Thanks to NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"The Baker and the Bard" has a really cute premise: a baker and her friend (a bard) set off on a journey to find some special ingredient needed for a bakery order. It sounds like a really cozy and comfy premise, and it is!

However, I felt that the story was a bit rushed, and all over the place. I couldn't climb into the story and be apart of the world itself. There were some instances where a character or conversation just appeared seemingly out of nowhere, which took me out of the story a bit.

On a positive note, I really loved the sweet and soft illustrations, and fantasy LGBT themes are a personal favorite of mine, so I'll always love them.

This was a cute story about a quick little adventure between two friends-turned lovers. I felt like several of the themes were half baked and could’ve used some introductory scenes to set up a relationship between characters or show that Hadley is struggling with their identity in some way. It felt like these things were slapped onto the page and the reader just sort of had to go with it. I felt disconnected from the characters until the very end and they felt disconnected from each other until the end, when there were more scenes and conversations about their feelings and the world that they live in. The illustrations were very pretty and it was a sweet story, it just left me wanting more from it than what was given.

The images were cute but the story felt all over the place. They just randomly threw in topics that didn’t fit what was happening. I am not the age group this is aimed at but it still felt unfinished to me.

A lovely cozy fantasy perfect for some weekend reading! The Baker and the Bard will take you on a gentle adventure of pastries, foraging, and magical mysteries. Great for folks who loved Legends & Lattes and The Tea Dragon Society.

YA adventure | queer crush | non-binary main character | fairies | recipe included | transformations | coming-of-age | graphic novel