don't expect your usual YA romance here. Don't expect any romance, actually. Just the love of baking and magic.. and a lil touch of murder, sure, but it's mostly a cozy hug of a book. Like a warm loaf of bread!
Some minor details I didn't fully love: how it wrapped up wasn't so satisfying IMO but I get the reasoning for it. I also got tired of her age being constantly mentioned (14 years old, ya know). The pacing slowed down about halfway for me so my attention was waning a bit, but once it got rolling again, I was totally invested and couldn't stop until it was done.
I'm fairly new to T. Kingfisher's works but I can kind of see where fans would be surprised at the much lighter vibe of this book. But I adored it, and I've never ever read any book, cookbook or otherwise, that reminded me of how much I love to bake! It's a love letter to baking and I am HERE for it.
Now I'll need to pull out my sourdough starter friend and give it a good feeding. And maybe a little hug. TY for the reminder!
I listened to the audiobook and this is the first time I've listened to Patricia Santomasso narrate and I am in LOVE. She was so perfect in this and made it that much more fun!
This was such a refreshing read, especially as a YA novel. Don't expect your usual YA romance here. Don't expect any romance, actually. Just the love of baking and magic.. and a lil touch of murder, sure, but it's mostly a cozy hug of a book. Like a warm loaf of bread!
Some minor details I didn't fully love: how it wrapped up wasn't so satisfying IMO but I get the reasoning for it. I also got tired of her age being constantly mentioned (14 years old, ya know). The pacing slowed down about halfway for me so my attention was waning a bit, but once it got rolling again, I was totally invested and couldn't stop until it was done.
I'm fairly new to T. Kingfisher's works but I can kind of see where fans would be surprised at the much lighter vibe of this book. But I adored it, and I've never ever read any book, cookbook or otherwise, that reminded me of how much I love to bake! It's a love letter to baking and I am HERE for it.
Now I'll need to pull out my sourdough starter friend and give it a good feeding. And maybe a little hug. TY for the reminder!
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Violence, and Murder