A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic (Standard Edition)

This was a quick and very cosy read with a unique premise of a baking show but set in a high fantasy world, however, the execution couldn't convince me fully. The beginning was interesting and a good introduction to the main character and her struggles and background, I adored the quaint town and the idea of the baking show. The found family vibes were sweet and the baking scenes left me with a craving for scones, cookies and other baked goods. On the other hand many things felt rushed, especially the relationships (both romantic and friendship), where we don't really get to know the other characters a lot but they are immediately best friends/in love.. the female main character was suuper inconsistent, switching from very insecure to confident many times, and much of the book was her inner dealings, which is fine, if they are interesting... In this case they were often redundant, I found her pretty annoying after a while. The ending felt kinda drawn out and weird, both rushed and anticlimactic somehow, because we all knew what was coming. I think the message the author wanted to get across was fine, just a little too obvious and more told than actually shown how embodying it could look like. The writing was okay, easy to read and fly through but nothing special. So overall a cute story about baking and finding yourself, nice as a quick book inbetween, but nothing special in the flood of cosy fantasy that's been rushing in. I've read worse but also much better books in this genre Thanks to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the e-arc!