The very idea of gifting magic through the creation of food left me hungry for more. (Terrible pun intended) Wren's ability to add good luck to her sweet treats - along with the balancing drawback of losing any good luck for herself is so refreshingly new and well crafted that I couldn't put the story down.

The author's wordcraft was exquisite. Her use of language and word choice not only create vivid descriptions for the mind's eye - she creates scenes, people, and situations that are all colored by Wren's perceptions and personal experiences. It's beautiful. The reader gets to know the lay of the land along with the character while granting Wren the ability to hold the secrets of her past so close to the chest that even the reader does not know them.

What starts out as an average rags-to-riches story gets abruptly turned on it's ear when the Confectioner's Guildmaster, Wren's patron, with the kind smiles and large largess, suddenly drops over dead after eating one of Wren's cupcakes. Now
there are people who are clamoring for her death. And, because of her ability to use magic, others are rallying behind her claims to innocence. And poor Wren is left in the middle, attempting to keep her head above the flowing tide of Guild machinations she doesn't quite understand. Add in a kind but aloof Master who takes Wren's education in hand, an upperclassman who to too gorgeous for his own good, a young inspector with a bright mind and soulful eyes, and the grandniece of the murder victim, and you've got your rag tag group of crime solvers ready for their green Mystery Machine. (Scooby Snacks kindly supplied by the Confectioner's Guild, just don't tell the king.)

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys Fantasy, steampunk, mystery, manners, and social maneuvering.

*Special Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me a digital copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

Omg omg where do I even start.....
Thank you for providing me with an earc in exchange for an honest review.

This book blew me away far more than I expected. I loved EVERYTHING. I don't have a single criticism.

I definitely plan on keeping up with this author and this series. She has blown me away.

5/5 star easy. Everyone needs to read this book!

My full spoiler free review will be up on my blog (courtney2028.wordpress.com)on October 17th.

Thank you NetGalley and Live Edge Publishing for providing me with a copy for review.

Wren, the protagonist of this novel, discovers that her baking contains magic just before the head of the Confectioner's Guild dies after being poisoned by one of these very same magic cupcakes. She is charged with murder in this new magic world and she must figure out who has framed her in order to clear her name.

The first thing that drew me to this book was the beautiful cover and then reading about it revealed a plot that sounded just as fantastic. I really like the concept of this novel. It sounds very unique and interesting and like the perfect novel to combine so many things that I love: magic, mystery, and baking. The storyline was great and definitely has a good magical standing and the characters, especially Wren herself, were well-written and interesting to read about.

The writing is very vivid and detailed and it builds up the world brilliantly. It is clever and strong and definitely added to the atmosphere of the book that the plot creates. I will definitely consider continuing with this series.

IN SUMMARY: Though THE CONFECTIONER'S GUILD brings some sweet ideas with a mystery to whet your appetite, it sours with cliché, clumsy and often obnoxious attempts to create drama and the complete 180 of priorities when the two stereotypical and underbaked love interests are introduced.

MY THOUGHTS:

DNF at 24%.

What drew me to THE CONFECTIONER'S GUILD is the mystery mixed with quirky baking antics. For the most part, this novel opens well, introducing a fairly standard and somewhat generic protagonist Wren, with auburn curls, as the orphan-turned-baking prodigy apprentice of her master with a magical gift that thrusts her into the world of the Confectioner's Guild. Add a murder, and I'm intrigued.

... And then love interest 1 was introduced. Wren, sixteen years old with auburn curls, goes absolutely gaga for him. Forget that they've just met, forget that she's only trial for murder, forget that he's sort of a douchebag... this bloke is super hot! He has bronze abs! When he teases her it's so annoying but also sexy! He his gorgeous long golden locks and a sharp jawline! He's godlike! It doesn't stop. She has just met this guy, and already she fawns over him more than natural.

Also Wren, the girl with auburn hair, utters this line: "No doubt [1] had sampled choicer morsels than she". Just... what the frack?

THEN we get love interest number 2. He's stoic, dark, but gentle and helpful and four (?) years her senior. The age gap is iffy at best, gross at worst, and Wren also fawns over his lavish locks and his chiselled jaw that she "suddenly wanted to run her fingers over"... because that makes sense. This person is also the inspector helping her murder case, btw, if there wasn't anything else to add to the frustrated cringe of the budding romance already. Isn't there some legality about it all? She even hugs him and they share a moment... because of course (keep in mind it's not even a quarter of the way through yet...).

1 and 2 even have a hostile meet-up and get their nuts tense on jealousy, 2 getting overprotective over Wren and 1 riling 2 over it. 2 warns Wren off 1 because "he's just that type of guy and you don't want to be with him". It was utterly infuriating.

My hunch is Love Interest 1 is the real murderer, but Wren is going to fall for his charms, realise it too late, then come crawling back to 2. Obviously this whole love chevron is done just so we can splooge over these two handsome men that are hot for this boring, vanilla protagonist meant to act as our self-insert.

Auburn-haired Wren also laments that people have called her "skinny thing" as if this is supposed to be unflattering. She's skinny but hates being called skinny! Woe is her! (Note: she specifically uses the phrase 'skinny thing', rather than something that does actually have cause for concern, such as underfed or malnourished.)

Aside from that, you also have the generic Best Friend, Evil Mentor and Bitchy Rival. There's probably more, but then I'd have to read on, and I'd rather not.

Btw, did I mention that Wren has auburn hair? Because it's auburn. Auburn curls.

WILL I READ ON? I politely decline.

Wren is taken in by a baker when he discovers the orphan in his alley that has used a nearly spent decorating tube in the trash to decorate the snowbank instead of eating it. Fast forward 4 years when her cupcakes are discovered to hold magic. Swept away to the Guild because of her Gift, she becomes embroiled in a poisoning death. With her life, and the lives of her friends on the line, the race is on to find the killer. This was a great, twisty murder mystery. Nice worldbuilding, likable protagonist, clean subtle romance. The magic guilds were a breath of new magic application. Good all age book. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book from Netgalley.

Being about cakes I thought the story would be soft and fluffy. Nope. Got a bit of an Oliver Twist vibe. Murder, mayhem, friends, love and betrayal. Pretty twisted using cupcakes to kill. Felt sorry for Wren, she deserves a lot more. For me the biggest disappointment in the story was Hale. Favourite character was Pike because awesome pirate and the then Sable. Loved the story and the plot. Liked the sneak peek at the end, now I really wanna read the next one.

on paper, the confectioner’s guild sounds like an awesome concept for a fantasy series - it’s literally filled with magic food. how cool is that?? the main character, wren, finds out she has been making magical cupcakes for years, and is taken to the confectioner’s guild to receive training. but in the process of explaining the magic to wren, the head of her guild is killed, and wren is blamed. the book follows her journey as she tries to clear her name, as well as learn all she can about the magic within the different guilds.

what i loved about this book was the magic system, and how there was enough mystery around it to make me want to read the other books in the trilogy. the world building was good and well paced. the descriptions of food made me so hungry, and i loved learning about the other guilds and their magic.

unfortunately, the way the book was written also negated a lot of the good things. for example, i loved the fact that there were wholesome characters and relationships. too often, in fantasy books, everything is dark and depressing and everyone is evil. but that was not the case in this book. everyone was kind (except for the villains i guess), and that was cool in the beginning, but when every single character is just completely good™, then it isn’t believable and just reads like a children’s book. but, towards the end of the story, some of the good™ characters end up doing horrible things, which i don’t think they can come back from (like strangling the main character for example), and it’s back to being a dark and depressing fantasy for 5 mins, until the mc decides to forgive them. a lot of the dialogue and wren’s thoughts felt childish, even though this is clearly a ya book.

the romance was honestly the worst, because it was insta love, and i cannot stand that. considering that this series is a trilogy, the romance could have slowed down a lot. in the beginning, it felt natural, but then it became so forced.

the murder investigation was interesting, but it made absolutely no sense to me that wren would have access to a crime scene and its evidence, even though lucas was helping her. lucas taking the one piece of evidence that could prove her innocence and keeping it in his house (where it later gets contaminated) is beyond stupid.

finally, i don’t believe that a girl who is on trial for murder, and most likely about to be hanged, can spend time making macarons, playing dress up and obsessing over boys. it just didn’t make any sense.

Desserts and magic, with a fantastic plot. I practically ate the book.

I always like being pleasantly surprised by good books, and this one took the cake. (OK, enough with the baking puns ;)

Just when the MC's life takes a turn for the better, she's framed as a murderer, but is luckily given some time she can use to clear her name.

I'm not sure what I liked best here. There was the cast of characters, each individual with their own history, personality, and secrets. The MC herself felt very real, taking the time to bemoan her fate, take the initiative, learn to trust others, and stand up for herself.She wasn't portrayed as a young innocent either, she's been on both sides of the law. The romance was also nicely done. It felt realistic, and is very clean for modern YA. I also enjoyed the side characters. Many were given detailed lives, and I'm just as interested in their lives as I am with Wren's (MC).

Then there's the mystery itself. All those nice red herrings, political intrigue (not too much to get boring, but enough to feel the pressure and dangers of certain political maneuvers). The reveal at the end wasn't immediately obvious, but the clues were nicely placed.

And of course, there's the magic. The idea that one with the gift can infuse foods with their specific gift. I've read and enjoyed other magic baking books before, but this one was very rational, with a nice set of realistic rules governing their abilities.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it for all ages. I give it about 4.8 stars. And I want the sequel now.

I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an absolutely delightful fantasy read, the imagery and atmosphere created made this such a magical reading experience.

I was on the edge of my seat reading this book. I kept wanting to turn the page to find out what was going to happen next. Wren is such a great character, you can't help but like her. I did wish that we could have heard more about her baking but it's also understandable that she was a little busy doing something else. Every time you think you know what is going on, you find out that you don't. This was such a great read. I can't wait for the next book.


*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of the novel. This novel was sweet and I can't wait to read the next one. The element of magic woven into the plot was well done and not something I initially thought would work.

Have you heard of the author Claire Luana? If so then I’m sure you’re excited to hear about her new series! If you haven’t? Then you’re missing out on a great author and read this review anyway.

I’m gonna make you want to read this book if it kills me…

Well, not quite but there are some delicious ways to die in this book.

I’m not kidding.

The Confectioner’s Guild focuses on Wren, a young woman who is scouted to join a guild after someone had one of her cupcakes and tasted magic in the icing. Mhmm sounds pretty good to me. But when she gets there, someone is killed and Wren herself is put in the frame. So now she has to work out who the killer actually was with the help of a handsome inspector and her new friends in the guild.

I really liked the world building in this book. The way magic, or gifts as they’re called, work in this books basically means that magic is limited to certain traits and those traits are limited to certain types of food. Alcohol can make you keep a secret or tell the truth, confectionary can give or take luck and cheese can make you more intelligent. It’s completely fascinating. And yes, probably will make you hungry. Taste is very important in this book and I kinda liked the use of language because of it.

As well as this there was a great cast of characters. My favourites were probably Hale, Pike and Sable but hey, Wren and Lucas are still great. The characters and their sassiness is what brought a lot of the humour and it’s one of the reasons I really loved this book. Everyone is so sassy and it was just wonderful.

My one comment on the more negative side would be that it was rather predictable. Some of the backstories that were thrown back at you later were obvious and the twists too. It was rather predictable but it doesn’t make the book any less enjoyable. Kind of makes it easier to just speed through actually.

Overall opinion on the book?

4/5 Stars

I really loved this book and if you’re looking for something fun and a little different then this is the book for you. Just…get some snacks to enjoy it with and ensure they aren’t poisoned!

A fun YA adventure with magic, mystery and a little romance.. I was pleasantly surprised by the great characters and Interesting plot. Looking forward to book 2!

My first impressions were very good, I was enthusiastic and ready for a very good read. The ebook I received is lovely, with two beautiful maps and very soigné chapters' font. Alas I became quickly disillusioned...

The good points were plentiful: a classic setting but an original and fascinating magic. This aspect I loved. The whole pseudo Harry Potter situation was nice, too: a young girl discovering that she has some incredible magic, a best kept secret between some happy few, a young girl who makes friends, enemies, learns about a world she had never dreamed off... Quite undearing.

But I couldn't cope with all the improbability and stopped reading at the half.

You can't (or shouldn't be able to) write a pleasant story of a girl leaving a brand new life, with all its niceties and little pleasures (testing delicious food, bantering with a spirited affectionate sexy young male, being flustered by another one, wearing brand new dresses, chatting with a bestie) if the girl is about to be torture to death in two weeks for a crime she hasn't commited. And it's not as she doesn't think about it. She actually thinks about it all the time. But like one would think about missing an important exam, or being expelled, or being exiled. I don't believe one minute that someone could lead such a normal  existence with such a horrific possible end hanging above their head. She shouldn't be able to sleep, to eat, to live properly. She should be scare to death all the time !

Well, it's the so classic error of Young Adult's books, which want to mix some tragic and dark fate with some modern (high school caricature) story. And the reason I appreciate less and less last YA publications...

The heroine's psychology is all around improbable, she doesn't exist as a person, restricted to a two dimensional character. Born very poor, has lived on a streets as a child before being rescued by a confectioner who has kept her working like a well-kept slave, she still behaves like a modernish sixteen-year-old. It's supposed to be comfortable for the reader, I guess, but for me it seemed very silly and keeps me from enjoying the story...

An another point is dramatically stupid, I'm sorry to say: since the beginning of the book the heroine is helped by a nice police officer who understands that she's accused of a murder without any proof or even common sense. He has all the reasons to find the murderer. He asks her to take pains to find any clue useful for the investigation. Unusual but why not. But nothing is ever done properly! The heroine, some days later, suddenly think to go and ask who has purchased the fatal cupcakes. Yes, because seemingly the police officer hadn't think about that himself!! It's not the only example but the most offensive. 

It's shame because this story had many qualities and could have been a nice if not unforgettable read. 

Still, if I you don't mind logical flaws in a book, as much for characters' psychologies as for plot devices, and if the book's presentation appeals to you, you'll probably enjoyed this book, which isn't lacking in personality for all its classical YA themes.

Actual rating: 4.5/5

If you are looking for a book that makes you smile, swoon, laugh, and crave cupcakes, then look no further. The Confectioner’s Guild by Claire Luana is an absolute delight of a book. It has been a long time since I enjoyed reading a book as much as I did with this one. The main characters are all well written, while the plot is engaging and moves at a good pace.

Wren is slightly sassy, harbors a tragic past, and is determined to find her place in the world. My one issue with Wren is her age...sixteen. Yes, this is a YA book, but her age made the romantic subplot of the book a little cringe-y because the men were a bit older (no, there is no love triangle but there are two main men. You’ll see how it plays out, but put your love triangle pitchforks down). I honestly felt she was more of an 18 year old, but her character was written to be 16 because ALL YA female MCs are 16.

Each of the other core characters (Lucas the handsome inspector, Sable the sassy guildmaster, and Hale the flirty artisan) are well fleshed out and have highly intriguing backstories. The secondary characters were given just enough writing to make them believable at that was about it. I’m hoping we learn more of them in the future, but not everyone can have a fully realized backstory.

The writing in this book was lovely. Just enough baking analogies to keep me happy. There were some parts that people may describe as “flowery prose” but it wasn’t over done. I personally like a lyrical writing style sometimes and this hit the exact right note for me. The world building was solid and I had a firm grasp on the Guilds and how they worked within the politics of Alesia. There was definitely setup for more stories outside the Guilds in the coming books.

At the end of the day, I absolutely loved this book. I honestly think I had a smile on my face every moment I was reading it. This book has reminded me that even though I love tragic, dark books, there is something to be said about fun, feel good books. Especially ones with handsome inspectors.

The Confectioner's Guild is the first book in a new YA/NA series by Claire Luana. It combines elements of fantasy and cozy mystery with an interesting take on world building and a magic system which is catchy and original.

The story moves along pretty quickly and main character Wren finds herself whisked (*snort*) out of her more or less dead-end job as an apprentice to appear before the guildmaster who tells her she's *very* special and then expires horribly at her feet, poisoned by Wren's own cupcakes.

It's a quick read and moves along at a good clip; few readers will be bored or find the narrative moving too slowly. Despite the length (395 pages) it reads very quickly. I finished it in one sitting. It feels like a book aimed at the younger end of the YA spectrum, with the codicil that there -are- sexual situations (not explicit) as well as some very slight language - a few "asses" and "damns" nothing really objectionable and most 12 year olds have a lot more mature vocabulary than that.

It's due to be released 23rd Oct, 2018, and is available in ebook and paperback formats.

I enjoyed it and will give future installments a read.

Four stars.

This review will be posted on my blog, Foxes and Fairy Tales on Sept 17
https://foxesfairytale.wordpress.com/2018/09/17/review-the-confectioners-guild

Combine one-part Hogwarts to one-part The Great British Bake-Off then add a dash of murder and intrigue. Bake for around 400 pages and you’ll get The Confectioner’s Guild by Claire Luana.

To be honest, from the burb and cover, I was expecting The Confectioner’s Guild to be either a Middle Grade story, or a cosy mystery novel. It’s actually a pretty dark YA fantasy and I enjoyed it way more than I was expecting.

The main character – Wren – is plucky, brave and everything you’d expect in a protagonist. But she also has some dark secrets, and an intriguing sense of pragmatism and distrust of others. The cast of characters were interesting with lots of different factions and infighting built into the political and Guild structure of the world. I’m looking forward to seeing how the conflict develops as it increases in scale through the future novels.

My absolute favourite part of The Confectioner’s Guild was the magic system. Essentially, there are nine food and drink related Guilds, which hold an unusual amount of power within the country, second only to the royal family. These are Guild like the butchers, cheesemongers, Confectioners etc. As well as supporting and training regular artisans, each Guilds also supports Gifted artisans in their field. Obviously, Wren finds out she’s one of these Gifted people. This means that she’s able to infuse certain magical properties into the food that she creates. Each Gifted individual can manifest magic slightly differently. For instance, Wren infuses good luck into her bakes. I find this whole magical system fascinating, not least because author has got a really interesting sense of scales and balances worked out. Although Wren can bake luck into things, it uses up her own good luck to do so and can leave her physically drained. I’m looking forward to seeing other bakers and hopefully, other Guilds, developed in the future books.

The Confectioner’s Guild is a clever murder mystery and a unique immersive fantasy. However, I would warn readers that it is a little darker than it might first appear. There are scenes of physical torture, and the implied threat of sexual assault. Also, the romance between Wren and Lucas made me a little uncomfortable. Multiple times it is mentioned that Wren is around about sixteen and she guesses Lucas’s age at about twenty.. She does act, I felt, older than 16, but the age gap still makes me feel a little uncomfortable. I’m not entirely sure why the author didn’t just make Wren a tad older. However, this was an ARC and might change before the final draught comes out, but it’s something that readers might want to be aware of.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for the amazing opportunity to read this book. Although I received  the book all my opinions are my own, and were no way affected by the complementary copy.

This was a great start to a series, which I look forward to continue reading. I loved the magic system and I do want to learn more about it, hopefully in future books. This book is beautifully written and the plot is interesting.

The main character Wren is so lovely, however I loved Olivia a lot, Olivia is a unique character that helps understanding the magic system, besides I thought her to be fun, I also liked Hale a lot, these two might be my favorite characters of the book.

This book has something unique about it, at least for me, I've never read a book that had a murder mystery in a fantasy world, and I really enjoyed that aspect, which was something I was afraid of, because I did not think it would work well together, but it did.

This is a fun, light and quick read.

Absolutely brilliant and a sugary delight! The Confectioner's Guild is deserving of 5 stars!

I have never read a book such as The Confectioner's Guild. It was a mix of YA, thriller and fantasy all in one batter (cue the pun!) and what came out the oven was the perfect confection! From the moment I started reading I was enthralled into the sugary world Claire Luana created full of food, magic, and politics. Immediately you meet many characters, go on an adventure with Wren trying to solve who framed her for murder which leads to a plot that takes a twist of a whip at the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed the protagonists, Wren, personality and character. Never did I ever feel annoyed by her, but sympathy and sorrow for all that she's been through. The girl has secrets and a dark past that keeps haunting her and now with this world she's been thrust into, she needs to fight to survive another day.

Luckily for Wren, she meets friends who become her family, and someone at her side who fights for her to stay alive, and with the use of her newfound magic, she scrambles through the streets of Maradis and the halls of the Guild to find out just who exactly framed her.

I would like to thank NetGalley for providing me access to this amazingly sweet book. It has been a tasty experience and is now considered one of my favorite books! I will be purchasing The Confectioner's Guild once it hits the shelves October 23rd, to sweeten up my ever growing library of books, and that includes anticipating the release of The Confectioner's Coup and The Confectioner's Truth, book two and three of The Confectioner's Chronicles!

I received a free copy of THE CONFECTIONER’S GUILD (Book 1 of the Confectioner Chronicles) by Claire Luana in exchange for an honest review. Wren Confectioner has been toiling away as an apprentice for four years. Because she’s grateful for the opportunity to get off the streets, she doesn’t complain; she expects to be treated badly. Even Wren is astounded though when she is roughly snatched away by a rude stranger. However, things begin to look up when she arrives at her destination. Is luck finally going her way? Alas, no. A murder occurs, and all of Wren’s hopes are dashed. Wren must find the killer or face the terminal consequences.

This was an engaging fantasy story. There is a mix of modern technology (such as zippers and bathrooms) with the usual historical fare of carriages and ornate dresses. The story went quickly, but a lot happened. I would recommend this story to fans of cozy mysteries, magic, political intrigue, and reluctant sleuths.