Review Detail

Revolutions and bread go hand in hand, but what if we considered weaponizing the bread? O_O

Welcome to the baking show. I mean, the revolution. I mean, Elara doesn’t really want to be involved, but when old acquaintances come knocking, her only option is to seize the proverbial golden ticket to compete as one of the select candidates to replace the recently and definitely not suspiciously deceased Souverain des Arts Culinaires. Cue stress baking, fancy fancy ingredients, tricky magic, baking challenges with scathing commentary, the Slums Which the Rich People Despise, and one boy who backs Elara betting on her being a puppet candidate but boy oh boy was he wrong.

I enjoyed the baking bits, and the magic, and Elara’s bold nature. It can be tricky to put a fresh spin on Down With the Regime plots, and while the general plot progresses as expected (no way, the politician is lyyyying?), this one carves a place for itself with a focus on what happens to the survivors of a failed revolution, how an elitist system manipulates individual success stories to excuse oppression, and of course, bread and tasty good things.

As it neared the end though, I had questions. Sinister figures become straight up evil and don’t get pushback. A respected leader drops a comeback I’d expect from a twelve year old. Elara and her new friends finally reach a position of trust but of course the moment the Bad Guy accuses them of being less than truthful, she still considers this a valid source of information.

I got a bit lost on characters’ motivations, but I guess I’d recommend for a standalone fantasy read with flawed heroes, reality TV style moments, and bittersweet decisions where characters face the consequences of their actions.

Content corner: The evil overlords can be shockingly violent. Otherwise, mild. Can count the swears on one hand; fade to black.

**Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC**