J. Penner

This book is very sweet. No pun intended. The premise is a magic-less human baker named Arleta is accepted in an elven baking contest where she competes against people of various species who all have magic, all while nursing a crush on Theo, the handsome elf son of the awful elf who runs the contest.

The main conflict in this book is internal. Arleta continuously doubts herself; she tries to escape the contest multiple times and insists to herself that Theo could never like her. There is almost no external conflict: as far as I could tell, almost no one cares that she doesn’t have magic, and she’s delightfully confident when it comes to baking. I found her VERY personally relatable but also found myself often annoyed with her (which I guess makes sense?).

The early chapters didn’t hook me (they felt like a middle grade novel, for some reason) but once Arleta got to the competition, she made some friends and things picked up. What really won me over were some beautifully written scenes and the way the outcome of the competition is handled. Also, the baking descriptions seemed accurate and the book includes recipes.… (más)

I absolutely loved this book so much. It was the characters that really made the story for me. When I am so attached to the characters, it makes the book such a joy to read. I like that Arleta and Theo shared a slow burn romance as opposed to an instalove. It made it so much more believable to me.

Doli and Jez are great. Instantly, I liked them both. It was fun to see them and Arleta competing in the Elven Baking Battle together. Even if there could only be one winner. Taenya is hoping to win for a third time.

Reading this book made my sweet tooth so hungry. It was like I could smell everything that was being baked and taste it. In fact, I just wanted to reach into the pages and grab the baked goodies. I hope to seeing this group again in the future.… (más)