A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

“You haven't lived until you've seen a cookie look smug.” Mona is a fourteen year old wizard who is content working in her aunt's bakery and doesn't see the value in her talent for animating bread. After she encounters the body of another young mage in the bakery and is wrongfully accused of murder, a plot to apprehend and eliminate those with any magical power is uncovered. As the story unfolds, Mona transforms a seemingly useless ability into a force strong enough to overcome evil. This book is so clearly aimed at a very young audience (maybe 12 to 14 years old?), but it was so damned entertaining that I couldn't put it down. Who can resist a story where battles are fought with legions of angry gingerbread men and a carnivorous sourdough starter named Bob?

What a fun, cozy, adventure book! Only not 5 stars because I wanted even more baking magic. Otherwise, this was a really fun read. I loved the characters, the messaging about wars and the idea of what a hero is, and of course, Bob and the Gingerbread Man (who needed a name dang it!)

What a great book! As the author states in the notes at the end of the book, it's a little dark for a children's book, but it is so good, I don't think anyone minds. The humor in it offsets the darkness.

My main complaint with the book is that the gingerbread man has such an important part in the story, but he never has a name. Even the golems have names, even though they are just the names of the colors on them. This little guy needs a name. Thankfully, though, he doesn't get eaten by Bob, or anyone else for that matter.

A cute story about a magical baker. I have done myself and this book a disservice reading it when I wasn't in the mood for YA. The dead horse felt very much like what I would expect from Kingfisher. The brand of creepy, prickly, yet funny characterizations. There's definitely a moral or two built in and don"t worry you won't miss it. Its a cozy war story. Its a pretty good time.

Please keep in mind, this is very much YA. While there is murder and war, the story is told from the perspective of a 14 year old girl. The narrator was great and made it feel like you were in Mona’s mind as a young teenager being thrown into a war as a hero she did not want to be. Mona is the only wizard left to defend her city from a traitor and his band of ruthless killers. After an attempted murder, Mona discovers there’s even more to the story and now she has to save the city. However, she only has baking magic. With that, we get an army of giant bread creatures, and angry sourdough starter, and naughty gingerbread men. With her faithful gingerbread companion and a street orphan named Spindle, Mona sets out to do what the grown-ups should have prevented. I very much enjoyed the story, especially with all the little quirks throughout. I also like that we get a child telling an adult authority figure that none of this should have been the responsibility of a child and telling them to do better.