This was such a fun, light hearted read!
The characters were lovable, I looked forward to bedtime to read a couple chapters of this.
I absolutely love baking and easy to read fantasy mixed with humans, so it was a winner for me!

All around a quick feel good read!
Also, lil bonus recipes at the end, definitely trying them out.
4.5 stars!

Can’t wait to dive into the rest of the series.

The cozy book I needed! Romance was more of a side plot in this but I absolutely loved all of the side characters. I need a prequel about how her orc dads met because I love an opposites attract couple. This was not 5 stars for me because the imposter syndrome was so intense that it basically acted as the conflict in the story. Yes, Theo's mom was the driver of conflict but the FMC's imposter syndrome was the real cause of basically all problems in the story. All the bakes sounded delicious and I will absolutely be trying some of these recipes.

Thank you NetGalley and J Penner for the free ARC!

This is a cute, fun book.
To be honest, I expected a little more out of the story. I loved the idea of it! The writing style is fantastic. I loveeeeee a good cozy fantasy read, and about baking?? Yes. Worth a shot if you love cozy fantasy.

Cute and cozy book, really like the baking competition part. But the main character gets too down on to herself, it’s a little redundant. Like oh I’m so bad, oh I’m not good enough, oh they don’t like me. It get kinda depressing and annoying midway thru. The romance was cute and well paced though.

Sometimes when the world is the way it is, you need an escape. This cozy romantasy is a perfect escape. Wonderfully light-hearted and predictable (NOT in a bad way). Lovable characters, fun storyline. If "Legends and Lattes" entered the Great British Bake Off!

Arleta Starstone, a magicless, has to work twice as hard to get her bakes noticed by the local magic-folk in her hometown of Adenashire. Despite this, her friendly, protective neighboring orc enters her in the centennial baking competition, which is widely renowned but desperately tricky for a magicless person to enter. To her surprise, Arleta is accepted into the competition, but she worries her human baking will only get her so far. Should she be found out as magicless, she worries her reception into the competition will be anything but warm.

This was such a quick and cozy read. I was hoping there would be more baking; a lot of the narrative was devoted to the drama around the competition. I enjoyed the romance even though it feels feel like insta-love. I would've enjoyed more of our MMC's perspective or at least more background on him. I love it when an author creates a universe with their characters, so I was happy to find out that there are two more books in this series focusing on some of the other characters and a 4th coming in November 2025. There is a strong "found-family" theme and a cast of quirky side characters. Overall, I would rate this a 4.5/5.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

Such a cute cozy fantasy and with baking!! Two of my favorite things, baking and magic, combined in a third, reading!

This was a cute book about a human finding herself in a world of magic. I love to bake, so a story about baking and magic sounded really fun. There's a little romance in it, but I wouldn't call it a romance because it's not the focal point of the story, the main point is Arleta and the friends she makes along her journey. There isn't a lot of action, but I found it going at a pace that was nice and didn't drag on too long.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of this book! All opinions are my own.
A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic is a cozy fantasy novel following Arleta Starstone who has been enrolled in and accepted into the magical Baking Championship. When she travels with an elf to the competition, she finds that what she's looking for might be the connections that she makes.
This book was like a huge hug and was so calming to read. I read this especially during a very stressful week and this brought me so much joy and happiness and really relaxed me when I needed it. I know this is the first book in a series and I will be definitely be reading the other books because I loved this so much.
I really loved Arleta as a character but found her at times to be a little frustrating because she really struggled to believe in herself or other people's interest in her. I really wanted to just wrap her in a blanket, give her a nice cup of tea and tell her everything will be okay. I really loved her relationship with two of her other competitors, the orcs who live next door and Theo.
I thought this was a really well written book. It wasn't too hard to get into and the world was pretty easy to understand. I really flew through this book because the writing was so easy to fall into and fall into this world. I liked how the author gave very distinctive characteristics to all of the characters and I really loved seeing them all come together.
I did give this .25 stars off because I did get a little frustrated with Arleta but also because I felt like the relationship between Arleta and her love interest could have used a bit more development. I didn't really feel like it was as well developed as I thought it could have been. However, I also recognize that this is a shorter book and it would have been hard to balance that with the baking competition.
I really loved this book and I cannot wait to continue reading this series. I would definitely recommend picking this book up if you are looking for a cozy and fun fantasy book to read.

I really enjoyed this fun, cozy mystery. I loved the variety of characters and their development throughout the story. I can't wait to read the rest of the series to see how my favorite characters grow.

5 stars.
🍄🧝🏻🌿🌷🥧🌱✨
𝟣/𝟤 𝗍𝗌𝗉 𝗈𝖿 𝗌𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗍𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌
𝟣𝟢𝟢𝗀 𝗈𝖿 𝖿𝗅𝗎𝖿𝖿𝗂𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌
𝟥𝟢𝟢𝗀 𝗈𝖿 𝖼𝗈𝗓𝗂𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌
,...𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖺 𝖽𝖺𝗌𝗁 𝗈𝖿 𝗆𝖺𝗀𝗂𝖼, 𝗌𝖾𝗅𝖿-𝖽𝗂𝗌𝖼𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒, 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗉 & 𝗋𝗈𝗆𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾.

''𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁, 𝗔𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰. 𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗶𝘁. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.''

If you like cozy fantasy, anything cozy in general, baking, The Great British Bake Off, found family, or cottagecore, I think this might be the perfect read for you! Because as a cozy fantasy lover myself, A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic was everything that I love in the genre! I finished the book in one day because I was having such a cozy time, that I didn't want to do anything other than keep reading.

In the heart of Adenashire, where elfish enchantments and dwarven delights rule, Arleta Starstone is a human who dreams of owning her baking shop. Helped by her orc neighbours and the great elf Theo, she finally accepts to participate in the baking competition. Besides all Arleta's insecurities, doubts, and lack of confidence, bounds are made, and Arleta will have the chance to show her baking talents to a larger audience finally. But, along the way, Arleta finds out that the true prize isn't winning the Baking Battle after all...

🍄 I think what I liked the most about this book are the characters. There are so many characters! And I liked each one of them. Arleta's adorable and friendly orc neighbours, the excited fauns, Jez the fennex and Doli the dwarf in her yellow dress and their grumpy x sunshine friendship, Arleta's elf rival in the bake-off, and Arleta's and Theo's cute slow-burn romance. Even though there are a lot of characters in this book, I didn't think they were overshadowing Arleta in any way. Arleta can be quite a lot in her head, but I think I would be too if I were a human without magical abilities surrounded by elves, faeries, orcs, dwarves, gnomes, and so on. I liked her as the fmc. She felt quite real, and if I were in the world of this book, I would have wanted to be friends with her.

'' Elves are entirely too stuck up,'' Jez said out of nowhere, pursing her petite lips. She didn't even look up from her notebook. ''I honestly don't know what I was thinking coming to a realm full of them.''


🌿 This book is the definition of found family! Arleta has been quite through a lot. Since a young age, she has lost her parents and as a human without magical abilities, it can all be quite difficult. She has built a lot of walls around her heart, not really letting anyone in, not even her orc neighbours, and she struggles with a lot of self-doubt. And then there's the baking competition and everyone she meets along the way, and it was so heartwarming to see her letting her new friends and special someone in her heart. To see her opening up, believing in herself, and allowing herself to go after her dreams. I liked that she was a human like us and that no matter if we might not have magic like Arleta does, we still are magic ourselves and are surrounded by the magic of everyday wonders of life!

🍁 The book succeeds in creating the perfect ambience and vibes. The book felt so so cozy, whimsical, wholesome, and enchanting. Arleta's cottage and garden, the town's market filled with delicious smelling stalls, the forest with the, let's say, interesting inn...And then the location of the bake-off with all the yummy descriptions of pastries, cookies, cakes, and lemon bars. I saw a lot of people talking about info-gaps, that there are some elements not developed or explained that well, and even though I agree that some things aren't explained that much and that there are some questions left unanswered, to be honest, I don't really care. I don't look for that going into a cozy fantasy story. I just am here for the comfy vibes and nice characters, a book that makes me feel comforting and good, and the book completely delivers just that. Because I felt so so warm and fluffy and good! So, going into this book, don't go expecting a whole detailed fleshed-out world and lore-dumps, but you can expect a story that is filled with heartfelt moments, a world that feels comforting and enchanting, a whole lot of amazing characters, and writing that feels like a warm hug.

🧁 The pacing of the book was most of the time just right. It was paced, but felt slow in the perfect kind of way at the same time if that kind of makes any sense? Like, the pacing was quite fast, but everything just felt so calm and slow, maybe because the story is so comforting. But when it came to the romance, the pacing felt a bit rushed and a bit underdeveloped. So the romance didn't feel so convincing to me because of that. However, even despite some minor cons, this still is a 5-star read to me. This book ticks off everything that I love in cozy fantasy books. Coziness? Not much drama? Low-stakes? Fluffiness? All the whimsy, wholesomeness, and magical feelings? Elves, faeries, and more fantasy races..? Yummy foods?! All check! Now I want to read all of J. Penner's other books in this series, because oh my goodness, the way she writes makes me feel like I'm tucked into some warm comfy blankets with a steaming hot cup of tea. I'm in love and obsessed!

Oh, and also, another amazing thing is that at the end of the book, the author has included three recipes that were also made in the book by the characters!

SOᗰᕮ ᑫᑌOTᕮS TᕼᗩT I ᒪIKᕮᗪ:

- ✩₊˚.⋆ ''𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭.'' ⋆⁺₊✧
- ✩₊˚.⋆ ''𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬, 𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘧?'' 𝘋𝘰𝘭𝘪 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴. ''𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸.'' ⋆⁺₊✧
𓂃
- ✩₊˚.⋆ ''𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨.'' ⋆⁺₊✧
- ✩₊˚.⋆ ''𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘢 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯. ''𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵.'' ⋆⁺₊✧
𓂃
- ✩₊˚.⋆ ''𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴.. 𝘚𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧-𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.'' ⋆⁺₊✧
- ✩₊˚.⋆ ''𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤...𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦.'' ⋆⁺₊✧
𓂃
- ✩₊˚.⋆ ''𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳.'' ⋆⁺₊✧
- ✩₊˚.⋆ ''𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵,'' 𝘈𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘛𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘺𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. ''𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵?'' ''𝘛𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦.'' ⋆⁺₊✧
𓂃
- ✩₊˚.⋆ ''𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘮𝘦.'' ⋆⁺₊✧
- ✩₊˚.⋆ ''𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘴. 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘴.'' ⋆⁺₊✧

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this was a really cute, sweet read. If you can imagine the Great British Bake Off and Dungeons & Dragons having a baby, it would be this book. The premise is adorable and I enjoyed the various characters, the cute storyline, and the epilogue was great!

There were a few things I didn’t love - namely the FMC. At first, her frazzled lack of efficacy was cute and left room for growth. However, as the book progresses, the FMC, Arleta, is absolutely fixated on being non-magic and it gets to be annoying. She is one of the very few characters that cares about her not being magic, but she pushes that belief on everyone else. It becomes whiny and pedantic, after a while, and you lose sympathy for her. The majority of the characters around Arleta are supportive of her, going out of their way to make sure she succeeds. It’s just a little too drawn out to make her relatable.

The MMC, Theo, is adorable and dare I say, perfect? He’s sweet, wonderful, and just does what needs to be done. He’s so sweet.

The baking competition is fun to read about and makes me want to try my own bakes!

This book is like a chocolate chip cookie, maybe not the greatest baking piece of all, but definitely delicious and something you eat in one sitting.

Arleta, our FMC, is a magicked human who goes to compete in a magical baking contest, that can be described as something with The Great British bake-off. And as someone who loves to see that show with my mom, this definitely lived up to the expectations.

I loved Ervash the orc and his attitude towards Arletta, and their family like relationship is heart warming. I love how this relationship develops in the book, we all need something like that. But in general all the side characters in this story are just so nice!

The MMC, Theo is a massive green flag, not a morally grey bone in him, so that was definelty a fun thing to read for me for a change again. No hidden goodness, just Theo being a cinnamon bun that respects the wishes of Arletta completely.

The stakes in the books weren’t that high, but I don’t feel as if they were meant to be that at all so that was completely acceptable. All in all this book was such a cozy read for me, but it made me hungry for sure so don’t read it without proper snacks.

Thank you so much netgalley and poisonedpenpress for granting me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

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.

This was a sweet, cozy read that I knocked over in a matter of hours. The characters were enjoyable and took part in a Great British Bake Off style competition. There isn't a huge amount of conflict or drama, there's some found family elements, a cute little romance with a will they, won't they theme. The setting was described nicely and had a lovely magical feel, like a little town (and then later a castle) that you could picture fitting in on Gilmore Girls (if they had elves, orcs and dwarves), which I loved!

This was a great little palate cleanser between more serious stories for me and I'd say I'll go on to read the next books in the series when I'm ready for a little cozy read.

So I actually thought this was a sapphic novel when I started it. I guess that's what I get for not paying attention. However, I enjoyed this book just the same. I really loved the story and world it's set in. There were a few instances where the writing seemed a bit elementary, but it was easily overlooked by how much I found myself wanting to continue reading to find out what happened next.

J. Penner's Fellowship of Bakers & Magic is the ultimate cozy fantasy that left me drooling for all the food in this story. Cozy fantasies often leave me snoring due to the slow pacing and minor conflicts but I zoomed through this novel. I loved the characters that we met and the universe they inhabited. I could have done away with all of the self doubt of our FMC, Arleta. In the beginning it was fine but by the midpoint I wanted to throttle her like GIRL JUST BAKE!! Overall this is a sweet, cozy book that left me hungry for more (in this universe, please give me a sequel).

A great cozy fantasy for fans of the genre. In fact, this book has everything: a great baking competition, orcs and elves sharing recipes with humans and dwarfs. A story in which the relationships are made and confirmed, love and friendship walking together.

Arleta is a human with no magical power who dreams of building her own baking shop. Helped by her orc neighbors and the great elf Theo, she finally accepts to participate in the great competition. Besides all her doubts and lack of confidence, bounds are made, and Arleta will have the chance to show her baking talents to a larger audience.

The narrative is light and the reader is taken into the different steps of candy making, always experiencing a sprinkle of magic throughout the story. I can't wait for the next books!

This was such a cute and cozy fantasy read! If you love the Great British Baking show you’ll adore this first in its series. I read the deluxe edition which included some beautiful art work at the beginning. A great read for any romance/fantasy lover. I teared up at the end and can’t wait to read more in this series!

What an adorable, wholesome book about magic and baking. This was such a great read, I wish it came out in fall. The characters were great and it’s nice to actually like everyone in the book.