The Wizard’s Bakery is a surprisingly dark story, despite dealing with a magical baker’s store, and a teen with a very troubled background. I guess at one time they were marketing it as YA (it’s now classed as General fiction-adult, and fantasy) because the protagonist is about fifteen. He has lots of problems, including a chronic stutter, memories of abandonment, and a dysfunctional father. After trying, and failing to please both parent and step-parent, he finds sanctuary at the 24 hour bakery.

I’m beginning to get a feel for Korean fiction. It seems to have Scandi-noir darkness, but mystical almost mythical qualities. My experiences with it have encountered dark corners, tunnels to other places entirely, and ambiguously happy endings—or are they?

The initial part of this book clunks a little with very formal sentence construction, but it eases up and becomes very readable. The characters jump off the page, and I found myself second-guessing the plot that eventually twists right at the end. The route there is warmly satisfying, with nightmarish episodes. But I enjoyed this, so dark fantasy, not horror.

And I love the alternative endings presented. So right, given what has gone before. That was the icing on the cake, so I gave it five stars.

The Wizard’s Bakery is a quiet, surreal coming-of-age tale that blends whimsy with emotional weight in a way that feels refreshingly unique. Gu Byeong-mo’s storytelling is offbeat and poetic, drawing you into a world where magic is strange, symbolic, and deeply personal. The narrative unfolds like a fable, touching on themes of regret, growth, and forgiveness without ever becoming heavy-handed. It’s a gentle, thought-provoking read—slightly odd, but all the more memorable because of it.

Okay, that’s the case in which one could apply the motto “don’t judge the book by it’s cover “ because “the Wizard’s Bakery “ it isn’t as cozy at seems.

The story follows our protagonist who lives with loss of his mother , an absent father and an abusing and cruel step-mother. The situation becomes more and more unbearable , so our protagonist seeks refuge in a bakery open 24/7.

I love the concept of the bakery and magic realism with its goods made with strange Ingridients and spells which can be be use as love remedies ,or could be harmful or even can granted you you’re wish , but you have to decide if they worth the price and how much you’re willing to pay.

That being said every chapter and every baked good blend the magic realism, with moral lessons , the characters grow and how they made to face their issues and confronting the difficult circumstances with their head held high.

I read an eARC of this book on Net Galley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This is magical realism about a bakery run by a wizard and a boy who finds it a a time he desperately needs refuge. This is slightly darker than the whimsical, charming cover might lead you to believe. It mixes the magical with the mundane so well, but it’s not cosy, uplifting fiction. Instead we see characters facing up to their issues, being forced to confront difficult circumstances. There are some parts of this book that are hard to read and it’s worth checking trigger warnings.

Our main character lives in a household where he suffered the tragic loss of his mother and his step-mother makes his life miserable. His father is distant and neglectful and he is left to the cruelty and mercurial nature of his stepmother. His home life gradually becomes more and more untenable, with him getting his food after a bakery to avoid his stepmother. When the situation escalates to a point he can no longer stay there, he takes refuge in said bakery. He soon learns that there’s more to it than he’d thought and strange ingredients and magical spells are woven into the baked creations. We see the wizard, creating spells that can be harmful and the people who seek to buy them. The wizard is an interesting character morally and we see what he does and does not consider acceptable.

I found this a fascinating read, I was really hoping for a happy ending for the main character, I wanted him to be ok and to get away from the clutches of his stepmother. This was well worth a read just be aware it’s slightly darker than you might think at first glance.

I requested this book because lately I’ve been enjoying a magical realism book every once in a while and this seemed totally up my alley. I really enjoyed the story and the magic revolving around pastries, however I was very taken aback by how dark this story was; I thought it was going to be light and whimsical, but that is totally not the case. If you plan to read this, please check the trigger warnings first.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is not as cosy as the cover would have you believe! This books is, at times, brutal and harsh and trigger warnings should definitely be read before going forward.
That being said, this book was also, at times, sweet and full of growth and healing. It had a really interesting concept, a bakery that can provide you with goods to fulfil most wishes - but those wishes come with a price and you have to decide if that price is worth it. The Baker, despite his mildly nefarious goods and his rough demeanour is actually a bit of a softie deep down and Bluebird is quite possibly the most wholesome thing in this book.
I was left confused a fair few times, I'm not sure if it was things being lost in translation or if it was an issue with the formatting of the book but I sometimes felt like there was a jump in scene, almost like something was missing.
Overall, I am glad I read it, I do urge caution to readers though as there are frequent heavy topics within that some may find triggering.

The idea of this was cute but unfortunately not for me. This is the first translated fiction I’ve read but not the first with the cosy fantasy vibe. In terms of cosy fantasy, this didn’t compare to others

The Wizard's Bakery by Gu Byeong-mo is a book for everyone who loves fantasy! This was so so good. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.

I love Korean fiction; generally speaking, it's so much fun and so whimsical and magical that I always jump at the chance to read some.

This was a heck of a lot more intense than I've come to expect from translated fiction. There are some very serious topics talking about that I wasn't expecting. This made it less magical than I wanted. There's still magic and supernatural elements etc. but it just felt a bit too dark for me to completely lose myself in. Topics include child abuse, sexual abuse, death, abandonment, and bulling.

I did love the descriptions of the bakery and the food. It's so visual and it's like you can smell the baked goods.

It is very easy to read, and I finished it within a few hours. The pacing was slightly off, some bits sped through too quickly and other bits are drawn out.

What I did love was the presence of one character. There are lots of different characters and customers, all with their own stories, but there is one boy who is constant throughout which brings the whole story together and shows this sense of community.

It ended a bit suddenly. I mean, there's no real explanation for anything that happens in a magical fantasy story anyway, but the last few pages just seemed to happen without explanation and then it was done. If I'm correct, there are actually two endings to show what could happen if you do or do not change things, but instead of being a clever storytelling device, I found it confusing.

Whilst overall I'd say I did enjoy it, there are some issues and it didn't have quite the magical feeling I've come to expect from Korean fiction.

A novel that starts with quite the dark topic of child abuse with the young protagonist falsely accused of an act he didn't commit (sexually abusing his younger step sister), fleeing his family home he moves into the local wizard's bakery running their website that offers it's customers a chance to change their lives, with the caveat that the customer must ultimately pay the price that may lead to unwanted and unexpected outcomes. The novel splits into two endings with one showing the result of the young protagonist using a magical item to change the course of events that lead to him fleeing and another where he chance to use the item is lost and the events play out as intended. The overall moral of the tale is that people do not change, and regardless what you do things will still occur if you do not tackle the actual source of the issue.

It's definitely a very dark tale that tackles some incredibly uncomfortable topics (abuse) and that those delivering it are not capable of changing and that every action has it's consequence.

Many thanks to netgalley & headline for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐

ARC Review

This was a really interesting story and I really liked the split options at the end to see how the story could change.

At times it was confusing trying to understand who characters were but I did enjoy it overall.

This was incredibly disappointing.

There should have been content/trigger warnings on this and it’s definitely not marketed in the correct way.

TW: sexual assault, suicide, child abuse , paedophilia amongst other things - incredibly serious topics that in todays climate I’m surprised has not been flagged as an issue to tell people about beforehand rather than being ambushed with it and completely mispromoting the book.

I was expecting a cosy whimsical emotional magical realism book. It got dark fast and it came from very left field- paedophilia shouldn’t be something that just pops up in books when people aren’t expecting it.

I nearly stopped reading at the peadophila part but carried on then it had a very graphic depiction of child abuse- incredibly disturbing and uncomfortable scenes.

The translation is done really well and it was well written. Annoying that I now can’t continue with this book as it’s one of the best translations I’ve read in a while. Given it 2 stars rather than 1 because it was written well in the first 20% before the really disturbing content.

The Wizard’s Bakery by Gu Byeong-mo is a whimsical, imaginative novel with a unique premise and a beautifully surreal atmosphere. The concept of a magical bakery where wishes — and consequences — are baked into bread is both creative and charming. The writing style, even in translation, captures a dreamlike quality that fits the story’s tone perfectly.

However, while the world-building is rich and inventive, the pacing at times felt uneven. Some parts of the story moved slowly, and the emotional connection to the main character could have been deeper. I found myself wanting a bit more development in both character arcs and plot resolution. That said, readers who enjoy magical realism and allegorical storytelling will likely find a lot to appreciate here.

Overall, The Wizard’s Bakery is a sweet, quirky read with beautiful moments, though it may not fully resonate with everyone. A good choice for fans of offbeat, thoughtful fantasy.

I feel like this book was massively mispromoted. With the rise of cosy fantasy, it feels like this book was categorised purely on the title and to hit the zeitgeist.

But with such serious content, I did not find this book to be uplifting, cosy or whimsical.

It was a really hard read and I feel like in part, a lot of that is due to the confusion between the content and the marketing.

This is a retelling of a bestselling Korean story about a young boy who is struggling with his stepmother and he runs away. He finds himself in a magical bakery where he has a simply magical summer in more ways that one.

This is a lovely story that has, in my opinion, similarities to many traditional Disney movies - Snow White, Fantasia - and Grimm’s Fairy Tales and would suit those looking for that escapism. I found the pacing to be off and wasn’t convinced by the main character. He felt a little 2D. It took a while to get to the bakery but once there, pacing improved and I enjoyed it a lot more.

When I first selected this book to review, I was aiming to find a soft read, something similar to Pumpkin Spice Latte or Legends and Lattes. That was not the case. I do believe trigger warnings need to be added at the start of the book. I was expecting some levels of darkness but not to the extent that was covered. But I do think it’s sometimes difficult to know how much of the story to sell before a reader opens the book. However, saying that, this book still gets five stars. As an advanced reader, it’s my job to pick up on these improvements which can be made before mass publication date. Now, this book was originally published in 2009 and had done incredibly well in South Korea so I wasn’t too nervous if it was a well written book. The translation of the book was impeccable in keeping the story flowing gracefully. I didn’t want to stop reading, I still don’t want the story to be over.

The darker elements in the story allows us as a reader never to be safe. It’s a claustrophobic read, having me gaping at my mouth and my heart pounding. I wanted to protect the protagonist, I wanted to hide in that oven with them and let them have a life filled with magic where they forgot their trauma. But, healing doesn’t always work like that and this book captures that perfectly. Healing from trauma is messy, scary and otherworldly sometimes. This book balances the elegance of beautifully describing the soft beauty in life which is shown through sweetcakes, breads and cookies whilst reminding us that the world is such a dark and sinister place. Even when we’re blessed with the utmost beautiful and wonderful things, like magic, the world still harnesses hatred somewhere out there. The only thing I wanted was more. More story. More of these characters, of this world beyond the oven. The magic system was such a solid foundation and it makes me sad we didn’t get to see anymore of it. Though, part of me does wander - was it ever real? Like, the trauma that child goes through is horrific and in that moment our mind does anything to survive. But regardless of my conspiracies - it’s definitely one of my new favourite books.

This is not a book for younger readers or people sensitive to dark topics.

Content warnings: pedophilia, domestic violence, suicide, death of a parent, child abuse, abandonment, violence, sexual assault, physical abuse, rape, murder, suicide attempt, bullying.

The Wizards Bakery...where magic meets bread and sweet treats.

Childhood hasn't been easy for our main character, and now he's being accused of doing something he hasn't done. After running away from home, he finds temporary shelter in the magic back room of the Wizards Bakery, accessed through one of the ovens in the bakey kitchen. For the few weeks he's there, figuring things out, he helps out by managing the bakery's website, where people can buy various magical items. But using these items always comes at a cost, to the customer, the intended recipient and the world as a whole. And Baker's motivation for creating these items...money. While he provides warnings about using the items coming at a cost beyond the purchase price, he doesn't care when things go wrong and goes as far as to blame the customers for any unwanted or unexpected outcomes.

So, would you use magic to help you resolve an issue or to get someone back for something they've done? Many people do, but Baker warns our main character against ever using any of the items.

The book has two endings, one that shows what could happen when a magical item is used to change the course of events for the main character, and one where the chance to use a magical item is lost and events play out as the initial timeline intended.

From the description and cover of this book I was expecting a cosy story about a teen/ young adult learning to find their place in the world despite the hardships they faced growing up. It turned out to be anything but that, which is a big disappointment. The story was fine, but this book NEEDS a content warning at the start and should not be promoted as a cosy, healing story (as it isn't either of these) if the author and publisher want the correct audience to read it. This isn't a book I would feel comfortable recommending to others.

This book had me overcome with so many emotions of highs and lows and was such a beautifully profound story. Although this was packed full of lots of very difficult discussions but ultimately held a really important message. I felt although it might not come across as your typical whimsical 'healing fiction', it covered a lot of important topics that effect a lot of people and using the magical bakery as a means of 'healing' peoples problems was a really niche concept. Not only that it also shows that no matter what happens in life, every action has a reaction (good and bad). I think if people reading it have an open mind and can read between the lines they will see that it actually holds a very profound story with a lot to take away.

A interesting story about a young man with a horrible home life who, while attempting to run away, runs directly into a wizards Bakery.

This book is a lot darker than anticipated, generally with these translated novels they tend to stay lighthearted. But I think it works to The Wizards Bakery benefit, when you read the depictions of child abuse you can feel the main characters relief when the come to the sanctuary of the Bakery, even if the Wizards isn't the nicest person.

Id recommend this book, I really enjoyed it and it was an incredibly fast read.

I'm sorry but I cannot and will not read a book about child abuse or rape, ESPECIALLY where there are no trigger warnings for the book. DNF at 18%. Really disappointed at the misleading cover and quotes for this book.