*4.5 Stars*
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic was everything I want in a cozy fantasy with a baking competition. Honestly, it’s most of what I want in any book. It has drama, adventure, romance, friendship, delicious baked goods, and more!

The plot kept me reading and the cast of characters had me wanting to read even more! Arleta and Theo were lovely and Verdreth and Ervash are my favorite orcs of all time! Also, I can’t wait to read more about Jez and Doli and Taenya!

The only thing that kept me from giving a full five stars was that sometimes the writing got a bit repetitive, but honestly, that’s more of a personal preference and can be very easily overlooked by another reader.

All in all, this was a wonderfully, delightful read that I would suggest to any cozy fantasy enjoyer!

Thank you so much to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this book. The characters were great, and I’m always a sucker for a found family. The main character Arleta had me hooked from page one. I related to her struggles with keeping to herself to avoid getting hurt, and watching her gain confidence in herself was inspiring.

I did have a few issues with the pacing of the book, but that was my own personal preferences, and not any fault of the author.

All in all, this is a series I will be continuing. Very interested to see what happens with the other characters in their own books. Reading this book was like a warm hug.

What a perfectly adorable fantasy. Cozy vibes, fellowship among friends, and the most gorgeous descriptions of baked goods! I loved Arleta. The magical creatures were so delightful. I loved Nimbus the horse, and the friendships that Arleta forged amidst the baking competition.

There is something in this for everyone and it made for a feel-good cozy fantasy with a splash of romance and a sprinkle of magic. I have fallen under J Penner’s spell and eagerly await more in this series!

I’ve had this book on my wishlist for a while and the rerelease with a special edition was a perfect time for me to grab the ARC!

I’ve been a little burnt out by cozy fantasy recently so I was a little skeptical and almost didn’t pick this one up, but I’m so glad I did! The author marketed it as a fantasy British Bake Off and I felt like I was there in the studio filming the show with them. It was so fantastic and made me want to go bake something!

All of the characters were so precious and had such beautiful growth throughout the book. Arleta seems so sweet and adorable and Theo is absolutely to die for! Swoon-worthy slow burn to the max! I definitely recommend this for any and all cozy fantasy lovers!

This feels like the start of something great
🧝🏻✨💖🌈 🍄
If your thing is cozy fantasy, baking, whimsy goth, cottagecore, grandmacore, fantasy, faeries, and so on… please please keep reading. This book is a 4.25 rounded to 5 for me. Here’s why:

🍁 Do I find the FMC a tiny bit overshadowed by some of the side characters… kinda. I feel like she sometimes is a bit too in her head. HOWEVER- I felt important to remind myself that she ‘is’ human. If I was human surrounded by elven royalty, beautiful dwarves, etc. perhaps I’d feel kinda like an outlier too lol plus with her history, and all… it kinda made me be more understanding of Arleta.

🍄 This book succeeds in creating the perfect ambiance. It makes me finish book one to jump straight to book two. I want more!!! I felt like some of the issues with it feeling ‘rushed’ could be because so many good things were packed on book one. Which I’m hoping is only a sign that all these things will be explored in books to come.

🧁 Despite some of the minor cons, it’s an automatic 5 star for me overall because I can’t really think of anything like it… THIS is what cozy fantasy needed. The fact it’ll and has become a full on series makes me want for 10 of these books! They’re so so cozy and the way Penner writes is almost like biting on a soft cinnamon roll. The feeling you get wrapping yourself like a burrito in your warm blankets. Smelling brewed coffeeee. Idk - all that to say is… great job!!

This was a good, low-stakes, cozy fantasy! I loved the different creatures, humor, found-family, and baking. The pacing was a bit off balance (slow, fast, slow, fast) for me, but overall I enjoyed this read. Excited to read the future Adenashire books!

The side characters were great, but the main character fell a bit flat to me. She was supposed to be a heroine, a strong independent woman making her way in a land where she was at a disadvantage so her negativity made sense for a bit, but after a while she just seemed very woe is me and not very independent.

In this charming cozy fantasy, Arleta Starstone is a magic-less human baker who makes elegant and excellent confections. However she struggles to make a living because humans without magic are looked down upon in a world where most of the beings possess some type of magical ability. When her well meaning orc neighbors enter her into a prestigious baking contest, she must decide if she wants to risk ridicule for the chance to establish her culinary reputation.

This was a lovely read, a fun weekend read. I enjoyed Arleta's and Theo's journey to the baking battle, the mishaps they encounter, and the cooking battle itself. The secondary characters, the orc couple, Dilo, Jez, and fabulous Faylan added to this warm fantasy. I did not expect the slow romance, which was a tasty addition. And I have to try the recipes in the back because reading about them made me run to the kitchen for a brownie-in-a-mug treat.

My only complaint is with the main character, Arleta. Her lack of confidence was sometimes annoying, especially given how many people told her she was a superb baker or that a certain someone was in love with her. That second-guessing almost made me stop reading. I like confident, go-for-it characters who fall flat on their faces, get up, dust themselves off, and keep going despite the odds. Despite the many hands extended to help Arleta get up, she couldn't, and I wish I could slap some sense into her.

Excluding Arleta's second-guessing, I enjoyed the orcs, Theo, Dilo, and Jez a lot. All in all a fun read.

Arleta, a human rather stuck in a magical world, she finds herself getting by with the help from friends and neighbors. Knowing she has what it takes and that her pastries are imaculate, her neighboring orc enters her into the Elving Baking Contest only to find she has been accepted on the merits of her last name (many believing her to be magical). Arleta wants to prove her talent, but knowing the odds are stacked against her she must decide if the risk is worth more than the reward.

I loved this book so much! A cozy little bake off amongst elfs, dwarfs, and a human thrown into the mix brought me right back to my childhood playing fairies in the backyard. I loved the inclusion of the recipes she makes in the back of the book and just the gentleness of this book was so warming and has me placing an request at the library for the next book imediately!

This book was sweet and cozy. I wanted to love it, but I thought it was just okay. The concept is fabulous and was generally executed well. Unfortunately, I think a lot of the problems came from the scope and pacing. Penner tried to do a lot, which meant that many things ended up feeling rushed or like they didn’t have adequate depth. It was cute and cozy - it hit the vibes, but not the plot.

This was a really cute, cozy fantasy. It was light-hearted, had a good mix of characters and personality, minor conflicts, and good personal growth and revelations. The romance felt a little wonky and honestly unnecessary for the story, but I understand the coupling. Overall, it was a very sweet story of friendships and finding your purpose and confidence.

First, thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and J. Penner for an e-ARC of this book through NetGalley!

I've said this before and I'll say it again: sometimes we deserve cozy, low-stakes, low fantasy. A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic is nothing complicated. The novel is about a human in a British Bake-Off-esque competition, where her lack of magic could hold her back. The romance aspect is also very simple and give he fell first and fell harder.

The book is nothing life-changing, but damn does Penner know how to describe food. I spent the whole time reading this hungry-- and the recipes for the baked delights at the end of the novel will most certainly be used.

For a fun and easy read, this book is perfect. I am curious to see how the rest of the series will go!

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the arc of this book. A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic is the first book in the Adenashire series. This is a cozy fantasy book and I absolutely loved it. This story is well paced and I enjoyed all the characters. I cannot wait to learn more about the side characters in this book later in the series. The descriptions of the baked goods in this book made me hungry many times while reading. I did read this book all in one sitting. It was a light cozy read. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by new to me author J. Penner is the first book in the Adenashire Series. A fantastical world populated by elves, dwarves, humans.
An excellent read, I recommend the book, 5 stars.

Cozy fantasy combined with delightful characters and a baking competition… sign me up! This book was delightful and fun. Complete with characters I grew to care about and found family! The book provided a really sweet reading experience! Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy!

3 stars - This book was a very easy cosy read. I was hoping to love it, but it felt like it had been rushed, and we missed out on important build-up for character relationships and general plot points.

For the romance between Arleta and Theo to work, they needed more time together - I'm all for instant love, but it felt like an empty connection. I wanted time to feel the yearning and sparks between them before any declarations were made.

The friendships with Doli and Jez felt rushed too - I could believe it more if the competition took place over months instead of a few days/a week. The same goes with Tae - Arleta spoke maybe 4 sentences to her throughout, and then she shows up moves into town and buys her a bakery? It just didn't feel like enough had happened between the two for that leap.

I also wish there was more of a conflict in the baking competition when it came to Arleta being a magicless human. She bought it up constantly as an issue, but from what I could see, there was never a problem, and magic wasn't a requirement during the competition.

This book had a lot of potential, but I just wanted more from it.

Thank you netgalley!

(3.5 ⭐️)

I made the mistake of going into it with the idea of it being like L&L. I heard it a couple times. So while it didn't meet the same that I got from that book it was so cute. And had me hungry the whole time. 😅. I loved the fmc and how the world was set up. I'm excited to keep reading.

Arleta, born without magic, is a talented baker. When Theo, an elf, asks her to enter the realm’s baking competition with his help, she doesn’t hesitate long.

Not my cup of tea at all. I love cosy fantasy but the writing in this was so simplistic. We’re barely given any context about any of the characters, Arleta falls for Theo straight away for no reason at all, everything goes swimmingly for her. At some point, she’s upset because he hid something from her and I immediately wondered why she felt she was owed anything when they’d known each other all of 24 hours.

There are cute touches - a castor family at an inn, Doli, a sunny dwarf with a penchant for tea - but this was a miss for me.

My endless thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Press for this ARC!

When I requested this ARC, I hadn't realized I'd already read this story in its indie version, so that was a nice surprise.

I love cozy fantasies, and this is a sweet, low stakes one full of delectable treats. I love the found family aspect and thoroughly enjoyed the ending. I'm rarely a fan of fated mates, and this is one of those that could have been really good but felt just a little superficial. I was mostly satisfied by this book and definitely recommend it to fans of Legends and Lattes and Can't Spell Treason Without Tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.