Welcome to Litsy!

So much fun! The concept is fantastic: the reluctant hero is a young wizard whose magic can only influence dough—and whose familiars are a sourdough starter & a gingerbread man. I loved seeing Mona grow into her magic, grow into her power, and grow into herself. Although there are darker bits, and a dash of political intrigue, this is ultimately a cozy fantasy. The tone reads as MG or younger YA, with a strong coming-of-age plot. I loved it!

#5JoysFriday!

1. Adorable fall pictures of my niece and grand-niece 🍁🍂
2. Hearing my talented husband and his jazz band at a swing festival on Saturday 🎶🎷
3. Cooler weather and hot tea ☕️🫖
4. The best and coziest pajamas ever (it‘s finally cold enough to wear them!) 🛌
5. Staying up late last night to finish the tagged book 📚

I loved this book!!
#Spells #WickedWhispers @eggs @AlwaysBeenALoverofBooks

#Lighthearted 🍪🍞

#AboutABook… 📚📖📒📘📕📗📙📓

#BookNerd 🤓💙📚

#unpopularopinion

I preface this by acknowledging I am not the target audience. That being said, I really don't get the hype around this book. I got halfway & considered DNF'ing it. Instead, I read some other books before returning. I ended up skimming the last third of the book. Plot & pacing issues were what killed it for me.

Overall, not for me but it‘s off my shelf!

Book 4 #awesomeapril

#motivationalmonday

1. Just trying to get through the work week to make it to Independent Bookstore Day! And then on Sunday, my library is hosting a puzzle swap 🧩
2. One day, I will adopt a new fur-baby.
3. Probably a bird, one of the raptors so I could soar in the sky.

Thanks for the tag @Eggs ❤️

1. The setting of the tagged book is the city-state of Riverbraid
2. Wouldn't it be amazing to visit Diagon Alley of the HP books?!

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

“There was a dead girl in my aunt's bakery.“ #FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

1. Favorite female character: Fanny Price of “Mansfield Park“; Anne of “Anne of Green Gables“
2. Favorite male character: IDK?
I have a difficult time picking favorite people because I remember and appreciate stories better/more than people.
3. Current read: “A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking“ by T. Kingfisher
@Eggs #WondrousWednesday

Spending the Presidents' Day holiday afternoon reading, with a London Fog in hand and a dog sleeping by my legs.

#DecemberDreams @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
#Baking

#Baking 🍪🍞🥖 #HumbleHarvest 🍂☕️🧣🍁🥧🕯🍎

#BookNerd 🤓📚💙

This is a delightful middle grade adventure. I love Mona's baking magic and the creative ways she puts it to use in a pinch. A lot about this book is fairly average otherwise, and there are a few awkward spots where something important is repeated almost word-for-word. I also lost it a bit when the baker threw flour on a fire to put it out. #Magic #Baking

I love T. Kingfisher‘s comically dark, oddly cozy fantasies, and this one gets the recipe just right. Mona is a young bread witch with a sourdough starter familiar—and she‘d be fine making gingerbread men dance at the bakery if she hadn‘t found a dead body and gotten mixed up in a wizard-killing plot endangering the whole city. A delightful tale about how powerful your gifts are, no matter their shape or size, especially when you break the mold!

#Two4Tuesday

1. Maleficent - I love villains

2. I think tagged would be an adorable Disney movie!

Funny and dark and thoughtful.
Funny: weaponizing Bob, the rogue sourdough starter amused me to no end. Dark: a select group of people (wizards) were alienated, ostracized, and preyed on. Thoughtful: 🎶 War, huh. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing 🎶 This was such a surprise, so enjoyable, continually funny while making its points.
I think i might have to buy it now. 🥐🍞🥖

Fourteen-year-old Mona is a baker with the rare ability to make her dough do whatever she wants—she‘s got some magic in her, you see. And that magic is going to come in handy when she walks into the bakery & finds a body. On the surface, this is a story about a girl who has a murder to solve & a city to save. On another, it‘s a story about
taking responsibility, growing up, doing the right thing even when it‘s hard, & lost innocence. A good read.

A new favourite. A fun, funny rollicking good time, but more than that too, definitely some tears with the laughter.
Some sharp truths among the fluff:
Ugliness of war and politics, what it tends to do to the soldiers as well as the regular populace, the nature, making and tragedy of heroes.
Beautifully paced, hilarious, moving writing. 1/?

"If you give them a medal, then you don't ever have to ask why the terrible thing happened in the first place. Or try to fix it."
?

The visual ! 🤣

Well that's a perfect allusion to a lot of the most grim chapters of human history, isn't it?!

Debating the merits of being a target of murderers vs have your period as the two options for initiating adulthood ...honestly after 20-odd years of monthly menstrual cramps, it's a toss up! 🤷🏼‍♂️

A wonderful word you don't see often enough, complete with definition!

So true!

Starting a new Kingfisher book is the perfect way to start my reading day. Baking, magic and murder…what‘s not to love?

#OutAndAbout #ReadingOnTheTrain

Oh yes, this is very much my vibe. Off to a good start.
Having such good luck with wacky fantasy!

This a very cute young adult fantasy featuring a 14 yo baker who also happens to be a wizard. She discovers a dead body in her bakery and a evil plot in the kingdom is discovered. If you like the cozy fantasy trend, if you like cute companions, you will enjoy this book! This is on the younger side of YA, would probably work for a more mature middle grade reader. T. Kingfisher is officially a must read for me! 4.25⭐️

Or The Gingerbread Man's revenge. ;-)

#PromptMaze: title begins with 'A' Also my #DoubleSpin book

Just delightful. This reminded me of the fantasies I loved when I was a kid, in which children discover they're so much more than they thought they were. But it also has a few choice words for the idea that children should be responsible for saving the day.

@TheAromaofBooks

this was such a fun, cute book! I loved Mona and her army of #gingerbread men 🤎 🧩

#DivineDecember 🎄❄️🎁

#BookNerd 🤓📚💙

This cute fantasy novel follows a girl who's magical abilities only extend to baking and specifically bread. She has a sentient sourdough starter named Bob and can make gingerbread men dance but when she realizes someone is stalking and assisinating the minor magicians of her city, she teams up with a young street urchin to stop them.

#OminousOctober

This #Wizard titled YA book has been on my kindle #TBR for a while now. It sounds magical, cute and fun. ✨🪄 ✨

#TeamMonsterMash

This was utterly delightful and made me crave gingerbread, although I might not eat highly decorated gingerbread people again in case they are somebody‘s familiar 🤣

That day of book club binge

4/5

Mona is a 14 yeag old wizard whose medium is dough, so she's perfectly content to work in her aunt's bakery and leave the defense of her city to more powerful wizards. Until she's caught up in a plot to kill wizards, and her whole world is turned upside down.

Super fun read with strong Pratchett vibes. It also has an incredible quote about heroes and medals I'll post next.

Considering my job went absolutely crazy this month I‘m happy with my totals for the month. I didn‘t read anywhere near as much as I wanted but I wouldn‘t call it slump worthy. Highlights were the tagged and City of Bones.
3 physical
3 eBook
1 audio

#MarchWrapUp

This was a fun, cute, unique little read. Not sure if I loved Bob, the sourdough starter or the gingerbread men best ❤️

#Bakery 🥖🥐🍪🥧 #SavvySettings 🍀💚

#BookNerd 🤓💙📚

I loved this. A fantasy world with a story that explores the trauma of heroism and the ways that the system can fail. I loved that Mona is thrust into a situation she never should have to deal with and yet shoulders the burden despite her resentment at having been placed into it in the first place.

Here's my list for #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin - Four new books added for those that went off the list 😁

@TheAromaofBooks

This is my niece, Ivy 💕 I watched her for Valentine‘s Day so her parents could have a night out 💕

I‘m currently reading the tagged book but I‘m not far enough in yet to say whether it‘s a pick or pan 😬

I‘m grateful for all my nieces and nephews! I get to love, spoil and get my baby fix but give them back when I get tired🤪

#WonderousWednesday 🥰 @Eggs

#BookNerd 🤓💙📚

This was cute, funny and entertaining! I will read more books by this author soon.

My #BookSpinBingo list for February. Only going for #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin this month... It feels weird not doing the Bingo, but if I want to keep up with my New Year's resolution I need to reduce stress 😔

@TheAromaofBooks

This was a fun read with a great sense of humour. A murder mystery featuring Mona, a wizard with a talent for baking. Her sidekicks are wonderful 😊🍞🥖🍪🔪😯😆⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Hugo Awards (sponsored by Raytheon, WTAF??!) reminded me that I still haven't read this book.

On my hook : Illusion Mandala by Lilla Bjorn Crochet. #litsycrafters

#Haunted

I forgot this one is loaded on my Kindle #TBR & there seems to be plenty of #wizardry both baking & otherwise in it. 🪄🧙‍♀️

It looks cute & fun so I might need to add it to to my October #readathon stacks! 📚📚📚🧡🖤

I've been in a pretty bad reading slump for the past few months, and I haven't felt excited to talk about what little I have read, but this book is an exception. It's my #BookSpin pick for this month, and I read it in one day. What a delightful book! It's absolutely hilarious and just what I needed right now. Highly recommended if you could use something lighthearted but still thoughtful.

There was something really unsettling about a talking gingerbread man.

Totally forgot to post my #bookspinbingo card. I‘ve started several, so hopefully I‘ll get a few finished before next weekend. At least I‘ve gotten a few free spaces done!

What a fun read. 14 year old Mona is a wizard. With baking. Her familiar is a sourdough starter named Bob. When the 'real' wizards in town start disappearing. Mona finds herself having to defend her city against an invasion.

#bookspin #TheAromaofBooks

My #bookspin selection for June. Just the title makes me laugh.

#TheAromaofBooks