A review by thebooknerdscorner
Dragons and Dumplings by Laura Greenwood

3.0

A novelette that introduces Falhaven Castle and a princess that loves to bake. 

Princess Evie tries to be a proper princess, but she wants nothing more than to spend her days baking with her best friend, Nate. When a delegation from Shengda arrives, Evie receives a dragon egg, and she decides that its hearth is going to be the castle kitchen's oven. As Evie and Nate wait for the dragon to hatch, they decide to make a foreign dumpling recipe from the Shengdan envoy. 

I thought that this is a cute introduction into the "Falhaven Castle" series. I definitely adore the little bit that I know about Evie and Nate; I look forward to reading their happily ever after this fall. I also think that it's neat that Evie is asexual and maybe even neurodivergent. It's cool that she loves to bake and the fact that she's gradually falling for her baker bestie is a pretty cute narrative to follow. 

I honestly only rated this one so low because I'm not a huge fan of solid baking stories. Reading about people cooking is hard for me to follow and I often lose track of what is happening. I really liked all other aspects of this story though, so I feel that I'll really like the rest of this series. 

Overall, "Dragons and Dumplings" is a quick introduction to the Falhaven Castle and its many residents. I'm excited to learn more about all the royals in the next installments of this series, and I'll be awaiting Nate's return vigilantly.