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By popular vote today's book review will feature the novella omnibus set by Gabrielle Landi, Tales of Cake and Comfort which are prequels to her novel Once Upon a Cat from her The Galamere Chronicles series of fairy tale retellings.
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| image copied from Goodreads |
But since this was such a fast read, I'm also going to review another novella, The Tea Witch's Secret by Laura Greenwood and Ariana Jade. It's a novella from their Purple Oak Oasis series.
First things first though, let's talk about Tales of Cake and Comfort. This was a cute cozy fantasy novella omnibus. In the first novella, the two main characters, Thea and Nat, have a meet cute involving a cake and then a cake competition. Nat has left his small hometown in the mountains where he feels unwanted and aimless to head to the big city of Riyel. There he literally runs into Thea who is on her way to the first round of a baking competition for her family's bakery to win a commission to bake for an event for the queen. In return for helping Thea arrive safely, her parents offer Nat a job and a place to stay in their bakery. Thea and Nat begin to fall in love from there, though there are instant sparks between the two when they first lay eyes on one another. It is a very sweet low-spice cozy fantasy. One of the things I really appreciated about it is the way the author gave both characters distinctive voices so that you're never left trying to remember which point of view you're in when the chapters switch between characters. I also liked that meet-cute moment that was very reminiscent of a Hallmark movie. The baking competition is not like a Bakeoff on TV though. The contestants only have their finished products judged that they bring to the judging location on the day of each round of competition. There is some tension for each round, but it isn't the same as you might expect if you're thinking this is going to be like the The Great British Baking Show. However, the first novella ends with a happy-ever-after for the couple with some foreshadowing of problems to come.
The second novella begins with those problems emerging right from the start. Nat must return home and leave Thea and Riyel behind. However, the separation of the two lasts much longer than either anticipated and they eventually lose touch. Much later, Thea leaves Riyel to start over someplace else and unknowingly ends up in Nat's hometown. Thea decides that this time rather than open a bakery like her parents did, she'll instead open a cafe. She sees that a storefront in the village is available for rent and upon seeking out the landlord comes face-to-face with Nat again. He is her new prospective landlord. Nat immediately agrees to rent Thea the space and the story continues to unfold from there. In this one the dual POV works as the two still maintain a distinctive voice in the narration. However, a new point of view is introduced later in this novella, that of a kitten Thea finds and takes in. Like with the other two characters the narration from the cat's perspective is very in keeping with that of a cat. There is of course, some tension when one of the townspeople realizes that Thea's cafe will give his business competition as another place the villagers can come for a meal. This troublesome character has been used to having a monopoly on that. But as with any good Hallmark story, this one has a positive resolution for Thea. I did enjoy this novella, but I liked to first one the best of the two. The second one is very much a prequel to lead into the full-length novel of second chance love for Thea and Nat. So, there is no firm resolution for their relationship in this second novella as in the first. The other thing I was hoping for in this second novella was some resolution as to why the two characters lost touch in the first place. But perhaps that will be explained further in the novel to come Once Upon a Cat. I would be interested in reading that fairy tale retelling as well as some of the others in this series. In looking at the blurbs for some, Landi gives some fun twists on the old fairy tale tropes, such as having Nat turned into a cat instead of a frog in his and Thea's novel that is advertised as a Frog Prince retelling. The other stories in the series have equally fun twists as well.
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The other novella that I read, The Tea Witch's Secret was just as engaging in its own way as Tales of Cake and Comfort. It is also part of a series of novellas cowritten by British authors Laura Greenwood and Ariana Jade. This novella had a very interesting magical system right from the start and I liked how the authors describe it at work in the story. Hana is a healer and derives her magic in part from magical tea. I suppose her inherent abilities are enhanced by the tea. She calls herself a tea witch for this reason. While her love interest in the story, Oliver, is a ward. At first, it isn't clear what the duties of a ward are, but later in the novella Hana and Oliver in comparing their gifts touch on all of the various ways wards can protect their community. Wards like Oliver have their powers enhanced by having a bond with a familiar. In Oliver's case his familiar is an adorable owl named Howie. Like the other novella's by Landi, this one is told from dual points of view of the two main characters. However, unlike Landi's stories, I did have a bit more trouble remembering whose point of view I was in at times in this novella. However, I did love both characters and enjoy the setup for their conflict. It seems this community is jointly run by four founding families that are descended from different magical beings, tea witches, dryads, and wards. According to local lore those three groups did not always get along and so decided to keep the peace by running things jointly, but also keeping their families separate to avoid future conflicts. As such, though the children of these families were encouraged to be friends, it was with the understanding that they could never be more. This is a problem for Hana and Oliver since the two are very much attracted to one another and this story gets much steamier than Landi's books. As this is a cozy fantasy though, they do get their happy ever after of sorts. However, the ending is left somewhat open for them. I am guessing this means that eventually in the series this will all be resolved for the good. But the authors do leave this story somewhat open-ended. Like with the other series, I would definitely be interested in reading the other stories in this one and in checking out other works of the individual authors.
If you'd like some fast cozy reads for the busy holiday season, I would recommend all of these novellas. Both feature relatable characters and romance mixed with a fun fantasy elements. Tales of Cake and Comfort by Gabrielle Landi is low spice and geared more towards a younger reading audience, I'd say. While The Tea Witch's Secret by Laura Greenwood and Ariana Jade is definitely higher in spice and very much for an adult audience. So, it is dependent on what level of steamy you go for if you're into cozy fantasies.
For my next review I'm thinking of going with an audiobook that I've been listening to The Baby Dragon Cafe by A.T. Qureshi. It's a fun cozy fantasy with baby dragons as the name implies, magic and a cute cafe where they serve delicious and diverse baked goods along with traditional ones and of course coffees and teas. It also features a neurodivergent character. I've copied the cover and book blurb below, both copied from Goodreads. Until then, for those who celebrate, Happy Thanksgiving!
Aiden is a local gardener, and local heart-throb, more interested in his plants than actually spending time with his disobedient baby dragon. When Aiden walks into Saphira’s café, he has a genius idea – he'll ask Saphira to train his baby dragon, and he'll pay her enough to keep the café afloat.
Saphira’s happy-go-lucky attitude doesn’t seem to do anything but irritate the grumpy-but-gorgeous Aiden, except that everywhere she goes, she finds him there. But can this dragon café owner turn her fortunes around, and maybe find love along the way?
