Okay, so this book was also so much fun to dive into. I felt the same way as I did about book one, this was a brain off and head empty kind of book which is the best way to enjoy this book. It was cute, cozy, and had its moments of making me giggle. Not all the tropes in this book were necessarily my favourite but the author does a great job at writing them!

This book was just whimsical and fun! Definitely the perfect summer read!

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC!

This is such a sweet follow up to the first book in the series! It was so fun seeing all our old characters come back and see what they’re up to now. I loved the connection, friendship, and love between Lavinia and Theo. Watching them figure out their feelings was such a satisfying slow burn and I highly recommend it for anyone who particularly enjoys watching friends turn into romantic partners. I can’t wait for the best book!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for an eARC of this book!!! Theo and Lavinia are the perfect couple - or they would be if they could just admit their feelings for each other. The miscommunication is strong with this one. It starts with a misperception of rejection and it spirals from there. Lavinia is super fun but feels she’s on a time crunch when it comes to finding her person - the one she’s meant to be with for the rest of her life. When she and Theo almost kiss they both panic, he pulls away and bam. She assumes he’s rejecting her, prompting the main storyline. The dragons are as cute as ever and we even see Sparky continue to grow which is arguably my favourite part of the book because, well, dragons! She starts dating someone else which leads their friendship to be on the rocks because they’re still too scared to admit their feelings and the tension slowly and deliciously builds. Now I normally eyeroll and facepalm my way through miscommunication but this was thoroughly entertaining.

I was a big fan of The Baby Dragon Cafe and loved the small town, the characters, the dragons.... basically everything. However, I was quite disappointed with The Baby Dragon Bakery.

Lavinia and Theo were characters I enjoyed reading about in the previous book and I enjoyed seeing more of their friendship and particularly their dynamic with Lavinia's family who are very loving and wholesome. However, that is where my enjoyment ended.

The book is dual-POV, and it felt like we spent all of Lavinia's chapters constantly hearing about her self imposed (and frankly silly) deadline of finding the love-of-her-life by that winter. This meant that she jumped into a relationship with the only person she thought it could be, where there clearly wasn't a spark. This just made me frustrated with Lavinia and her constant mentioning of this deadline, and also feel sorry for the man she was dating. In the other POVs we had Theo being very obviously jealous of Lavinia dating someone else, and not liking his job but doing nothing to change it, so he came across and stroppy and sulky.

There was so much repetition in this book that got annoying, and also a huge amount of miscommunication that I'd expect from a YA book.

I would still consider reading future books in this series but this book definitely didn't compare to book 1. It was as if they were written by different people.

Thank you to Netaglley and Avon Books for this eARC to review.

After reading the first book, I couldn't wait to get stuck in again! There's something beautifully unique about The Baby Dragon series with it's cosy, low stakes vibes in a small town with no spice. It's definitely refreshing after all the fantasy books saturating the market at the moment. It was nice to see returning characters like Sapphira and catch up with what's happening with them (and the engagement!)

Such a super cute romance between two long term best friends with an intriguing relationship. Can't wait to see what's next!!

The Baby Dragon Bakery is the second instalment to the series following Lavinia who is a magical vet student and carer of baby dragons who is developing feelings for Theo, who is a baker and has been her best friend since forever.
When the option for Theo to have a new job he isn’t sure whether he could leave Suki and her bakery as she was the first person to believe in his talents
but after Lavinia doing a bit of sweet meddling with the new employer, Theo takes the plunge and hands in his notice.
I really liked the continuity from book 1 but I felt this one could’ve had a bit more storyline as it felt a little too slow starting but then finished really quickly. I would’ve liked more of the dragons stories being included too and Lavinia’s involvement with the veterinarian side of things too.
Hopefully the final instalment rounds things up nicely and Lavinia's romance develops and includes more dragon mischief.

DNF at 20% - I think I have to accept that AT Qureshi's writing just isn't for me! I've tried both her YA and adult work, and The Baby Dragon Bakery is probably my least favourite read so far. The writing is so simple as to have basically no flavour, and the characters feel like young teens in both their dialogue and their internal thoughts, not adults. Pretty much every sentence is tell not show, to the extreme, and everyone says what they're thinking all the time. There's also little to the fantasy element; yes, there are baby dragons, but they function like dogs and everything about the way the characters interact with them is exactly how cringy dog owners act about their 'babies', down to the word "draggo". I just can't find anything I like about it!

Baby Dragon Bakery by Aamna Qureshi

4*

The second installment of The Baby Dragon Café series delivers a slow-burn romance full of yearning and heart.

This time, the story shifts focus to two familiar faces from the first book — Theo and Lavinia. While they take center stage, the wider cast of beloved characters continues to grow and develop, keeping the charm and warmth of the original alive.

I was completely hooked by the "will they, won’t they" tension between the two leads. While the overall vibe felt quite different from the first book — and personally, I didn’t enjoy it quite as much — it was still a wonderfully cosy and comforting read.

This story beautifully explores themes of friends-to-lovers, fear of inadequacy, and the impact of an abusive family dynamic.

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

I requested this having not read the first book in the series; The Baby Dragon Cafe. I had wanted to read TBDC but just hadn’t had chance.

I love a book set in and around a cafe and the idea of dragons really drew me in so I borrowed the first book from Prime to read before this one. Sadly, I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t like the main characters or the lacklustre plot. I did however like Lavinia and Theo so I was glad to see this second book was about them.

Having been friends for many years, they have now developed strong romantic feelings for each other but haven’t told each other.
Lavinia is desperate for a long term relationship and has even set a deadline to match the ago her parents met which is getting very close. She starts seeing the lovely Calahan who works in the cafe she used to work in before beginning her veterinary course for dragons, griffins and phoenixes.

Sadly she can’t focus on Calahan and keeps getting drawn back to Theo who is having a difficult time watching the love of  his life in another relationship. Why can’t these two just talk?! I felt so sorry for Calahan.

So we have a friends to lovers trope and a love triangle which is a bumpy ride and I’ll not spoil the ending.

This book definitely had more to it in the way of plot line and things actually going on, but again the writing style came across as basic and immature although an improvement on the last one.

A good read though if you like a romance between characters who think they are not good enough for each other, and the odd baby dragon popping up now and again. 

Although I don’t love this series, I would still read the next one to read more about Genevieve who doesn’t appear much in the first two books but when she does she is quite a strong character.

Thank you to Avon books for my advance copy via NetGalley.

This charming story had me hooked from the start! I loved the cosy bakery setting mixed with a sprinkle of magical whimsy — it felt like a warm hug in book form. The characters were sweet and the gentle romance made it a lovely, comforting read.

Perfect for anyone who enjoys feel-good fantasy with heart and a dash of magic. I’m looking forward to more from A.T. Qureshi!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I truly enjoyed this heartwarming romance. I'm a total sucker for the best-friends-to-lovers trope, and this book executed it beautifully. The character relationships, immersive setting, and light world-building all came together to create a delightfully sweet and fluffy story.

That said, I do wish the fantasy aspects had been more prominent. As I mentioned in my review of the first book, the story leans more heavily into romance than fantasy—and that’s even more apparent in this installment. While the adorable baby animals added plenty of charm, they felt more like a background detail than a central part of the plot.

Still, it was a joy to revisit Saphira and spend more time in this world. Fans of cozy, romantic reads with just a dash of magic will definitely find something to love here.

Loved the warm and cozy feels on this one, gave the vibes of the first book, however the love story in this one didn’t work for me, the two MCs were both very juvenile despite both being 24 they read as 16 and honestly the whole story line just gave me so many icks

Again like the first book I feel the side characters are stronger than the main ones as here I was done with their shit 50% into this because it was just all miscommunication and could have been avoided by one conversation at the beginning. Instead Lavinia ends up dating someone else only to end up cheating on him physically and emotionally and the guy is too nice to have deserved that and the fact he didn’t even get an apology and he was the one who shows all the grace is frustrating.


E-Arc provided via NetGalley

I did not finish this book - reading about 41% before deciding this wasn’t the book for me - so my review may not reflect the entirety of this story!

This book 100% has an audience. Romance readers who love friends-to-lovers and miscommunication tropes will love this one. I however was really hoping for the cozy fantasy elements promised and didn’t get that at all. The first book felt 80/20 romance/fantasy, but with this one I didn’t get fantasy at all. A couple of beautiful descriptions of dragons and magical creatures, but nothing to drive the plot. While that might have changed further into the book, 40% was enough for me.

Cute cozy low stakes and whimsical. So fun to read. Friends to lovers is not my favourite trope but these characters had great chemistry although they could be a little immature at times. The writing flowed nicely and it was easy to read.

I absolutely adored The Baby Dragon Cafe! Unfortunately, The Baby Dragon Bakery didn't quite have the same magic. I was so excited going in to Lavinia and Theo's story but, they just felt immature about the whole thing. I had to keep reminding myself there were adults, not high schoolers. I do love this friendships and characters in this series and look forward to more with Emmeline' story next!

4.75 stars (rounded up to 5)

I'm a huge fan of the friends-to-lovers trope and I'm a huge fan of Aamna Qureshi's writing, so of course, my excitement for The Baby Dragon Bakery was quite high. This book was everything that I wanted, and then some. I was so thrilled to be coming back to this world and experience Lavinia and Theo's story. There are many reasons as to why I enjoyed this book, but the yearning?? Let's just say, that was pure perfection. The yearning and the mutual pining was freaking adorable and the chemistry between the two was palpable.

When you're reading, you can clearly see and tell how much both Lavinia and Theo care for each other. They are both treading a very delicate balance in wanting to protect their friendship, and crossing that balance and watching them trying to keep, and subsequently fail, this balance is what makes this book such a great read. There's almost kisses, practice kisses and actual kisses, and all of them are so so good. I don't want to spoil but there's some really great jealousy scenes, especially on Theo's part, and those were some of my favs in the book.

All in all, The Baby Dragon Bakery was such a cute, cozy and comforting romance, and I cannot wait to have a physical copy of this in my hands!

I absolutely adored this story. I fell in love with Theo and Lavinia and my heart broke for Theo’s unhappy home life. I spent the whole story rooting for the two of them, especially seeing how much Theo blossomed within Lavinia’s family. The snippets of their friendship as kids was heartwarming and emotional and just made me root for the couple more! I also loved the additional snippets of Aiden and Saphina’s relationship and hope to see their eventual wedding in a further book!

The Baby Dragon Bakery is a sweet, low-stakes friends-to-lovers romance with a dusting of magic and a whole lot of emotional warmth. Lavinia and Theo’s dynamic is endearing, full of awkward tension and unresolved feelings that spiral into jealousy and missed chances, though the reliance on miscommunication can be a bit frustrating. The setting is whimsical and comforting, with adorable baby dragons and a mythical vet school adding charm, though the fantasy elements take a backseat to the romance this time around. While returning readers will enjoy seeing familiar characters like Saphira again, some may wish the magical worldbuilding played a larger role. Still, for fans of gentle, cinnamon-roll stories with cozy vibes and emotional beats, this one delivers a charming and predictable comfort read.

cozy, fun, wholesome.
I loved this story. If you're looking for a quick and easy read, you'll want to check out this book.
I would definitely pick up this story again. It was funny with low stacks, but still entertaining, and very warm and cozy vibes.