The Book
A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic: Deluxe Edition
Book Author / Year Published
J. Penner, 2025
Review Date
April 15, 2025
Genres
Fiction
Cozy Fantasy
Romance
Tags
Love at First Sight
Finding Self-Worth
Baking Competition
Age Group
Adult
She doesn’t need to have magic in order to be magic…
In the heart of Adenashire, where elfish enchantments and dwarven delights rule, human baker Arleta Starstone works twice as hard at perfecting her unique blend of baking with apothecary herbs. So, when her orc neighbor (and biggest fan) secretly enters her creations into the prestigious Langheim Baking Battle, Arleta faces a dilemma. Being magicless, her participation in the competition could draw more scowls than smiles. And if Arleta wants to prove her talent and establish her culinary reputation, she’ll need more than just her pastry craft to sweeten the odds.
Though Arleta may not yet believe in herself, she makes her way to Langheim—with the help of a very attractive woodland elf—and competes. While on a journey of mouthwatering pastries, self-discovery, heartwarming friendships, and potential romance, Arleta will have to decide whether winning the Baking Battle is the true prize after all. But win or lose, her adventure is only beginning…
The Review
At a Glance
Overall Rating
Would I Recommend?
Yes- if you want a cute, low stakes cozy fantasy
Positives
- Great World Building
- Cozy Vibes
Negatives
- Flat Characters
- Fast Paced Relationships
Category Breakdown
Plot
The plot overall is simplistic and predictable, but for a cozy fantasy it hits just right! As a fan of baking competitions, I thoroughly enjoyed Penner’s take on how magic might be utilized in such a competition without compromising the raw skill and hard work that the bakers need. Each scene helped push the main and/or subplots along, and nothing felt out if place. I did find that at times some of the scenes felt contrived . The scenes where Arleta just so happens to overhear her competition come to mind first. I can see why these scenes were included, but their timing felt unnatural and forced in relation to the rest of the story. The relationships also felt forced, and the progression was rushed and the build up was almost non-existent. Overall the story was enjoyable, but those few scenes along with the plot’s predictability are why I scored it a 3 (average) rating.
Writing Style
I have to be honest, I wavered between scoring the writing style a 2 or a 3. Ultimately, I went with a 3 because many of my issues boiled down to personal preference, and while it may have impacted my reading experience, the book as a whole was still readable. I thoroughly enjoyed how Penner primarily used baking similes and metaphors which aligned perfectly with Arleta’s character. Arleta’s voice shone through the sentence structure and variation. There were the occasional odd or seemingly redundant description, as well as some excessively wordy sentences, but overall the writing was easy to understand and enjoyable to read.
Characters
The book started off strong with its character introductions. Immediately, we get a taste of Arleta’s frazzled demeanor and anxious personality. The way she interacts with her world along with her inner monologue perfectly demonstrates this. Theo immediately comes across as a caring and open-minded- if not a bit sheltered. Their early interactions were incredibly sweet and built the foundation for their relationship beautifully. Unfortunately, there wasn’t really any character development or a deeper look into their personalities. The side characters and antagonists also suffered from this and every character felt extremely flat and like caricatures of their main trait. This was most noticeable with Arleta and Sharlina. Arleta’s internal monologue was incredibly repetitive and grew quite annoying as the book progressed. Sharlina had very little to no development and had no substance outside of her hatred for Arleta. I definitely feel like the characters held promise, but they needed some more developing in order to feel whole.
Story Elements
I absolutely adored the world building in this book. Even though we only see two parts of the world, Penner still draws an incredibly full picture. Unfortunately, the dialogue felt stilted and unnatural for a good portion of the book, which detracted from my overall experience.
Grammar
There were one or two grammar mistakes and/or typos, but they did not impact the overall reading experience.
Overall Experience
While I found the book enjoyable, it didn’t especially stand out to me. I would recommend it if somebody was looking for a cozy fantasy and an easy read.
In Depth Discussion
I first want to say thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me an advanced reader copy to review! While this story has already been self-published by J. Penner, this particular edition is published through Poisoned Pen Press. I hadn’t read the self-published edition, so I went into this book with a fresh outlook.
This book started off strong. Immediately we get a sense of Arleta as a character and how she interacts with and is affected by the world. The expositional world building was seamlessly woven into the story and gave the world an impressive amount of depth for a cozy fantasy. I must confess, I absolutely adored the world J. Penner created. I loved the different cultural nuances we learned about, the species that exist, and social dynamics that those differences entailed.
However, after the first few chapters, the development stagnates. Theo, the love interest, stays the same one-dimensional “nice guy” character throughout the book. I was hoping for more development from him- especially since early on in the book he shows a lack of knowledge of how humans are viewed and treated in the world. It would have been nice to see him gain a better understanding of the struggles Arleta and humans faced and develop a more well-rounded sense of the world. Unfortunately, we saw little to no develop from him or even Arleta. I could see where Penner laid the seeds for Arleta’s growth, but none seemed to fully take root and grow. The supporting characters and antagonists also suffered from lack of development. Arleta’s friends in the competition felt like caricatures of their main personality trait and the antagonist didn’t seem to have any personality trait other than mean. The flat characters and lack of growth is my main complaint about the book, but I’m hoping that issue will be resolved in the rest of the books in the series.
Overall, I would say this book was a pleasant read, but not one I see myself going back to. The writing style was a struggle for me to read at times, and I prefer more dynamic characters than the ones in this book. I would still recommend it if somebody wanted an easy cozy fantasy read, but I can’t deny that it failed to meet my initial expectations.
Reviews By Candle 
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