A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic: Adenashire, A Cozy Fantasy Book Series by J. Penner is a high fantasy books that meets a baking show, where Arleta is a human in a world of magical creatures. 

I kept seeing this book on TikTok, and people kept saying it was sweet and inviting, and just a comforting book. I skipped past it a few times and then finally decided it was time to read it. 

I am going to split this book into two categories to talk about, because it feels necessary. First is the bake-off portion of the book, and second is the romance. 

I loved the bakeoff idea of this book, and I love that Arleta’s secret ingredient was just herbs and spices and knowing how to combine flavors together. She was amazing at what she did, even if she didn’t have the confidence to know it. I also really loved her two orc neighbors that cared for her and loved her after her parents died. It was nice to see her still have a family. 

After her neighbors entered the competition, and she found out she was officially a competitor, we teetered back and forth between her being excited for the competition, and her thinking she is not good enough. I find this interesting because everyone around her that knows her says she is an incredible baker, she eats her own baked goods and loves them, and she entered one of the most exclusive baking competitions in the land. 

Yet, throughout the book, she keeps referring to herself as “the human” and degrading herself. I think the author meant this to help us as the reader to understand how Arleta was feeling, but I don’t think it achieved that. Instead, it was kind of jarring to read and made me want to put the book down a few times. 

As I was reading the book, I hit a point where I no longer wanted Arleta to win the baking competition. Not because she wasn’t talented, but because she had learned so much more about herself, what she wanted out of life, and who her family was, that winning the victory almost didn’t seem realistic. And when she got second place, I was legitimately thrilled, because Arleta was legitimately thrilled as well. And then, I found out Arleta threw the competition on purpose, destroying her chance of winning first place. 

This truly felt like a cop out, and I was enraged that she had worked so hard and then blew it. I did not want her to win, but I did not want her to throw the competition. That was not fair to either party. 

The ending to this book was sweet, where Arleta’s nemesis ended up becoming her friend and business partner, but there was not enough character development to really pull this off and make it a seamless transition. But overall, I did really enjoy this plot. 

What I didn’t like, was the relationship between Theo and Arleta. When I tell you I rolled my eyes upon learning they were “fated” mates, and that they broke the stereotypical norm where elves only have other elves as fated mates, I mean I really rolled my eyes. When we met Theo, my first thought was sincerely, I hope they become good friends, but I don’t want them to date. 

And then they don’t take, so I guess I should have been more specific in my wishing. It turns into this long drug out slow burn romance that doesn’t quite have all the components it needs to be a slow burn romance.  

And by the time almost every plot point is resolved, Arleta still has not told him she loves him because she doesn’t think she is good enough for him and does not want him to regret his decisions. 

Overall – This was a sweet book with an interesting plot, but with how much it is being praised I was kind of hoping for more. I think if more time had been devoted to the baking competition portion of the book, and less time had been devoted to the angsty relationship between Arleta and Theo, the book would have been much better. 

A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic: Adenashire, A Cozy Fantasy Book Series by J. Penner  
Cost* – eBook is $4.99, paperback is $14.99, hardback is $24.99.  This book is included with Kindle Unlimited  
*Cost is based upon what the book cost when book review is published