Despite this being a good read. I fear the category that this one has been placed in isn’t accurate and I would recommend checking TW’s as there are a number of sensitive topics discussed in this book.

shame on the publishers for selling and marketing this as a cozy read when it literally discusses severe graphic abuse, rape and more. It's a great book, written well, but I went into it wanting and expecting a soft fantasy to be met with trauma on trauma. the book itself needed to be more fleshed out but what a shame.

This book was great but the decision to market it as a whimsy translated fiction with a cover that makes you think of other titles like hynamdong bookshop or more days at the morisaki bookshop is a WILD decision on the publishers when the content of this book touches upon sexual assault and child abuse. No hate, it was a great book but man the whiplash I felt when I realised this book was going a lot darker than the synopsis says.

The Wizard’s Bakery is a curious mix of magical realism and emotional struggle, wrapped in the sugary scent of spells and pastries. Set in a quietly tucked-away Seoul neighborhood, the story introduces readers to a mysterious, 24-hour bakery run by a gruff, crimson-sarcastic wizard and his enigmatic blue-haired assistant. Behind the counter, though, the sweets are anything but ordinary—each treat possesses a unique magical quality. A madeleine might mend a broken heart, an almond bar could revive buried memories, and cinnamon cookies might curse your worst enemies.

At the heart of the story is a nameless teenage boy on the run. Escaping a deeply troubled home life, he stumbles into the bakery in desperation. There, for the first time in what feels like forever, he finds a place that doesn’t reject him. He’s an awkward, quiet, and possibly neurodivergent protagonist—though his condition is never clearly defined, it’s implied he might be dealing with something like autism. What’s certain is that he lives in a world that feels alienating and unsympathetic, and his inner turmoil is portrayed with raw, quiet vulnerability.

The bakery, in contrast, is a place of order, magic, and rules. It’s both enchanting and oddly intimidating. I absolutely adored the concept—how could I not? A hidden shop where you can buy emotion-altering pastries is my kind of whimsy. The magical baked goods are inventive, charming, and carry a fairytale-like weight: they’re delightful to imagine, but always come at a price. It’s a setting rich with possibility, and the wizard himself—sarcastic, sharp, and quietly kind beneath the gruffness—is one of the book’s strongest characters. He brings a dark-humored charm to scenes that might otherwise fall flat.

However, as much as I loved the idea and tone of the bakery itself, I struggled with the overall structure of the story. I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into when I started reading, and unfortunately, that feeling didn’t go away. The narrative felt disjointed, almost intentionally vague, as though clarity was being sacrificed for atmosphere. While some readers may appreciate the dreamlike, metaphor-heavy writing, I found myself getting more confused as the story progressed. I often wondered what the central plotline was supposed to be. Was it a coming-of-age tale? A dark fable? A surreal exploration of trauma and healing? It touched on all of these, but didn’t quite commit to any, which left me feeling somewhat disconnected by the end.

I came into this book with high expectations—perhaps too high—and I genuinely hoped for more cohesion and emotional payoff. That said, there are things to admire here: a deeply original setting, emotionally resonant themes about loneliness and belonging, and a striking, almost theatrical sense of magic that lingers in the background of every scene.

If you enjoy stories that lean heavily into metaphor, with a taste of darkness, whimsy, and ambiguity, The Wizard’s Bakery may well be your kind of read. While it didn’t fully click for me, I can still appreciate the strange charm it brings to the table—and I’d happily visit the bakery again if only to try one of those heart-mending madeleines.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC.

This was definitely not what I expected, however was thought-provoking and emotional. Despite the appearance suggesting a cosy fantasy, this book in fact explores some very dark themes, as well as the consequences of an individual’s decisions (I would certainly check the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book). Despite the dark and sensitive nature of this novel, there are some characters that are so loveable and gives the story its softer moments.

Disclaimer: e-Arc provided by Headline, Wildfire via Net Galley for Review. All thoughts are my own. My thanks to Wildfire, for providing me with the arc for review.

Plot
A coming of age story originally published in Korean in 2009, now translated into English. This book follows a young boy with a troubled home life that takes refuge in a bakery run by a strange man. The bakery sells loads of weird products that come with mysterious warnings about magical events.

Thoughts
This book was interesting. It was kind of a cozy fantasy, but the main character had a very dark personal history that was very much rooted in reality.

I enjoyed the literary fiction aspects of the book, but just didn’t enjoy the fantasy aspects. It was well-written but just not my vibe.

The Wizard's Bakery by Gu Byeong-mo

If I'm totally honest - the cute cosy looking cover suckered me into this one, but unfortunately it was just not for me, it was not at all as I was expecting to see. I have read many reviews on this book and can see that lots of people have loved it, and also many have felt the way I did too, which is okay, as it would be very boring if we all enjoyed the same thing.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Headline and Wildfire for this e-arc and allowing me to give it a go

I was completely charmed by the opening: a seemingly ordinary bakery that turns out to stock magical pastries with real—and sometimes terrifying—power. When the run‑away teenager finds this refuge, the blend of whimsy and dark themes hit me unexpectedly hard. I loved the sensory descriptions—the scent of baked goods felt so vivid. But the deeper story touched me most: childhood trauma, a witchy baker, and moral consequences make it darker than it looks. Some aspects—for instance, one‑dimensional characters like the evil stepmother—felt a bit flat, and those dual endings left me wanting a clearer resolution . Overall, it sits at 4½ stars: a beautifully atmospheric, bittersweet fantasy that surprised me with its emotional depth.

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I would have liked. I found it darker than I thought it would be. I did enjoy the authors writing style but it wasn’t for me.

I had to make the executive decision to stop reading this book once I realised that child abuse was going to be a major theme in the book. That is just a topic I struggle to read about. I also believe there is a very real chance or even a certainty that readers will see this book cover and read the title and expect this book to be a standard cozy translated fiction novel in the vein of What You Are Looking for Is in the Library, DallerGut Dream Department Store or The Rainfall Market. If so, they may be quite dismayed at finding out how dark this story is. I'm saying this because I think while stories like this need to be told, I also believe that expectation management and marketing is important, and the fact that this book appears to be one thing (cozy) while actually being the opposite (dark) might lead to worse ratings than it deserves. On the other hand, it might get people to think more deeply about the topics at hand if they are sneakily presented to them in a pretty & innocuous looking format. I'm not sure which of the two is true, I guess it remains to be seen from other people's reactions.

I was excited to try The Wizard’s Bakery because of the fun premise, and while it had some charming moments, it didn’t fully grab me. The world-building was creative and there were parts I really enjoyed, but the story didn’t quite keep my attention throughout. Still, if you’re into whimsical, magical stories with a cozy vibe, it’s worth a shot. It just wasn’t quite my favorite.

Rating: 3.5-4 ⭐
Review:
✨Firstly, thank you to #NetGalley for this #ARC! This review was voluntarily written by me.
✨I would say that the saying of “don’t judge a book by its cover” suited #TheWizardsBakery so much.
✨The cover is so cosy, but the story is not cosy at all.
✨Told from the boy POV’s, this story is about his harsh life and why and how and the point where he took refuge in this bakery. The occupants of this bakery are the wizard and his loyal assistant.
✨One profound message that I get from this story is you reap what you sow, and you have to be responsible and accept any consequences of your own action.
✨The message may be common sense, but sadly, as shown in the story, not many people have it.
✨As shown in this novel, the special pastries have a disclaimer for the customers to read before purchasing it, but there are still some customers that are not willing to accept the consequences. Then, they blame the seller.
✨I don’t really remember the purpose of each pastry, but I am interested in the magic system showcased in this story.
✨I’m still thinking there is not enough background story for the wizard and the assistant, but that is understandable based on the way this story was written.
✨There are quite a number of dark subject matters in this story including abuse, neglect, and assault. Hence, be prepared before reading this.
✨Which ending do I prefer? Spoiler alert, I prefer “If No”.
✨In conclusion, I do recommend this story for anyone who wants to read a translated work or a magical realism story. Overall, I am okay with this story although it is a little bit darker from my usual reads. If you pick this, I hope you will like this story better than I do.

Thank you to NetGalley, Headline and author Gu Byeong-mo for this eARC

So maybe it’s the cover or I just didn’t read the blurb well enough, but this was very different from what I was expecting. My expectation was a whimsical, cozy, fantastical, uplifting story about a runaway teen who finds a magical Bakery and his place in the world.
And yes, in some aspects that’s true, but The Wizard’s Bakery is most definitely not whimsical or cozy. It’s a dark and tragic magical realism story.
Which is not to say I did not enjoy it.

The magic system through pastries is very interesting. The writing was good and the wizard was a very compelling character.
I especially enjoyed the somewhat unexpected ending!
3.5 stars

I went into this book pretty much blind and I had expected it to be syrupy sweet which books similar to this often are. Wow how wrong I was, it actually deals with some pretty dark subject matter very matter of factly. Although sad, the life experiences of the main character were explored so poignantly. I really loved the relationship dynamic within the bakery, the characters and their roughness really worked for me.

Overall, this was heavy and emotional, but a very worthwhile read, I flew through it and I’ll remember it for a while. Check TW before reading.

Thank you NetGalley and Headline for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's one of the most beautiful books that I've read. I loved how the author wrote about fantasy and reality, how she mixed both and created this fantastic book

I like translated fiction and magical realism so choosing this one was an easy decision. I thought it was going to be more cosy and light bit it had dark themes and it was pretty disturbing at times. I liked the voncept in general, though.

I quite liked this! The beginning half was really good, very intriguing and it set up the plot really well. I liked the main character. I did feel like it was a little disjointed but I wonder if that is because its translated fiction? Regardless, it fits the sub genre so well and I really enjoyed! That ending as well though?!?

Abandoned by his mother, bullied by his stepmother, and ignored by his father, the young hero ends up running away from home and taking refuge in his neighborhood pastry shop, open even at night. But behind his grumpy boss might well be a wizard...
The cover is very beautiful, but it doesn't reflect the harshness of the story. Yes, part of the plot takes place in a pastry shop, and yes, there is magic, but I'm afraid that the reader attracted by these promises will be disappointed by their reading, even though the novel is very good. I loved the first third, the realistic part, the one where we get to know the young hero, for whom I immediately felt a lot of empathy. It's not all easy to read; the trials he went through are terrible, but it doesn't dwell on them either. I also liked the wizard, the oven that isn't one, the bird girl, but I missed a little something in this part of the story, a real evolution, a meaning, an explanation. Then we return to reality, more terrible than ever, from which we cannot escape.
I close this book with a great feeling of perplexity. Apart from reminding us that life is hard and that we must assume responsibility for our choices, and frankly that seems difficult to forget, I'm not sure I understood what its objective or its message was. And yet, I liked everything I read. I think only Korean literature can inspire such ambivalent feelings in me.


Abandonné par sa mère, harcelé par sa belle-mère et ignoré de son père, le jeune héros finit par s'enfuir de chez lui et se réfugier dans la pâtisserie de son quartier, ouverte même la nuit. Mais derrière son patron bougon pourrait bien se cacher un sorcier...
La couverture est très belle mais elle ne reflète pas la dureté de l'histoire.. Oui, une partie de l'intrigue se déroule dans une pâtisserie et oui, il y a de la magie mais j'ai peur que le lecteur attiré par ces promesses soit déçu par sa lecture alors que le roman est pourtant très bon. J'ai adoré le premier tiers, la partie réaliste, celle où l'on apprend à connaître le jeune héros pour lequel j'ai tout de suite eu beaucoup d'empathie. Tout n'est pas facile à lire, les épreuves qu'il a traversé sont terribles, mais on ne s'appesantit pas non plus dessus. J'ai aussi aimé la magicien, le four qui n'en est pas un, la fille-oiseau mais il m'a manqué un petit quelque chose dans cette partie de l'histoire, une vraie évolution, un sens, une explication. Puis on revient à la réalité, plus terrible que jamais, à laquelle on ne peut pas échapper.
Je referme ce livre avec un grand sentiment de perplexité. À part nous rappeler que la vie est dure et qu'il faut assumer ses choix, et franchement ça me paraît difficile à oublier, je ne suis pas sûre d'avoir compris quel était son objectif ou son message. Et pourtant, j'ai aimé tout ce que j'ai lu. Je crois qu'il n'y a que la littérature coréenne pour m'inspirer des sentiments aussi ambivalents.

This is a magical and bittersweet story about escape, healing, and the unexpected consequences of wishes. Overall a very beautiful read.

Magical realism is definitely one of my favourite things to read and this didn't disappoint. Author did an incredible job navigating some extremely heavy topics while keeping the story almost light. I loved the causational magic Wizard was preaching and I hope he take apprentices! Overall, a very worthwhile read that I have been recommending left and right!

Do not be fooled, please check trigger warnings as well: suicide, child molestation and rape, child negligence.