Utterly enchanting and deliciously creative, A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic is the perfect cosy fantasy to savour! 🍰✨

Set in the charming land of Adenashire, this story blends mouthwatering baking competitions with whimsical magic and heartfelt friendships. Arleta Starstone, a determined human confectionist, dreams of making her mark in a world ruled by elven and dwarven culinary magic. When she’s unexpectedly entered into the prestigious Elven Baking Battle, she faces not only enchanted rivals but also her own self-doubt. What follows is a spellbinding journey of pastry, perseverance, and self-discovery.

I absolutely adored the vibrant world-building and the creative, magical bake-offs — the cakes and pastries were so imaginative and utterly drool-worthy! 🍪🧁 The added bonus of the recipes at the end made my bookworm heart sing — I’m genuinely tempted to try baking some of them myself. Arleta’s journey was as heartwarming as it was inspiring, and the friendships and budding romance added just the right amount of sweetness.

If you’re craving a cosy, feel-good fantasy brimming with charm, creativity, and cakes you’ll wish you could taste, A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic is an absolute must-read. I’ll be first in line for whatever J. Penner whisks up next! 🌟

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a complimentary early release copy of A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by J. Penner.

I’m absolutely in love with A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic, I love this fantasy world and its wholesome characters. Right from the start I knew this was going to be a five star read for me. The writing is beautiful, it’s just the right amount of detailed, the perfect amount of magic elements that didn’t feel overused. The characters were some of the most wholesome and cute creatures/humans that I’ve read in a long while! The fantasy like creature characters were adorable, it was cute to see each of their little quirks while reading.

There are so many cute wholesome moments between the characters that I couldn’t help but coo/awe at them. The romance between Arleta and Theo is swoon worthy, there are so many good romance quotes between the two. Their relationship is major green flag, the greenness flag that I have ever seen between characters! I don’t have anything negative to say about A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic at all, this was a fluffy sweet fantasy romance with wholesome friendships, sweet delicious baking elements, and a swoon worthy romance. There is some drama (it’s more lighthearted nothing too serious) and talk about grief (it’s doesn’t kill the cozy mood, it’s talked about in a good safe way). I really like the art work and recipes included! I’m definitely going to be continuing this series, I need more of these characters and this world setting!

So cozy! This is a perfect rainy spring day read. I also made a triple berry lemon loaf yesterday and the vibes are perfection! Can't wait to continue with this series!

A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic is a charming tale of learning to believe in yourself, even if you don't live up to your own expectations. Arleta has a small bakery/apothecary where she puts her magic and baking skills to work. Unbeknownst to her, one of her fans enters her creations into the Langheim Baking Battle.

The story is sweet, interesting, and kept me involved as we followed Arleta's journey from self-doubt to confidence in herself and her creations.

I really tried to get into this book and even though I did finish it I wasn't left satisfied. The premise was my cup of tea but it took too long to get to the point. The book was slow and didnt hold my attention.

📚I was able to read an advanced copy of title thanks to NetGalley, J. Penner and Poisoned Pen Press📚
📚All reviews and opinions are entirely my own📚

A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic is a cozy, feel-good fantasy that gave me strong Legends & Lattes vibes. With a charming mix of magic and baking, it felt like watching Bake Off set in another realm—warm, wholesome, and delightful. Just be warned: you might get hungry while reading!

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in April. This was a very good read! I loved the world building and it's very descriptive. My minor strife was that it hurried through some things it shouldn't. It doesn't make the story less good though.

This is a cozy fantasy read, which takes the idea of a baking competition and adds magic and magical beings. This reminded me of a cozy baking competition crossed with a little bit of one of the more cut throat versions, but not enough to make the story stressful.

This is a quick cozy read for anyone who needs it.

I received a free advance review copy through from Poisoned Pen Press through NetGalley and my review is voluntary.

I am so glad that this book is being traditionally published! I had read it previously as an independently published book, and I loved it! It is one of the best cozy fantasies I have read. You take The Great British Bake Off and set it in a fantastical world. Throw in some found family and romance, and you get A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic. Seriously, if you are looking for a book that will make you feel cozy and warm, read this one.

I requested (and received) an ARC of this from NetGalley because the cover and title were just too cute to pass up. And honestly? I think the book delivered exactly what it promised: cuteness. I give it 3.5 stars, rounded up.

The food descriptions were great and felt so natural throughout the story. I was literally getting hungry while reading, which is always a good sign!! Although not great that I've wanted to eat nothing but pastry for the last 48 hours. 😅

I really connected with Arleta's anxiety, especially considering she's navigating this incredibly magical world without any powers of her own. The market scenes in particular did a great job showing how the world treats people without magic, and were a nice little peek into her day-to-day.

My biggest issue was with the relationships. The romance felt kind of underdeveloped and the ending came across like an afterthought. Also, when there's an "only one bed" trope I expect allllllll the tension. And unrelated to the romance but still in the 'relationship' category..... that whole thing with the rosemary near the end? (Keeping it vague to avoid spoilers, but iykyk). It just felt like it came out of nowhere and I wasn't fully convinced by her choice.

That said, it was a quick, light read with the same cozy vibe I get from watching GBBO. If you're looking for something sweet and easy, this might be up your alley.

A fun cozy read. I wish there had been a little more plot development. Things moved along quickly and sometimes and I wanted more details,but overall it was an enjoyable read. The romance didn't feel fully developed, but it was sweet and not at all spicy.

This is the kind of cozy fantasy that carries you away from word one. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of found family, the importance of chasing your dreams, and the need to stay open to life’s surprises. This is a book I’ll be recommending widely. It’s a warm hug and a sweet nudge to let new people and love into our lives.

This book it’s too cute! Perfect cozy read that makes you want to cuddle up on your couch with a warm drink and a blanket. There’s magic, there is romance, there are the cutest side characters. Definitely a great read for fall.

A lighthearted, wholesome cozy fantasy with no stakes, some adorable side characters, found family, animal companions, lots of baking, and a dash of sweet romance. Perfect for Ghibli fans and readers who enjoyed Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst.

The writing is very good, and let me tell you - if you pick the book up, do it in a café with some baked goods on hand because damn do I crave some cake! Some parts I really liked - Jez (one of the side characters), the baking, Nimbus the horse, Arleta's (MC) relationship with the two fatherly orc husbands. And I was very pleasantly surprised by how the baking contest ended!

My main gripe was with Arleta herself and the whole romance aspect. I couldn't get a read on Arleta. Her main characteristic seemed to be stubbornness. Pig-headedness, actually, sometimes to the point of stupidity. She was also very self-conscious and anxious, constantly wavering between "Oh I could actually win this!" and "Oh no I don't belong here I don't even deserve to win!" and I was slowly getting annoyed. That, unfortunately, carried onto the romance part.

Theo the elf was kind, patient, generous, oblivious to his own beauty... He was literally perfect. And I found him a bit boring, but after the hot-and-cold emotional rollercoaster Arleta put him through, I wanted him to turn around and find himself some hot man-elf instead.

There was this entire conflict of "I'm infatuated with him but I simply can't be with him!" that was based entirely on Arleta's wrong assumption - which can work if the author makes the assuming character and their reasons sympathetic enough to the reader. That didn't happen, I'm afraid, but that's entirely subjective to me. I don't have much patience for this kind of behavior, not now. I have to completely adore the character to tolerate nonsensical self-sabotage and whining.

Not to say, the romance was insta with fated mates. One of my least favorite tropes ever, unfortunately.

Nevertheless, I would love to see this story animated!

Cute, Magical and Delicious! All words I would use to describe A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic.

Arleta is a human with a gift for baking. Being without magic means she is treated as lesser within her community and when the opportunity to enter a highly acclaimed baking competition arises she brushes the idea aside as a frivolous dream. However, her Orc neighbour who knows what talent she has, secretly submits an entry on her behalf and Arleta is thrown into the world of competitive baking. All while trying to keep her magicless identity hidden.

This book was utterly adorable! I enjoyed the found family aspects both in regards to the friends Arleta makes at the competition and the Orcs next door who look out for her and have become her somewhat adoptive parents over the years.

I wasn’t convinced by the romance to begin with. I felt it was moving too fast. Fortunately, this turned around. Arleta didn’t jump into anything and it ended up being more of a slow burn which I appreciated, although her constant flip-flopping was arguably annoying at times. Theo the MMC is an adorable cinnamon-roll (needed to put a baking pun in here somewhere). The fact that he has a talking Lynx as a… pet? roommate?... Is a huge point for him. Not to mention he can talk to animals and plants, sign me up!

The treats Arleta creates literally had my mouth watering while I was reading. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so ravenous while reading. I am forever thankful that some smart cookie (baking joke #2) had the genius idea to include recipes at the end. My tummy will be forever grateful.

** I received a complimentary copy of this book from Poisoned Pen Press via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I absolutely adored this book! I finished it in less than a day before even realising it. It was such a cozy, funny, and sweet story and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.

Arleta is a human that loves to bake, but due to having no magic the people of Adenashire don’t appreciate her culinary skills as much as they should. Those without magic are generally discriminated against and treated as lesser than those who do have magic.
One day, she receives an invite to a prestigious Elven baking competition. There’s no rule against humans entering, but she knows that participating whilst being magicless is likely to work against her and she’ll have to work twice as hard to prove herself compared to anyone else in the competition.

This was such a lovely story of self-discovery, beating the odds, the sweetest romance, found family and wonderful friendships.

The writing was so bubbly and easy to read and it was such a joy to read something that was more lighthearted and the stakes were high but not totally world ending!

Arleta was such a sweet and loveable character, she expresses a lot of self-doubt, but thanks to the help of her friends and family she begins to believe in herself and her baking abilities and it was wonderful to see her surrounded by people that would constantly uplift her and validate her feelings.

Doli and Jez were such lovely characters and they had such life and vibrancy to them. They’re a real sunshine/grumpy combo, but I really think it worked well and their interactions with each other and other people were so fun to read!

The romance was very soft and flowery and I couldn’t stop smiling any time Theo and Arleta would talk. Theo believes in Arleta and supports her endlessly, he’s constantly encouraging her and reassuring her of her skill and pushing her the never give up and keep chasing her dreams. He respects her boundaries and Arleta often refers to him as a complete gentleman and its so true!

My only complaint is I wish there was more magic! Arleta is the only one in the competition that bakes without magic, but we never really see any of the other contestants use their magic on their creations. I really would have loved to see the magic element be incorprated with the baking, I think that could have been so much fun!

The coziest, cutest read ever. This combined all of my loves. Baking, competition, reading, fantasy….this was an awesome little love story and I am very excited to read the other standalones in this series.

If you're a fan of cozy fantasy with a side of delicious baked goods, A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic is the perfect treat. Set in the charming town of Adenashire, this novel blends fantasy and culinary delights as Arleta Starstone, a human baker without magic, competes in the prestigious Langheim Baking Battle. With the help of an endearing orc neighbor and a swoon-worthy woodland elf, Arleta embarks on a journey of self-discovery, friendship, and perhaps even a touch of romance.

What I loved most about this book was its warm, inviting atmosphere. The stakes remain relatively low—centered around a baking competition rather than an epic battle—which makes for a relaxing and delightful read if that's what you're looking for. The fantasy elements, including a diverse cast of elves, dwarves, and orcs, add charm without overwhelming the story. While the magic itself is subtle and sometimes barely noticeable, some may get frustrated with the lack of magic used, especially during the competition, but I didn't care.

The side characters truly shine in this novel. Each one brings something special to the table, making the world feel rich and lived-in. Theo, the woodland elf love interest, was an absolute highlight—gentle, sweet, and effortlessly charming. (Though, I admit, I originally pictured him as an imp before realizing he was the romantic lead! Oops.)

Arleta, on the other hand, was a bit of a mixed experience for me. While I appreciated her growth throughout the story, I found her personality frustrating at times. Her indecisiveness and emotional whiplash made it difficult to connect with her.

Now let's talk baking—the food descriptions in this book are chef’s kiss 😘👌. J. Penner has a knack for describing pastries in a way that makes your mouth water. The inclusion of recipes at the end of the book was a fantastic touch, and I fully intend to try them out.

Overall, A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic is a heartwarming, cozy read that will appeal to fans of The Great British Baking Show and low-stakes fantasy. While Arleta’s character didn’t fully resonate with me, she grew on me, and the delightful side characters, slow-burn romance, and scrumptious baking descriptions more than made up for it.

✨ Rating: 4/5 stars ✨

Would I read a sequel? Absolutely. But only if I have a plate of scones ready.

This was my first cozy low stakes fantasy so I wasn't sure what to expect but I don't think they are for me. I was very bored since it was so predictable and nothing really happened. All the relationships were tell and don't show and they were suddenly bffs or in love with barely a conversation. The writing felt like it was middle grade with the most obvious lessons like winning is the friends we made along the way etc. I didn't really care about any of them by the end and just wanted it to be over.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Arleta is human, but her baking is magical because she knows how to add just the right flavors to each bake. Arleta find that being human is not easy when you are surrounded by magical creatures and considered less than any of them. When her ogre neighbors enter her in the baking contest, she is hesitant at first. The elf who delivered the invitation to her escorts her to the contest town. If she wins the contest, she could open her own bakery!
This is such a fun cozy fantasy story. Arleta becomes close friends with magical creatures she meets at the contest, finds love, and learns what others have always known…that while she is not magical, her baking is.
Thanks to Poison Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC.