A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic is a cozy read for those looking to stay in a fantasy realm but with low stakes. I would advise against reading this book if you’re in the mood for a sweet treat, because Penner’s descriptions of Arlete’s baking and the scrumptious treats she makes throughout the book will make your mouth water (there is even a recipe guide at the end!). While I very much enjoyed the cozy setting and the premise of a magical baking competition which left me wanting to visit Langheim and see the Baking Battle myself. I found Arleta, our FMC, to fall a bit short. While she is magicless in a world built for those with magic, rather than really facing adversity, she instead became a bit whiny and "woe is me," which is not my cup of tea for a FMC. There is some non-spicy romance woven in, and it almost felt rushed at the end of the book, as if it were an afterthought. I really appreciated the LGBTQI+ representation in the book; it complemented the story and gave more depth to the other characters.
A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by J. Penner is a 3/5 star read. Perfect for those wanting a low-stakes cozy fantasy to curl up with, along with a cuppa and a sweet treat.

Bakers and Magic has very Great British Bake Off vibes. It follows in the same vein as Legends and Lattes, with the cozy bakery vibes. It provides enough drama to keep you interested but is low enough stakes to not send anyone over the edge.

I did find Arleta to be slightly infuriating in how self defeatist she was, I just wanted to shake her at times, which is a testament to J. Penner's ability to get you to care about the characters. Sometimes the writing felt a little clunky because some things were explained in great detail then immediately something else would be breezed over, or there'd be an abrupt change (in scene, pace or attitude). I particulalry enjoyed the vivid descriptions of both plants and food. There was an extremely slow burn romance, as well as a lot of well loved tropes, including 'only one bed', enemies to friends, found family (twice) forbidden romance, cosy bakery, sunshine and grumpy friends and then at the end there were real recipes included that had featured in the battle- and they look so good!

Overall though I loved the characters and cared about what happened to them. I loved the ending. 4 stars because I personally found the writing a little clunky but I would read more in this world and with these characters none the less.

3⭐️ Cute, cozy fantasy about a human baker named Arleta. While not magical, she manages to make her own delightful recipes with herbs. Arleta’s neighbor surprisingly enter her into a baking competition. She will struggle through but stay true to herself and the baking she loves. The challenges prove difficult. When a handsome woodland elf shows belief in Arleta, she starts to see she can win. Maybe she will even find her own confidence along the way.

Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and J. Penner for the advanced reader copy.

This book enveloped me like a warm blanket with a delightful treat nearby. It has been some time since I felt such excitement for a book’s characters and story. Our protagonist, Arleta, embarks on an enchanting journey as the sole human contestant in a magical British bake-off style competition. The story features vivid portrayals of her yummy baking creations. Additionally, the story is infused with longing for a certain handsome elf and thrilling adventure. If you're seeking intense action, battles, or shocking plot twists, you won’t find that here. However, you will likely discover a comforting companion within these pages. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait long for the sequel, "A Fellowship of Games & Fables," set to be released in September 2025.

A Fellowship of Magic and Bakers was originally an ebook but was now more broadly published. It’s the first in its series and I LOVED it. Arleta is a human “whose baking tastes magical”. She lives in a world where every year a baking competition is held across the lands and she ends up participating as the first non-magic being. This one was so cozy and while it’s tagged as adult, almost felt YA. The descriptions of food made you hungry. I will definitely read more in the series! Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so fun! If a cozy, found-family fantasy novel filled with drool-worthy descriptions of baking sounds like something you’d enjoy; look no farther. I absolutely devoured this book (pun intended) and I can almost promise it will have you kicking your feet, giggling the whole time.

Arleta Starstone is a creative and brilliant baker struggling to earn enough money to afford her own bakery without anyone’s help. Unfortunately, as a magic-less human, patrons are less willing to spend money on her pastries no matter how good they are. But new possibilities are opened to Arleta as a curious (and attractive) elf shows up to her door with an invitation to a prestigious baking competition that could pave the way to making her dreams a reality.

Penner’s writing is simplistic, but satisfying. The dialogue and characters are written wonderfully, but the real star of the show is Penner’s mouth-watering descriptions of the baking process (have I mentioned there’s recipes at the end of the book yet?). Every time Arleta and friends made something new, I was ready to get up and start baking myself!

I absolutely loved the characters, but Verdreth and Ervash have my whole heart. I would love to read more about them.

There wasn’t much of anything that I didn’t like about this book and I will be reading all of the other books in this series.

*Thank you to J. Penner, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for honest review.*

I loved this book. I read this in one day...every moment i had free i picked up the book. And I'm sad to see it end, but so happy to know its a series and i can stay in their world a little longer.

It's MasterChef meets beings with magic and beings without magic. A setting with magical beings behaving very much like people in the real world do.

Where this book gets elevated is in the descriptions of the world, and the baking and the very warm and laugh out loud conversations between the friends. I LOVED the way this author writes...first time I'm reading her and i would like to read more from her.

Now the baking sounded delightful, i wish i could see and taste the goodies, her writing is just delicious ❤️

PS. These are the friends i want in my corner! This is the kind of group I want to be a part of! We each have to live through our own lives, but it's so wonderful to have friends in our corner, friends to enjoy that tea & cake with ❤️

Be still, my whimsical little heart! This was a perfect read for me, hankering for cosy romantic books, lovely friendships, characters who go o a gentle internal quest and finish it with more confidence in themselves and their friends.

I've especially enjoyed the fairytale atmosphere with a dash of whimsy, a sprinkle of magic and oodles of recipes and baking. I just want to dive right back in this world and have already requested the second volume in this series.

I'll keep you guys posted !

Thank you Netgalley for this ALC.

A cozy, fantasy that's full of heart! The heroine, human Arleta, endears readers with her charm, kindness, and magical baking. Supported by a sweeet cast of characters and a worthy love interest, this feels like the Great British Bakeoff meets a found family tale.

I love cozy fantasy with diverse casts and books about food, so this should have been right up my alley. Unfortunately, the main character was so whiny it was insufferable. I'd say at least every 3 pages she had to bring up the fact that she doesn't have magic (or her dead parents, but that was a tad more excusable). She also very frequently changes her mind on whatever she is currently focused on. She can't enter the baking competition, cause she doesn't have magic. She can't possibly be good enough to compete, cause she doesn't have magic (despite magic not being a requirement). Theo can't love her, cause he's an elf and she doesn't have magic. I kept having to take a break every few chapters because it was so exhausting. Something else that annoyed me was the author introducing conflict then resolving it within about 4 pages. What was the point? Even the major antagonist "was just misunderstood and unloved".
The descriptions of baking and food? AMAZING. (there's even recipes included in the back of all the major bakes). The gardens, the towns, the castles, all the worldbuilding was wonderful. Most of the other characters besides Arleta were really interesting. (The like 3 different sentient rodent characters (all different rodents too) was a lil odd but like, not bad?) I plan to try the next book, I'm hoping with a new main character, I'll have less annoyances and more cozy vibes.

3.5 /5.

One thing I immediately realized was how much the author must have enjoyed the art of baking herself. To be able to write this novel so beautifully and passionately, even including bonus recipes in the last pages, I had no doubt she was also a baker in real life.

I went into this book with much excitement, especially as a fan of cozy fantasies, and J. Penner did not disappoint. My only concern was how much of a pessimist that Arleta Starstone was. She had great talents, but so little belief in herself. I was rooting for her wholeheartedly, but at the same time, I was also frustrated from how she made being magicless her entire identity. This went on and on until towards the end, along with the endless, one-sided push and pull she kept doing to her relationships with the other characters—Theo, Ervash, and Verdreth, especially.

In other news, found family tropes have always been dear to me, so I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the characters come together. Although there is a lack of world-building and character development, along with my being unable to take the huffy antagonist seriously, I suppose this book’s charm is being direct to the point itself. I had a fun, whimsical time in Adenashire, either way!

My sincere thanks to J. Penner, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for this e-ARC of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

My reaction when I finished this was simply "Awwwww." This is the cutest little cozy fantasy; VERY low stakes. All the characters are adorable (even the side characters), almost to the point where they're annoyingly sweet (hello, Doli) but you still like them anyway.

Honestly, I can't really say much about this; it's pretty straightforward. At it's core, it's about learning and accepting who you are set in The Great British Baking Show. You even get a handful of recipes at the end.

The only reason it got 4 stars instead of 5 was it could use a little more development. It just a little over 200 pages and could've been extended by at least 100 pages more. I could've used more character development so they weren't so one-note. I also could've used more of the competition - they start with like 25 competitors and only 3 actual bakes, eliminating 1/3 each time. Fleshing out the competition could've heightened the stakes a little and made the character growth a little more gradual instead of so abrupt.

If you're looking for a quick palette-cleansing sweet little read, this is the book for you. Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the chance to read this as an Advanced reader copy. I appreciate it and I'm looking forward to reading the next books in this series.

Cute and fluffy and full of yummy baked goods! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Admittedly, this book is the definition of cozy fantasy: lots of fluff, lots of whimsey, not a lot of the "substance" that a lot of fantasy novels have. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it was all of the side characters that really made me fall in love. This is a story of friendship and found family (which is my favorite), and the romance is there but it doesn't detract from the overall story. It was a bit of a one-sided insta-love which was a bit of a let down, but it was still cute.

I wish we got some more concrete worldbuilding in this story and I believe that this would address some of the substance issues the story has. Humans are looked down upon in this world. especially if they don't have magic, but we have very little set up for this discrimination and as there is really only one human character present, we only get one side of the situation.

Regardless, this is cute and cozy and a really nice palate cleanser!

Underwhelming.

I enjoy when authors mix up themes especially when we mix fantasy with the mundane, and while the ending wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, there really was no doubt that this was a debut novel in that the story and the characters lacked any real substance.

Arleta Starstone is a mundane human who uses usual spices in her baking to make unique and sublime treats. She dreams of taking over an old empty café in town but for now has to settle for renting a booth way in the back of the market. Sadly, she will never earn enough if she has to keep negotiating her prices but such is life for a non-magical in the world of baking. No one believes her wares located in the back corner of the market should be getting full price.

Arleta is shocked when a fae messenger arrives with an invitation to the Bake Off, especially since non-magicals are never invited to compete. But her messenger, Theodmon Brylar, insists that the judges have tasted her submission and have agreed that she should receive the invite. It seems Arleta’s neighbor submitted for her when she refused to even try. Theo insists on accompanying Arleta to the competition although they barely make it in time before the gates close in the Capital.

Arleta makes friends with a few of the other contestants and has a rivalry with the current two-time champion–all while finding out that Theo believes Arleta is his lifemate who he has been dreaming of for years.

THOUGHTS:
When I read a story and I can really envision the characters as real people, those are the stories I enjoy the most. This story seemed to lack depth right from the beginning and what I found odd is that I kept envisioning this as an animated story. I don’t think I have ever visualized a story in an animated format.

It would be a cozy novel rather than a serious fantasy story and not just because it was a baking competition. The delays that kept them from the competition weren’t dire. They weren’t attacked by marauders on the road, fighting a bloody battle for their lives. They stopped to help a merchant right his tipped over goat.

Arleta has problems first with grief, as she still hasn’t gotten past the loss of her parents and has a problem believing that Theo will be there for her. She also has a problem believing in herself, and no matter how many people tell her how delicious her baking is, she is certain that her lack of magic makes her less than everyone else.

Arleta’s new friends were a cheery dwarf, who didn’t want a life in the mines, and a rabbit-creature who was grumpy, but still managed to earned their friendship.

I would actually say this would make a great Young Adult novel about friendships and believing in yourself.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a cute and cozy fantasy that made my stomach grumble with the fantastic descriptions of the food!! I also appreciate the inclusion of the recipes featured during the baking competition, as I will definitely be trying them out. Another star of the show for me would be the side characters. They had such personality and really brought more to the story.

One gripe I had was the main character and how she treated the relationship between her and Theo. She kept on going back and forth with her feelings throughout the entire book and it got a bit tiring towards the end.

Overall, an enjoyable book!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic is a wonderfully cozy, no to low angst, easy read. We are welcomed into the fantastical world of Adenashire, where those with magic are revered and those without get no respect. Though Arleta Starstone’s surname is a wizard’s surname, she and her family are humans who have no magic. Not having any magic doesn’t stop Arleta from making wonderfully delish bakes.

She is entered into the Langheim Baking Battle (think British Bake Off with magic) and sets off to try and win it all and come home with funds to open her own bakery. Here is where she meets Theodmon “Theo” Brylar, a woodland elf tasked with getting Arleta to the competition.

Whilst in Langheim, Arleta meets with her competitors, some who become friends, and others who may be her rival, like the elf Taenya, who has already won the competition before. Does Arleta have what it takes to compete in this storied competition, even without magic?

This was delightfully easy to read. Once I got started, it was hard to put down. If you are looking for a simple fantasy book where you do not need 100 pages of world building, or epic battle scenes, and just want something joyful, this is for you!

For my personal tastes, I would have liked a little more tension, or plot twists (or at least ones that were not so obvious). And I did feel like everything wrapped up just a little too neatly. However, there is for sure a market for a book where you can just sit and enjoy it and know everything will go as it should.

I recommend picking this one up if you like a cozy fantasy (with a touch of romance without spice), baking, friendships, and found family.

This is a really cute bake off, finding one’s worth, finding new friends and maybe your fated mate! Story follows Arleta a human baker whose dads enter her in to a competition. She lost her real family really young and was taken in by an Orc couple that was friends of the family. No human has ever won let alone been invited so when she gets the letter she starts to doubt herself. Though pushed to go she makes the best of it!

I loved this sweet story! The friendships, journey of the baking championship, the relationships. Just so wholesome and sweet.

Within Adenashire, Arleta Starstone is a human baker in a world where elfish enchantments and dwarven delights are common. She works twice as hard on her baked goods, so her orc neighbor submits her creations into the prestigious Langheim Baking Battle. Arleta wants to prove her talent, even though she isn't sure if she has what it takes. Along the way to Langheim, she meets an attractive woodland elf and discovers what is truly important to her.

The deluxe edition of this book has interior art, sprayed edges, and additional scenes. This is the first in a cozy fantasy series, and is a feel-good found family kind of story. Arleta is down on herself and her lack of magic, but lives for baking and loves her orc neighbors, who had taken on parental roles in her life after her parents died when she was sixteen. The Baking contest is like every other competition. There are competitors that are surly or friendly, and Arleta has an innate kindness that earns her friends along the way. She also has a romantic interest in Theo, who brought her to the competition.

I enjoyed seeing Arleta grow and accept that she doesn't need magic to have baking skills and friends. Her friends also learn more about themselves. The competition winnows down the bakers, and the behind-the-scenes antics test Arleta. We see all the people who care about her, and she eventually sees it for herself. I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to the rest of the series.

This was such a cozy (and delicious) read. The author is very skilled at describing all the baked goods and the baking process - and even includes a few of the recipes from the baking competition at the back of the book! I loved exploring Adenashire and Langheim and could picture each location and character based on how descriptive the author was which was fantastic. If you have read Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree, you will definitely enjoy this one.

Most of the characters are memorable and lovable and I love reading books with found families - although I’m not usually keen on the soulmate trope.
A few things that detracted from this read (for me) was how quickly conflict was solved. It felt like something would come up and be solved within the same chapter and so there wasn’t a lot of suspense or anything like that. But the loveable characters kept me returning to - and enjoying the book.
I also was waiting for more magic if I’m being honest. There was quite a buildup about how Arleta was the first non-magic to be admitted to the competition but there didn’t seem to be any magic used - other than the cooling fairies.

Overall though I enjoyed this book and would happily recommend this book to all.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.